Qualitative research holds a distinct place in science: its focus on meaning, context, and the social construction of reality sets it apart from the formal generalization sought in the natural sciences. Yet this does not limit its impact. Qualitative research aggregates knowledge, builds and refines theory, shapes practices, informs policy, and produces tools that change how mental health is understood and addressed.

At QRMH11, we want to explore all the ways qualitative research can be built upon. This might mean theory-building from qualitative analyses, meta-synthesis of a body of qualitative work, reflection on how qualitative research shapes the social reality it studies, co-creative studies that generate impact throughout the research process, or qualitative work that informs policy guidelines, practices, or tools. The list could go on — but what interests us most is how qualitative researchers across the broad mental health-related disciplines like social work, psychology, pedagogy, nursing, education, sociology and so on conceive of this themselves: how they build on their own work, and how others might build on it too. We hope to spark a dialogue on the possibilities and challenges of building on qualitative research, and to lay the groundwork for taking qualitative inquiry further.

We invite you to bring your own work into this conversation — join us in Ghent and share how you build on qualitative research.