Poetry authored by vulnerable populations as secondary data: methodological approach and considerations. Issue 4 (1st October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ellis, Taylor; Li, Qingyi; Bertram, Jessica M.; Meadows, James T.; Ozturk, Burcu; Nelson-Gardell, Debra
• Is Part Of: Journal of poetry therapy. Volume 33:Issue 4(2020)
• Page Start: 213
• Page End: 225
• Publication Date: 2020-10-01
• Subjects: Arts-based research -- poetic inquiry -- qualitative secondary data -- vulnerable populations; Poetry -- Therapeutic use -- Periodicals; 615.8516
• DOI: 10.1080/08893675.2020.1803614
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0889-3675

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Staller (2015) presented the challenge to qualitative researchers of valuing data that already exists and using it as a starting point to explore "whether there are questions which can be asked and answered using that evidence" (p. 732) as opposed to the traditional approach of beginning with research questions. A class of social work doctoral students learning qualitative methods assumed this challenge using published poetry written by male youth adjudicated for their problematic sexual behaviors in a creative writing class hosted by the Alabama Writers' Forum in a secure facility in the southeastern United States. This article presents an innovative method of analyzing poetry written by a vulnerable population for non-research purposes as existing, secondary qualitative data. Situated within the field of arts-based research, we discuss secondary data in qualitative research, the process of developing and applying the method, as well as the ethical dilemmas that emerged in the process.