Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Interrelated Processes Toward Quality Of Life In Survivors Of Childhood Cancer: A Grounded Theory, Miranda Tsonis, Janette Mcdougall, Angela Mandich, Jennifer Irwin

The Qualitative Report

Past research has not adequately addressed the quality of life (QOL) of survivors of childhood cancer. The purpose of this study was to understand how QOL is experienced for individuals who have survived childhood cancer. Specific research questions included: (a) How do childhood cancer survivors define the concept of QOL and (b) What processes do childhood cancer survivors go through regarding their QOL? Researchers used grounded theory to analyze in-depth interviews conducted with eight survivors. Survivors use a process of specific action strategies and intervening conditions to manage impacts and effects, resulting in life enjoyment, or good QOL. The identification …

Fostering Change In Organizational Culture Using A Critical Ethnographic Approach, Rosemary A. Brander, Margo Patterson, Yolande E. Chan

The Qualitative Report

Healthcare organizations are striving to meet legislated and public expectations to include patients as equal partners in their care, and research is needed to guide successful implementation and outcomes. The current research examined the meaning of customer service as related to the culture of care relationships within a Canadian hospital in southeastern Ontario. The goals were to better understand these expectations, develop shared meanings and influence cultural change from the perspective of the organization’s employees about their interactions with patients, families and work colleagues, and to generate ideas and groundswell for change. An ethnographic approach within the critical research paradigm …

Violent Youth Crime Plummets To A 30-Year Low, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

FBI crime data show a considerable drop in violent youth crimes between 2010 and 2011, with arrests for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter dropping 20 percent in one year. Violent crime arrest rates in 2011 were 30 percent lower than in 2008. This databit shows the percent change in violent offenses charged against youth under 18 between 2010 and 2011 and the youth violent crime rate since 1981.

A Comparative Analysis Of The Social-Economic Status Of Successful Women In Business, Politics, And Media In The U.S., Jasmin Bramlett, Sara Whitworth

Social Sciences

This project is an attempt to analyze how women achieve success in spite of the historical disadvantages that they have faced. We will examine nine women of the most professionally accomplished women in the United States in business, politics and media. We will compare and contrast the lives of Meg Whitman, Sheryl Sandberg and Ursula Burns for our section on business; Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Nancy Pelosi for the political sector; and Oprah Winfrey, Katie Couric and Gloria Steinem for the area of media.

Understanding The Culture Of Ahiska Turks In Wheaton, Illinois: A Case Study, Omer Avci

The Qualitative Report

This study focuses on the cultural characteristics of Ahiska Turks in Wheaton, Illinois in the United States. By trying to understand the culture of the participants, I sought to shed light on how the Ahiska Turks managed to cope with the hardship they experienced and yet preserved their ethnic identities. In this multicase study, I interviewed six male Ahiska Turks. As a result of my analyses, eight themes emerged: family, religion (i.e., Islam), language (i.e., Turkish), communal life, endogamy, authoritarianism, oppression against the preservation of culture and identity, and education for upward mobility. The Ahiska Turks’ agrarian way of life, …

A Key Challenge In Global Hrm: Adding New Insights To Existing Expatriate Spouse Adjustment Models, Ritu Gupta, Pratyush Banerjee, Jighyasu Gaur

The Qualitative Report

This study is an attempt to strengthen the existing knowledge about factors affecting the adjustment process of the trailing expatriate spouse and the subsequent impact of any maladjustment or expatriate failure. We conducted a qualitative enquiry using grounded theory methodology with 26 Indian spouses who had to deal with their partner’s expatriate assignment relocation. The open and axial coding techniques and the process of theoretical sampling are discussed at length. Our investigation reveals the recurrence of several factors earlier studied in previous models such as cultural novelty, family and peer support, the organization’s support and the spouse’s personality. Additionally, we …

Kitchen Stories: A Review, Dan Wulff, Sally St. George, Sandy Harper-Jaques, Lorne Jaques

The Qualitative Report

Using four voices, we created a movie review of Kitchen Stories, a Scandinavian movie ostensibly about a research project, but with layers of meaning extending beyond research into relationships, wider communities, and teaching. As friends and colleagues, our co-authored review/essay allowed each of us room to elaborate numerous themes that can inform and support a variety of researchers and practitioners. This writing also confirmed our belief that contemporary movies can be evocative learning devices for professionals.

The Lived Experience Of A Doctoral Student: The Process Of Learning And Becoming, Betina Callary, Penny Werthner, Pierre Trudel

The Qualitative Report

The PhD experience is often a transition from student to future faculty member, which involves considerable learning and development (Glaze, 2002; Hockey, 2004). Using a lifelong learning perspective (Jarvis, 2009), the purpose of this article is to explore, through a reflective self-study, my process of learning throughout the PhD degree. In this qualitative self-study, I kept a detailed personal, professional, and academic reflective journal over four years and used the journal entries as data to explore the process of learning. The results reveal my ‘process of becoming’, moving from a beginner PhD student to an aspiring professor and new mother. …

Careers Boundaries In The Arts In Brazil: An Exploratory Study, Pedro F. Bendassolli, Thomaz Wood Jr.

The Qualitative Report

Over the last years the scholarly literature on careers has been enriched by the proposal of new career models which present a rhetoric that asks for the end of career boundaries: individual, hierarchical, organizational and geographical. However, in the real world, many constrains continue to exist. This paper tries to contribute to the understanding of the new boundaries of the 21st century careers. To do so we look at the case of careers in the arts. We review existing literature on careers, present a historical, contextual perspective of artistic careers, and conduct field work in the city of São Paulo …

Disillusionment In Afghanistan. Content-Analysis Als Methode, Esmeralda Kleinreesink

Esmeralda Kleinreesink

Self-Regulation Of A Chiropractic Association Through Participatory Action Research, Lorraine A. Sheppard, Anna Maria S. Jorgensen, Michael J. Crowe

The Qualitative Report

Participatory action research (PAR) can be used in the health professions to redefine their roles. This study investigated a small health professional group, the members of The Chiropractic Association Singapore (TCAS), by using a PAR method; researchers and participants gained insights into the self-regulation of a health profession. A qualitative process using a theory-building approach and an action component was a practical way of developing self-regulation in a small professional group. This approach bridged the gap between practice and research with TCAS members fully engaged in the process of being critically reflective of their future roles in the local health …

Writing Interview Protocols And Conducting Interviews: Tips For Students New To The Field Of Qualitative Research, Stacy A. Jacob, S. Paige Furgerson

The Qualitative Report

Students new to doing qualitative research in the ethnographic and oral traditions, often have difficulty creating successful interview protocols. This article offers practical suggestions for students new to qualitative research for both writing interview protocol that elicit useful data and for conducting the interview. This piece was originally developed as a classroom tool and can be used by professors teaching qualitative research in conjunction with academic readings about qualitative interviewing.

Handling Interpretation And Representation In Multilingual Research: A Meta-Study Of Pragmatic Issues Resulting From The Use Of Multiple Languages In A Qualitative Information Systems Research Work, Ilse Baumgartner

The Qualitative Report

Although the number of multilingual qualitative research studies appears to be growing, investigations concerned with methodological issues arising from the use of several languages within a single research are still very scarce. Most of these seem to deal exclusively with issues related to the use of interpreters and translators in qualitative research (e.g., Temple & Edwards, 2002; Temple, Edwards & Alexander, 2006; Edwards, 1998; Temple & Young 2004). Methodological investigations going beyond pure translation dilemmas in qualitative research are, however, almost non-existent. The reason for this seems to be simple: the situation where the researcher possesses mother-tongue fluency in all …

“I’Ve Got The Data, Now What?:” Making Sense Of Assessment Data, Larry D. Long

Larry D. Long

How to analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative assessment data

Connecting Research With Communities Through Performative Social Science, Kip Jones

The Qualitative Report

A pioneer in Performative Social Science, Kip Jones makes a case for the potential of arts-based social science to reach audiences and engage communities. Jones contextualises both the use of the arts in Social Science, as well as the utility of Social Science in the Arts and Humanities. The discussion turns next to examples from his own work and what happens when Art talks to Social Science and Social Science responds to Art. The benefits of such interaction and interdisciplinarity are outlined in relation to a recently completed project using multi-methods, which resulted in the production of a professional short …

Methodological Precision In Qualitative Research: Slavish Adherence Or “Following The Yellow Brick Road?”, John R. Cutcliffe, Henry G. Harder

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative research has withstood many challenges on its way to becoming a credible research paradigm, though it remains the case that the paradigm contains ongoing methodological debates. One such debate is, for want of a better expression, the necessity for methodological precision (fundamentalism or purity). While it is accurate that research methodologies are somewhat fluid in that they are refined over time, it is equally correct that some researchers fall into a trap in claiming such fluidity is the reason for their imprecise use of a research methodology. Given that scientific knowledge is inextricably linked to the practice of method …

A Preliminary Qualitative Evaluation Of The Virginia Gold Quality Improvement Program, Gerald A. Craver, Amy K. Burkett

The Qualitative Report

Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) perform an important role in the long-term care system because they provide the majority of paid care to nursing facility residents. Unfortunately, annual CNA turnover often exceeds 100 percent nationally. Many factors account for this, including stressful working conditions, low pay, and limited benefits. The end result of high turnover is compromised continuity of care for residents, which often leads to poor quality and substandard care. In an effort to improve quality of care and staffing, the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services in 2009 implemented a pilot program, known as the Virginia Gold Quality Improvement …

What’S The Evidence For Evidence-Based Practice?, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

Practitioners need to understand that statistically significant results are not necessarily evidence of effectiveness, and being evidence-based does not mean a program is guaranteed to work. Asking questions on the substantive importance, statistical significance, and effect size of the program are key when gathering evidence for program evaluations. Practitioners must remember that evidence should inform but never dictate the shape of policy and practice.

South Sea Slavery: Voices From The Dark, Gemma Tamock, Soraya Hosni, Thomas Dick

Thomas Dick

The status of South Sea Island sugar cane labourers in 19th century Queensland has been hotly debated since the very beginning of the labour trade in 1863.

The official historical perspective is that Island labourers were indentured workers, recruited and contracted in their native lands, brought to Australia to work for three years and then returned to their islands. Though acknowledging that kidnappings were common in the early years of the labour trade, historians maintain that the labourers signed contracts and were paid, therefore negating the claims of Islander descendants that they were slaves. There are many stories passed down …

A Phenomenological Study: The Experience Of Live Supervision During A Pre-Practicum Counseling Techniques Course, Rebecca L. Koltz, Stephen S. Feit

The Qualitative Report

The experiences of live supervision for three, master’s level, pre-practicum counseling students were explored using a phenomenological methodology. Using semi-structured interviews, this study resulted in a thick description of the experience of live supervision capturing participants’ thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Data revealed that live supervision during pre-practicum is a multifaceted experience comprised of numerous roles that not only contribute to counselor skill development, but counselor identity development. Participants’ stories reflected the benefit and impact that live supervision provides in the educational context.

A Qualitative Examination Of University Of New Hampshire Student Impact On The Town Of Durham, New Hampshire, Audrey Hickey

Honors Theses and Capstones

University of New Hampshire students and Durham, New Hampshire residents have a historically contentious relationship that reached a low point in the early 2000s. On three occasions, university students flooded downtown Durham, vandalized stores and started altercations with police. Local newspaper reports and anecdotes assert that relations have improved since that time.

This study utilizes 39 semi-structured student, resident, business- owner and administrator interviews to examine the current state of the relationship. A brief overview of town-gown relations and a case study of student-resident relations at the University of Delaware is included to highlight the universality of the issues in …

Practicing The Four Seasons Of Ethnography Methodology While Searching For Identity In Mexico, Margaret Jane Pitts

The Qualitative Report

This narrative is an account of my field experiences and challenges practicing González’s (2000) Four Seasons of Ethnography methodology in Mexico City. I describe the complexities and tensions inherent in managing two scientific paradigms: Western scientific logic vs. a more organic ontology. The experiential knowledge produced in this text is useful to ethnographers who face questions of identity and ethics in the field. To evoke a sense of experience, I represent the ethnography for the reader in the way it unfolded for me—sometimes painful, other times insightful, oftentimes both. This dual text exposes my struggles as emergent ethnographer grappling with …

Fulfilling The Mission - Police Tactical Psychology Bulletin, Rodger E. Broome Phd

Rodger E. Broome

I don’t know if it is still a stock question in hiring and promotional processes or whether it is just to cliché to use, but “why do you what to be a…” is an important question when considering one’s job choice. In the beginning, aspiring police officers and rookies who are becoming cops are driven by a motivation to become a member of something bigger than themselves.

Foundations Of Unlimited, Anna Azulai

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (3rd ed.) is an informative, engaging and user-friendly book by J. W. Creswell (2012) that is focused on practical application of qualitative research methods in social inquiry. The author provided a useful comparison of the five types of qualitative inquiry (narrative, phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, and case study) and discussed foundational and methodological aspects of the five traditional approaches. Creswell also effectively demonstrated how the type of the approach of qualitative inquiry shaped the design or procedures of a study. This book could be particularly useful to novice researchers and graduate …

Critical Ethnography: A Useful Methodology In Conducting Health Research In Different Resource Settings, Dunsi Oladele, Solina Richter, Alexander Clark, Lory Laing

The Qualitative Report

Over the years, many policies have been implemented across nations to prevent, reduce and tighten enforcement on smoking and tobacco use. However, despite all of the major initiatives, smoking related deaths and diseases still remain high and present a major challenge for many nations of the world. In this paper we argue that conducting a critical ethnography study in different settings, as this research sets out to do (in Nigeria) is a first step to understanding the tobacco control policies that will work effectively in different resource settings. As the act of smoking becomes global, it is beneficial to study …

Nahuatl As A Classical, Foreign, And Additional Language: A Phenomenological Study, Dustin De Felice

The Qualitative Report

In this study, participants learning an endangered language variety shared their experiences, thoughts, and feelings about the often complex and diverse language-learning process. I used phenomenological interviews in order to learn more about these English or Spanish language speakers’ journey with the Nahuatl language. From first encounter to their current state in their journey, participants described their challenges with gaining access to the language through courses, materials and institutions, their language observations and their sustaining motivations. In addition to those descriptions, my analysis showed many participants shared two underlying motivations for studying this language: (a) using the Nahuatl language for …

Qualitative Research As A Hero’S Journey: Six Archetypes To Draw On, Vanessa M. Villate

The Qualitative Report

Is the research process similar to a hero’s journey? Just as a hero draws on different archetypes during the journey, a researcher moves through phases and must draw upon different strengths. In this article, the six archetypes that Pearson (1998) links to the hero’s journey are described. Then, each phase of a qualitative research study is described, followed by reflection on which of Pearson’s six archetypes were active. Discussion focuses on how other archetypes could have been helpful in each phase, as well as how other researchers could use this process of archetypal reflectivity to make their work more authentic …

Caregiving: A Qualitative Concept Analysis, Melinda Hermanns, Beth Mastel-Smith

The Qualitative Report

A common definition of caregiving does not exist. In an attempt to define the concept of caregiving, the authors used a hybrid qualitative model of concept development to analyze caregiving. The model consists of three phases: (a) theoretical, (b) fieldwork, and (c) analytical. The theoretical phase involves conducting an interdisciplinary literature search, examining existing definitions, and developing a working definition of caregiving. In the fieldwork phase, six participants were interviewed using a structured interview guide. Qualitative data analysis led to the development of two overarching themes: Holistic Care and Someone in Need of Help. Responses from participants were compared to …

Recursive Frame Analysis: A Practitioner’S Tool For Mapping Therapeutic Conversation, Hillary Keeney, Bradford Keeney, Ronald Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Recursive frame analysis (RFA), both a practical therapeutic tool and an advanced qualitative research method that maps the structure of therapeutic conversation, is introduced with a clinical case vignette. We present and illustrate a means of mapping metaphorical themes that contextualize the performance taking place in the room, recursively enacted to produce a lineal progression from an opening act to a closing act. RFA is offered to therapists, supervisors, teachers, and researchers as an exit from impoverished ways of framing both the choices we have in how to work with clients as well as the ways in which pedagogy is …

“A Play Is Not A Journal Article:” A Review Of Johnny Saldaña’S Ethnotheatre: Research From Page To Stage, C. Amelia Davis

The Qualitative Report

Johnny Saldaña’s (2011) book, Ethnotheatre: Research from Page to Stage, does exactly what it sets out to do: It is a hands-on guide that walks researchers across disciplines step-by-step through interpreting and representing data in an ethnodramatic format. It really is “research from page to stage.” For those with little theatre experience, Saldaña provides excellent suggestions for additional readings and comparisons of different types of plays. There is much merit in this book as a text for a qualitative research class or special interest class. The exercises provided are great way for students and researchers to be more reflective as …