Your business is research development. You want your researchers delivering excellent research with impact. That means making sure they have the right tools for a standout analysis.

But do they? Have you overlooked an essential tool for qualitative research?

Many of your researchers collect rich language data. They interview participants, conduct focus groups, record conversations, elicit personal narratives, and gather open-ended questionnaire responses.

They work in a range of fields -- education, the social sciences, medicine, psychology, and business studies. They are devoted, passionate researchers.

And in their qualitative research, coming to grips with how participants understand their own experiences will be key.

This means a sophisticated understanding of what participants are doing with their language.

But there’s a snag.

The traditional methods – Foucauldian discourse analysis, narrative analysis, and thematic coding – only go so far. If you want to take a deep dive into how participants say things and how their language choices construct meaning, identity, and power, you need a different set of tools.

This gap in analytical know-how isn’t something to ignore. It can lead to:

• Weak results with little impact value

• Superficial interpretations that state the obvious

• Reviewer pushback over threats to validity

• Fewer 3* and 4* publications

All of which can drag down your REF return.

No one wants that – not you, not your researchers, not your institution.