Explore – Smartphone-based Activities: Put your investigative skills to the test with these quick interactive activities. Dig deeper into key concepts and understand how they might relate to your own research project via guided website searches and online discussion questions.

19.1 Audience communication

Look for a qualitative research article in your subject area, and read the opening and concluding sections. Based on what you’ve read, what audiences do you think this author is writing for, and how can you tell?

Aimed at graduate students, this article discusses how we can write effectively for different audiences. Although directed at counselling researchers, it has implications for all social science researchers:

Ponterotto, J. G., & Grieger, I. (2007). Effectively Communicating Qualitative Research. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(3), 404–430.

What main tips would you take from this article about how to adapt your writing for different audiences?

Do you agree that ‘thick description’ is key to writing qualitative research?