Evaluating the Qualitative Research on Emotional Labor in an Abortion Clinic by Wolkomir and Powers - Essay Example

Running Head: Evaluation of Qualitative Research Evaluating the Qualitative Research on Emotional Labor in an Abortion Clinic of Professor Date of Submission Introduction The study of Wolkomir and Powers (2007) on the challenge of emotional labor in an abortion clinic explores the emotions related with carrying out an abortion. The study, using qualitative methods, investigates women’s actual emotional experiences of abortion as well as scientific and religious discussions concerning abortion emotion. The objective of this study is to contextualize the discourse about the emotional responses of women to abortion while documenting how personal emotional experiences influence social discourses. The core challenge of the performance of emotional labor, as maintained by Wolkomir and Powers (2007), centers at how workers harmonize the requirements of the task with those of the self. Based on the data gathered through in-depth interviews with clinic workers and from participant observation, this study investigates how abortion clinic employees dealt with the problems related with emotional labor in manners that permitted them to attain this balance. More particularly, the study investigates the dynamic mechanisms by which employees classified patients into individual categories and built particular approaches that allowed them to deal productively with each category of patient. The outcomes of these approaches for understanding the relationships between emotion, sincerity, and self are also taken into account. The objective of this essay is to thoroughly evaluate the qualitative study of Wolkomir and Powers (2007) in relation to the different evaluation criteria, which are: (1) reflexivity; (2) participant validation; (3) lay knowledge; (4) flexibility; (5) sampling; and (6) generalizability. This evaluation will attempt to determine the reliability and validity of the aforementioned study through the above criteria. Reflexivity Using various vantage points, specifically those of the clinic workers and the researchers, findings confirm the value of clinical evaluation and intervention in the context of a competent medical facility and in association with an effective clinical practice. Evidently, the researchers participated in clinical practice with processes of different levels. At the family and individual levels, the researchers dealt with the emotional needs of patients and their families, giving clients the opportunity to relate their ‘stories’ and aiding clients in adapting to social, psychological, and physical changes. This extensive involvement in the clinical practice, as admitted by the researchers, influenced the way their perceive clinic workers’ expressions of their emotions and their subsequent responses to it. Researchers’ involvement in clinical activities and task groups cultivated an understanding and appreciation of patients’ needs and was useful in efforts to build‘homelike’ surroundings for patients. The researchers took part in reforming programs and regulations at the facility and supported clients’ rights. At the community level, the researchers participated in developing and enriching community resources to cope with the needs of the patients or clients. The researchers’ ideas regarding the organization’s culture and the local community’s values were a positive feature. The researchers are aware that their perception of the entire endeavor is being influenced by particular clinic workers that they interact with. They have observed that particular clinic workers highly respected their occupation and valued the importance of counseling or proper psychosocial functioning in the process of healing. There are clinic workers who adopted a holistic approach to clinical practice and were exceptionally client oriented. These aspects worked to protect the researchers from possible value conflicts that may have taken place as an outcome of private concerns or special motives based upon administrative support. Lastly, it is essential to recognize the openness of the administrator to create the setting for the study and to consider recommendations for improvement at the facility as an underlying variable in lessening possible conflicts for the researchers. Participant Validation Performing fieldwork in this situation created considerable, and at times unforeseen, challenges and rewards. Due to her placement, the second researcher did not have to experience too much problems in obtaining validation from the participants since she was able to build the connection that enables exemplary data collection. Her colleagues considered her as a member of their group, and she found the everyday companionship pleasurable and shared employees’ feelings of fulfillment and purpose as they labored to aid women in difficult conditions. In other words, participant validation of the study became crucial and gratifying. This completely integrated involvement, though, frequently made it challenging to handle the dual roles of researcher and employee, specifically in such an emotional environment. Acquiring participant validation for the study implied dealing with a broad range of emotions almost all the time. Coping successfully, and being capable of helping, usually required full engagement in interactions. This engagement was enlightening in the sense that it facilitated the investigation of the experience of emotional labor, but it also made it quite challenging to ‘withdraw’ from the situation and acquire participant validation. Moreover, investigating how colleagues dealt with difficult situations felt like deceiving a comrade, an awkward feeling that endured throughout the data collection process. The requirements of participant validation, apparently, transcend the immediate context, and the researchers are hoping that their research will contribute to a developing sociological knowledge of how to facilitate employees in performing such critical task effectively. Lay Knowledge Given the nature of the research, it is sensible to claim that the perceptions of a clinic worker in this context are not merely significant but also notable from that of higher health care professional. The researchers concentrated on both the individual and the immediate environment in evaluation and intervention with patient/client support as a fundamental thesis. And, even though a number of the participants emphasized the functions of management and care planning, the researchers’ activities concentrated on either the emotional needs of the patients or the effect of social networks (for instance, the personnel, other patients, and the family) on human functioning. Remarks regarding health or medical conditions were obtained equally from the health care practitioners and patients, and were treated in the context of evaluating the general safety and health of patients. Flexibility The researchers initially used a grounded theory approach in their data analysis. In agreement with this approach, the researchers conducted analytic induction at the initial stages of data collection, coding interview records and field notes for underlying processes, patterns, and issues. Formulating analytic notes and diagrams on these issues helped the researchers in understanding the problems clinic workers confronted and how they dealt with them. However, as analysis moved on, it became evident that employees categorized patients into various ‘categories,’ and developed different interactional methods to deal with the emotional labor necessitated by each category of patient. Since the developing analysis showed the usefulness of early counseling sessions with patients, the researchers eventually relied greatly on data from employees who most regularly and lengthily participated in these interactions. Sampling Regarding the representativeness of the sample, the clinic workers and other health care professionals purposively selected for the study showed extensive knowledge and understanding of the challenges and rewards of performing emotional labor at work. In addition, the respondents had extensive and regular interactions with the patients. For the respondents, as well as the researchers, the patients provide them the information and ideas regarding their psychosocial needs and interacted with other patients and their families to cope with important psychosocial concerns. Generalizability In an investigative way, qualitative methods enable researchers to acquire a broader understanding and perception of occurrences in the social world. Even though results from an investigation of an abortion clinic are limited in generalizability and scope, ideas can be obtained from this project. First and foremost, respondents were capable of recognizing and communicating appropriate tasks and functions for an untrained ‘outsider’ (the second researcher) assigned to work with clinic workers in the context of a competent clinical facility. Findings show that the second researcher was engaged in a broad array of activities and participated in deliberated reform at several system levels. The learning experience of the researchers involved working with patients, their families, and groups of clinic workers as well as involvement in larger community activities within the clinical facility, and to a certain extent, in the community itself. Generally, the experience of the researchers follows the general definition known in generalist clinical practice. Conclusion The study of Wolkomir and Powers (2007) on the challenge of emotional labor in an abortion clinic is somewhat reliable and valid in several aspects, specifically in terms of lay knowledge, flexibility, and sampling. In terms of reflexivity, it is obvious that the study will suffer from personal bias and subjective meaning due to the nature of the method employed: participant observation. Nonetheless, the researchers revealed in their paper the potential biases or subjective interpretations that may result in their complete immersion with clinical work. Consequently, the participant validation of their study was also clouded with the second researcher’s strong rapport with the clinic workers. However, the study was able to present reliable information in terms of lay knowledge since they used both the opinions of health care professionals and the patients. Similarly, the study is quite flexible in their use of different data analysis methods. They based their methods on the prevailing criteria of analysis that should be taken into account. In addition, the sample of the study was composed of reliable and appropriate respondents, namely, clinic employees and patients. In contrast, the generalizability of the study is rather limited. References Horsburgh, D. (2003). Evaluation of qualitative research. Journal of Clinical Nursing , 307-312. Wolkomir, M. & Powers, J. (2007). HelpingWomen and Protecting the Self: The Challenge of Emotional Labor in an Abortion Clinic. Qualitative Sociology , 1-18. Read More