In 2008, the McGill Centre for Medical Education formally invited us to affiliate and we are now located at Lady Meredith House on the McGill Campus. MQHRG meets monthly, providing a venue for graduate students and postdoctoral trainees to obtain informal peer review, and for faculty to present projects and findings as well as to mentor junior scholars. In 2007, we organized McGill’s first qualitative health conference, Ensuring Quality in Qualitative Health Research. This event attracted researchers and students from over 20 disciplines. Following this initiative we were invited to present our work in a special issue of the International Journal of Qualitative Methods (2009;8:2), which featured peer-reviewed papers from this conference. MQHRG appears (September 2010) in the top three hits on Google using the keywords: qualitative + health + research.

Meetings:
This group meets approximately every six weeks, mostly at Lady Meredith House (corner of Peel and Pine Ave). The meeting time slot is always 3-5pm; however the room and day of the week shifts frequently. Email updates are sent to all members prior to each meeting.

Meetings are two hours, and generally include the following:

• A critical review of a research project, protocol or student proposal (students, or researchers on tight time lines, are always given priority)
   
• A seminar on an issue in qualitative methodology (chosen the meeting prior). Usually there is a short reading for homework, sent out via email, to ground these discussions.

Highlights from 2009-2010

• MQHRG held its first Student Research (Half) Day where MQHRG members Sara Saunders (Physical and Occupational Therapy), William Affleck (Bioethics and Religious Studies), Lisa Chan (School of Nursing), and Laura Bissaillon (Population Health) presented their research projects. A panel of mentors convened to help work through methodological and ethical challenges.
   
• MQHRG submitted a White Paper to McGill Faculty of Medicine Research Design Group.
   
• Visiting postdoctoral trainee Dr. Eneida Simões da Fonseca, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil presented her research in the area of education of children with special health care needs.
   
• MQHRG hosted its first journal writing workshop designed to assist members in polishing manuscripts for submission to peer reviewed journals.
   
• A special joint meeting with McGill’s Whole Person Care welcomed special guest Megan Wainwright, M.Sc., from Durham University, who presented her Masters research: “An Ethnographic Study in a Clinic for Patients with Functional Constipation”.
   
• MQHRG went on a fieldtrip, holding its first meeting in the Faculty of Dentistry in the spirit of broadening its presence on campus. Doctoral candidate in Dental Sciences, Reem Alansari, presented her research.
   
• In 2008 MQHRG became affilliated with the Centre for Medical Education

For more information, please contact: Mary Ellen Macdonald, PhD Chair, McGill Qualitative Health Research Group Core Faculty, Centre for Medical Education Assistant Professor, Oral Health and Society Research Unit Faculty of Dentistry 3550 University, Suite 030 McGill University Montreal, QC, H3A 2A7 mary.macdonald@mcgill.ca

Looking for qualitative research assistance? Contact us at the coordinates above - we regularly receive CVs from qualified individuals looking for work