The Realist Lens – For Researchers Who Keep It Real
The Realist Lens - For Researchers Who Keep It Real
Podcast Description
The Realist Lens is a podcast that makes realist evaluation and synthesis accessible and easy to follow. Through relaxed conversations with expert guests, students, and practitioners, we explore key realist concepts like mechanisms, context, and outcomes. Whether you're new to realist approaches or more experienced, this podcast offers practical insights, real-world examples, and thoughtful reflections to support your learning and curiosity—one conversation at a time.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on key realist concepts such as mechanisms, context, and outcomes, offering episodes that provide practical insights. For example, the inaugural episode with Geoff Wong covers the foundations of realist research, explaining generative causation and programme theories, while subsequent episodes aim to unpack various aspects of realist evaluation through real-world examples and thoughtful reflections.
The Realist Lens is a podcast that makes realist evaluation and synthesis accessible and easy to follow. Through relaxed conversations with expert guests, students, and practitioners, we explore key realist concepts like mechanisms, context, and outcomes. Whether you’re new to realist approaches or more experienced, this podcast offers practical insights, real-world examples, and thoughtful reflections to support your learning and curiosity—one conversation at a time.
Alejandro sits down with Zoe McCormack, a PhD researcher at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, whose very first PhD paper, a realist review , has just been published.
Together, they dive into the art (and challenge) of building programme theory in realist research. From defining what programme theory really means, to navigating the messy process of scoping and refining ideas in complex educational contexts, Zoe opens up about the highs and hurdles of her research journey.
We hear how stakeholder engagement shapes more meaningful theories, why exposure to lived experience is so vital for building empathy in mental health education, and what Zoe’s findings reveal about preparing health profession students to better understand and support mental wellbeing.
Zoe also shares practical advice for anyone grappling with realist evaluation and synthesis: her step-by-step tips for developing theories, the lessons she’s learned from combing through hundreds of articles, and her top three takeaways for building programme theories that actually hold up in practice.
Disclaimer
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