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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Once Were Science Teachers, John Loughran, Amanda Berry, Deborah Corrigan
Once Were Science Teachers, John Loughran, Amanda Berry, Deborah Corrigan
The Qualitative Report
This paper explores the development of three pre-service science teacher educators' understandings of some critical incidents in their development of science teachers that has impacted on the manner in which they teach about teaching in a teacher preparation program. The study draws on self-study methodology by situating their reflection on practice within a critical discourse whereby reframing has been important in learning through a reconsideration from particular critical incidents in their high school science teaching experiences. The authors argue that through critical reflection on practice, as illustrated in this paper, that the beginnings of the articulation and documentation of a …
Building A Typology Of Self-Renewal: Reflection Upon-Life Story Research, Izhar Oplatka
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.
Social Learning Theory And The Influence Of Male Role Models On African American Children In Project 2000, Rhonda Wells-Wilbon, Spencer Holland
Social Learning Theory And The Influence Of Male Role Models On African American Children In Project 2000, Rhonda Wells-Wilbon, Spencer Holland
The Qualitative Report
This study is an assessment of observational learning commonly known as social learning theory of a group of 55 African American students who are participants in a mentoring program known as PROJECT 2000. From first through sixth grades male role models, who were largely African American, were in the classroom as teacher assistants. At the time of the study all student participants were in fifth grade. An interview was conducted featuring a short open-ended questionnaire. Students in PROJECT 2000 had an opportunity to express their feelings about the male role models that worked with them in their classroom. These interviews …
Constraints, Compromises And Choice: Comparing Three Qualitative Research Studies, Julia Connell, Colin Lynch, Peter Waring
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 …
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
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.
Let's Get Personal: Exploring The Professional Persona In Health Care, Terry Maccormack
Let's Get Personal: Exploring The Professional Persona In Health Care, Terry Maccormack
The Qualitative Report
This paper describes how a group of counselors and counseling lecturers at a rural university in New South Wales, Australia, initiated an exploration of their personal experiences as health care providers using an innovative research approach in which they engaged in a series of open, tape-recorded conversations with one another about their work. Their method also included transcribing and analyzing their narratives in a search for underlying themes in the thoughts and feelings that they shared. The intent behind their project was to find a way to voice how health care providers are affected by their work, and in so …
"She Even Walked The Dog": The Roles Of Relational Context And Goal-Setting In A Welfare To Work Program, Lynne A. Kellner, David Haddad, Ann G. Forcier
"She Even Walked The Dog": The Roles Of Relational Context And Goal-Setting In A Welfare To Work Program, Lynne A. Kellner, David Haddad, Ann G. Forcier
The Qualitative Report
This report summarizes an evaluation of the effectiveness of a welfare-to-work program that is operated by the Montachusett Opportunity Council (MOC) in Central Massachusetts. The study looks at how effective the program was in helping clients achieve goals towards self-sufficiency and tries to understand the particulars of the trusting relationships between staff and clients that provided the base from which they worked to address multiple concerns impeding family financial self-sufficiency.
A Qualitative Investigation Into Developmental Relationships For Small Business Apparel Retailers: Networks, Mentors And Role Models, Luann R. Gaskill
A Qualitative Investigation Into Developmental Relationships For Small Business Apparel Retailers: Networks, Mentors And Role Models, Luann R. Gaskill
The Qualitative Report
The purpose of this investigation was to gain an understanding of the use, function, and support dimensions of developmental relationships for small business apparel retailers by applying focus group data collection techniques and interpretive analysis. Data collection took place through eight focus groups with small business owners/managers in six mid-western communities. Results indicate that, indeed, networks, role models, and mentors are viewed as necessary and important mechanisms for information, support, and guidance. However, focus group participants noted a lack of access to such developmental relationships. In terms of functions performed, having a business colleague to confide in, and relate to, …
Affirmative Action: An Analysis Of Aa/Eeo Officers' Perceptions Of Campus Policies In The University Of Missouri System, Shawn Woodhouse
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
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
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, …
"Beyond Number Crunching:" Applying Qualitative Techniques In Sport Marketing Research, Aaron Smith, Bob Stewart
"Beyond Number Crunching:" Applying Qualitative Techniques In Sport Marketing Research, Aaron Smith, Bob Stewart
The Qualitative Report
Valid and reliable research is pivotal to successful sport marketing strategy. Market research may be gathered via either quantitative or qualitative means. This paper explores the theoretical background and practical applications of qualitative research techniques. It explains the appropriate context for qualitative approaches, and discusses sampling procedures with particular emphasis on the powerful but simple technique known as theoretical sampling. In addition, it clarifies and explores data analysis procedures. The purpose of this paper is to provide sport market research practitioners with a model for implementing qualitative methodologies in sport marketing campaigns.
Using Case Study Methodology In Nursing Research, Donna M. Zucker
Using Case Study Methodology In Nursing Research, Donna M. Zucker
The Qualitative Report
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a research method that may contribute a unique and valuable method of eliciting phenomena of interest to nursing. Case study method can be used as a creative alternative to traditional approaches to description, emphasizing the patient's perspective as central to the process. This manuscript will define case study method, and discuss various case study designs. Approaches and tactics from a variety of disciplines, and theoretical or philosophical perspectives are discussed with an emphasis on method and analysis. The bulk of the manuscript outlines the stages used in a case study of men …
The Multi-Site Study: An Innovative Research Methodology, Josée Audet, Gérald D'Amboise
The Multi-Site Study: An Innovative Research Methodology, Josée Audet, Gérald D'Amboise
The Qualitative Report
The Multi-Site Study is a qualitative research approach that we designed to gain an in-depth knowledge of an organizational phenomenon that had barely been researched: strategic scanning. It combines several approaches to case study research, borrowing from the positivist tradition, the interpretative approach and the qualitative research corpus. It involves the observation and analysis of several sites using namely cross-case comparisons and explanation building techniques to analyze data. The following report primarily explains the thought process that led to the research decision, a description of the process itself is then presented, followed by an illustration and discussion of the results …
The Journey Of A Beginning Researcher, Susanne Schwarz Mccotter
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
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 …
Using A Story-Building Approach To Research Comprehensive Community Initiatives, Lori Messinger
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.
Elementary Teachers' Commitment Declines: Antecedents, Processes, And Outcomes, Christine Joffres, Margaret Haughey
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
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 …
Our New Children: The Surrogate Role Of Companion Animals In Women's Lives, Wendy G. Turner
Our New Children: The Surrogate Role Of Companion Animals In Women's Lives, Wendy G. Turner
The Qualitative Report
As the rate of pet ownership increases, companion animals are fulfilling a variety of roles in the lives of their humans. This article provides insight on the role that companion animals play in the lives of women. The women in this study showed stronger attachments to those animals that either preceded the birth of their children, or followed the children leaving home. This finding has potential implications for services provided to women by various helping professions.