Heidi M. Levitt, PhD

Levitt is currently a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Tell us a bit about your background: What is your area of research? What are the most relevant experiences you are bringing to the role of editor?

I feel fortunate to be a qualitative and mixed methods researcher at a time when the field has been flourishing and excitement about these methods has been expanding so rapidly. From 2017 to 2018, I was the president of the Society of Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology (sqip), a section of Division 5, Quantitative and Qualitative Methods, of APA. I chaired the task force that developed the sqip recommendations for reviewing and designing qualitative research, working with Sue L. Motulsky, Fredrick J. Wertz, Susan L. Morrow, and Joseph G. Ponterotto (Levitt et al., 2017). In addition, I chaired the inaugural APA Journal Article Reporting Standards (jars) task force for qualitative, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods, working with Michael Bamberg, John W. Creswell, David Frost, Ruthellen Josselson, and Carola Suárez-Orozco (Levitt et al., 2018). To disseminate this work, I developed an APA video on reviewing qualitative methods. These initiatives informed the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, which, for the first time, includes guidance on reporting qualitative and mixed methods (APA, 2020). In the year it was published, our 2018 jars article was the most downloaded article across all 89 APA journals, which is indicative of the strong interest in qualitative research in psychology at present and the pressing need for our journal. These experiences all have strengthened my belief that methods should be tailored to researchers’ aims, topics, participants, and philosophical perspectives, and this belief informs my editorship.

My own programs of research have focused on psychotherapy and on sexual and gender minoritized populations. My research interests have been driven by an intersectional social justice mission in which I consider how to empower clients (e.g., Levitt et al., 2016), conceptualize the functions of lgbtq+ genders (e.g., Levitt, 2019), and create accessible interventions (e.g., Levitt et al., 2022). In addition, I write about qualitative and critical methods (e.g., Levitt, 2021). These programs of research all engage qualitative and mixed methods and have led me to deeply value methodological pluralism in psychological science.

Briefly, what are your main priorities? For example, what type of scholarship would you like to see in the journal, and what kind of content are you hoping to attract?

Qualitative Psychology is known for the constructive and collegial tone of its reviews, its inclusion of social justice and critical qualitative research, its support for emerging qualitative researchers, and its publication of high-quality research. I appreciate the contributions of the current and past editorial boards of Qualitative Psychology and of its founding editor, Ruthellen Josselson. I am thrilled to be working with a strong team of associate editors—Roberto Abreu, Leeat Granek, Suzanne Kirschner, and Jenny Pak—to develop articles that reflect current and pioneering practices in the field.

Qualitative Psychology has a history of publishing research from critical (e.g., feminist, multicultural, antiracist, critical disability, decolonizing, queer, stigma-focused) perspectives and forms of research that implement diverse epistemological approaches and participatory methods. These forms of research center the voices and experiences of underrepresented and minoritized communities and individuals, and they promote a socially just psychology. We welcome submissions to our journal from these perspectives, especially when they address methodological issues. In addition, we will continue to host special issues and sections that provide exemplars of current topics studied via qualitative research and examine methodological issues related to the formulation and execution of qualitative research.

Why is this journal important for the field? What is its relevance to society/public health?

Qualitative methods are being embraced in psychology like never before. Researchers are recognizing that their use adds depth of understanding to programs of research and leads to guidance, interventions, and findings that are tailored to the specific characteristics, dynamics, and contexts of a set of people or issue. These methodologies have long been associated with exploring subjectivity, communication, meaning making, and social practices. They have been key features of feminist, multicultural, antiracist, stigma-focused, and decolonizing approaches to research. At the same time, they have arisen in a context in which their logic is often misunderstood and their value may not be fully recognized. Qualitative Psychology is an outlet that generates advocacy for qualitative methods, methodological guidance, and models of strong qualitative research in use. By broadening the types of investigations that occur in our discipline, we can ask new questions, solve problems, improve public health, and facilitate societal justice in the world.

Do you have plans for a special issue or changes to the editorial process? Have you introduced or are you planning to introduce any changes?

Some changes are in the works. In coordination with sqip (with special thanks to Nisha Gupta), we have been developing channels to promote the articles, special sections, and special issues of Qualitative Psychology through both apa’s and sqip’s social media. sqip salons have fostered online conversations that have generated much interest in our society, within the United States and beyond. We are planning to continue the use of salons to draw attention to our authors’ work long after it has been published. To keep on top of the latest research in qualitative psychology, you can sign up online to receive Qualitative Psychology alert emails three times per year that share information about articles published in the newly released journal issues. You can also receive qualitative methods news through Instagramopens in new window, Facebookopens in new window, or Twitteropens in new window.

As a new initiative, we will be developing a feature in Qualitative Psychology called Methodological Retrospectives. In this series of articles, experienced methodologists will reflect on the development and evolution of their methodologies in relation to personal, professional, research, and social changes. These articles will be reflexive introductions to a methodology; will document the historical evolution of methods across time; will examine how methods are culturally responsive; and will provide expert advice on how contemporary researchers can best adapt an approach for varied projects, participants, contexts, and aims. They can provide orientations to methodological approaches and serve as useful course material in qualitative methods classes. To allow these articles to be found readily, they will be listed on the Qualitative Psychology website. As we institute these processes and shape new ones, I am excited about the continued evolution of Qualitative Psychology.

American Psychological Association. (2020). The publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000opens in new window

Levitt, H. M. (2019). A psychosocial genealogy of LGBTQ+ gender: An empirically based theory of gender and gender identity cultures. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(3), 275–297. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684319834641opens in new window

Levitt, H. M. (2021). Essentials of critical-constructivist grounded theory research. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000231-000opens in new window

Levitt, H. M., Bamberg, M., Creswell, J. W., Frost, D., Josselson, R., & Suárez-Orozco, C. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for qualitative research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board Task Force report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 26–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000151opens in new window

Levitt, H. M., Collins, K. M., Maroney, M. R., & Roberts, T. S. (2022). Healing from heterosexist experiences: A mixed methods intervention study using expressive writing. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 9(2), 152–164. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000478opens in new window

Levitt, H. M., Motulsky, S. L., Wertz, F. J., Morrow, S. L., & Ponterotto, J. G. (2017). Recommendations for designing and reviewing qualitative research in psychology: Promoting methodological integrity. Qualitative Psychology, 4(1),2–22. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000082opens in new window

Levitt, H. M., Pomerville, A., & Surace, F. I. (2016). A qualitative meta-analysis examining clients’ experiences of psychotherapy: A new agenda. Psychological Bulletin, 142(8), 801–830.https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000057opens in new window

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