Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Power Games Between The Researcher And The Participant In The Social Inquiry, Ana Bravo-Moreno

The Qualitative Report

This article will deal with the different power relationships that are in play during the interview process in ethnographic research. It explores how interviewees are agents in the creation of their own positions during the interview process and how they shift positions in interaction with the researcher and with the questions posed to them.

Joint Stories And Layered Tales: Support, Contradiction And Me Aning Construction In Focus Group Research, Agnieszka Kosny

The Qualitative Report

This paper uses focus group data about women’s work experiences gathered in five Canadian east coast communities to examine some of the strengths and weakness associated with focus group research. I explore the case made against the use of focus group methods and the basis for some of the critiques aimed at focus group research. By examining the evolving discussions between focus group members, it is possible to understand some of the benefits of group-talk, including the creation of a unique opportunity for interaction, joint meaning creation and contradiction.

Real Middle School Teachers, Rhoda C. Sommers

The Qualitative Report

Effective middle school teachers are more than the sum total of their educational beliefs and practices. They are whole persons whose lives reflect receptivity to growth, treasured relationships, and the intertwining of their personal and professional lives. This article uses the children’s classic, The Velveteen Rabbit, as a metaphor to describe effective middle school teachers.

Autoethnographic Verse: Nickys Boy: A Life In Two Worlds, Ronald J. Ricci

The Qualitative Report

This autoethnographic verse is about my childhood experience of two distinct and ethnically representative family cultures. Poetry and qualitative research share in their goals of providing meaning, density, aestheticism, and reflexivity They are also evocative I selected verse as a means to express my experience, and to invite the readers reflections on this experience for themselves and others.

Indicators Of Resiliency Among Urban Elementary School Students At-Risk, John L. Rausch, Cheryl R. Lovett, Christopher O. Walker

The Qualitative Report

This study was designed to investigate the phenomenon of resiliency among urban elementary school students in an at-risk environment. In contrast with previous studies narrowly focused upon the identification of risk factors, this study utilized a phenomenological qualitative approach to investigate indicators of resiliency from both individual and contextual perspectives. The narrative descriptions of 25 elementary school students in an at-risk environment were analyzed. The results indicated that the participants had strong individual and contextual resiliency indicators through the fifth grade despite being educated in a school district with almost a 60% drop-out rate before high school graduation.

The Impact Of Devolution On Organizational Effectiveness: An Exploratory Case Study Of Faith-Based Child Care, Javier Stanziola, Tania Schmitz

The Qualitative Report

Although the foundations of President Bush’s faith-based initiative could be traced back at least to Colonial times, the re-packaging of this idea has raised concerns about the role of the federal government in the affairs of faith based organizations, the professionalization of social services, rent seeking, and the crowding out of private funding. This paper aims to examine the local implications of decentralizing the provision of social services in Lee County, Florida. More specifically, we will identify how devolution has affected the organizational effectiveness of faith-based organizations in the day care sector. For this paper, organizational effectiveness was defined in …

Practice Approaches And The Ethnography Of Communication: Investigating For The Possibility Of A Mutually Beneficial Relationship, Keith Berry

The Qualitative Report

In this essay, I explore the areas of accord and discord between two efficacious modes of research: practice approaches and the Ethnography of Communication (EOC). As an interpersonal and intercultural scholar, I carefully analyze these approaches in order to find innovative ways to describe the diversity that I see in modern social interaction. Working against paradigms that suggest using either one approach or another, I engage this project hoping (expecting?) to find and/both alternatives for communication study. I argue that, in spite of their differences, practice and EOC traditions co-exist in a mutually beneficial relationship for the study of communication …

Memories In Context Via Cyber Reminiscing: The Case Of Marilyn Monroe, Kelvin Eng Yong Low

The Qualitative Report

This paper attempts to extend the various existing lieux de memoire available hitherto in the perpetuation and (re)construction of social memory by looking at the cyber landscape. Marilyn Monroe as an icon of American popular culture and thus of popular memory in this context, is explored, by looking at various select websites designed in commemoration of her stardom. Within this investigation, I also invoke the link between the production of social memory, with frames of remembrance and collective memory that therefore indicates memory as indubitably, a social phenomenon. The value of cyber reminiscing is also addressed briefly, by exploring how …

Meta-Inquiry: An Approach To Interview Success, Nancy M. Carlson, Mark Mccaslin

The Qualitative Report

Developing an effective interview strategy presents unique challenges for the novice and master researcher for if the questions one asks are not crucial, then differences in responses are not crucial either (Creswell, 1998, p. 335). To focus qualitative research in the human ecology of the study, our strategy uses an initial interview protocol and preanalysis process, called meta-inquiry, prior to developing our formal interview protocol. Meta-inquiry of initial interview data, obtained in dialogue with key informants in the researched culture, provides us with an inductive tool to assess, modify, enhance, and focus the formal interview protocol. Thus, preparing for the …

Understanding Reliability And Validity In Qualitative Research, Nahid Golafshani

The Qualitative Report

The use of reliability and validity are common in quantitative research and now it is reconsidered in the qualitative research paradigm. Since reliability and validity are rooted in positivist perspective then they should be redefined for their use in a naturalistic approach. Like reliability and validity as used in quantitative research are providing springboard to examine what these two terms mean in the qualitative research paradigm, triangulation as used in quantitative research to test the reliability and validity can also illuminate some ways to test or maximize the validity and reliability of a qualitative study. Therefore, reliability, validity and triangulation, …

Public Affairs Television And Third Party Roles: The Nightline Debates In South Africa (1985) And Israel (1988), Johannes Botes

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper examines the strategies, tactics and tasks of a media moderator during television debates regarding deep-rooted conflicts, as well as the overall intended and unintended roles and effects of these broadcasts. Two case studies—the Nightline (ABC-TV) broadcasts from South Africa (1985) and Israel (1988)—are examined by comparing the actions of a public affairs television moderator to conventional third party intervenors, as defined in conflict resolution literature. In the process the paper presents research regarding the manifest tactics and latent roles demonstrated by a television moderator and the manner in which these activities can be compared to the tasks of …

Policy-Making And Connections To Violence: A Case Study Of India, Marie Olson Lounsbery, Frederic S. Pearson

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper explores the role of identity-based, or discriminatory, policy in facilitating the outbreak of ethnopolitical violence in India. A discriminatory policy is the merging of communal group identity with the state apparatus. It is argued that as the Indian government enacts policies beneficial or discriminatory to particular identity groups within the country, other groups feel threatened. Groups who feel disadvantaged by the policy may begin to fear for their own security and political interests motivating them to rebel. When focusing on Indian policy and ethnopolitical violence during the period 1945 to 2000, the authors find that, although there are …

10th Anniversary Compendium Of Peace And Conflict Studies Authors And Topics, Joshia Osamba

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Back Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

The Prospect Of Multi-Level Voting In Post-Peace Accord Northern Ireland, Roger Mac Ginty

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article reviews the possibility of multi-level voting in Northern Ireland in the wake of the 1998 peace accord. Post-peace accord elections can act as powerful indicators of the fate of a peace. Using Reif and Schmitt’s framework of second-order elections, it finds some evidence of varying electoral behaviour according to the electoral arena. The article also uses original data from a major opinion survey to assess public attitudes towards the suite of governing institutions with powers in or over a devolved Northern Ireland. The evidence of multi-level voting is limited and does not extend to electors abandoning ethnic voting …

Editor’S Reflections: Peacemaking Among Helping Parties, Honggang Yang

Peace and Conflict Studies

Excerpt

I would like to take this opportunity to initiate a dialogue over some issues of conflict management among ourselves as third parties or helping professionals. The challenges of managing interpersonal conflicts or performing internal peacemaking are as real and relevant as the challenges of our professional undertaking in handling “outside” disputes. While recognizing there are no ready formulae to address these challenges, I invite you to join in the open-minded dialogues to examine expectations and premises often assumed among helping professionals in the fields.

The Role Of Artistic Processes In Peace-Building In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Craig Zelizer

Peace and Conflict Studies

Throughout the world, community arts-based processes have become an essential component of peacebuilding work in societies experiencing severe conflicts. Both during a conflict and in post-conflict peacebuilding efforts, community based arts processes can be an especially effective tool to bring together identity groups through sharing common cultural experiences, raising awareness about past suffering, and engaging communities in creative projects. In this research project, the author spent fourteen months in Bosnia-Herzegovina researching the use of community arts-based peacebuilding efforts both during the war and in the post-conflict stage. This paper provides an overview of the research and offers several conclusions on …

Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Volume 10, Number 2 (Fall 2003), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of A Quick Drinking Screen With The Timeline Followback For Individuals With Alcohol Problems, Linda C. Sobell, Sangeeta Agrawal, Mark B. Sobell, Gloria I. Leo, Lisa J. Young, John A. Cunningham, Edward R. Simco

Faculty Articles

Objective: Two major strategies have typically been used to assess recent drinking: (1) Daily Estimation (DE) measures such as the Timeline Followback (TLFB) and (2) Quantity-Frequency (QF) summary measures. Although QF measures provide a quick and easy measure of consumption, they have been criticized as not being able to capture sporadic and unpatterned drinking (e.g., days that reflect important social and/or health risks). The TLFB, a psychometrically sound drinking assessment method, is able to capture all drinking, including sporadic heavy days and unpatterned drinking. In some situations, however, recall of daily drinking may not be possible or practical (e.g., limited …

A Critical Reconstruction Of Care-In-Action, Barbara Korth

The Qualitative Report

This paper uses the findings of a critical ethnography studying the interactions of adult colleagues (Korth, 1998) to propose a critical approach to care theory and research. The argument proceeds from Jaggar's (1995) critique of the scholarship on care. Her criticism voices concerns regarding the lack of attention to the justificatory potential of care research/theory and the over-dependence on particularities. This paper provides one set of responses capable of addressing these concerns and of reformulating the concerns into a more complex conceptualization of care. The resulting analysis implies a theory of care as a pragmatic-communicative construct, one that is more …

Self-Monitoring And Consumer Behavior, Sue-Ellen Kjeldal

The Qualitative Report

In the present research, the relationship between the psychological construct of self-monitoring (Snyder, 1974) and consumer behavior is investigated. The word association study undertaken for the present paper was deliberately unstructured. This type of methodology provides respondents with a context free environment in which contents of fruit and vegetable knowledge structures can be elicited. This is the first such study that examines self-monitoring in a free-recall situation, and the results are instructive in providing more information on the specific nature of self-monitoring effects. Furthermore, the results of this study demonstrate a relationship between two sub-disciplines of psychology, namely self-monitoring (Snyder, …

The Five-Question Method For Framing A Qualitative Research Study, Mark L. Mccaslin, Karen Wilson Scott

The Qualitative Report

The Five-Question Method is an approach to framing Qualitative Research, focusing on the methodologies of five of the major traditions in qualitative research: biography, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, and case study. Asking Five Questions, novice researchers select a methodology appropriate to the desired perspective on the selected topic. The Method facilitates identifying and writing a Problem Statement. Through taking a future perspective, the researcher discovers the importance and direction of the study and composes a Purpose Statement. The process develops an overarching research question integrating the purpose and the research problem. The role of the researcher and management of assumptions …

Disparate Academic Environments: An Emergent Framework Of Socialization, Michael D. Thompson

The Qualitative Report

Twenty-four graduate associate and/or full professors from four disparate academic environments were interviewed on the salient attributes they emphasize and reinforce to their graduate students in socializing them to the professional norms of their respective academic discipline. Qualitative research methodology was utilized to assess and understand the socialization mechanisms and processes of graduate students within disparate academic environments. The results of the study have produced a new theoretical framework for understanding the differential patterns of student learning and development as a result of student’s collegiate experience.

Shifting Paradigms And Mapping The Process: Graduate Students Respond To Qualitative Research, Marcia Reisetter, Melinda Yexley, Deborah Bonds, Holly Nickels, William Mchenry

The Qualitative Report

We describe the experiences and responses of a group of graduate students as they first encountered an in-depth study of qualitative research methods. Four themes emerged as having important contributions: the nature of previous research experiences, personal style and learning preferences, epistemological and philosophical commitments, and assessment of professional viability.

Marriage & Family Therapy Students Learning Qualitative Research: Frameworks Identified Through Participatory-Observation, Dawn Marie Pratt, Megan Leigh Dolbin-Macnab

The Qualitative Report

In this study, we used participant-observation to achieve grounded theory as we constructed a model outlining how marriage and family therapy graduate students learn qualitative research methods. We identified three major learning frameworks: Pragmatism, Ethics/Morality, and Identity of the Researcher. We also found that certain learning modalities are most congruent for students holding these major frameworks. “Critical learning incidences” appeared to cause a shift or r e -balancing of students ’ frameworks as they learn qualitative research. Application of these findings may help guide instructors who are teaching students with little previous exposure qualitative methodology. Recommendations for future research are …

Homophobia: An Autoethnographic Story, Shamla Mclaurin

The Qualitative Report

This article is an autoethnographic account of one person’s struggle with homophobia. It chronicles the experiences and internal battle of the author as she struggles to understand and be accepting of homosexuality. The author identifies and discusses messages received, in early childhood and adulthood, as it relates to homosexuality and gender. These messages encompass religious ideology, as well as family and community beliefs toward gay/lesbian individuals.

Montserrat Place And Monsrat Neaga: An Example Of Impressionistic Autoethnography, Johnathan Skinner

The Qualitative Report

This is an impressionistic tale from the field. It is a composite of fieldwork days, the dramatic recall of ethnographic work on Montserrat, a British Dependent Territory in the Eastern Caribbean. At the tail-end of my fieldwork research period, I was evacuated from the island as a volcano erupted, eventually destroying almost all of where this piece is set - where the ethnography was practiced. Though this is not salvage ethnography, there is thus an element of reconstruction to this piece, of paradise regained. On Montserrat, neaga is a term with derogatory connotations, but it is also an inclusive term …

Qualitative Migration Research: Some New Reflections Six Years Later, Theodoros Iosifides

The Qualitative Report

The main purpose of this article is a brief presentation of the most crucial stages of a research process concerning migration of foreign workers in Greece. The research (within my doctoral studies at Sussex University, Brighton, UK) was undertaken for a period of almost nine months (1995-1996) in Athens, Greece. In this article I present some important dimensions of the multiple methods used (semi-structured interviews with informational questionnaires, in-depth interviews and participant observation) to obtain information and data, mainly on the employment and housing conditions and situations of immigrants in the city, and take the opportunity to critically reflect on …

Lives In Transition: Stories Of Three Foreign Elementary Students From India, Beloo Mehra

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study tells the stories of three Asian Indian children dealing with the initial phases of adjustment and acculturation at a multicultural elementary school in USA. Constructed using data collected through classroom observations and in-depth interviews with children, parents, and school personnel, these stories reveal important linkages between families and schools, and their respective roles in foreign-born children’s acculturation into the host culture. The pressures to maintain Indian identity, language, food habits, and traditions are all important aspects of these children’s experiences. The school context shapes their educational experiences and adjustment. This study also touches upon some important policy …