Everyday practice-based research as a qualitative inquiry approach: structuring research entry from lived experience

Lived experience is widely recognised in qualitative inquiry, yet limited methodological attention has been paid to how inquiry begins from everyday practice. This article introduces everyday practice-based research (EPBR) as an entry-oriented qualitative inquiry approach that structures how lived experience becomes researchable. EPBR distinguishes between an Everyday Entry Pathway (EPBR-E), which supports reflexive engagement with everyday practice to generate epistemic clarity, and an optional Analytical Deepening Pathway (EPBR-A), which enables selective progression to conceptual synthesis and theoretical positioning. Rather than proposing a new method, EPBR foregrounds research entry as a distinct stage of inquiry and reframes reflexivity as a practice that can be developed. By making visible how experiential knowledge is articulated and translated across academic, organisational, and policy contexts, EPBR expands participation in qualitative inquiry and strengthens connections between lived experience and analytical understanding.