Teamwork in Qualitative Research: Descriptions of a Multicountry Team Approach

Multicountry teamwork in qualitative research is receiving increased recognition in an attempt to address global health problems. We report our experience of teamwork implementing a multicountry study (Zambia, South Africa, and Kenya), employing qualitative research to gain insight into met needs of contraception. Using this study example, we demonstrate the innovative development of a multicountry, south–south relationship (i.e., collaboration and sharing of knowledge between developing countries located in the Global South) within the health-care research setting. In addition, strategies employed for a collaborative research process and approaches used for data collection and analysis are described. We also describe the parallel but interlinked processes of developing a collaborative relationship, rigorous data collection, and the process of teamwork in data analysis. We discuss how we collaboratively developed and tested codes and themes and the use of a shared codebook in a team. The end result was co...