metaphor analysis in qualitative research

Metaphors in qualitative research: shedding light or casting shadows?

Affiliation.

• 1 University of Kansas School of Nursing, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
• PMID: 18196583
• DOI: 10.1002/nur.20253

The use of metaphors in qualitative research provides an opportunity to examine phenomena from a unique and creative perspective. Metaphors can be used to provide structure to the data; to understand a familiar process in a new light; to identify situation-specific interventions; and to evoke emotion. Misuse of metaphors may detract from the intended research message. Mixing metaphors, failing to follow through with metaphors, and using metaphors that do not fit the data can misrepresent the data. The choice to use metaphors should not become a self-serving attempt at creativity that supersedes subject and substance. At their best, metaphors illuminate the meanings of experiences; at their worst, metaphors distort or obscure the essences of them.

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• Attitude of Health Personnel
• Attitude to Health
• Comprehension
• Data Collection
• Data Interpretation, Statistical
• Nursing Methodology Research / organization & administration*
• Nursing Theory
• Organizational Objectives
• Qualitative Research*
• Research Design* / standards
• Research Personnel / psychology

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Using Metaphors to Make Research Findings Meaningful

Rose steele.

1 School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Jennifer Baird

2 Clinical Services Education and Research, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Betty Davies

3 School of Nursing, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

4 Department of Family Health Care Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, USA

Researchers, educators, and funding agencies frequently lament that research is seldom read or put into practice by clinicians. Clinicians, on the other hand, note that they are busy and do not have the time or even the knowledge to read research articles that may be dense and filled with jargon. Traditional ways of disseminating knowledge are often insufficient; therefore, many funding agencies encourage researchers to find innovative ways to help their funded research be applied in practice. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; CIHR, 2012 ), for example, emphasized that varied strategies for knowledge translation, including non-academic modes of communication, are often needed to reach potential knowledge-user audiences beyond the research community. The CIHR encourage researchers to adapt their language of publication to fit target audiences and to present findings in alternative formats. In this column, we propose the use of metaphor as one innovative way to make knowledge useful for application in healthcare settings, so that, as noted by Straus et al. (2011) , findings can be easily understood and capture the attention of the intended users of the knowledge.

As researchers with many years of combined experience and multiple funded studies, we were confident in our abilities to successfully complete a recent study in which we aimed to develop an empirically-grounded and theoretical conceptualization of what makes it possible for some healthcare providers, more than others, to engage in excellent interactions with parents of children with serious illness despite having similar time and other constraints. However, during our concurrent data analysis we realized that the dynamic complexity of what we were finding could not easily be expressed through our usual approaches. Therefore, we sought creative ways to make meaningful sense of the findings so that students, clinicians, educators, and administrators could understand and then use them. As we searched for the most suitable approach, we began to learn more about metaphors and eventually we chose a prairie windmill metaphor to make sense of the findings and bundle them together in the fullness of details ( Davies et al., 2022 ). Our metaphor made the findings clearer and more manageable while also allowing various audiences to make sense of their own experiences of interactions with parents, patients, families, colleagues, and others:

The metaphor shows the whole of interaction, the movement back and forth of the many facets that are important. It captures the mystery of interaction, of the connection that really makes things happen. It's fun to play with because it really makes you think in a different way about excellence in interaction. ([study participant]; Davies et al., 2022 , p. 13)

For many centuries, metaphors have frequently been used to express understanding of complex concepts. For example, as humans we know that when we talk about building bridges between people we are talking about the connections and not actual physical structures. Metaphors are useful for inviting people into worlds that they might not otherwise have seen. They can stimulate imagination, incite feelings, help people to see new meanings, and even lead to change. In qualitative research, metaphors can help simplify complex and/or multidimensional concepts through connecting one familiar concept to another familiar one, resulting in the comparison between the two concepts opening up new possibilities and perspectives ( Schmitt, 2005 ). Metaphors provide structure to data and aid understanding of a familiar process in a new light. Thus, finding the right metaphor can help researchers describe complex findings in ways that others find meaningful.

We knew we had found the right metaphor when clinicians from many settings and disciplines, as well as parents, patients, and other family members, told us that the metaphor spoke to them and that the model made sense:

The windmill is really insightful, much more creative, dynamic, and transformational. I think what's brilliant to me about this model is that there are so many elements and to try to figure out which ones are connected at which level or layer and how they all work, the wholeness of it—I think it's really wonderful. ([study participant]; Davies et al., 2022 , pp. 24–25)

As indicated by the previous quote, metaphors can be transformational and so can effect change. Effective change typically occurs incrementally, so if metaphors are used to tap the imagination and emotions of an audience, then a more evolutionary change may result that is, in the long run, more effective in putting new knowledge into practice. However, while the right metaphor can be extremely useful, it also is important to understand that using metaphors to translate research results is not just a new way of offering information. Rather, it is the comparison process within the use of metaphor that allows the audience to experience and understand one concept in terms of another; the metaphoric structure is what helps facts become interpretable or make sense ( Richardson, 2003 ). We propose that if researchers are serious about helping practitioners and educators use research results, then they must present their findings in such a way that they touch or capture the personal experiences of practitioners and educators so they can find personal meaning in the new knowledge. Metaphors provide one intriguing approach to achieving this aim.

Author Biographies

Rose Steele , RN, PhD, has been a registered nurse for almost 45 years and is an accomplished researcher in pediatric palliative care. She is a Full Professor, York University School of Nursing, Toronto, ON, Canada

Jennifer Baird , RN, MSW, MPH, PhD, is a pediatric nurse scientist, educator, and leader with expertise in the development of interventions to improve the safety and quality of hospital care. She is Director, Clinical Services Education and Research, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Betty Davies , MSN, PhD, has devoted her career to the field of pediatric palliative care as a practicing nurse, educator, researcher, and author. She is an Adjunct Professor, University of Victoria, Victoria BC, Canada; Professor Emerita, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health, (grant number MOP-115009).

ORCID iD: Rose Steele https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2822-0366

Method: Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses of Metaphor

Cite this chapter.

• Veronika Koller  

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The method section translates the above integrated theoretical framework into a tripartite research paradigm. This combines computer-assisted quantitative analysis with qualitative investigations along the lines of functional grammar in the Hallidayan tradition. Quantitative corpus analysis is here regarded as a valuable starting point, granting a sound empirical basis to subsequent claims about the metaphoric features of the cognition and discourse prevailing in a particular domain. Although quantitative results alone do not provide for sufficient insights, they can, if recontextualized, support qualitative analyses of particular texts (see Koller and Mautner, forthcoming). To integrate those two fundamental methodologies, the present work has been based on machine-readable data. Let us first look at the corpora and then at the two steps in the analysis.

I wade through the filth of mighty metaphors, meta, meta, meta by metre. (Einstürzende Neubauten, 1993)

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Koller, V. (2004). Method: Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses of Metaphor. In: Metaphor and Gender in Business Media Discourse. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230511286_3

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Doorways of Understanding: A Generative Metaphor Analysis

• Katie Haus Indiana University
• Jaclyn Hadfield Louisiana State University
• Kathryn LaRoche Purdue University
• Barbara Dennis Indiana University
• Ronna Turner University of Arkansas
• Brandon Crawford Indiana University
• Wen-Juo Lo University of Arkansas
• Kristen Jozkowski Indiana University

In this paper, we explore the use of a generative metaphor for analyzing qualitative interviews on abortion attitudes. U.S. abortion attitudes are notably complex and multidimensional, thus, requiring subtle, complex, and multidimensional tools of study. We used the generative metaphor of a "doorway" as an analytic tool to enable new understandings of abortion attitudes as expressed across 24 one-on-one semi-structured qualitative interviews with U.S. adults. The doorway metaphor gave us an understanding of the ways in which participants thought of their abortion attitudes as open to revision or change to some degree while also being closed to revision in other ways. This spectrum of openness and closedness does not come into view when examining abortion attitudes through the dichotomous framings. In this methodological paper, we thoroughly describe how we used the metaphor to explicate the complexities and multi-dimensionalities of a person's abortion attitudes.

Author Biographies

Katie haus, indiana university.

Katie HAUS is an advanced doctoral student working on a dual PhD in health behavior (School of Public Health) and qualitative and quantitative research methodology (School of Education) at Indiana University. She is currently integrating her interests in sexual health with her interests in creative epistemologies and critical methodologies to center human experience and outcomes in reproductive health.

Jaclyn Hadfield, Louisiana State University

Dr. Jaclyn HADFIELD is a multilingual cross-cultural behavioral scientist who specializes in mixed-methods, cross-cultural, and multilingual research (English/Spanish/Italian). Although in her research she explores various domains of public health, she predominantly focuses on social and behavioral determinants of health beliefs and behaviors among women within the domain of physical activity using theory-based methods with a translational and community-based approach. In her research, she aims to identify salient factors to inclusively influence intervention designs and improve women's physical activity behavioral engagement while reducing health disparities domestically and globally.

Kathryn LaRoche, Purdue University

Dr. Kathryn J. LaROCHE is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health at Purdue University. As a public health social scientist and applied anthropologist, she carries out community-engaged, action- and intervention-oriented research about sexual and reproductive health with a focus on abortion and pregnancy.

Barbara Dennis, Indiana University

Dr. Barbara DENNIS is a professor in the Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methodology program at Indiana University. She studies methodological concepts such as validity and ethics in the context of critical qualitative research with a particular interest in methodological equity and justice. In her 2020 book, "Walking with strangers. Critical Ethnography and Educational Promise," nominated for several awards, she detailed the methodological inner workings of a long-term critical ethnography. In her most recent book, co-authored with Pengfei HAO, Karen ROSS, and Peiwei LI (2021), she advanced a practitioner/student centered approach to social science methodology.

Ronna Turner, University of Arkansas

Dr. Ronna C. TURNER is a professor in educational statistics and research methods and coordinator for the educational statistics and psychometrics concentration of the interdisciplinary Statistics and Analytics program at the University of Arkansas. She received her PhD in educational psychology from the University of Illinois, specializing in quantitative and evaluative research methodologies.

Brandon Crawford, Indiana University

Dr. Brandon CRAWFORD is a principal investigator on the Indiana University Abortion Attitudes Project (IUAPP) and an assistant professor in the Department of Applied Health Science in the School of Public Health at Indiana University Bloomington. His main areas of research include the measurement of attitudes regarding controversial social issues and examining the relationship between child maltreatment, child welfare experiences, and adverse life events throughout the life-course. He has expertise in the analysis of secondary data (including data with complex survey designs), survey development, and quantitative analyses.

Wen-Juo Lo, University of Arkansas

Dr. Wen-Juo LO is an associate professor and program co-coordinator in the Educational Statistics and Research Methodology (ESRM) program at the University of Arkansas. Before coming to the USA, he worked in a general hospital in Taiwan for five years and conducted inpatient and outpatient psychotherapy as well as psychological assessments. His research interests involve methodological issues related to latent factor modeling with a focus on psychometric methods in examining the validity and reliability of the psychological inventory.

Kristen Jozkowski, Indiana University

Dr. Kristen N. JOZKOWSKI  is a principal investigator for the Indiana University Abortion Attitudes Project (IUAPP). She is the William L. Yarber Endowed Professor in Sexual Health in the Department of Applied Health Science in the School of Public Health, a senior scientist with the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, and affiliate faculty in gender studies at Indiana University. In her research, she focuses on sexual consent and refusal communication and abortion attitudes. She has expertise and training in mixed-methods and sexuality.

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Copyright (c) 2023 Kristen Jozkowski, Katie Haus, Jaclyn Hadfield, Kathryn LaRoche, Barbara Dennis, Ronna Turner, Brandon Crawford, Wen-Juo Lo

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