Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) Training Workshops
Booking is now OPEN for October 2023!
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Dr Elena GR’s IPA workshops cover the essential and more advanced processes involved in conducting your IPA research study
🤍 Gathering high-quality semi-structured interview data for your IPA 🤍
🤍 Situating your IPA by applying its theoretical and epistemological underpinnings to your research study 🤍
🤍 Analysing your IPA data and developing this into a top-notch written narrative account for your thesis 🤍
🤍 How to achieve quality in your analytic account and thesis as a whole 🤍

Get the help you need with your IPA research study
I can provide you with an exceptional level of step-by-step supplemental support and practical guidance, demystifying the IPA research process, so that you feel fully equipped and able to produce a high-quality and coherent piece of work, whether at master’s or doctoral level
Imagine feeling so much less stressed and anxious because you have access to your own expert IPA tutor, guiding you through the process of producing this substantial piece of work with the minimum of fuss and nonsense
All workshops feature:
- Structured presentation of carefully curated lecture material
- Practical exercises specifically crafted to help deepen your understanding and develop your research skills
- The opportunity for Q&A and discussion in a small group setting so that you can be assured of a good level of personal attention for your research dilemmas
- A comprehensive resource pack created specifically for your workshop and designed to continue to support you beyond your training
- Your resource pack is sent in advance and contains session slides, exclusive handouts tailored to support your IPA research, plus a wide-ranging and meticulously collated guided reading and resources list to support your learning
- Limited workshop numbers - a maximum of ten participants for Semi-Structured Interviewing and Situating IPA and fifteen for both Data Analysis workshops - so that you can be guaranteed useful small group exercises and the full attention of your facilitator
- Online delivery via Zoom
- Session recording available for unlimited replays for 75 days following your workshop
🤍 Please note that workshops are repeated every eight to ten weeks 🤍
🤍 For priority notification and booking, please join the mailing list 🤍

The workshops I have already attended have been exceptional and the resource pack alone is worth the workshop fee!
Lynsey
Multiple workshops, September 2021

01
Supercharge Your Semi-Structured Interviewing
Learn how to gather premium interview data for your IPA
Shake up your interview technique with Dr GR’s comprehensive framework
Let me take you from feeling totally tongue-tied to a veteran virtuoso IPA interviewer!
This workshop guides you through the creation of a high-quality interview schedule to the execution of a well-conducted IPA interview, whether that be online or in-person
Do you covet the confidence and know-how to collect first-class, in-depth data for your IPA?
If you have answered yes to this question, then this workshop is most definitely for you!
What is involved?
The session is more practical and includes a combination of lecture delivery, two substantial practical exercises to deepen your understanding and help you develop your interviewing skills, plus Q&A
Please see workshop aims and learning objectives for more detail
Practical exercises:
#ONE: Live interview schedule review. This is an optional exercise where students are invited to bring their schedule (or a selection of questions from their schedule, depending on demand) for a live review with Dr Elena and your fellow workshop attendees. Get my eyes on your interview schedule! Please note that there is no obligation to bring a schedule for group review on the day, however, students do tend to report feeling more confident about their schedule following this exercise
#TWO: ‘Goldfish bowl’ live demonstration of interview technique from Dr Elena with the opportunity for students to practice themselves and get feedback from the group if they wish. Once again, participation is optional and voluntary

Workshop aims and objectives
- To outline the process for developing a high-quality semi-structured interview schedule
- To demonstrate the key requirements for robust preparation for an SSI including the option of conducting a pilot interview
- To encourage reflection on the interview environment and how to facilitate a safe space for the participant to freely express themselves
- To introduce the key components of a semi-structured IPA interview
- To outline the final stage of the interview process, the debrief and offering of sources for further support if required
- To identify why and how you should engage in reflexivity before and after the interview
By the end of the session, you should be able to:
- Identify and implement best practices for creating a high-quality interview schedule
- Identify how to prepare for, set up and conduct an IPA interview
- Identify and implement key elements for the debrief and support stages
- Recognise the importance of reflexivity tasks before and after the interview process
Price: £175
Duration: six hours with regular short breaks
Date: Monday 2nd October 2023
Time: 12pm to 6pm BST
Booking will open mid-August – please join the mailing list for priority notification or check back here in August!
Workshop level: suitable for all levels – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced
Please consider the suitability of any workshop before you purchase in terms of the level of depth and the timing of the workshop in your research journey. If you have any doubts or concerns regarding suitability or timing, please consult with your supervisor(s) to help you come to a decision

The workshop groups were small, meaning we all got to know each other and felt able to ask questions and share experiences
Hollie
Multiple workshops, June 2021

02
Situating IPA – applying IPA’s theoretical underpinnings to your research study
Get to grips with IPA’s theoretical underpinnings and epistemology
This workshop provides a carefully curated and in-depth consideration of the theoretical underpinnings and epistemological position associated with IPA. Be warned: we take a very deep dive into this complex area!
We explore how these directly relate to the practicalities of conducting an IPA so that you can firmly situate your study
If you aspire to employ IPA as a methodology rather than a method, then this workshop will be right up your street!
What is involved?
This session is more didactic and pitched at an ADVANCED level particularly suited to doctoral level students. It includes a combination of lecture delivery, post-workshop exercises to deepen your understanding and Q&A
Please see workshop aims and learning objectives for more detail
Workshop aims and objectives
- To situate IPA and introduce its theoretical underpinnings and epistemological position
- To introduce the notion of the ‘phenomenological attitude’ and how that might be maintained throughout an IPA study
- To reiterate the role of reflexivity in an IPA study and relate it to underpinning theory
By the end of the session, you should be able to:
- Identify and describe the theoretical and epistemological underpinnings of IPA
- Define the ‘phenomenological attitude’ and identify how it relates to IPA research
- Identify the role of reflexivity in an IPA study and demonstrate how this might be actioned
Price: £175
Duration: six hours with regular short breaks
Date: Wednesday 4th October 2023
Time: 12pm to 6pm BST
Booking will open mid-August – please join the mailing list for priority notification or check back here in August!
Please consider the suitability of any workshop before you purchase in terms of the level of depth and the timing of the workshop in your research journey. If you have any doubts or concerns regarding suitability or timing, please consult with your supervisor(s) to help you come to a decision

Workshop level: Advanced
Please note that this session is at an ADVANCED level and is NOT suitable for entry-level beginners or students who are yet to engage with the underpinning philosophy or theory for IPA and epistemology
As the outline implies, the session includes a significant level of theoretical and philosophical terminology and is aimed at doctoral level students studying for PhD and Professional Doctorates which are structured similarly to a PhD
It is therefore NOT recommended for students with NO prior reading or understanding of the theoretical underpinnings for IPA, nor those conducting master’s level IPA or similarly structured Prof Docs
All are welcome, of course, however, please be aware that the level of this workshop may be more advanced than you require if you are studying to master’s level and may be more advanced than you are ready for if you have not yet engaged with any of the theoretical material for IPA

Elena made what could be a very dry topic really interesting and exciting, her passion for the subject shone throughout the workshop and she has enthused me to go away and write up my research methodology chapter – a tall order! I would recommend this workshop for anyone who needs a refresh on IPA theoretical underpinnings or is a complete novice
Stephanie
Situating IPA, June 2021

Introducing IPA Data Analysis: the fundamentals
Reduce overwhelm and feel more self-assured with step-by-step guidance on your preliminary IPA data analysis
This workshop offers a comprehensive step-by-step introduction that demystifies the analytic process in IPA
Walk through the process from your initial case-by-case analysis to the cross-case analysis and construction of your final master table of themes
Systematically work through the practicalities of conducting your IPA analysis by hand, helping you move from confused and unsure to confident and competent
Understand how to address reflexivity during the analytic process with practical suggestions for how to effortlessly operationalise this essential activity
Develop your analytical skills via an extensive practical exercise where we analyse a real-life data extract individually and then together as a group, including a brief reflexive exercise
Get to grips with the notion of prevalence for your IPA themes and how you might employ this contemporary concept in your IPA analysis
What is involved?
This session is more practical and includes a combination of lecture delivery, an extensive practical exercise aimed at deepening your understanding and developing your analytic skills, plus Q&A
Please see workshop aims and learning objectives for more detail
Please consider the suitability of any workshop before you purchase in terms of the level of depth and the timing of the workshop in your research journey. If you have any doubts or concerns regarding suitability or timing, please consult with your supervisor(s) to help you come to a decision

Workshop aims and objectives
- To briefly outline best practices for transcription and data handling
- To introduce the analytic process in IPA
- To offer suggestions for different approaches to engaging in reflexivity throughout the analytic process
- To employ practical exercises to help you develop your analytic skills
By the end of the session, you should be able to:
- Identify and implement best practices for transcription and data handling
- Identify and implement the multi-layered analytic stages in IPA: the process of exploratory noting, formulating experiential statements (ES), developing personal experiential themes (PETs), and clustering
- Extend the process from a single case analysis to cross-case and develop your final master table of themes
- Engage in reflexivity at different stages of the analytic process
Price: £175
Duration: six hours with regular short breaks
Date: Friday 6th October 2023
Time: 12pm to 6pm BST
Booking will open mid-August – please join the mailing list for priority notification or check back here in August!
Workshop level: suitable for all levels – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced
Please note that we do NOT address the next stage of the analytic process – the development and writing of the narrative account that you will present in your thesis – in this workshop. This is covered in depth in the Advanced IPA Data Analysis workshop

Resource pack was excellent bonus and I am sure I will be referring back to it as I progress. I feel much better prepared to start and then progress with my analysis in a more professional and rigorous manner. Knowing I have resources to refer to as a comfort blanket is really nice. Feel much less ’alone’ with the task that looms ahead. Thank you
Vikki
Introduction to IPA Data Analysis, June 2021

04
Advanced IPA Data Analysis: developing your analytic account
Stop fretting over how to generate an analysis chapter with sufficient interpretative depth
This workshop focuses on developing your narrative analytic account from your preliminary IPA analysis and the writing-up process for this section of your thesis
Examine the process of raising the level of your interpretations and how to structure an effective, high-calibre, narrative account of your analysis
Explore strategies for ensuring quality for your analytic chapter and across the whole of your report
What is involved?
The session is more didactic and includes a combination of lecture delivery, an in-workshop discussion on achieving interpretative depth based on pre-reading sent to you in advance of the session, post-workshop practical exercises to deepen your understanding and help you develop your analytic writing skills, plus Q&A
Please see workshop aims and learning objectives for more detail
Workshop aims and objectives
- To outline how to develop a high-quality analytic account for your report and raise the level of your interpretations
- To outline how to structure your analysis chapter effectively
- To outline how you might demonstrate quality in your analysis chapter and across your IPA study
By the end of the session, you should be able to:
- Identify how to raise the level of your interpretations
- Understand how to write up a good quality IPA analysis chapter for your thesis
- Identify how to demonstrate quality in your analysis chapter and across your IPA study as a whole
Price: £175
Duration: six hours with regular short breaks
Date: Monday 9th October 023
Time: 12pm to 6pm BST
Booking will open mid-August – please join the mailing list for priority notification or check back here in August!
Please consider the suitability of any workshop before you purchase in terms of the level of depth and the timing of the workshop in your research journey. If you have any doubts or concerns regarding suitability or timing, please consult with your supervisor(s) to help you come to a decision

Workshop level: Intermediate and Advanced
Please note that this workshop is more didactic and is designed to follow directly from and build upon the Introducing IPA Data Analysis workshop. It is therefore recommended as sequential to the introductory data analysis session
This workshop is likely to be more useful to you if you have completed some or all of your preliminary analysis and are getting close to writing up your narrative analytic account
However, being at this stage of your research process is not a pre-requisite for attending the workshop or gaining from it – this is more a cautionary forewarning regarding the timing of your workshop to gain maximum benefit depending on where you are in your research journey
All are welcome, of course, but please note that the level for this workshop is at intermediate or advanced level and it is NOT suitable for entry-level or absolute beginners who are yet to commence their IPA data analysis

As a lover of IPA and phenomenology, this was a dream. Four hours of immersion in all things to do with IPA analysis and phenomenological writing. Elena has a tremendous knowledge of the subject and a warm, lively way of engaging with participants. In summary: a joy to attend and a tremendous platform to launch the next stage of my research. Thank you so much
Kisane
Advanced IPA Data Analysis, July 2021

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Workshop Selection Disclaimer
Every effort is made to provide sufficient information about Dr Elena GR’s IPA training workshops so that you can make an informed decision regarding the suitability of any workshop that you purchase and attend
As such, Dr Elena GR disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any inappropriate workshop choice on your part in terms of its suitability for your level of study (e.g., Master’s/Prof Doc/PhD), the stage you are at for your study (e.g., data collection/data analysis/writing up), the academic depth of the material covered, and the level of technical/theoretical/philosophical terminology employed in the workshop
Disclaimer
The contents of the above workshops are based on Dr Gil-Rodriguez’s experience in teaching, conducting, and supervising IPA projects
These sessions are intended for information and guidance purposes only, are not meant to replace or supersede your supervisory advice/guidance or institutional and programme requirements, and are not intended to be the sole source of information or guidance upon which you rely for your research study
You must obtain supervisory and institutional advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of these workshops
Dr Gil-Rodriguez disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed upon any of the contents of any workshop or associated materials
Finally, please note that the use of my workshop or materials does not guarantee any particular grade for your work