Qualitative research methodologies: Embracing methodological borrowing, shifting and importing

This chapter explores some of the qualitative methodological differences-that-make-a-difference. It examines how methodological flexibility can be employed in qualitative studies. The chapter identifies and describes three ways in which this flexibility is realised in healthcare professions education (HPE) research: methodological borrowing, methodological shifting and methodological importing. It then examines methodological borrowing in relation to qualitative description. The chapter also looks at methodological shifting as it relates to Grounded Theory. It studies methodological importing as it has influenced the use of discourse analysis. The chapter then illustrates these flexibility approaches using comparative sets of published HPE research articles to demonstrate the differences-that-make-a-difference. It conducts this analysis neither to praise nor to critique the selected publications; instead, the chapter aims to illustrate the methodological variability that is possible.