Trena Paulus
Experience and Services
Workshops
Standard
- Starter Workshops
Other Workshops:
- AI-Assist Workflows
Methodological Expertise
- Thematic analysis
- Discourse and conversation analysis
- Narrative analysis
- Social media analysis
- AI-assisted workflows
- Technological reflexivity
- Integrating MAXQDA across the research process
Experience
I have been teaching qualitative research methods for over 20 years in a variety of contexts, from university classes and short courses to individual mentoring. I also regularly consult for organizations outside of academia. I have supported researchers from a variety of disciplines including medicine, education, nursing, nutrition, public health, sociology and linguistics. My methodological areas of specialization are technological reflexivity, thematic analysis, discourse analysis, social media as qualitative data, and using MAXQDA as a central project hub. Most recently I have been guiding researchers in how to design, implement and use AI-Assist across the research process as well as how to report the consequences and outcome of this use. Former clients include Evidera, Adelphi Values, Nemours Children's Health, and Sandia National Lab. For more information visit: trenapaulus.com
Relevant Publications
- Paulus, T.M. & Lester, J.N. (2022). Doing qualitative research in a digital world. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Paulus, T.M. & Wise, A. (2019). Looking for insight, transformation and learning in online talk. New York, NY: Routledge
- Lester, J.N. & Paulus, T. (2026). The MERIT Framework: Guiding responsible innovation in qualitative methods. Invited chapter for D. Morgan and S. Friese (Eds.) Qualitative Data Analysis with Artificial Intelligence: Theory, Methods and Practice. Sage.
- Paulus, T.M. (2026). Digital discourse approaches. Invited chapter for M. Kessler (Ed.) Online and internet-based research methods in applied linguistics. John Benjamins.
- Teel, J., Owusu, D.N., Davis, C., Paulus, T., Mathis, S.M., Ahuja, M. & Brooks, B. (2026). People who use drugs as frontline responders: Rethinking overdose response training through lived experience. International Journal of Drug Policy 156, 105505.
- Fu, S., Harman, R., Sharma, A., Khote, N., Paulus, T., & Gray , M. (2026). Teacher candidates navigating immigration discourses in a politically polarized era. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2026.2696074
- Gaskin, D. & Paulus, T. (2026).The strength of silence: The experiences of introverted women leaders. Coaching: An international journal of theory, research and practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/17521882.2026.2698809
- Richards, M. B., & Paulus, T. M. (2025). AI-evolved marketing research methods: Industry and academic considerations via a technology reflexivity framework. Marketing Education Review, 35(3), 252–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/10528008.2025.2521125
- Paulus, T.M. & Marone, V. (2025). “In minutes instead of weeks”: Discourse dilemmas on AI for qualitative data analysis. Qualitative Inquiry 31(5), 395-402.Paulus, T.M., Pope, L. & Bower, K. Ways that qualitative researchers engage in ‘technological reflexivity’: A meta-synthesis. Qualitative Inquiry 3(3-4), 305-318.
- Johnson, C. W., & Paulus, T.M. (2024). Generating a reflexive AI-assisted workflow for academic writing. The Qualitative Report, 29(10), 2772-2792.
- Okoli, C., Arrington, N., Hall, J., Paulus, T.M., Miles, I., Shieh, J., Sharpe, K., & Cotwright, C.J. (2024). Black parents’ perceptions about and barriers to limiting sugar-sweetened beverages among young children. Childhood Obesity 1, 23-24.
- Paulus, T.M. & Lester, J. N. (2024). Digital qualitative research workflows: a reflexivity framework for technological consequences. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 27(6), 621–634.
- Paulus, T.M., Grubbs, H., Rice Moran, R. & Lester, J. (2023). How student healthcare providers in a communication skills course respond to standardized patient resistance. Social Science & Medicine 337, 116309.
- Paulus, T.M. (2023). Using qualitative data analysis software to support digital research workflows. Human Resource Development Review 22(1), 139-148.
- Matza, L.S., Paulus, T.M., Garris, C.P., Van de Velde, N., Chounta, V., & Deger K.A. (2020). Qualitative thematic analysis of social media data to assess perceptions of route of administration for antiretroviral treatment among people living with HIV. The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research 13, 409-422.
