Creating and Analyzing Pen Portraits within the Contextual Frame of Quantitative Survey Results: A Unique Mixed Methodology for Social Work Research

Background and Purpose: Research methods typically seek to help us think across cases to find patterns. Yet, there are situations in which it is more important to think within each case when drawing out the factors that might contribute to attitudes and behaviors. In the study described here, I was concerned with the specific details about primary care physicians that would help me understand their unique stories treating patients with behavioral health needs. I consider the use of pen portraits (Spiers and Beresford, 2017) or in-depth, participant focused narrative summaries, to gain a rich picture of each participant, drawing out patterns within and between participants that can often be lost when that data is decontextualized. Here, I reflect upon the use of the pen portrait analytic technique and ask the following research question: What is the utility of analyzing pen portraits using the contextual framework of quantitative survey results? In what ways does this methodology complement or detract from thematic analysis? This study was nested within a larger study, in which the following research questions were examined: How do primary care physicians describe the lived experience of treating patients with behavioral health needs? How do components of burnout, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decreased efficacy shape the patient-physician relationship in primary care with patients who have behavioral health needs? How does working with patients with behavioral health needs influence trust and collaboration within the patient-physician relationship?

Methods: 15 primary care physicians provided qualitative interview data and 13 of those filled out the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Human Services Survey for Medical Professionals (MBI-HSS MP). Participant surveys were scored, and a corresponding burnout profile (engaged, overextended, ineffective, disengaged or burnout) was assigned. Interviews were analyzed thematically, and pen portraits were developed for each participant and organized via burnout profile grouping. Within and across portrait analysis was completed to further develop core themes within the context of the burnout continuum.

Results: The creation of pen portraits arranged and analyzed by quantitative survey data in addition to thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews is a novel methodology that adds depth and context to research results. By facilitating a multidimensional analysis both within and across participant groupings, I was able to use this method to organize and analyze my data into burnout profile groupings and analyze findings individually, within the context of these profile groups, and across groupings, drawing out more detail and nuance as well as complimenting thematic analysis through interweaving themes into the structure of the portraits.

Conclusions and Implications: Combining the use of pen portraits analyzed within the framework of quantitative data gives further context to research results and both compliments and broadens existing thematic analysis methods. Social work researchers should consider the added benefits of combining methods when answering phenomenological or exploratory questions that are traditionally analyzed exclusively with qualitative methods.