Student and Lecturer Partnership: Using visual research to change and address a practice problem

This case study provides a narrative of a student and lecturer partnership during a research project. The project emerged owing to a practice problem: student nurses did not value placements in nursing home environments. The research set out to explore undergraduate student nurses’ perceptions of nursing-home placements, using an innovative research method - visual research methods (the use of drawings and photo elicitation). A third-year undergraduate student was recruited to work in partnership with two university lecturers as a co-researcher. The paper outlines and reflects on the student’s journey as a novice researcher in designing, collecting and analysing data, then in formulating results and conclusions and, finally, in making a presentation at an international conference. Lecturer narratives will reflect on the personal journey of working with a student as a partner, subsequent learning and the evaluation of the project. The paper concludes with recommendations for future practice.