Why it’s important to use memory strategically in qualitative research
POV: you’ve done your interviews, you’ve taken your notes, and now it’s time to synthesize your findings. But looking at your notes after weeks of interviews can be overwhelming — so much information, so little time.
Often, in an effort to remain as objective as possible, we focus on the need for accurate documentation when running research studies rather than on utilizing our memories. But although documentation is absolutely important, over-reliance on notes and under-reliance on memory can be problematic. It leaves you having to process too much information at one time, creating a massive cognitive strain that leads to inefficiency, stress, and poor decision-making — not to mention the fact that you’ll miss out on important context that is hard to capture with even the best of notes.
While memory should never replace documentation, we sometimes forget that documentation doesn’t replace our need to use our own memories of each interview. The two are meant to supplement one another and work best hand-in-hand.
Short-term / working memory is limited.
Our brains can only process so much new information at one time.
In the best of circumstances, working memory capacity has been shown to hold only around 5–7 pieces of information at one time (Miller 1958) for a duration of about 15–30 seconds (Atkinson & Shiffrin 1971) — meaning that you’ll start to forget pieces as you take on more information, and that you’ll need to refresh your memory after this time frame, unless these pieces committed to long-term memory.
When processing complex information, the number might even fall closer to two or three (Sweller, van Merrienboer, & Paas 1998), and decision-making adds additional strain, competing with the primary cognitive task for resources (Volz, Schubotz, & Cramon 2005). According to Sweller’s Cognitive Load theory (1988), time limits, distractions, and emotions can add to the load even further.
If you’re only relying on interview notes instead of long-term memory for qualitative research, your synthesis has all the makings of a perfect cognitive storm:
- Lots of pieces of information to consider all at once
- Lots of decisions to make
- Not much time.
Of course, the Miller’s “magic number 7, plus or minus 2” (which has since been shown to range from 2–9 depending on the circumstances) theory of memory explains why thematic analysis is so necessary — it clusters information into groups, which means your working memory has fewer “things” to hold at once.
But another way to ease cognitive load is to leverage stored knowledge, a.k.a. long-term memory.
Stored knowledge is the key to efficient data synthesis.
Long-term memory exists in large part to aid working memory.
Whether you’re conscious of it or not, long-term memory is always at play in the background, augmenting your working memory by using stored knowledge to automatically predict what might happen next whenever you encounter familiar stimuli. The retrieval of stored memories happens automatically, minute by minute, requiring very few attentional resources — allowing your working memory the resources it needs to process new and unknown information (Hawkins and Blakesee 2007).
Because long-term memory is so vast and interconnected, it means you have access to way more informational resources than just the 2–7 “things” your working memory can hold at one time — if you can easily retrieve it. Conversely, actively using your working memory to process the information you encounter allows it to be stored and retrieved more easily.
TLDR: you need your working memory to process information. BUT you need long-term memory to make that process more efficient. BUT you need working memory to effectively store new information in long-term memory so that it can be more easily retrieved to help short-term memory.
Together, short- and long-term memory enable us to hold ideas present in our minds long enough to make connections, as well as to think strategically across a body of knowledge and draw conclusions.
Using memory strategically to work smarter, not harder
Great research means relying on your brain, not just your notes! It means coming into synthesis and analysis already feeling familiar with what you’ve heard. It means having strong long-term memory to supplement your working memory so you that you can make clever connections…and impress your colleagues, haha.
Lucky for us, the process for committing information to long-term memory has been studied and written about in abundance. It’s all about consolidation, which is essentially the stabilization and strengthening of a new memory so that it can be retrieved during a longer period of time (Roesler & McGaugh 2019).
Research-friendly techniques for optimizing long-term memory consolidation strategies include the following:
- Writing things down, especially using a pen and paper (focusing not on capturing every detail verbatim, but on connecting the experience of learning with the physical act of writing)
- Discussion (hear it, say it, or so they say)
- Drawing diagrams
- Reference the materials more frequently and practice active recall to make it stick.
If saving time is your thing, I highly suggest you consider trying a note-taking method I learned from a super experienced, super efficient fellow research consultant and outlined in this article. I liked using her method so much, I decided it needed to be shared with the world.
I hope you enjoy the process of developing your memory!
