Notes on craft: serialised meeting notes on realist research

Nora Ephron famously once said, everything is copy.

I agree. This is why I present to you a new SIG initiative called Notes on craft. Over the coming months, serialised meetings notes will be published on this blog, documenting conversations between myself and research fellow Alankrita Singh as we undertake a realist project together. The meeting notes are based on methodological conversations we have been having since November 2025. Shared in collaboration (and with artwork created by her too), these notes document the process through which realist learnings are extracted and applied, as they happen.

By serialising these notes, together we chart the craft of realist research, from misunderstandings to light bulb moments. These notes form the bridge where minds meet. In offering up these notes, we hope to provide a way through for others. For Alankrita, these notes are serving a dual purpose: to help absorb, process, and understand the nuances of doing a realist research (including the stages involved, the decisions we make and why they matter, and how we maintain reflexivity, transparency and rigour); and to support a shared understanding across the team.

The notes we share are general, but they are happening as part of a project co-led by Chris Jacobs, and myself, exploring how best to support oncology staff to engage with, communicate and act on genomic testing information. More information on the project can be found here.

The first Notes on craft will be issued in July. The notes may be particularly useful to those leading realist research including Principle Investigators who want to ensure clear understanding amongst team members, as well as research fellows and public contributors learning realist approaches for the first time.