The Learning Pathways Grid: Promoting Reflexivity Among Learners and Researchers in Patient Safety Simulations

Abstract

The interview is an important data-gathering tool in qualitative research, since it allows researchers to gain insight into a person’s knowledge, understandings, perceptions, interpretations, and experiences. There are many definitions of reflexivity in qualitative research, one such definition being “Reflexivity is an attitude of attending systematically to the context of knowledge construction, especially to the effect of the researcher, at every step of the research processes.” The learning pathways grid (LPG) is a visual template used to assist analysis and interpretation of conversations, allowing educators, learners, and researchers, to discover links from cognition to action, usually in a retrospective manner. It is often used in simulation educational research, with a focus on understanding how learners access their cognitive frames and underlying beliefs. In this article, we describe the use of the LPG as a prospective adjunct to data collection for interviews and focus groups. We contextualize it within a study among medical interns and medical students who were engaged in high-fidelity simulation exploring open disclosure after a medication error. The LPG allowed future optimization of data collection and interpretation by ensuring reflexivity within the researchers, a vital part of research conduct. We conclude by suggesting the use of the LPG has a reasonable fit when taking a social constructivist approach and using qualitative analysis methods that make reflexivity explicit and visible, therefore ensuring it is truly considered, understood, and demonstrated by researchers.