Social and Behavioral Sciences | Open Access Articles

Volume 21, Number 2 (Fall 2014), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

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Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

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Studying Diplomatic Negotiations: Integrating The Personal And Institutional Aspects, Egle Murauskaite

Peace and Conflict Studies

Following the Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid in 1991, the Arms Control and Regional Security (ACRS) working group was launched as the first and so far only official regional arms control negotiations. While there have been multiple attempts to distil the lessons of the ACRS process, the aspect of events most conducive to forging trust between the negotiators and their inter-personal dynamics has never been explored. This paper takes an inter-disciplinary approach to studying negotiations: it zooms in on the ACRS process, integrating Middle East studies, decision making processes and nonproliferation literature with negotiations theory and oral history techniques, …

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The Political Economy Of Ivory As A “Conflict Resource”, Natasha White

Peace and Conflict Studies

The past year has seen attention directed, both in policy discourse and the media, towards the implication of Central African non-state armed groups in poaching and ivory trafficking. Engaging with both mainstream political economy analyses and work on the “geographies of resource wars,” this paper turns to the case of ivory as a “conflict resource,” through the case study of the Lord’s Resistance Army. It begins by outlining the contextual specificities and conditions of access, before assessing the compatibility of the resource’s biophysical, spatial and material characteristics with the needs of regional armed groups and the LRA in particular. Though …

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Get Published In An Academic Journal - And Then Let Everyone Else Know, Susan Berkman, Michele Gibney

Library Academic Fest for Faculty

Hear how you can find opportunities to publish your research in academic journals using Cabell’s. Learn more about NSUWorks, an open access Institutional Repository that brings all of our faculty’s, students’ and staff’s research publications together and expands the reach of your scholarly communications.

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Converting Capital: The Experiences Of Latinas/Os In Graduate Health Care Programs, Maristela C. Zell

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study combines critical race theory, cultural capital theory, and counter-storytelling to examine the experiences of Latina/o in graduate health care programs. Community cultural wealth provided the framework to investigate the mechanisms by which students converted their sociocultural assets into the kinds of social, cultural, and educational capital needed to succeed in a graduate program and pursue their career goals. A qualitative content analysis was employed to interpret participants’ conversion experiences. The forms of community cultural wealth described by Yosso – aspirational, linguistic, familial, navigational, social, and resistant – intersected and interacted with one another. Aspirational and linguistic forms …

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Expert Opinion? A Micro-Analysis Of Eating Disorder Talk On Dr. Phil, Andrea Lamarre, Olga Sutherland

The Qualitative Report

In this study, we explored how eating and identities of individuals diagnosed with eating disorders are constructed on a popular television talk show, Dr. Phil. Informed by conversation analytic and discursive psychological research traditions, we show how Dr. Phil, jointly with guests, constitutes guests as mentally ill and accountable for their illness. Specifically, we highlight Dr. Phil’s unilateral pursuit of a solution to the “puzzle” of the eating disorder, including its origins and meanings, as he enlists the guests’ endorsement of his versions of their situations and experiences. We examine broader implications of such a framing for societal understandings of …

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Autoethnography In Practice: A Book Review Of British Contemporary Ethnography, Jessica Nina Lester, Zulfkar Ozdogan

The Qualitative Report

In this article, we consider and offer a review of the edited volume, Contemporary British Autoethnography (2013). Within this volume, the editors, Short, Turner, and Grant, bring together 15 autoethnographic representations, which address issues of subjectivity, voice, writing, knowing, and being. Each contributor offers insights located within a particular field(s), while simultaneously sharing perspectives related to the qualitative community more generally. In this paper, we provide a brief summary of each chapter and also offer several questions generated after engaging with this volume. We invite others to participate in considering how this volume may be applied to their own research …

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A Causal Model To Predict Organizational Knowledge Sharing Via Information And Communication Technologies, Simon Cleveland

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge management literature identifies numerous barriers that inhibit employees' knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing practices via information and communication technologies (ICTs). Presently, there is a significant gap in the literature that explains what factors promote common knowledge sharing barriers. To bridge this gap, this study examined two research questions: 1) What are the potential factors that contribute to the commonly accepted barriers to knowledge sharing?, and 2) How do these factors impact employees' use of ICTs for knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing? Literature review of 103 knowledge management articles identified three major barriers to knowledge sharing practices (lack of time, …

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Great Expectations: The Mismatched Selves Of A Beginning Teacher, Michael Dicicco, Laura Sabella, Robert Jordan, Kate Boney, Pat Jones

The Qualitative Report

As university supervisors we were alerted to heightened emotional responses (i.e., crying, not eating, not sleeping), expressed by paid-interns in an accelerated Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) cohort of STEM practitioners. While research has shown teachers prepared in alternative programs tend to have greater difficulties (Darling-Hammond, 1990), few studies have examined alternatively prepared teachers’ beliefs and expectations about teaching and learning (Tigchlaar, Brouwer, & Vermut, 2010; Good et al., 2006). This inquiry describes one paid-intern’s teaching expectations during her first year of teaching. In this phenomenological case study, part of a larger cross-case study, we collected data from interviews, …

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Expanding The Possibilities Of Qualitative Inquiry: A Review Of Critical Autoethnograpy: Intersecting Cultural Identities In Everyday Life, Tasha R. Rennels

The Qualitative Report

Critical Autoethnography: Intersecting Cultural Identities in Everyday Life is a groundbreaking collection in which Boylorn and Orbe expand the possibilities of qualitative inquiry by including 13 page-turning chapters that merge autoethnography with critical theory to situate lived experiences within larger systems of power. Throughout this review, I provide a brief overview of the collection, describe the strengths in terms of writing and organization, as well as critique the pragmatic potential. I conclude by describing how and why this collection is a valuable resource for those who practice qualitative methodology for the sake of social change.

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Breaking The Silence Of Mainstream Teachers' Attitude Towards Inclusive Education In The Bahamas: High School Teachers' Perceptions, Janelle Cambridge-Johnson, Yvonne Hunter-Johnson, Norissa G. L. Newton

The Qualitative Report

There has been a paradigm shift globally regarding the adoption of inclusive education policies and procedures. However, teachers still have varying views, anxieties, and preconceive misconceptions about the successful implementation of inclusive education practices in the general education classroom. This study utilized a qualitative approach to provide an informative exploration of teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education and its implementation, possible factors that influence teachers' attitude, and recommendations for promoting best practices in inclusive education. Data was collected utilizing semi-structured interviews from eight teachers throughout the New Providence District in the Bahamas. The results of the study revealed that teachers generally …

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Tie Formation And Cohesiveness In A Loosely Organized Group: Knitting Together, Doris A. Palmer, Atsuko Kawakami

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to explore the elements of tie formation and group cohesiveness in a loosely organized group with no clearly stated goal, commitment, or purpose. We employed participant observation and personal interviews to discover factors related to group cohesiveness. With inductive approach based on our thick description of the study sites, such as meeting space and group conversations, we found the nature of relationships within these groups is affected by how each group was started and organized. Having an expressive leader may increase group cohesiveness in a loosely organized group, especially when the leader has a …

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Enhancing The Experience: A Multiple Case Study Of Students' Experiences Using Arts-Based Techniques In Learning Qualitative Research, Sheryl L. Chatfield, Robin Cooper, Elizabeth Holden, Kelly Macias

The Qualitative Report

This paper represents the third in a series of reports published in TQR in which authors explore students’ experiences learning to conduct qualitative research. Prior researchers have suggested that emotional and experiential elements of the learning experience are key for students learning to conduct qualitative research; the use of arts-based approaches may help address these priorities. We gave students in a conflict analysis and resolution degree program opportunities to conduct qualitative research using either an arts-based or traditional approach to analysis. We identified several ways that arts enhanced the learning experience for students, and discuss considerations for instructors or others …

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Music, Musicians And Barroom Aggression, James C. Roberts, Kimberly Mattern

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between live bands and the music they play and aggression in barrooms catering to young, college-aged patrons. Twenty musicians representing 14 different cover bands playing in licensed drinking establishments throughout Northeast Pennsylvania were interviewed about their influence on the behaviors of bar patrons. Content analysis of completed interviews revealed several important findings. Most notably, each of the musicians interviewed in this study reported being able to control and manipulate patron behavior, not just through the music they play, but also through their stage presence, their physical appearance and attire, and …

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Predictors Of Willingness To Participate In Hiv Vaccine Trials Among African Americans, Mindy Ma, Toni A. Young, Marcus Durham, Jeffrey L. Kibler, Zaneta Gaul, Sherri Pals, Madeline Y. Sutton

Faculty Articles

African Americans in the United States (U.S.) are disproportionately affected by HIV. Developing an HIV vaccine is an important part of the HIV prevention and treatment toolkit and may help contribute to ending the HIV epidemic. To date, HIV vaccine trials have not engaged representative numbers of African Americans. We evaluated the willingness of African Americans to participate in HIV vaccine trials and identified correlates of willingness to participate (WTP) by surveying African Americans at low- and high-risk of HIV infection in a multi-site, cross-sectional study. We enrolled 1,452 participants; 59% heterosexual women; 21% heterosexual men; 20% men who have …

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A Qualitative Analysis Of Students' Perceptions Of Pursuing Pharmacy As A Potential Vocation, Michael W. Firmin, Valerie Bouchard, Jordan Flexman, Douglas C. Anderson Jr.

The Qualitative Report

We present the findings from a phenomenological, qualitative research study that explored the personal constructs of an inaugural class, entering a newly-established direct-entry, preferred admission, pre-pharmacy program at a private, selective, Midwestern university with an enrollment of 3000. The focus of the study was to appraise students' perceptions regarding their rationale for pursuing a future career in pharmacy. The sample consisted of 36 students (26 females, 10 males). Data was collected via in-depth interviews of each student who had enrolled in the first year of the program. Overall, students demonstrated their belief that they would be a good fit for …

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Qualitative Case Study Guidelines, Saša Baškarada

The Qualitative Report

Although widely used, the qualitative case study method is not well understood. Due to conflicting epistemological presuppositions and the complexity inherent in qualitative case-based studies, scientific rigor can be difficult to demonstrate, and any resulting findings can be difficult tojustify. For that reason, this paper discusses methodological problems associated with qualitative case-based research and offers guidelines for overcoming them. Due to its nearly universal acceptance, Yin’s six-stage case study process is adopted and elaborated on. Moreover, additional principles from the wider methodological literature are integrated and explained. Finally, some modifications to the dependencies between the six case study stages are …

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Ethical Dilemmas Of Emerging Latina Researchers: Studying Schools Serving Latina Communities, P. Zitlali Morales, Lilia D. Monzo

The Qualitative Report

This article explores some of the ethical dilemmas we have encountered as emerging Latina researchers in dual language school contexts. Informed by Chicana Feminist Theory, we attempt to analyze power in more nuanced ways, shifting the analysis of ethics away from traditional notions of power based only within the researcher rather than the participants. While we do not offer solutions to these dilemmas, we raise questions that we hope will spur thoughtful reflection and move the field of educational research into more equitable and ethical research practices across contexts.

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Security Policies That Make Sense For Complex Systems: Comprehensible Formalism For The System Consumer, Rhonda R. Henning

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Information Systems today rarely are contained within a single user workstation, server, or networked environment. Data can be transparently accessed from any location, and maintained across various network infrastructures. Cloud computing paradigms commoditize the hardware and software environments and allow an enterprise to lease computing resources by the hour, minute, or number of instances required to complete a processing task. An access control policy mediates access requests between authorized users of an information system and the system's resources. Access control policies are defined at any given level of abstraction, such as the file, directory, system, or network, and can be …

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Innovations In Research With Medically Fragile Populations: Using Bulletin Board Focus Groups, Karen Cook, Susan Jack, Hal Siden, Lehana Thabane, Gina Browne

The Qualitative Report

A new group of medically fragile young adults are graduating from pediatric palliative care programs with limited expectations to live beyond early adulthood, and no comparable adult services to support their complex needs. Accessing this population is difficult because of the complexity of their conditions, the extensive personal and equipment supports that limit feasibility for travel, and divergent communication abilities. Therefore, we undertook a descriptive case study using an asynchronous modification of an online focus group, a bulletin board focus group (BBFG). The greatest strengths of the BBFG are the appeal of this methodology for young adults and the multi …

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Potency, Hubris And Susceptibility: The Disease Mongering Critique Of Pharmaceutical Marketing, Evan Doran, Clare Hogue

The Qualitative Report

The phrase “disease mongering” has become a prominent feature of the wider critique of pharmaceutical marketing. Disease mongering refers to drug companies’ involvement in informing the lay public and health professionals about the illnesses targeted by their products. Typically, drug promotion is claimed to intentionally distort perceptions of the seriousness or treatability of disease or condition to sell drugs. The main concern is that drug promotion results in excessive drug demand. “Disease mongering” is clearly aimed at drug companies, however, the phrase reaches further and extends to us all with its often implicit critical commentary on contemporary social life. In …

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Using Forums And Message Boards To Recruit Study Participants In Qualitative Research, Peter Weslowski

The Qualitative Report

The following observations have emerged from the author’s research experience involving the recruitment of focus group participants for a qualitative study on job search behaviors using technology. It is argued that Internet forums and message boards provide researchers with a robust approach to recruiting participants for qualitative study purposes. Advantages and characteristics of online communities are outlined to inform future practices based on the experience of engaging job-seekers who frequent a career advice board on the Internet. Challenges and limitations inherent to this methodology are also explored with techniques offered for maximizing the effectiveness of future recruitment. Use of Internet …

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Fundamental Assumptions In Narrative Analysis: Mapping The Field, Dominique Robert, Shaul Shenhav

The Qualitative Report

The richness of narrative analysis resides in its unruly openness, but points of reference are needed to tame the variety in the field. This article suggests that researchers should grapple with two fundamental questions when conducting narrative analysis. The first pertains to the status attributed to narrative: it is defined as the very fabric of human existence or as one representational device among others? Emphasizing one answer over the other means mobilizing different theories of representation and therefore, suggesting different articulations between "narrative" and "reality." The second question refers to the perspective developed on narrative: Is it defined mostly as …

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Qualitative Inquiry As A Method To Extract Personal Narratives: Approach To Research Into Organizational Climate Change Mitigation, Jeff Birchall

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that qualitative inquiry is highly effective at facilitating the extraction of personal narratives of senior managers in the New Zealand (NZ) public sector. Specifically, in this article I lay out the method used to develop theme-based narratives from semi-structured interviews with senior managers responsible for the delivery of the Communities for Climate Protection and the Carbon Neutral Public Service programs in NZ. In doing so, I demonstrate why qualitative inquiry is the ideal methodological approach for this kind of research program. Further, in demonstrating the research approach, this article may provide policy …

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Reflexivity: Interviewing Women And Men Formerly Addicted To Drugs And/Or Alcohol, Judith Grant

The Qualitative Report

This article considers how one researcher used reflexivity in two research projects. Qualitative research often involves a consideration of sensitive topics, one which may include research with individuals formerly addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. However, there is little in the literature that focuses directly on such experiences for researchers in this field; that is, a consideration of how a researcher might use reflectivity while interviewing those formerly addicted to substances. Exploring the following themes, I highlight how I reflected on the experiences that my participants (25 women and 25 men) revealed about their stories of their addiction and recovery processes: …

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From Learning Comes Meaning: Informal Comentorship And The Second-Career Academic In Education, Joe Barrett, Hilary Brown

The Qualitative Report

Informal mentoring relationships develop out of mutual identification and the fulfillment of career needs. As new faculty, we struggled to balance and decipher all the various facets inherent in the research, service, and teaching responsibilities in our new roles. This paper chronicles an informal comentorship collaboration we struck up to support our efforts as second-career academics in the field of education, seeking to navigate our way through institutional resocialization at a mid-sized Canadian university. Using a collaborative autoethnographic approach, we collected data comprising handwritten notes, tape-recorded coversations, e-mail reflections, and metareflections crafted after scheduled meetings over the course of a …

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Autoethnography As A Transformative Research Method, Dwayne Custer

The Qualitative Report

Autoethnography is a qualitative, transformative research method because it changes time, requires vulnerability, fosters empathy, embodies creativity and innovation, eliminates boundaries, honors subjectivity, and provides therapeutic benefits. This article discusses these seven lenses using select passages from “Jesus Christ and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups: A Narrative on Homosexual Identity, Spirituality, and Human Development” (an unpublished manuscript) written in 2013.

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What They Left Behind: A Case Study Of Teachers' Experiences With School Improvement At Evergreen Elementary School, Amy Orange

The Qualitative Report

With the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, an unprecedented amount of pressure has been placed upon schools to increase student achievement. During the 2009-2010 school year, Evergreen Elementary School was in Year Four of school improvement for failing to make Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) in both reading and math. Drawing on observational and interview data from upper elementary school teachers, this paper will explore how striving to make AYP impacted teachers including increased workloads and stress, and how these factors led to teachers leaving the school, with a focus on a single teacher’s experiences.

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Advancing Grounded Theory: Using Theoretical Frameworks Within Grounded Theory Studies, Donald Mitchell Jr.

The Qualitative Report

The founding fathers of grounded theory (GT) claimed it is an inductive methodological approach. Yet, some scholars argue that purely inductive GTs are not possible given researchers’ involvement in data collection and analysis. Subsequently, a constructivist GT approach was introduced. Still, full-length methodological articles that include rationales or detailed explanations for using constructivist GT approaches are limited in peer-reviewed journals. The purpose of this article is to highlight the ways in which the author used a constructivist GT approach in his dissertation. Within the article, the author provides concrete examples and a rationale for the ways in which he used …

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Volume 21, Number 2 (Fall 2014), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

Studying Diplomatic Negotiations: Integrating The Personal And Institutional Aspects, Egle Murauskaite

Peace and Conflict Studies

The Political Economy Of Ivory As A “Conflict Resource”, Natasha White

Peace and Conflict Studies

Get Published In An Academic Journal - And Then Let Everyone Else Know, Susan Berkman, Michele Gibney

Library Academic Fest for Faculty

Converting Capital: The Experiences Of Latinas/Os In Graduate Health Care Programs, Maristela C. Zell

The Qualitative Report

Expert Opinion? A Micro-Analysis Of Eating Disorder Talk On Dr. Phil, Andrea Lamarre, Olga Sutherland

The Qualitative Report

Autoethnography In Practice: A Book Review Of British Contemporary Ethnography, Jessica Nina Lester, Zulfkar Ozdogan

The Qualitative Report

A Causal Model To Predict Organizational Knowledge Sharing Via Information And Communication Technologies, Simon Cleveland

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Great Expectations: The Mismatched Selves Of A Beginning Teacher, Michael Dicicco, Laura Sabella, Robert Jordan, Kate Boney, Pat Jones

The Qualitative Report

Expanding The Possibilities Of Qualitative Inquiry: A Review Of Critical Autoethnograpy: Intersecting Cultural Identities In Everyday Life, Tasha R. Rennels

The Qualitative Report

Breaking The Silence Of Mainstream Teachers' Attitude Towards Inclusive Education In The Bahamas: High School Teachers' Perceptions, Janelle Cambridge-Johnson, Yvonne Hunter-Johnson, Norissa G. L. Newton

The Qualitative Report

Tie Formation And Cohesiveness In A Loosely Organized Group: Knitting Together, Doris A. Palmer, Atsuko Kawakami

The Qualitative Report

Enhancing The Experience: A Multiple Case Study Of Students' Experiences Using Arts-Based Techniques In Learning Qualitative Research, Sheryl L. Chatfield, Robin Cooper, Elizabeth Holden, Kelly Macias

The Qualitative Report

Music, Musicians And Barroom Aggression, James C. Roberts, Kimberly Mattern

The Qualitative Report

Predictors Of Willingness To Participate In Hiv Vaccine Trials Among African Americans, Mindy Ma, Toni A. Young, Marcus Durham, Jeffrey L. Kibler, Zaneta Gaul, Sherri Pals, Madeline Y. Sutton

Faculty Articles

A Qualitative Analysis Of Students' Perceptions Of Pursuing Pharmacy As A Potential Vocation, Michael W. Firmin, Valerie Bouchard, Jordan Flexman, Douglas C. Anderson Jr.

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative Case Study Guidelines, Saša Baškarada

The Qualitative Report

Ethical Dilemmas Of Emerging Latina Researchers: Studying Schools Serving Latina Communities, P. Zitlali Morales, Lilia D. Monzo

The Qualitative Report

Security Policies That Make Sense For Complex Systems: Comprehensible Formalism For The System Consumer, Rhonda R. Henning

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Innovations In Research With Medically Fragile Populations: Using Bulletin Board Focus Groups, Karen Cook, Susan Jack, Hal Siden, Lehana Thabane, Gina Browne

The Qualitative Report

Potency, Hubris And Susceptibility: The Disease Mongering Critique Of Pharmaceutical Marketing, Evan Doran, Clare Hogue

The Qualitative Report

Using Forums And Message Boards To Recruit Study Participants In Qualitative Research, Peter Weslowski

The Qualitative Report

Fundamental Assumptions In Narrative Analysis: Mapping The Field, Dominique Robert, Shaul Shenhav

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative Inquiry As A Method To Extract Personal Narratives: Approach To Research Into Organizational Climate Change Mitigation, Jeff Birchall

The Qualitative Report

Reflexivity: Interviewing Women And Men Formerly Addicted To Drugs And/Or Alcohol, Judith Grant

The Qualitative Report

From Learning Comes Meaning: Informal Comentorship And The Second-Career Academic In Education, Joe Barrett, Hilary Brown

The Qualitative Report

Autoethnography As A Transformative Research Method, Dwayne Custer

The Qualitative Report

What They Left Behind: A Case Study Of Teachers' Experiences With School Improvement At Evergreen Elementary School, Amy Orange

The Qualitative Report

Advancing Grounded Theory: Using Theoretical Frameworks Within Grounded Theory Studies, Donald Mitchell Jr.

The Qualitative Report