The Fourth Israeli Interdisciplinary Conference of Qualitative Research

Spectacles of Knowledge: Crossroads and Junctions in Qualitative Research
February 17-18, 2010, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

programme

Conference summary

The Fourth Israeli Interdisciplinary Conference of Qualitative Research was characterized by a proliferation of participants from a wide range of disciplines, and by a significant improvement in the level of methodological debate. More than 450 scholars and students attended the conference, with approximately 230 presenting their work. The conference was accompanied by a display of book on qualitative research methods, including many books recently published in Hebrew, an indication of the depth and breadth of qualitative research carried out in Israel today. It is hoped that this variety of books will encourage young researchers and facilitate the high level of teaching of qualitative research issues in the future. 

Three plenary sessions were held. The opening plenary session was devoted to a video lecture by the keynote speakers Professor Carolyn Ellis and Professor Arthur Buchner (University of South Florida). Although they were not attend the conference in person due to the late cancellation of their flight from the United States, they were able to preserve the spirit of dialogue by delivering a lecture based on questions sent  to them in advance,  speaking about their history as qualitative researchers. Ellis described her transition from sociological writing to auto-ethnographical writing, identifying this  style writing as a form of storytelling, a style that is significant for the writer as well as for the intended audience. Buchner talked about the place of auto-ethnography as a research that works to create a moral and political space for marginalized silenced voices. The aim of auto-ethnography, as he described it, was not just to tell "what happened", but also to stimulate discussion about questions such as: What kind of a world we want to design? And how does our research fit our agenda for social change? 

The second plenary session was dedicated to the recent publication of "Data Analysis in Qualitative Research", edited by Michal Krumer-Nevo and  Leah Kacen  (published by Ben Gurion University of the Negev Books). Dr. Krumer-Nevo introduced a seven-step model for data analysis, applicable to many types of analysis. Prof. Amia Libliech presented a narrative analysis model based on two axes: Content/Form analysis, and Holistic/Categorical analysis. Dr. Gabriela Spector - Marzel presented her model of selection mechanisms in narrative identity formation process. Dr. Anat Klein introduced guidelines for critical discourse analysis of newspaper text. Finally, Prof. Kacen presented a method for analyzing headlines given by interviewees to their life-story.

The final plenary session was a summary of the entire conference. Prof. Amia Libliech, Dr. Maya Lavie-Ajayi, Prof. Einat Peled, Dr. Naama Levitzki, Dr. Chaim Noy and Ms. Calanit Tsalach shared their impressions of the sessions in which they participated. Dr. Levitzki and Dr. Noy described the feeling of community they felt at the conference, a sense of common language, of "home". All the speakers proposed potential directions for future conferences and the development of the qualitative community in Israel. They suggested the importance of deepening and strengthening Qualitative Research methods; the need to move away from the military discourse - which often is used to describe the qualitative-quantitative discussion - towards developing the dialogue between paradigms; and the need for further methodological expansion, beyond the narrative approaches and towards creative and innovative methods. 

53 parallel sessions were held during the conference, covering a wide spectrum of topics and disciplines including the more common research spheres together with innovative and experimental topics and methods. Examples of sessions held include: Teaching Qualitative Research; Mix Methods; Models of Data Analysis; Research as Practice for Social Change; Qualitative Research and Music Therapy; The Researcher as the 'Other'; Qualitative Research in the Medical Research Sphere; and Issues of Similarity Between Researchers and Participants. In addition, there was a panel with journal editors, discussing publishing qualitative papers in Israel; and a special session entitled "Mirror, Magnifying Glass, Compass and Map", that illustrated and discussed the use of reflection groups. Finally, two sessions were dedicated to program evaluation sponsored by The Israeli Association for Program Evaluation.

The Conference evening was dedicated in honor of Prof. Leah Kacen, in recognition of  her contribution to the development of qualitative research in Israel. During the evening,  her research students and colleagues discussed aspects of her academic work, including her research with the Ethiopian community in Israel; the establishment of the Israeli Center for Qualitative Research of People and Societies; supervising PhD students; and her own research interviewing her mother about her life story. 

The General Assembly of the Association for Qualitative Researchers in Israel also took place during the conference. At the meeting, it was decided to end the association's activities. The Israel Center for Qualitative Research took upon itself the task of trying to fill the big gap left, and to continue to lead in the promotion of qualitative research in Israel. At the same meeting, Prof. Amia Libliech gave a presentation about her experiences in Community Theater, reading sections of her forthcoming book.

Responses to the conference were enthusiastic, highlighting the high quality of the academic work presented at the conference as well as the open and relaxed atmosphere, one that allowed participants to feel that they belonged to a dynamic and inspiring community of scholars. However, it was noted that there is also the need for further improvement and focus of the work presented in terms of its epistemological, methodological and ethical aspects of qualitative research. This issue will set the framework for the next conference, so that work to be presented at the next conference will set an example and serve as an inspiration for the qualitative research community in Israel.


Congratulations to those who won prizes awarded during the conference.


Distinguished Qualitative Paper Award (of the Association of Qualitative Researchers in Israel):

First prize to Alison Stern Perez for her paper,  “ 'There is No Fear in My Lexicon' vs. 'You are Not Normal If You Won't Be Scared.” '

Second prize to Dr. Michal Haled for her paper, “Language, Object, Place: Personal Stories of Jewish Spanish-Speaking (Ladino) Folk Literature As Reflecting Identity.”

Third prize to Dr. Moshe Ben-Simon for his paper, “Drumming Through Trauma:  Music Therapy with Post-Traumatic Soldiers.”

Best poster award:
First place to Shirli Harishno-Gilotz

Second place to Shirli Rezintski and Neta Bentor for their poster, and to Nir Sonneberg, Rivka Yakovi and Elad Davidson for their poster. 

Third place to Sarit Pinchasi-Shakroka

We would like to thank our partners for their support of the conference: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; the Association of Qualitative Researchers in Israel; the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute; the MOFET Institute; Levinski College; and the Israeli Association for Program Evaluation. We would also like to thank the various departments in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences whom sponsored the conference for their students; the Partnership Academy – Community; as well as the members of the organizing committee and the scientific committee for their help in making this conference possible.