Using Artifacts and Qualitative Methodology to Explore Pharmacy Students' Learning Practices

Objective. To explore the use of artifacts and material objects in accessing what learning means to pharmacy students, what their learning practices are, and their assumptions about what it means to master the pharmacy curriculum. Methods. Data collection was qualitative and took the form of individual semi-structured interviews with students in a Master of Pharmacy program. Participants were asked to select three artifacts (a photograph, an object, a song, a picture, or something else) that represented what learning as a pharmacy student meant to them and bring them to the interview. The interviews were conducted using both the abstracts and a semi-structured interview plan constructed as a mind map. Flexibility was applied to changing the sequence of themes, and additional probing questions were asked. Data were analyzed thematically using mind mapping and, subsequently, theoretical constructs were applied to make sense of the analysis. Results. Nineteen interviews were conducted. Findings were grouped into five distinct themes: study practices or strategies adopted, rituals associated with learning and studying, pharmacy knowledge, motivation for learning, and ways of learning. Each of these identified themes was summarized and illustrations from the data given. The affective dimensions of learning were a strong emergent theme throughout the data. Conclusion. The use of artifacts in the research process afforded in-depth insight into the specific study practices adopted by a group of pharmacy students. Qualitative methods can be useful in surfacing students' learning practices and difficulties faced in their negotiation of the pharmacy curriculum.