Using Play‐Doh to teach creative data collection

Our research methods unit forms part of the post-graduate diploma in health professions education.This unit introduces medical professionals from positivist backgrounds to social science approaches to medical education research.Medical education research projects are often context dependent, and it is rare for qualitative approaches in education research to be effectively investigated following a rigorous and pre-determined set of rules.Embracing social science methods requires students to explore interpretive and constructionist methodologies that are less familiar to them.We sought a more immersive approach to help our students get a 'feel' for data collection methods.