Thinking theoretically in practice disciplines: considering positionality and reflexivity in adult nursing interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study

This presentation explores the application of positionality and reflexivity drawing on the experience of a British Minority Ethnic (BME) group senior nurse researching nurses with the same ethnic heritage in an IPA study. It explores how using reflexivity and positionality allowed for exploring IENs' perspectives on their integration into British healthcare and their navigation of career progression. In this presentation, I discussed how as an ethnic researcher, I employed reflexivity and stated my intentionality and positionality in the conduct of the IPA study.
This presentation concludes that the appropriate use of reflexivity and positionality in the IPA study recognises the personal and professional influence of a researcher’s experiences on the research process. Reflexivity and positionality facilitate the researcher’s application of cultural competence and congruency in shaping the research process to ensure the cross-cultural validity and reliability of the research.