Episode #56 - The Crossroads Between The Lived Experience and Qualitative Research Methods: A Conversation with Tavistock Scholar Brent Archer

Jerry Hoepner, a faculty member in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, speaks with Tavistock Scholar Dr. Brent Archer about the crossroads between the lived experience and qualitative research methods. Dr. Brent E. Archer was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He obtained his Master’s degree in speech-language pathology (SLP) in 2006, and practiced in rural hospitals and schools. After immigrating to the US in 2011, he provided SLP services in nursing homes located in central New York state and Louisiana. In 2012, he enrolled in the Applied Speech and Language Sciences doctoral program at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. Upon graduating in 2016, he assumed a position as an Assistant Professor in Communication Disorders and Sciences at Bowling Green State University. Brent’s research interests include facilitated conversations for people with aphasia, the lived experiences of people and families living with aphasia and life participation approaches to treating aphasia.   In today’s episode you will: Learn about applications of qualitative research methodologies towards the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia. Consider how we may best examine client values and perspectives. Consider how we may support and reveal the perspectives of individuals with aphasia in guiding the research questions we ask. Consider how qualitative methods like interpretive phenomenological analysis, ethnography, and conversation analysis may help researchers to uncover the lived experience of people with aphasia and their families. Consider how information about the lived experience can help clinicians to better meet the needs of people with aphasia. Hear examples of how community-based programming, such as training docents at the Toledo Museum of Art to provide aphasia-friendly tours, a program that Brent is involved with, can be a mutual platform for meaningful life participation (meeting an authentic need) and research in an authentic environment. Consider opportunities to examine and support the recreational needs and desires of people with aphasia. Consider roles that people with aphasia can play in their own groups and recovery process.   Download the Full Show Notes