Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Methods And Ethics In A Life History Study Of Teacher Thinking, James A. Muchmore

The Qualitative Report

During the past decade, there has been an increasing interest in the use of life history and narrative approaches to study teacher thinking and teacher development. Unlike other forms of educational research, in which relationships between researchers and participants are characterized by business-like transactions that rarely extend into the realm of the personal, life history and narrative research can involve relationships that are personal and complex. Such research can also generate massive amounts of data--in the form of field notes, interview transcripts, and other documents--which are very difficult to synthesize. This article presents some of the methodological and ethical issues …

The Presentation Of Paradise: Impression Management And The Contemporary Nursing Home, Jason S. Ulsperger, John Paul

The Qualitative Report

This report discusses dramaturgical perspectives, organizational impression management, and the history of the nursing home industry. Through participant observation, it uses a critical dramaturgical analysis to examine social interaction in three for-profit nursing homes. It explores how employees in these facilities create impressions of affective care in the face of negative publicity and long-term care competition. Specifically, the article examines four impression management tactics related to nursing home environments, concluding with suggestions for future research relating to organizational deviance.

Doing Family Research At The Jail: Reflections Of A Prison Widow, Joyce A. Arditti

The Qualitative Report

In this article, I reflect on my experience running a small family research project at a local jail. I focus on methodological and policy issues inherent in controversial research, as well as my own personal reactions to the criminal justice system. Implications of insider status are discussed as they apply to researcher stance and responsibilities in corrections settings.

Enhancing The Rigor Of Qualitative Research: Application Of A Case Methodology To Build Theories Of It Implementation, Guy Paré

The Qualitative Report

This paper presents and illustrates how the approach proposed by Eisenhardt (1989) for building theories from intensive qualitative research, more precisely case study research, can help information systems and medical informatics researchers understand and explain the inherently dynamic nature of IT implementation. The approach, which adopts a positivist view of research, relies on past literature and empirical data as well as on the insights of the researcher to build incrementally more powerful theories. We describe in some detail how this methodology was applied in a particular case study on IT implementation in the health care context and how the use …

Class Size Reduction: A Facilitator Of Instructional Program Coherence, Derick M. Kiger

The Qualitative Report

This case study evaluation explored how class size reduction (CSR) combined with other reform initiatives and contextual factors to affect student achievement. The evaluand was an elementary school that implemented Wisconsin's fortified CSR program named SAGE. Evidence was collected from existing records and purposively selected teachers via a focus group. A three-phase "cut and paste" analysis strategy was used to reduce data, display data, and draw and verify conclusions. Main and interaction effects are reported. Findings suggest smaller classes may affect student achievement by facilitating the coherence of school-level instructional programs.

Post-It Notes: Social Workers And Research Participants Sticking Together, Judy Heitzman

The Qualitative Report

This autoethnography reflects the author's perceptions of a collaborative social work process called qualitative inquiry. Using a quiltmaking metaphor, the author creates a recipe for collaborative learning between qualitative researchers and study participants. The metaphors associated with quiltmaking reflect a participatory action research model, and encourage qualitative researchers to stretch their creativity and collaboration skills.

Anorexic Eating: Two Case Studies In Hong Kong, Zenobia C.Y. Chan, Joyce L.C. Ma

The Qualitative Report

Little attention has been paid to the eating experience of anorectic females during the course of their illness. In order to enrich this understanding, two adult anorexics were selected and their emails were collected and analyzed. Analysis of these emails reveals the patients' experiences with and feelings about eating, which can provide an in-depth understanding of their circumstances and family dynamics. The paper ends with a discussion of the results, limitations, and implications of using emails as the data source of a qualitative study, and how they can reveal the informants' inner landscapes.

The Emperor Needs New Clothes: Securitizing Threats In The Twenty-First Century, Volker Franke

Peace and Conflict Studies

The terrorist attacks of September 11 brought to a head change that had been underway since the end of the Cold War in how we think about security: (1) there is no longer consensus about who or what constitutes the “enemy”; (2) Realism as the dominating paradigm for studying international relations is collapsing; (3) domestic factors are gaining importance for devising security policies; and (4) with increasing globalization these domestic factors attain impact beyond national borders. In this article, I examine the nature of these developments and illustrate that the concept of security is often misapplied for political gain and/or …

The Determinants Of Lebanese Attitudes Toward Palestinian Resettlement: An Analysis Of Survey Data, Simon Haddad

Peace and Conflict Studies

A principal goal of this study has been to assess the impact of social distance on attitudes towards Palestinian resettlement using comprehensive cross-cultural survey research. The results are clear and consistent for all Lebanese sub-groups. Social distance is a significant predictor of attitudes toward resettlement for all six sub-groups examined. Specifically, social distance is inversely and consistently associated with unfavorable attitudes toward the prospect of the permanent settlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. These findings indicate on one hand, that the majority of Sunnis and Druze respondents endorse communal ties with Palestinians and approve their permanent economic, social and political …

Constructive Storytelling: A Peace Process, Jessica Senehi

Peace and Conflict Studies

Excerpt

These lines were written by Robert Desnos, a leading poet of the French surrealist movement. Surrealism was an artistic movement of 1924−1936 which valued the imagination, plumbing the wisdom of the unconscious, and a creativity unfettered by reason and convention. Desnos was known for his agile imagination and his experimental style. He was also a journalist, produced radio shows, and wrote advertising jingles.

Exploring The Relevance And Contribution Of Mediation To Peace-Building, Jacob Bercovitch, Ayse Kadayifci

Peace and Conflict Studies

The paper considers the nature and characteristics of peace-building as an approach to conflict. It suggests that mediation should be seen as a particularly important aspect of peace-building efforts, and one that may be used at different phases of a conflict. The paper develops a framework for analyzing the circumstances under which mediation may contribute to peace-building. The framework lays emphasis on contextual and perceptual dimensions. The paper argues that mediation, properly utilized, can achieve not just a settlement of a conflict, but facilitate, in the longer run, a full transformation of relations. Any successful program of peace-building requires some …

Environmental Work And Peace Work: The Palestinian-Israeli Case, Julia Chaitin, Fida Obeidi, Sami Adwan, Dan Bar-On

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper, based on a larger study that was carried out by a joint Palestinian – Israeli research team before and during the Al Aqsa Intifada, examines Israeli and Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have worked on joint environmental projects. We focus here on three jointly run Palestinian – Israeli NGOs, 16 Israeli organizations and 12 Palestinian organizations that engaged in cooperative work, looking at the kind of work they did, their perceptions of the causes of environmental damage and its connection to the conflict, their perceptions of the roles of NGOs within their societies, and obstacles encountered in cooperative …

Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Volume 9, Number 2 (December 2002), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Back Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Using Metaphor To Make Sense And Build Theory In Qualitative Analysis, Peter Aubusson

The Qualitative Report

This paper proposes analogical mapping as a strategy for data analysis. Research is often messy. Where it explores the unknown and follows unexpected paths it often generates unanticipated findings. Presented with extensive data and the initial analysis describing 'themes' the researcher asks, "What does it all mean?" Thus we are challenged to make sense of the world we see, to theorise and not merely describe. This report outlines a method of analysis using metaphor as a thinking tool to interpret findings from a study in education. In the study reported here, metaphor provided a means of analysis to delve deeply …

Connecting, November 2002, Volume 4, Issue 4, Nova Southeastern University

Connecting: Nova Southeastern University Libraries Newsletter

No abstract provided.

A Differential Construct Methodology For Modelling Predictive Cultural Values, Béatrice Boufoy -Bastick

The Qualitative Report

This paper presents an explanatory model of cultural behaviours, which resulted from a four-year ethnographic study of the different academic attainments in English of indigenous Fijians and the Indo-Fijians in the Fiji Islands. Fiji is a natural laboratory for investigating differential cultural behaviours because of these two culturally distinct main ethnic groups. Their different cultural behaviours were found to serve different values within each culture. A three-construct grounded model of these different values emerged from observations and analyses of these behaviours. These constructs were then de-constructed to define and explain a fourth target construct of their Differential Teaching Behaviours, which …

Caregivers' Experiences Of Informal Support In The Context Of Hiv/Aids, Premilla D'Cruz

The Qualitative Report

Social support is an important buffer for family caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV/AIDS). With limited formal support options, these caregivers have to rely increasingly on informal networks. Yet, accessing this avenue is also fraught with difficulty due to the stigmatising nature of HIV infection. Research in this area is not just not sparse, but focusses largely on sources of support and the circumscribing effects of stigma. To further our understanding, a qualitative study was conducted using various concepts from social support theory. Twelve family caregivers in Mumbai, India, were interviewed, using the in-depth interview method. An iterative, thematic …

Subjectivity In Research: Why Not ? But…, Martin Drapeau

The Qualitative Report

This article addresses the question of subjectivity in research. In order to facilitate the use of subjectivity in a research context, the author reminds readers of possible procedures as suggested in the literature. Particular attention is given to the idea of peer debriefing. Inspired by psychoanalysis, the author expands on the concept of discussant or debriefer and suggests that by doing so, subjectivity can be better understood. It is suggested that this may actually be fully integrated into a study in order to both better understand the subject under examination as well as the influence of the research mentor and …

Cognition And The Language Of Learning In South Africa: A Grade 10 Economics Perspective, Gawie Schlebusch

The Qualitative Report

In South Africa an increasing number of learners are taught through the medium of English. Limited English proficiency (LEP) learners who enter classes where English is the language of learning, encounter serious problems in coping with their academic work. These learners have usually acquired informal, colloquial language or Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS), but lack Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). The primary aim of this article is to explore the language dilemma which Grade ten LEP learners' experience. From these findings, recommendations are made concerning ways in which educators can support English language acquisition in the context of the learning …

Learners' Lives: A Narrative Analysis, Heather J. Richmond

The Qualitative Report

Learner's lives, a narrative impulse, establishes the importance of stories, provides an illustrative example of the analysis of an adult learner's story. The paper provides a step-by-step account of how a researcher conducted a narrative analysis and developed an organizational structure useful for other researchers.

Communication, Culture And Community: Towards A Cultural Analysis Of Community Media, Kevin Howley

The Qualitative Report

This paper promotes a research agenda committed to a sustained, multiperspectival cultural analysis of community-based media. In doing so, the essay takes up two interrelated arguments. First, it is suggested that community media represent a conspicuous blind spot in cultural approaches to communication studies: a situation that is at odds with the hallmarks of cultural studies scholarship, especially its affirmation of popular forms of resistance and its celebration of and keen appreciation for local cultural production. Second, the author maintains that as a site of intense struggle over cultural production, distribution, and consumption within and through communication and information technologies, …

Role Of High School Teachers In Swedish Psychology Education: A Phenomenological Study, Torsten Norlander, Alexander Blom, Trevor Archer

The Qualitative Report

A descriptive, qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews involving six high school teachers of psychology was carried out in order to ascertain the factors contributing to the outcome of education in the discipline. The Empirical Phenomenological Psychological method (EPP-method) was used. Eighteen categories of "meaning units" were derived from the analysis of the interview materials and are described together with representative quotations taken directly from the raw material. Didactic image but also school leadership, governors, politicians and students all influenced content, organisation and teaching of the psychology course, which is viewed not only as an autonomous subject in its own right …

A Principled Complementarity Of Method: In Defence Of Methodological Eclecticism And The Qualitative-Quantitative Debate, Andy Roberts

The Qualitative Report

I found PhD study to be a stimulating, challenging and ideal conduit for exploring knowledge via discussion, argument and defence: to have the opportunity to explore method, methodology, epistemology, ontology and what may constitute 'acceptable' research practice is an enriching experience. I had previously heard of intepretivists decrying positivists et cetera, but I was unprepared to find quantitative researchers and lecturers openly dismissing qualitative approaches, and finding dismissals by qualitative researchers of the use of a quantitative approach: such are disappointing and confusing to a trainee researcher. Thus, a far less enriching experience for a trainee researcher is being faced …

Connecting, August 2002, Volume 4, Issue 3, Nova Southeastern University Libraries

Connecting: Nova Southeastern University Libraries Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Nova Southeastern University Libraries Annual Report 2001-2002, Nova Southeastern University

Alvin Sherman Library Brochures, Pamphlets, Reports

No abstract provided.

Tidings, Volume 4, Number 2 - Summer 2002, Nova Southeastern University Libraries

Tidings: A publication of Nova Southeastern University Libraries

No abstract provided.

"Planned Barriers" Against Destructive Psychological Processes In Care Organizations, Gurli Fyhr

The Qualitative Report

This is the first study in a long-term qualitative, theory generating, research project aimed at uncovering conditions that facilitate development of destructive psychological processes in care organizations. Special focus was put on three previously identified problem areas, i.e., staff privileges, conflicting educational traditions/cultures among staff, and psychological reparative work on the part of the staff. A special approved home for teenage boys with serious psychosocial, drug and criminal problems was studied. The strategy used was grounded theory together with abductive reasoning. Data were collected using institutional documents, questionnaires and individual psychotherapeutic interviews. In spite of a target group with serious …

Getting At The Moral Leadership Of Education Deans, Shelley B. Wepner, Antonia D'Onofrio, Bernice Willis, Stephen C. Wilhite

The Qualitative Report

Vignettes were used to prompt four education deans to think aloud about ways in which they would resolve problems with embedded moral issues. Thematic coding was used to analyze the interview texts that had been tape recorded and transcribed. There was general support for the two moral themes of holding to broad social ideals and negotiating for mutually acceptable outcomes, but individual expressions of specific strategies and actions differed. The results of this study support a multi-dimensional approach to the study of the leadership of deans that simultaneously examines the moral, social, intellectual and emotional aspects of problem solving. The …