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Sociology

Nova Southeastern University

2001

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Constraints, Compromises And Choice: Comparing Three Qualitative Research Studies, Julia Connell, Colin Lynch, Peter Waring Dec 2001

Constraints, Compromises And Choice: Comparing Three Qualitative Research Studies, Julia Connell, Colin Lynch, Peter Waring

The Qualitative Report

Although a number of texts explore social research strategies and methods, most are limited to a basic discussion of such methods and their associated advantages and disadvantages. Few if any, evaluate and compare methods in the context of actual research experiences. This paper endeavours to bridge that gap by reporting the experiences of three researchers working on three separate qualitative studies. All three studies were concerned with investigating the social milieu within organizations. While the research questions were different in each case, all the researchers shared a common goal - to develop explanations for complex social phenomena manifest both internally …


Building A Typology Of Self-Renewal: Reflection Upon-Life Story Research, Izhar Oplatka Dec 2001

Building A Typology Of Self-Renewal: Reflection Upon-Life Story Research, Izhar Oplatka

The Qualitative Report

The current paper provides a researcher's account of the life-story method used in a study which aimed to identify patterns of the self-renewal process among women school principals in mid-career. The subjects of this study were 25 elementary school women principals aged between 43 and 52 in Israel. The paper outlines the practical aspects of the life-story method and contributes to our understanding of the consecutive pragmatic ways to implement a life-story method aimed to explore and develop a typology of a yet unknown phenomenon. Further, the ethical implications of doing life-story interview are discussed and presented.


Toward An Understanding Of Acquired Hearing Loss In A Family: Narrative Play Format As A New Voice In Qualitative Methodology, Bruce A. Kent, Brett E. Furlonger, Delwyn A. Goodrick Dec 2001

Toward An Understanding Of Acquired Hearing Loss In A Family: Narrative Play Format As A New Voice In Qualitative Methodology, Bruce A. Kent, Brett E. Furlonger, Delwyn A. Goodrick

The Qualitative Report

This study examines how the reality of acquired hearing loss effects one family. Some consideration is given to the medical elements of the condition but the primary concern is with the psychological and social affects of hearing loss. The affects of the loss are revealed, by using systematic introspection in a narrative play format. This writing format is evaluated as the chronology of events, emotions, turning points and coping strategies are revealed.


Affirmative Action: An Analysis Of Aa/Eeo Officers' Perceptions Of Campus Policies In The University Of Missouri System, Shawn Woodhouse Sep 2001

Affirmative Action: An Analysis Of Aa/Eeo Officers' Perceptions Of Campus Policies In The University Of Missouri System, Shawn Woodhouse

The Qualitative Report

This study sought to explore the perceptions of affirmative action officers in the University of Missouri System. Each affirmative action officer on the four University of Missouri campuses participated in an electronic or personal interview in which they responded to eight questions regarding the implementation of affirmative action policies on their respective campuses. A comparison of the officer responses revealed that each university complies with federal affirmative action guidelines, but some of the institutions in the system developed additional strategies to attract minority faculty candidates.


What Couples Say Works In Domestic Violence Therapy, Jodi R. Allen, Sally St.George Sep 2001

What Couples Say Works In Domestic Violence Therapy, Jodi R. Allen, Sally St.George

The Qualitative Report

This ethnographic study adds to our professional knowledge about the effectiveness of domestic violence counseling. We learned from couples who had been court referred for domestic violence counseling what they found to be most effective in their therapy. The study was conducted by a student practitioner-researcher. The inquiry is written in an open manner and details the procedural steps, discusses trustworthiness specific to the inquiry, and includes reflections from the authors.


Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Parental Experiences And The Role Of Family Counselors, Patrick J. Morrissette Jun 2001

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Parental Experiences And The Role Of Family Counselors, Patrick J. Morrissette

The Qualitative Report

This paper discusses the experiences of foster/adoptive parents who raise children diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the instrumental role family counselors can play regarding child management issues, intimate relationships, larger system collaboration, and research. For the actual study, six parents participated in individual, in-depth tape-recorded interviews. Each interview was transcribed, thematically analyzed, and revealed seven predominant themes including (a) constant vigil, (b) effects on marriages, (c) child management, (d) parental issues, (e) interactions with professional community, (f) emancipation concerns, and (g) medical implications. The ways in which family counselors can intervene are reviewed and include the role of clinician, …


The Journey Of A Beginning Researcher, Susanne Schwarz Mccotter Jun 2001

The Journey Of A Beginning Researcher, Susanne Schwarz Mccotter

The Qualitative Report

As I embarked on the first major research project of my career as a researcher, I sought a clearly written article that would help me through some common obstacles in qualitative research. This article outlines those problems and offers some solutions from one researcher's perspective. Some of the problems described and discussed include how to use theory and integrate it with data, the issues that arise from being a simultaneous researcher and participant, and how to represent participants with integrity and authenticity. This methodological piece offers suggestions for novice researchers as they embark on their own journeys as qualitative scientists.


Telling Transitions At The Table: Re-Served Seats Of Higher Learning?, Dorothy Lander Mar 2001

Telling Transitions At The Table: Re-Served Seats Of Higher Learning?, Dorothy Lander

The Qualitative Report

This paper traces the transitions of first year students and other adults of the university as they partake in an intergenerational shared inquiry at a common table. My transformative research invites students, faculty, and staff to attend to (eat) and transform (digest) the moral and political encounters in successive becomings from their speaking positions at a common table. This dialogical partaking of words disrupts the market discourse of student as consumer and re-stories the university as a service organization where all organizational actors are consuming and being consumed. Eating together and telling transitions dissolve boundaries between service and knowledge, between …


Elementary Teachers' Commitment Declines: Antecedents, Processes, And Outcomes, Christine Joffres, Margaret Haughey Mar 2001

Elementary Teachers' Commitment Declines: Antecedents, Processes, And Outcomes, Christine Joffres, Margaret Haughey

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study examines the organizational, social, and personal factors that may influence elementary teachers' declining commitments. Our findings suggest that when the teachers under study felt unsuccessful, that is, when they experienced low feelings of efficacy and low feelings of community, teachers' commitments' shifted or declined. However, the impact of negative teaching experiences on commitments is far from uniform. Rather the teachers' commitments declined as a function of the teachers' understandings of their perceived failures.


Community Practice: A Training Ground For Social Work Students, Mylo G. Jennings Mar 2001

Community Practice: A Training Ground For Social Work Students, Mylo G. Jennings

The Qualitative Report

Providing services to communities while providing education and training for social work practice in communities is at the core of this paper. These activities are discussed and reviewed in the context of social work in communities. Social work field placements (internships) in communities can provide positive learning experiences for students and excellent services to communities. The Winslow Project, a two-year community-focused placement for two group of first year master of social work (M.S.W.) Students is described and the results of this project are discussed. In order to fulfill a commitment to the community concept, students need a well-defined concept of …


Using A Story-Building Approach To Research Comprehensive Community Initiatives, Lori Messinger Mar 2001

Using A Story-Building Approach To Research Comprehensive Community Initiatives, Lori Messinger

The Qualitative Report

This article is the story of the author's experiences as a researcher-storyteller. She delineates the process used to "build a story" of the planning and development of a rural comprehensive community initiative. In a critically reflective look at this approach to community research, the author describes how she selected the research topic, defined the purposes of the research, selected the methods used in data collection and analysis, and approached the construction process of building the story through literary elements such as plot, scene, and voice. The strengths and pitfalls of this approach and suggestions for future research are discussed.