We have a regular programme of seminars with  internal and external speakers:

AQR Seminar Series – Summer Term 2025

The aim of the online seminars series is to bring together early, mid and senior career researchers, including Masters and PhD students, interested in Social Science Qualitative Research to improve their qualitative research understanding both in theory and in praxis i.e. applying it to their own research.

Seminar Series Guidance: Two seminars per term (90 minutes per seminar) focusing on qualitative methods; one or two presentations per seminar, each not exceeding 20 minutes presenting leading published seminal journal papers followed by 20-minute discussion. All participants are expected to read the papers in advance and actively participate by providing comments/questions and share verbally a potential application of the paper in their research context extending our collective qualitative research ‘know how’. PhD students are encouraged to present their own early empirical qualitative findings and receive feedback by the AQR Community.

 The AQR Seminar Series is an initiative of the ‘Collaborative Solutions for Social Problems’ Lab at the University of Kent, Kent Business School that was founded by Dr M. May Seitanidi focusing on the development of advanced solutions to social and environmental problems such as social inclusion, biodiversity, suicide prevention in industries such as construction, banking, food manufacturing and education. Empirical findings of such solutions employ qualitative methods which is a significant strength that is cultivated by our community and important for the next generation of collaborative solutions scholars.

To subscribe to the AQR Seminar Series and receive seminar reminders and the online meeting link for participation please email: aqr-phd@kent.ac.uk

For more information, please contact the organiser Maxim Potepkin, KBS Doctoral Candidate mp833@kent.ac.uk

Attending the presentation by Somi Tarominejadshirazi on ‘Using tables to enhance trustworthiness in qualitative research, by Charlotte Cloutier & Davide Ravasi’ the presenter -Somi, unpacked it in a more clever, deeper yet easier way than I did when I read the paper. Stepping aside and allowing myself to understand the paper through the eyes of Somi was incredible and it made a difference. As a result, I was able to restructure my data analysis in a more systematic approach than I had done before I attended the seminar. And, it got the attention of my supervisors! To quote one of my supervisors,  ‘This is a much more clear way that helps us understand the steps you have taken in your analysis that helped you arrive at the themes you are reporting in your findings’.

Lucy Muthoni Mbwiria
PhD Candidate, KBS

Taking part in the AQR seminars helped me with my current research projects. First, familiarising myself with K. Eisenhard’s ideas made me cognizant of the fact that in one of my projects I should probably avoid using the umbrella term ‘Case study’ just as a ‘space-filler’ in the methodology chapter that seems to lack precision in the exact way data analysis is being approached. Second, presenting my finished piece of research with Critical Discourse Analysis made me rethink some of the methodological issues and get a deeper appreciation of its flexibility. Hence, as a result, I managed to generate a few novel ideas of how I might utilise CDA in my future research. 

Sergei Shandrenko
MA Linguistics, qualitative researcher

Previous Events

• 19 March 2025
  Sergey Shandrenko, MA Applied Linguistics and TESOL. 
  Constructivist Grounded Theory: Insights for Contemporary Qualitative Research. Reflection on paper: The pursuit of quality in grounded theory by Charmaz, K., & Thornberg, R.
• 19 March 2025
  Dr Rikke R. Albertsen, Copenhagen Business School. 
  Qualitative Meta-Analysis published in the top journal Business & Society in the paper by Rikke R. Albertsen: Outcomes of Paradox Responses in Corporate Sustainability: A Qualitative Meta-Analysis 
• 5 February 2025
  Dr Muntaser J. Melhem, University of Jordan. 
  Qualitative methods published in the top journal Human Resource Management in the paper: Melhem, M. J., Darwish, T. K., Wood, G., & Abushaikha, I. (2024). Managing Upward and Downward through Informal Networks in Jordan: The Contested Terrain of Performance Management.
• 5 February 2025
  Maxim Potepkin, Doctorate Candidate, KBS
  Reflection on the guidelines for qualitative meta-studies in the paper: Habersang, S., & Reihlen, M. (2024). Advancing qualitative meta-studies (QMS): Current practices and reflective guidelines for synthesizing qualitative research.
• 11 December 2024
  Prof. Greta Hsu, Graduate School of Management at University of California, Davis (USA) Documentary Analysis published in the leading journal ASQ in the paper:
  Hsu, G., & Grodal, S. (2021). The Double-edged Sword of Oppositional Category Positioning: A Study of the U.S. E-cigarette Category, 2007–2017.
• 23 October 2024
  Alina Kislova, EdTech Consultant and Researcher
  Mixture of qualitative methods in the empirical research projects  (observations followed up with semi-structured interviewing and open-ended questionnaires). Original work
• 23 October 2024
  Jane Adamson, Doctoral Candidate, KBS
  The agentic interplay between leaders and change recipients during organisational change. Original work
• 26 June 2024
  Dr Mark Boden, Senior Lecturer in Counselling Psychology & Psychotherapy, Metanoia Institute, University of Middlesex
  Ontology & Epistemology in Qualitative Research
• 22 May 2024
  Dr M. May Seitanidi, Reader in Strategy, KBS
  Demystifying Habersang et al. 2019. Understanding the steps of Qualitative Meta-Analysis by Habersang, S., Küberling-Jost, J., Reihlen, M., Seckler, C.
• 22 May 2024
  Dr Ramesh Vahidi, Senior Lecturer in Project Management, KBS
  Frameworks to deepen data interpretation & conceptualization. Value-adding analysis: Doing more with qualitative data. International Journal of Qualitative Methods by Eakin, J. M., & Gladstone, B
• 13 March 2024
  Adetutu Oyerinde, Doctoral Candidate, KBS
  Legitimizing Negative Aspects of Stakeholder Engagement: Evidence from GRI-Oriented Sustainability Report. Original work
• 13 March 2024
  Somayeh Tarominejadshirazi, Doctoral Candidate, KBS
  Presentation topic: Theory Building from Cases: Opportunities And Challenges by Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, Melissa E. Graebner
• 7 February 2024
  Alina Kislova, Doctoral Candidate, Open University
  Praxis session: Research sites selection and participants recruitment strategies across different geographical and cultural contexts (with project examples held by a single researcher in Scotland, Wales, Malta and Estonia)
• 7 February 2024
  Sergey Shandrenko, MA Applied Linguistics and TESOL
  Critical Discourse Analysis of Advertising of English Coursebooks

2022-23 List of speakers and topics

• 17 October 2023
  Maxim Potepkin, Doctorate Candidate, KBS
  Essential Building blocks for a clear theoretical contribution.
  Paper Editors’ comments: Sense and structure—the core building blocks of an Academy of Management Review article by Donald Lange, Michael D. Pfarrer
• 27 June 2023
  Dr M. May Seitanidi, Reader in Strategy, KBS
  Eisenhardt-Gioia-Langley: Different, how? Presentation of the paper: Theory-Method Fit. A comparison of three qualitative approaches to theory building by Joel Gehman, Vern L. Glaser, Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, Denny Gioia, Ann Langley, and Kevin G. Corley; published in the Journal of Management Enquiry, 2018.
• 27 June 2023
  Adetutu Oyerinde, Doctoral Candidate, KBS
  Talking About Routines: The Role of Reflective Talk in Routine Change (Ethnography) by Katharina Dittrich, Stéphane Guérard, David Seidl
• 12 May 2023
  Adetutu Oyerinde, Doctoral Candidate, KBS
  From The Editors. The Nuts and Bolts of Writing A Theory Paper: A Practical Guide To Getting Started (Writing) by Sherry M. B. Thatcher & Greg Fisher
• 12 May 2023
  Tom Wilson, Doctoral Student, SPSSR
  From The Editors. New Ways of Seeing Through Qualitative Research by Pratima (Tima) Bansal, Wendy K. Smith, Eero Vaara
• 23 March 2023
  Somayeh Tarominejadshirazi, Doctoral Candidate, KBS
  Using tables to enhance trustworthiness in qualitative research (Tables for descriptive & analytical purposes) by Charlotte Cloutier & Davide Ravasi
• 1 February 2023
  Dr M. May Seitanidi, Reader in Strategy, KBS
  Understanding the steps of Qualitative Meta-Analysis. Demystifying Habersang et al. 2019. A Process Perspective on Organizational Failure: A Qualitative Meta-Analysis (Systematic Review of the Literature) by Stefanie Habersang, Jill Küberling-Jost, Markus Reihlen, Christoph Seckler.

2021 List of speakers and topics

November 2021

Dr Dave Bell, Policy-academic Liaison coordinator from the Scottish Policy & Research Exchange (SPRE). Getting your research noticed by policy professionals: Training workshop.

Event coordinator: Muntaser Melhem, Doctoral Candidate, KBS

Event Summary:

Many research-policy engagement activities are undertaken in ways aligned to linear and ‘information deficit’ based assumptions about how change happens (e.g. focused on technically improving how evidence is ‘pushed’ out of academia or ‘pulled’ into policy institutions. This is in contrast with most of the advice from research and practice, which emphasises the fundamental importance of building trusted relationship and understanding systemic and local contexts of how evidence flows and is used. Added to this, there is growing focus on challenging assumptions around objectivity and value-neutrality, evidence hierarchies and the role of lived experience at research-policy interfaces.

In this session I’ll provide a short overview of the latest tips and advice for researchers seeking to engage with policy. We’ll then have an open conversation on the tensions and trade-offs that emerge when considering this advice in the context of the politics of evidence use and the pressures that we work within. Hopefully this will lead to a more reflexive understanding of what questions participants can ask themselves and where to focus care and attention when designing and undertaking their research, and engaging in ‘impact’ activities.

2020 Events

Collaborative Forum in Suicide Prevention in the Construction Industry

We welcome your comments  on the forum’s  scoping report