This session will introduce Quirkos: a simple software tool for helping you analyse and organise your qualitative data. We will cover importing data, creating and managing codes and themes, integrating analytic writing, and applying several different analysis approaches. We'll also discuss how to ensure that intersectionality is considered right through the analysis process, and creating reports and outputs that help with writing up for different audiences. Participation in this workshop does not require Quirkos software. More information about Quirkos, including a free trial of the software, can be found at https://wwww.quirkos.com.

The session will be led by Dr Daniel Turner (he/him), founder and director of Quirkos, and an experienced researcher and trainer in qualitative health.

Intersectional Qualitative Health Research: State of the field.

Jasmine Abrams, Denise Spitzer & Floretta Boonzaier

Dr. Abrams

In this panel presentation and discussion, Dr. Abrams will provide an overview of the current landscape of qualitative health equity research and describe how - via intersectionality theory - a critical, socio-historical understanding of oppressive systems and their intersections can impact the research process to advance health equity.

Denise L. Spitzer

As the sinew connecting identity, social structure and the materiality of social location, intersectional status—constituted by the historically and socio-politically constructed axes of social differentiation—structures access to social and material resources and power. Consequently, intersectionality has implications for health, wellbeing, and social relations, and helps to illuminate health disparities and other forms of inequalities. Mobility and, subsequently, migration across borders involve moving through and into different social landscapes, invariably engendering shifts in social positioning and thus demanding consideration as to how intersectionality is composed and (re)materialized in different locations. In this presentation, I describe how doing transnational research compels us to think about how intersectionality crosses a variety of borders, thereby demanding attention to spatial and temporal dimensions of social locations and their associated privileges and oppressions.

Floretta Boonzaier

In this talk I map recent developments in qualitative feminist and intersectional research, paying specific attention to how these movements have travelled and transmuted in global and transnational southern contexts with recent imperatives to foreground decolonial and indigenous approaches to research that addresses ongoing forms of systemic and everyday injustices. I foreground the ways in which intersectional research, driven by its locatedness has responded to questions of social justice by attuning to a decolonial framework that centres questions of power, politics, ethics, reflexivity opening up space for more expansive ways of thinking about and doing qualitative health research.

In 1989, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw published “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.” Drawing on Black feminist criticism, Crenshaw’s intervention demonstrated, among other things, the ways in which a particular antidiscrimination regime functioned structurally not only to defeat Black women’s antidiscrimination claims, but also, more broadly, to render Black women’s subordination unrecognizable and illegible as a matter of law. Subsequent to the publication of Crenshaw’s article, scholars across the disciplines began mobilizing intersectionality from a range of theoretical and normative vantage points, engendering what some have called the “intersectionality wars.” This session will focus on the articulation of intersectional in law, explain its relationship to other critical theories, foreground some of the debates about intersectionality, and explain how some scholars in the field of social psychology have been deploying intersectionality to broaden their empirical engagements.

This session will be led by Devon Carbado Devon (he/him) is the Honorable Harry Pregerson and Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law.

This workshop explores integrating intersectionality into community-based research aimed at understanding and deepening health equity. I will use findings and experiences from my qualitative research on the state of sexual health literacy among young, self-identified Black gay and other men who have sex with men in Toronto, Ontario. While researchers have identified how sexual health information sources inform youths’ sexual practices, research on the strategies youth employ to evaluate this information’s relevancy in their lives is sparse. Especially lacking are intersectional approaches. In the workshop, I will discuss the choice and use of intersectionality and the social ecological model in my work, and detail the importance of including these theoretical frameworks when engaging young, racialized LGBTQQIA+ populations. We will focus on how intersectionality provides a constructive lens to view the ways young participants’ interconnected identities influence their sexual health, some tensions that arise when using these frameworks, and how the social ecological model provides insights. I will share several novel strategies used to address recruitment challenges, including their benefits and disadvantages. Participants will have the opportunity to apply some of the lessons shared to their own work.

Dr. Nakia Lee-Foon (she/her) is the inaugural Learning Health Systems Research Associate at the Institute for Better Health, Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga Ontario.

This interactive workshop is organized around the questions, “What does the praxis of intersectionality look like?” and “How can we link our intersectionality praxis to public policy development and analysis?” In the first part of the workshop, we will use examples from the workshop facilitator and participants to explore the praxis of intersectionality broadly. What does intersectionality mean and what does it look like in our classrooms (as learners, instructors), the organizations and movements we work and volunteer with, our collaborative research projects, our countries’ policy architecture, and so on. In the second part of the workshop, we’ll explore the application of intersectionality praxis to public policy using two examples from the facilitator’s research in Canada: 1) an intersectionality-informed collaborative policy analysis of a series of core municipal government policy documents; and 2) the development of guidelines for incorporating intersectionality into assessing the impacts of resource extraction. Using these examples, and informed by the diverse experiences of workshop participants, we will consider the strengths, limitations, and challenges of this work; discuss the contributions of gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) and other intersectionality-related policy frameworks; and brainstorm strategies for advancing the uptake of intersectionality praxis in public policy. Participants with all levels of experience using intersectionality praxis in public policy are welcome.

Dr. Leah Levac (she/her) is a settler scholar and associate professor in the political science department at the University of Guelph.

Intersectionality in the study of social characteristics ensures that one marginality is not substituted for another and lived experiences are not treated as generic and undifferentiated. Critiques of intersectionality have feared that intersectionality results in the fragmentation of the opposition to structural oppression. Yet intersectionality helps to unravel the layered issues that together constitute lived realities. The power of intersection research thus is to understand the whole while examining the parts. Intersectionality is often applied as a method of research. Lived experiences provide the possibility to explore how intersectionality works in practice. By mapping the fractured nature of the everyday, a lived-experience approach allows us to be open to competing interpretations.

Doing intersectional research involves a detailed mapping of the field and a careful consideration of the area of the research. From the point of design to the point of analysis and dissemination, intersectionality has to be embedded into the process of research. Questions need to be asked at every stage whether the intersectional lens is useful and if the strategy is working. This talk will try to illustrate the basic principles of designing intersectional qualitative research. I propose to draw on the range of such research available using qualitative techniques to elaborate the points I will be making.

Dr. Nandini Ghosh (she/her) is Faculty at the Institute of Development Studies Kolkata.

This workshop focuses on the potential and promises that intersectionality holds as a lens for studying the social determinants of health, reducing health disparities, and promoting health equity and social justice. The social determinants of health approach has been widespread and well-received globally. In a critical dialogue with this perspective, Latin American collective health has expanded its limits by incorporating theoretical and methodological references from the social sciences. In the last decade, the intersectional approach has gained ground in view of the need to reflect how social markers (class, race, gender, generation, sexuality) act in combination, producing and reproducing differences and inequalities in health. The intersectional approach allows us to better identify the most marginalized populations and examine their lived experiences and health outcomes, not reducing them to isolated factors or an addition of weighted factors, but rather, recognizing the complex and dynamic nature of the discrimination they face and its impacts on health. Goals for this workshop include:

• Develop a theoretical framework and a practical exercise about the relationship between intersectionality and social determinants of health.
• Promote the experience of exchanging knowledge in intersectional qualitative research on health studies.

Dr. Marcia Thereza Couto (she/her) is an Associate Professor at the Department of Preventive Medicine (Public Health), School of Medicine, University of São Paulo.

Dr. Cristiane Spadacio (she/her) has experience in qualitative health research, acting on the following subjects: intersectionality, HIV prevention and determinants of health.

The workshop will provide critical skills for doing mixed methods intersectionality based on grounding principles and an overview of the four features of Intersectionality Methodology (Haynes et al., 2020): 1) Center Black Women as Subject; 2) Use of Critical Lens; 3) How power shapes the research process and 4) Bring the Complex Identity Markers of Black Women to the Fore. Using the four features as a philosophical guide, the workshop aims to provide participants with the tools to develop critical and intentional research questions that are both mixed intersectionally and grounded in an anti-racist and socially-just, transformative paradigm. The workshop then introduces Black women affirming research methods (for data collection and analysis) such as sista’ circles, portraiture, and the like that have been used to collect data from and with Black women that provide a strength based and affirming process. Similarly, critical quantitative methods are introduced that center the complex identity-markers at the fore and provide emergent methods to transform race variables and the like to analyze quantitative data from an intersectional lens. This workshop is centered on Black women as the unit of analysis but is expansive in its derivatives and application to other similarly intersectional demographic groups.

Dr. Saran Stewart (she/her), is an Associate Professor and Director of Global Education at the Neag School of Education, as well as Director for Academic Affairs at UConn Hartford.

Community-Driven Intersectional Health Research: A Strength-based Approach to Indigenous Maternal Health Research 

Decolonizing research is an act of reconciliation. When working in partnership with Indigenous communities in the field of health research, it is essential to understand the history, impacts, ongoing trauma and struggles as a result of the legacy of colonization in Canada. Central to this work is using a relationship and strengths-based approach to counter the deficit culture of Indigenous research data and findings. In our Maskwacîs Maternal, Child & Family Wellbeing (MMCFW) Research Group, we are collaborating to create the spaces and opportunities for the positive and loving energy that can come from cultural revitalization and supporting healthy families to bring life into this world in the way the Creator intended. Our research continues to develop and evaluate strengths-based, community-led, and culturally-informed strategies to support families during pre-conception, pregnancy, infancy and early childhood. For this workshop, community-based research assistants will share our trauma-informed and strengths-based approach to research and engage participants in discussions that unpack key challenges and foster the creation of decolonizing research that responds to the confluence of colonial, gendered, and racialized structures of power.

Contributors:

Maskwacîs Research Assistants: Denise Young (she/her), Luwana Listener (she/her)

Graduate Student (Deadly Dad’s research project): Adam Purificati-Fune (he/him)

Research Associate: Winnie Chow-Horn (she/her)

Principal Investigator: Dr. Richard Oster (he/him)

The Maskwacîs Maternal, Child & Family Wellbeing (MMCFW) Research Group is a partnership with Maskwacîs Elders, community leaders, maternal health leads and University of Alberta researchers.

Towards More Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive Evidence: The Benefits of Qualitative Health Research with an Intersectional Lens

In order to inform sensitive public health policy and practice, efforts need to be made so that evidence reflects the differential realities and trajectories for an individual person as well as within and across a group or population. Qualitative health research allows us to explore experiences of inequities often shaped by selected intersecting social and structural determinants, producing vulnerabilities. The value of qualitative thinking and methods lies in its ability to critically capture and validate a wide range of lived experiences. To this end, research funding agencies call for systematic integration of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) as well as sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) into research design. The objective of this presentation is to walk through a diversity of tools that have recently been developed, internationally and in Canada, to contribute to these efforts towards the integration of EDI and SGBA considerations, in an effort to achieve more equitable, diverse and inclusive evidence. These tools aim to support the application of an intersectional lens to situate qualitative health research questions pragmatically regarding lived experiences while focusing on the structurally embedded influences that may perpetuate inequities.

Bilkis Vissandjée (she/her), PhD, is a full professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Montreal. She is a researcher at the SHERPA University Institute, the Public Health Research Centre and Centre for International Studies and Research of the University of Montreal Networks.

This workshop focuses on intersectional analysis in qualitative research. Intersectionality can thus be considered a theoretical concept with a number of methodological implications for qualitative analysis. On the most abstract level one might speak of anti-categorical, intra-categorical, and inter-categorical forms of intersectional analysis. These forms have different underlying philosophies of science (from poststructuralism and deconstructivism to critical realism) and therefore pursue quite different analytical aims, from providing nuanced, critical knowledge of the circumstances of life of specific groups to deconstructing identity categories. On another level intersectional analysis implies non-additive analysis in the sense that the consequences/experiences related to different social categories must be analyzed simultaneously. Yet another analytical point is the multidimensional nature of intersectionality. Terms such as class, gender, race and ethnicity are seen as pointing both to the level of overall social structures of power and privilege and to the level of identity formation in everyday life. This implies analyses that attempt to grasp the interplay between these levels of the social world. A fourth ideal of intersectional analysis relates to processes. This implies a temporal analysis that, for instance, focuses on what role gender and class plays for processes of racialization (or vice-versa). A fifth methodological implication of intersectionality has been referred to as “asking the other question.” This implies that when a given phenomenon appears or presents itself as being about for instance ethnicity/race one might ask what role class and gender might play. As should be clear, intersectionality raises a broad range of both concrete and rather abstract methodological implications. The workshop provides suggestions on how to handle these implications when doing qualitative intersectional analysis.

Dr. Sune Qvotrup Jensen (he/him) holds a PhD in Gender Studies and is an Associate Professor in Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Social Work, Aalborg University, Denmark.

In this workshop we will take lessons learned from doing qualitative research to inform the application of intersectionality in quantitative health research. We will begin with a brief theoretical overview of qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods in intersectional health research. Moreover, we will discuss how those methods are aligned with the core tenets and ideas of intersectionality (social inequality, power, relationality, social context, complexity, and social justice). We will then discuss an overview of current quantitative intersectional methods, broadly divided into descriptive and analytical intersectional approaches, using examples of health studies. We will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of choosing descriptive and analytical intersectional quantitative approaches in health research. During the interactive part of the workshop, we will go into small groups to discuss how to turn a diverse group of qualitative intersectional studies into quantitative studies. These discussions will include: What kind of research questions should be asked quantitatively? Should the study take a descriptive or an analytical intersectional approach? What kind of data is needed to answer the research question? Is it feasible to obtain that type of data? How is the study being faithful to the core tenets and ideas of intersectionality? How can we ensure the interpretation of quantitative findings maintains an intersectional stance?

Dr. Rodrigo Aguayo-Romero (they/them) is a Research Scientist at the Whitman-Walker Institute. They recently completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Transgender Health Research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, with affiliations at Harvard Medical School and the Fenway Institute.

The aim of this workshop is to explore the tensions and creative possibilities of bringing together Indigenous feminisms and intersectionality. It addresses both those explicitly employing these approaches and those simply curious about how such approaches may inform research activities. It will offer an overview of both approaches and provide an opportunity to enrich participants’ research and pedagogy through careful engagement with different Indigenous analytical concepts and practices. Through hands on activities and generative conversation, this workshop will 1) highlight Indigenous feminists research methods and 2) identify concerns and approaches for assessing research oriented toward intersectional and Indigenous feminist futures. The starting point of this workshop is: how consciousness about our own position, the complex systems of oppression shaping the reality of research participants, and conducting research that focuses on Indigenous futures, desire and self-determination might be brought into our research design, analyses and the research process.

Dr. Isabel Altamirano-Jimenez (she/her) is Binizá, professor of political science and Canada Research Chair in Comparative Indigenous Feminist Studies at the University of Alberta.

Come network or simply tell us how the sessions have been going for you.

This workshop explores integrating intersectionality into community-based research aimed at understanding and deepening health equity. I will use findings and experiences from my qualitative research on the state of sexual health literacy among young, self-identified Black gay and other men who have sex with men in Toronto, Ontario. While researchers have identified how sexual health information sources inform youths’ sexual practices, research on the strategies youth employ to evaluate this information’s relevancy in their lives is sparse. Especially lacking are intersectional approaches. In the workshop, I will discuss the choice and use of intersectionality and the social ecological model in my work, and detail the importance of including these theoretical frameworks when engaging young, racialized LGBTQQIA+ populations. We will focus on how intersectionality provides a constructive lens to view the ways young participants’ interconnected identities influence their sexual health, some tensions that arise when using these frameworks, and how the social ecological model provides insights. I will share several novel strategies used to address recruitment challenges, including their benefits and disadvantages. Participants will have the opportunity to apply some of the lessons shared to their own work.

Dr. Nakia Lee-Foon (she/her) is the inaugural Learning Health Systems Research Associate at the Institute for Better Health, Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga Ontario.

In this workshop, participants will learn foundational concepts around intersectional research to health services and promotion. We will cultivate a mutual understanding of what constitutes intersectional research, how this lens can shape study design, data collection and analysis, and ultimately the benefits that an intersectional approach offers for qualitative research around health services and promotion. The workshop will draw on and describe popular methods in qualitative research, such as in-depth interviews and participant observation, and introduce key principals that guide interview facilitation and data analysis. The instructor will provide case study examples from her research with transgender women and HIV services in the US and Brazil. The workshop will include a mix of lecture, case study, small group exercises, and discussion in break-out groups. We will focus on applied methods for public health research with a focus on minimizing health disparities through increased access to health services and promotion that are appropriate and accessible to all groups. Participants should come prepared to share an introduction that presents their public health area(s) of interest, their orientation to public health research, and one learning objective for the workshop.

Dr. Zamudio-Haas’ (she/her) research interests focus on increasing access and uptake of HIV prevention and treatment services for most affected populations in the US and globally.

This workshop focuses on intersectional analysis in qualitative research. Intersectionality can thus be considered a theoretical concept with a number of methodological implications for qualitative analysis. On the most abstract level one might speak of anti-categorical, intra-categorical, and inter-categorical forms of intersectional analysis. These forms have different underlying philosophies of science (from poststructuralism and deconstructivism to critical realism) and therefore pursue quite different analytical aims, from providing nuanced, critical knowledge of the circumstances of life of specific groups to deconstructing identity categories. On another level intersectional analysis implies non-additive analysis in the sense that the consequences/experiences related to different social categories must be analyzed simultaneously. Yet another analytical point is the multidimensional nature of intersectionality. Terms such as class, gender, race and ethnicity are seen as pointing both to the level of overall social structures of power and privilege and to the level of identity formation in everyday life. This implies analyses that attempt to grasp the interplay between these levels of the social world. A fourth ideal of intersectional analysis relates to processes. This implies a temporal analysis that, for instance, focuses on what role gender and class plays for processes of racialization (or vice-versa). A fifth methodological implication of intersectionality has been referred to as “asking the other question.” This implies that when a given phenomenon appears or presents itself as being about for instance ethnicity/race one might ask what role class and gender might play. As should be clear, intersectionality raises a broad range of both concrete and rather abstract methodological implications. The workshop provides suggestions on how to handle these implications when doing qualitative intersectional analysis.

Dr. Sune Qvotrup Jensen (he/him) holds a PhD in Gender Studies and is an Associate Professor in Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Social Work, Aalborg University, Denmark.

This interactive workshop is organized around the questions, “What does the praxis of intersectionality look like?” and “How can we link our intersectionality praxis to public policy development and analysis?” In the first part of the workshop, we will use examples from the workshop facilitator and participants to explore the praxis of intersectionality broadly. What does intersectionality mean and what does it look like in our classrooms (as learners, instructors), the organizations and movements we work and volunteer with, our collaborative research projects, our countries’ policy architecture, and so on. In the second part of the workshop, we’ll explore the application of intersectionality praxis to public policy using two examples from the facilitator’s research in Canada: 1) an intersectionality-informed collaborative policy analysis of a series of core municipal government policy documents; and 2) the development of guidelines for incorporating intersectionality into assessing the impacts of resource extraction. Using these examples, and informed by the diverse experiences of workshop participants, we will consider the strengths, limitations, and challenges of this work; discuss the contributions of gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) and other intersectionality-related policy frameworks; and brainstorm strategies for advancing the uptake of intersectionality praxis in public policy. Participants with all levels of experience using intersectionality praxis in public policy are welcome.

Dr. Leah Levac (she/her) is a settler scholar and associate professor in the political science department at the University of Guelph.

Supporting Two-Spirit Healing while Challenging Colonial Narratives of Sexualities & Gender Expression



There is a lack of comprehensive information for service providers and social sciences researchers on the concept of Two-Spirit. This absence translates into inadequate health and wellness supports for Indigenous LGBTQ+ peoples (2S/LGBTQ+). In the recent past, there has been an overemphasis on specific health topics (such as HIV, substance use, and suicidality) pertaining to certain subgroups within this community. This may overshadow individuals with intersecting identities, who often experience more significant negative health outcomes from colonial power relations and their institutional apparatuses. Therefore, a (w)holistic approach to 2S/LGBTQ+ health requires better knowledge of Two-Spirit peoples and insights into their time-honoured role and place in nation-specific communities. Through this talk, we invite audience members to be in good or better relations (as a form of relational accountability) with themselves and Two-Spirit people(s) and communities.

Harlan Pruden (pronouns - anything said mindfully and respectfully) is Nehiyô/First Nations Cree who works with and for the Two-Spirit community locally, nationally, and internationally. Harlan is a co-founder of the Two-Spirit Dry Lab and the Indigenous Knowledge Translation Lead at Chee Mamuk, an Indigenous health program at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control.

Ryan Stillwagon (He/They) is a UBC Public Scholar and PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of British Columbia. 

Mobilizing intersectional qualitative research: arts-based engagement ethnography as innovative approach

Arts-based engagement ethnography (ABEE) is a form of critical and rapid ethnography. It was designed to elicit in-depth, nuanced, contextual, and intersectional experiences among culture sharing groups who have been racialized and/or minoritized, positioning them as experts of their own lives. 

This community-oriented research design entails several phases, which are typically carried out over three to six months, depending on the study context. Specifically, ABEE begins with the use of cultural probes and associated individual qualitative interviews, a series of three to six planned discussion groups, and follow-up individual qualitative interviews. Cultural probes are items such as cameras, diaries, and maps, which are given to participants to assist them in recording specific events, feelings, and interactions in their everyday environment. Individual qualitative interviews and planned discussion groups are common means of data collection in ethnographic research, especially when field observation would be disruptive to a particular cultural group. Following a rigorous process of data analysis, results of ABEE are disseminated in several traditional and non-traditional ways, including conference presentations, manuscript publications, social media, and cultural exhibits created in collaboration with participants, to name but a few examples. 

This workshop will share the origins and developments of ABEE, outline the phases of the research, address the use of intersectionality as an epistemology, and share examples of knowledge mobilization. In the workshop, participants will have an opportunity to explore the use of cultural probes and consider ways of using ABEE in their own research.   

Dr. Anusha Kassan (she/her) is an associate professor with a high-impact position in child and youth mental health in the School and Applied Child Psychology program at the University of British Columbia

This workshop focuses on the potential and promises that intersectionality holds as a lens for studying the social determinants of health, reducing health disparities, and promoting health equity and social justice. The social determinants of health approach has been widespread and well-received globally. In a critical dialogue with this perspective, Latin American collective health has expanded its limits by incorporating theoretical and methodological references from the social sciences. In the last decade, the intersectional approach has gained ground in view of the need to reflect how social markers (class, race, gender, generation, sexuality) act in combination, producing and reproducing differences and inequalities in health. The intersectional approach allows us to better identify the most marginalized populations and examine their lived experiences and health outcomes, not reducing them to isolated factors or an addition of weighted factors, but rather, recognizing the complex and dynamic nature of the discrimination they face and its impacts on health. Goals for this workshop include:

• Develop a theoretical framework and a practical exercise about the relationship between intersectionality and social determinants of health.
• Promote the experience of exchanging knowledge in intersectional qualitative research on health studies.

Dr. Marcia Thereza Couto (she/her) is an Associate Professor at the Department of Preventive Medicine (Public Health), School of Medicine, University of São Paulo.

Dr. Cristiane Spadacio (she/her) has experience in qualitative health research, acting on the following subjects: intersectionality, HIV prevention and determinants of health.

Crossing the Intersection: Thinking about Intersectionality Through Community-Led Learning

Join us for an engaging workshop led by members of the Humanities 101 community. Humanities 101 provides free university-level courses for individuals who face financial, situational, and institutional barriers to post-secondary. Together we will explore multiple ways of learning and knowing intersectionality that privilege lived experience.This workshop will model a typical Humanities 101 class, which practices strength-based learning. Our time together will include stories, making, watching, thinking, and telling. Come prepared to participate as an active learner. 

The workshop will be facilitated by Humanities 101 team that includes Lynn Wade, Beverly Letawsky, Bonita Bohnet, Ian Young, and Lisa Prins.

TQ:DI Mixer

Come hang out and have some fun with us!

Win a gift card.

Mobilizing intersectional qualitative research: Arts-based engagement ethnography as an innovative approach

Arts-based engagement ethnography (ABEE) is a form of critical and rapid ethnography. It was designed to elicit in-depth, nuanced, contextual, and intersectional experiences among culture sharing groups who have been racialized and/or minoritized, positioning them as experts of their own lives. This community-oriented research design entails several phases, which are typically carried out over three to six months, depending on the study context. Specifically, ABEE begins with the use of cultural probes and associated individual qualitative interviews, a series of three to six planned discussion groups, and follow-up individual qualitative interviews. Cultural probes are items such as cameras, diaries, and maps, which are given to participants to assist them in recording specific events, feelings, and interactions in their everyday environment. Individual qualitative interviews and planned discussion groups are common means of data collection in ethnographic research, especially when field observation would be disruptive to a particular cultural group. 

Following a rigorous process of data analysis, results of ABEE are disseminated in several traditional and non-traditional ways, including conference presentations, manuscript publications, social media, and cultural exhibits created in collaboration with participants, to name but a few examples. This workshop will share the origins and developments of ABEE, outline the phases of the research, address the use of intersectionality as an epistemology, and share examples of knowledge mobilization. In the workshop, participants will have an opportunity to explore the use of cultural probes and consider ways of using ABEE in their own research.

Dr. Anusha Kassan (she/her) is an associate professor with a high-impact position in child and youth mental health in the School and Applied Child Psychology program at the University of British Columbia.