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Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 15, No. 6, 729-749 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1049732304273927
© 2005 SAGE Publications

From Schism to Continuum? The Problematic Relationship Between Expert and Lay Knowledge—An Exploratory Conceptual Synthesis of Two Qualitative Studies

Stuart McClean

University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom

Alison Shaw

Department of Community-Based Medicine, University of Bristol, United Kingdom

Ideas about lay and expert knowledge increasingly underscore debates within qualitative health research. In this article, the authors develop an exploratory synthesis of two qualitative studies in which they critique the lay-expert divide, suggesting instead a spectrum of knowledge(s) about health and scientific issues. In the original studies, the researchers examined food risks and alternative medicine, and they shared an interest in the lay-expert knowledge relationship. Reinterpreting each study in the light of the other led to greater conceptual development. Three mutual themes emerged and are presented with discussion of their contribution to wider theoretical debates. This worked example indicates that researchers can achieve valuable additional conceptual development through the cross-fertilization of ideas across qualitative studies united not by common health topics but by shared conceptual concerns.

Key Words: qualitative research • synthesis • risk • food • alternative medicine


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