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The Qualitative Report

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The Vulnerable Researcher: Some Unanticipated Challenges Of Doctoral Fieldwork, Patricia Ballamingie, Sherrill Johnson May 2011

The Vulnerable Researcher: Some Unanticipated Challenges Of Doctoral Fieldwork, Patricia Ballamingie, Sherrill Johnson

The Qualitative Report

This paper draws explicitly on the field experiences of two doctoral researchers in geography to elucidate some of the challenges and issues related to researcher vulnerability that are especially acute for graduate students. In spite of significant differences in context, both researchers experienced an unanticipated degree of professional vulnerability during their doctoral fieldwork that warrants further exploration, including a theoretical interrogation of the complex (and shifting) terrain of power relations within qualitative research projects. This paper addresses the lacuna in the qualitative methodological research literature on the topic of researcher vulnerability (in contrast to the well-developed discussion of participant vulnerability). …


"I Can See You": An Autoethnography Of My Teacher-Student Self, Erika França De Souza Vasconcelos Mar 2011

"I Can See You": An Autoethnography Of My Teacher-Student Self, Erika França De Souza Vasconcelos

The Qualitative Report

This article is an autoethnographic investigation of my second-nature teacher-student self. What has made me into the teacher I am? What makes me the teacher I am? In order to address these questions, I draw upon my memories of my own teachers and students. As I portray my teaching-learning experiences as textual "snapshots," I find that my most cherished memories come from when my teachers acknowledged my presence and listened to me, and when I have been in dialogue with my own students. My autoethnographic journey ends up linking the personal to pedagogical theory centering attention to relationships between teachers …


Utilizing A New Graphical Elicitation Technique To Collect Emotional Narratives Describing Disease Trajectories, Marianne K. Thygesen, Birthe D. Pedersen, Jakob Kragstrup, Lis Wagner, Ole Mogensen Mar 2011

Utilizing A New Graphical Elicitation Technique To Collect Emotional Narratives Describing Disease Trajectories, Marianne K. Thygesen, Birthe D. Pedersen, Jakob Kragstrup, Lis Wagner, Ole Mogensen

The Qualitative Report

Elicitation techniques in connection with semi-structured interviews are scantily used, but reported to be beneficial to research. We developed and tested a new visual technique to be utilized in the latter part of semi-structured interviews. It has proved to be feasible and beneficial to use, and it could possibly be used by others. This way of extending the interviews generates more data in a visual form, as well as in a verbal form, by supporting the participants in remembering nearly forgotten parts of their experiences and in expressing emotions associated with those significant experiences. As a contribution to qualitative research, …


Corporate Ethnographers: Master Puzzlers, What They Do, And Their Value To The Business Sector, Alice Obenchain-Leeson Mar 2011

Corporate Ethnographers: Master Puzzlers, What They Do, And Their Value To The Business Sector, Alice Obenchain-Leeson

The Qualitative Report

Melissa Cefkin's book Ethnography and the Corporate Encounter is the fifth volume in a six-volume series on studies in public and applied anthropology by Berghahn Publishing. Cefkin unearths the world of corporate ethnography by explaining how the field evolved from the larger field of anthropology. Through collecting a variety of corporate ethnography studies conducted at Intel, Microsoft, and others, Cefkin brings to life the work of corporate ethnographers as master puzzlers as she attempts to answer the questions: What are corporate ethnographers and under what conditions do they work? What value does ethnography bring to the understanding of complex business …


Clear And Engaging: A Review Of Sidnell's Conversation Analysis: An Introduction, Oksana Parylo Mar 2011

Clear And Engaging: A Review Of Sidnell's Conversation Analysis: An Introduction, Oksana Parylo

The Qualitative Report

Conversation Analysis: An Introduction by Jack Sidnell is a concise and clear primer to describing, analyzing, and understanding human talk. Combining theoretical descriptions and analysis of transcribed conversations, Sidnell (2010) explains the elements of conversational organization: turn-taking, action and understanding, preference, sequence, repair, turn construction, stories, and openings and closings. In addition, Sidnell opens the discussion about the role of topic and context in conversation analysis. Conversation Analysis: An Introduction is a good guide to conducting conversation analysis. This book is appropriate for those who are not familiar with conversation analysis and want to get a better understanding of this …


Revitalization Of Indigenous Culture In Child Care Centre, Jana Kulhánková Mar 2011

Revitalization Of Indigenous Culture In Child Care Centre, Jana Kulhánková

The Qualitative Report

In this study, I address contemporary ways of looking after children and care giving roles women play in today's Aboriginal community in Brisbane, Australia. Data were collected through participant observation and interviews during field work in a family care centre managed by Indigenous women with the staff and their clients. My main contribution is in describing how various activities of the centre, such as parental programmes, women's gatherings, and rites of passage reflect the traditional models of child care and women's position in the family environment and how these models are perpetuated again in the modern urban environment. Furthermore, I …


Culture For Sale? An Exploratory Study Of The Crow Fair, Thomas D. Bordelon, Marie Opatrny, Wendy G. Turner, Steven D. Williams Jan 2011

Culture For Sale? An Exploratory Study Of The Crow Fair, Thomas D. Bordelon, Marie Opatrny, Wendy G. Turner, Steven D. Williams

The Qualitative Report

This paper describes an ethnographically-oriented participant-observation study conducted during the annual Crow Fair, held in south central Montana. Data collected included audio-recorded interviews with participants, participant observations, photographic and video recordings. Narrative interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparison method. Multiple data sources improved the veracity of this study through triangulation, and four themes emerged from the data: commercialization, alcohol abuse, spirituality, and community. The researchers discuss these themes and their conclusions regarding the "selling" of Native American culture as a form of cultural transmission. Theme analysis revealed the researchers recognized that the principal researcher had changed his …


Youtube As A Qualitative Research Asset: Reviewing User Generated Videos As Learning Resources, Ronald J. Chenail Jan 2011

Youtube As A Qualitative Research Asset: Reviewing User Generated Videos As Learning Resources, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

YouTube, the video hosting service, offers students, teachers, and practitioners of qualitative researchers a unique reservoir of video clips introducing basic qualitative research concepts, sharing qualitative data from interviews and field observations, and presenting completed research studies. This web-based site also affords qualitative researchers the potential avenue to share their reusable learning resources for all interested parties to use.


Qualitative Researchers In The Blogosphere: Using Blogs As Diaries And Data, Ronald J. Chenail Jan 2011

Qualitative Researchers In The Blogosphere: Using Blogs As Diaries And Data, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Weblogs or blogs can provide qualitative researchers with a medium for expressing their thoughts and opinions on qualitative research methods and products as well as serving as the source of data for qualitative studies. Present examples serve as exemplary guides to the potential value of this virtual communication application.


Observing The Observer: Understanding Our Selves In Field Research, Michelle A. Manley Nov 2010

Observing The Observer: Understanding Our Selves In Field Research, Michelle A. Manley

The Qualitative Report

In Observing the Observer, Shulamit Reinharz (2011) provides students and the novice researcher with an insightful and descriptive framework in which to understand the theoretical underpinning of ethnographical studies. The author presents an outline for comprehending unidentified and identified characteristics of the researcher in the fieldwork setting, making the self an essential tool of fieldwork.


Arts-Based Research In Education: A Review, Pamela Smithbell Nov 2010

Arts-Based Research In Education: A Review, Pamela Smithbell

The Qualitative Report

What is the difference between research that uses art, research about art, and research through art? Is arts-based educational research (ABER) a method or medium? What does arts-based research look like? How is it used and evaluated? Editors Cahnmann-Taylor and Siegesmund recruited an arresting array of contributors: paradigmatic pioneers, noted artist-scholars, as well as newcomers to the field. This volume condenses the history, unique features, social contributions, and controversy into a readable, scholarly, and practical text. Each artist-researcher develops a chapter comprised of multiple elements: biography, explanation of intent, critique, photos and open-ended questions. True to ABER epistemology, these contributors …


In Praise Of Irrationality: Self, "East" And "West" In Greek Teachers' Speeches On National Day Commemorations, Lucianna Benincasa Sep 2010

In Praise Of Irrationality: Self, "East" And "West" In Greek Teachers' Speeches On National Day Commemorations, Lucianna Benincasa

The Qualitative Report

In this qualitative study of school discourse on national day commemorations, focus is on the "social creativity strategies" through which group members can improve their social identity. Discourse analysis was carried out on thirty-nine teachers' speeches delivered in Greek schools between 1998 and 2004. The speakers scorn rationality and logic, stereotypically attributed to "the West" (a "West" which is perceived not to include Greece), as cold and not human. The Greeks' successful national struggles are presented instead as the result of irrationality. They claim irrationality to be the most human and thus the most valuable quality, which places Greece first …


Netnography: A Method Specifically Designed To Study Cultures And Communities Online, Gary M. Bowler Jr. Sep 2010

Netnography: A Method Specifically Designed To Study Cultures And Communities Online, Gary M. Bowler Jr.

The Qualitative Report

With many people now using online communities such as newsgroups, blogs, forums, social networking sites, podcasting, videocasting, photosharing communities, and virtual worlds, the internet is now an important site for research. Kozinets' (2010) new text explores netnography, or the conduct of ethnography over the internet - a method specifically designed to study cultures and communities online. Guidelines for the accurate and ethical conduct of ethnographic research online are set out, with detailed, step-by-step guidance to thoroughly introduce, explain, and illustrate the method to students and researchers. Kozinets surveys the latest research on online cultures and communities, focusing on the methods …


Coming In From The Margin: Research Practices, Representation And The Ordinary, Karen P. Greiner Sep 2010

Coming In From The Margin: Research Practices, Representation And The Ordinary, Karen P. Greiner

The Qualitative Report

This essay explores issues of marginality and representation in research, which emerged during life history interviews with Tammi, an "ordinary" woman living in Appalachia. I examine how my research practices, namely my thirst for drama and marginality, nearly silenced the preferred stories of the woman who shared her life with me. I contrast Tammi's unique yet quotidian accounts with streams of literature reflecting a tendency to neglect the commonplace by representing residents of Appalachia through tragic or heroic extremes. This essay pairs Tammi's stories with a reflection on what may have become of them had I followed my first impulse …


Making Meaning Together: An Exploratory Study Of Therapeutic Conversation Between Helping Professionals And Homeless Shelter Residents, Christine A. Walsh, Gayle E. Rutherford, Kristina N. (Ahosaari) Sarafincian, Sabine E. R. Sellmer Jul 2010

Making Meaning Together: An Exploratory Study Of Therapeutic Conversation Between Helping Professionals And Homeless Shelter Residents, Christine A. Walsh, Gayle E. Rutherford, Kristina N. (Ahosaari) Sarafincian, Sabine E. R. Sellmer

The Qualitative Report

This exploratory study examined the nature of therapeutic conversation between helping professionals and homeless persons as an intervention to optimize health. Meaningful conversation occurred in relationships where there was a sense of connection and the presence of rapport. Emergent facilitators of therapeutic conversation included respectful engagement, casual nature of conversation, alternative settings for therapeutic conversation, effective listening, and establishing trust. Barriers included prejudging homeless persons, fear of punishment and authority, and academic and professional intimidation. Central to the study findings was the acknowledgement of the client's personhood. Acknowledgement of personhood is a critical element in engagement between homeless persons and …


The Ground They Walk On: Photography And Narrative Inquiry, Diane Ketelle May 2010

The Ground They Walk On: Photography And Narrative Inquiry, Diane Ketelle

The Qualitative Report

In this project, the author explores a novel variation on an established social science research method, photo-elicitation. The author photographed eight school principals during a two-year period and asked the principals to respond to the photographs by writing narratives below each. The author uses photography, reflections, and her own memories to construct descriptive narrative snapshots of the eight principals. Further, the author argues that this approach underscores how photographs are both technically and socially constructed and through the use of photo-elicitation new ways of understanding self and others in relation can be explored.


A Hockey Night In Canada: An Imagined Conversation Between Theorists, Curtis Fogel May 2010

A Hockey Night In Canada: An Imagined Conversation Between Theorists, Curtis Fogel

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, various methodological issues surrounding the sociological study of sport are explored. Through an imagined dialogue between two graduate students at a hockey game, this work brings together three divergent approaches to social enquiry: Positivist Grounded Theory, Constructivist Grounded Theory, and Actor-Network Theory. This paper challenges conventional writing on method in two ways: (a) assembling three divergent approaches within a single work, and (b) employing a scripted narrative as a means of exploring methodological issues. Through this innovative approach, many of the overlaps and tensions between these theories/methods are captured. In so doing, numerous methodological questions about the …


Innovative Data Collection Strategies In Qualitative Research, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Nancy L. Leech, Kathleen M.T. Collins May 2010

Innovative Data Collection Strategies In Qualitative Research, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Nancy L. Leech, Kathleen M.T. Collins

The Qualitative Report

This article provides an innovative meta-framework comprising strategies designed to guide qualitative data collection in the 21st century. We present a meta-framework comprising strategies for collecting data from interviews, focus groups, observations, and documents/material culture. We present a template for collecting nonverbal data during interviews and discuss the concept of debriefing the interviewer. We identify types of data that can be collected in focus groups in addition to the actual statements made by the participants and provide templates for categorizing these data. Also, we outline the role that social networking websites can play in focus group interviews. Further, we provide …


Voices Of Native Resiliency: Educational Experiences From The 1950s And 1960s, Jennifer Penland Mar 2010

Voices Of Native Resiliency: Educational Experiences From The 1950s And 1960s, Jennifer Penland

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived educational experiences of American Indians who grew up during the 1950s and 1960s, known as the termination period in American history. The research for this phenomenological study consisted of interviews with eight participants who were willing to share their personal experiences from this selected time. Ten reoccurring themes were uncovered: chaos brings balance, challenge to become bi-cultural, the importance of teachers, external support systems, spirituality, tribal influences, influences of economic resources, cultural awareness and value, relevant curriculum, and recruitment of Native teachers. By uncovering these stories, it is hopeful that …


Don't Tease Me, I'M Working: Examining Humor In A Midwestern Organization Using Ethnography Of Communication, Ajay K. Ojha, Taimmy L. Holmes Mar 2010

Don't Tease Me, I'M Working: Examining Humor In A Midwestern Organization Using Ethnography Of Communication, Ajay K. Ojha, Taimmy L. Holmes

The Qualitative Report

Within organizations, the communicative phenomenon of humor is commonplace. Humorous talk is just as important and frequent to regular discourse that takes place between organizational members. In this inquiry we examine humor as a particular way of communicating between members of a small Midwestern United States organization. Specifically, we examine how three functions of humor (i.e., joking, sarcasm, and teasing) are used amongst members during normal business hours (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). Using ethnography of communication, we conduct both fieldwork and interviews discovering that this organization exemplifies humor as a socially constructed phenomenon to complete the typical workday.


Patient And Physician Perceptions Of Dimensions Of Necessity Of Medical Utilization, Peggy J. Wagner, Peter R. Warren, Ginger Mosely Mar 2010

Patient And Physician Perceptions Of Dimensions Of Necessity Of Medical Utilization, Peggy J. Wagner, Peter R. Warren, Ginger Mosely

The Qualitative Report

The goal of this research was to understand better the perspectives held by physicians and patients regarding what factors determine the appropriateness of medical visits. We also wished to create a convenient measure of those perspectives. In our first study, we conducted focus groups separately composed of 22 physicians and 16 patients to determine their respective views. In our second study, a 40-item measure derived from Study 1 themes was administered to a sample of 202 patients. Study 1 identified 20 themes, collapsing into 6 dimensions. Physicians held views that some patients were manipulative when seeking medical care. Study 2 …


Sailing Stormy Seas: The Illness Experience Of Persons With Parkinson's Disease, Melinda Stanley-Hermanns, Joan Engebretson Mar 2010

Sailing Stormy Seas: The Illness Experience Of Persons With Parkinson's Disease, Melinda Stanley-Hermanns, Joan Engebretson

The Qualitative Report

Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive disorder with no known cause or promising cure. While substantial information is known about the pathophysiology, little is known about the illness experience of living with the disease. A qualitative study using an ethnographic approach was conducted to provide a rich understanding of the illness experience. The illness experience was apprehended through field work in two support groups and the personal accounts of 14 participants with Parkinson's disease. The metaphor, "Sailing the Sea in The Eye of the Storm," is the overarching theme and was chosen to conceptualize the voyage of persons living with …


Considering "Objective" Possibilities In Autoethnography: A Critique Of Heewon Chang’S Autoethnography As Method1, Sue Butler Dec 2009

Considering "Objective" Possibilities In Autoethnography: A Critique Of Heewon Chang’S Autoethnography As Method1, Sue Butler

The Qualitative Report

Autoethnography is a qualitative research methodology that emphasizes a more personal, almost intimate level of study. It renders the researcher-participant opportunities to explore past and present experiences while gaining self-awareness of his or her interactions and their socio-cultural effects. In the book Autoethnography as Method Heewon Chang presents this research methodology in an easy to follow text and illustration, while advocating an objective approach to data collection and analysis. However, Chang’s theoretical positions seem to shift back and forth between this objective point-of-view and a subjective perspective throughout the text causing ambiguity and contradiction of ideas and approaches.


An Autoethnographic Book Review, Sally St. George Dec 2009

An Autoethnographic Book Review, Sally St. George

The Qualitative Report

Sharing some personal experiences and tying it to some larger social discourses regarding learning and the academy, I praise Heewon Chang, the author of Autoethnography as Method, for the practical and clear way she presents her method for writing autoethnographies


Safety Rituals: How Women Cope With The Fear Of Sexual Violence, Luciana C. Silva, David W. Wright Dec 2009

Safety Rituals: How Women Cope With The Fear Of Sexual Violence, Luciana C. Silva, David W. Wright

The Qualitative Report

In this study we focus on how women's fear of sexual violence shapes their views on sexual assault and influences their use of safety strategies as well as how those safety strategies may restrict their use of time and space. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 participants who also journaled for one week on the topic of sexual violence. Data were analyzed through an inductive analysis approach. These women think about sexual violence as a widespread problem that affects them disproportionately more than it affects men; they engage in precautionary behaviors in a ritualistic manner; and their fear of sexual …


Psychosocial Factors Influencing Promotion Of Male Circumcision For Hiv Prevention In A Non-Circumcising Community In Rural Western Kenya, Alfredo F. X. O. Obure, Erick O. Nyambedha, Boniface O. Oindo, Hezborn M. N. Kodero Dec 2009

Psychosocial Factors Influencing Promotion Of Male Circumcision For Hiv Prevention In A Non-Circumcising Community In Rural Western Kenya, Alfredo F. X. O. Obure, Erick O. Nyambedha, Boniface O. Oindo, Hezborn M. N. Kodero

The Qualitative Report

Male circumcision (MC) is now recommended as an additional HIV preventive measure, yet little is known about factors that may influence its adoption, especially in non-circumcising communities with generalized HIV pandemic. This qualitative study explored factors influencing MC adoption in rural western Kenya. Twenty-four sex specific focus group discussions were conducted with a purposive sample of Luo men and women (15-34 years). Perceived barriers to circumcision were pain and healing complications, actual and opportunity costs, behavioral disinhibition, discrimination, cultural identity, and reduced sexual satisfaction; perceived facilitators were hygiene, HIV/STI risk reduction, ease in condom use, cultural integration, and sexual satisfaction. …


Using Literary Ethnography As A Form Of Qualitative Document Synthesis To Explore The Maltreatment Of Vulnerable Populations: An Examination Of Verbal Neglect And Abuse In Nursing Homes, Jason S. Ulsperger Dec 2009

Using Literary Ethnography As A Form Of Qualitative Document Synthesis To Explore The Maltreatment Of Vulnerable Populations: An Examination Of Verbal Neglect And Abuse In Nursing Homes, Jason S. Ulsperger

The Qualitative Report

Studying vulnerable populations can be highly problematic. This is especially true when they are located in institutional settings. When gatekeepers block access and a researcher wants to examine a delicate topic, one ethical, feasible way to paint an interpretive picture of everyday life involves the use of a literary ethnography. With data on the verbal neglect and abuse of elders in United States nursing homes, this paper details the six-stages of a literary ethnography. It includes a discussion of identifying sources, reading and interpreting the documents, identifying textual themes, classifying themes, developing a set of analytic constructs, and re-reading documents …


The Proliferation Of Theoretical Paradigms Quandary: How One Novice Researcher Used Eclecticism As A Solution, David W. Stinson Sep 2009

The Proliferation Of Theoretical Paradigms Quandary: How One Novice Researcher Used Eclecticism As A Solution, David W. Stinson

The Qualitative Report

When a doctoral student plans to conduct qualitative education research, the aspect of the dissertation that often becomes problematic is determining which theoretical paradigm(s) might frame the study. In this article, the author discusses how he resolved the quandary through eclecticism. The author begins by describing briefly the purpose of his dissertation study, providing a justification for eclecticism in the selection of theories. He follows with a description of the three theories-poststructural theory, critical race theory, and critical theory-that framed his study and discusses briefly the methodology employed. The author concludes with a discussion of likely objections of his study …


Ethnographers At Microsoft: A Review Of Human-Computer Interaction: Development Process, Ronald J. Chenail Jun 2009

Ethnographers At Microsoft: A Review Of Human-Computer Interaction: Development Process, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative researchers and those with qualitative inquiry skills are finding tremendous employment opportunities in the world of technology design and development. Because of their abilities to observe and understand the experiences of end users in human-computer interactions, these researchers are helping companies using Contextual Design to create the next generation of products with the users clearly in mind. In Human-Computer Interaction: Development Process, the new edited book by Andrew Sears and Julie Jacko, the authors describe an array of models and methods incorporating qualitative research concepts and procedures that are being used in technology today and can have great potential …


Reflections On The Local And The Global In Psychology: Innovation, Liberation And Testimonio*, Terri M. Baker Jun 2009

Reflections On The Local And The Global In Psychology: Innovation, Liberation And Testimonio*, Terri M. Baker

The Qualitative Report

This paper presents some reflections on the process of creating research, from the point of view of a psychologist working in an academic environment in a developing country which is undergoing social transformation. It explores some tensions between global and local concerns in research, and reflects on the relation between research, art, narration, and the person of the researcher. The ideas presented are based on the personal reflections of the author after developing a methodology for a qualitative research project. The aim is to open up areas of inquiry into the process of constructing research, rather than providing final answers, …