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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Constructing Grammar Instruction In The Omani Elt System: A Critical Literacy Perspective, Ali Al-Issa Dec 2014

Constructing Grammar Instruction In The Omani Elt System: A Critical Literacy Perspective, Ali Al-Issa

The Qualitative Report

Debate in the literature has been ongoing about whether to teach English language grammar explicitly, implicitly or integrate both approaches to achieve optimal learning. This research paper, hence, discusses this issue from an ideological perspective with a particular reference to the Omani English language teaching (ELT) education system. The paper triangulates data from various semi-structured interviews made with different agents involved in the Omani ELT education system, the pertinent literature, The Philosophy and Guidelines for the Omani English Language School Curriculum, which I will herewith refer to as the National English Language Policy/Plan (NELP), other policy texts and the English …


Tracing The History Of Grounded Theory Methodology: From Formation To Fragmentation, Méabh Kenny, Robert Fourie Dec 2014

Tracing The History Of Grounded Theory Methodology: From Formation To Fragmentation, Méabh Kenny, Robert Fourie

The Qualitative Report

There are very few articles, which track the history of Grounded Theory (GT) methodology from its tentative conception to its present divisions. This journal article addresses the dearth by tracing the history of GT methodology from its conception in the 1960’s, discussing the context of its composition, character, and contribution. Subsequently, the article follows the maturation of GT which is characterised by a series of contentious and, at times, antagonistic academic debates. The crux of these debates centres on disputes over core tenets of GT and have resulted in three dominant and divergent configurations of the GT methodology: Classic, Straussian, …


Authenticity In Constructivist Inquiry: Assessing An Elusive Construct, Patrick Shannon, Elyse Hambacher Dec 2014

Authenticity In Constructivist Inquiry: Assessing An Elusive Construct, Patrick Shannon, Elyse Hambacher

The Qualitative Report

Methodological rigor in constructivist inquiry is established through an assessment of trustworthiness and authenticity. Trustworthiness parallels the positivistic concepts of internal and external validity, focusing on an assessment of the inquiry process. Authenticity, however, is unique to constructivist inquiry and has no parallel in the positivistic paradigm. Authenticity involves an assessment of the meaningfulness and usefulness of interactive inquiry processes and social change that results from these processes. However, the techniques for ascertaining authenticity are in the early stages of development. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to describe a process for assessing authenticity in a constructivist inquiry. A …


Analyzing Flying Chameleons: Using Autoethnography To Explore Change In The Female Educator, Leslie Pourreau Dec 2014

Analyzing Flying Chameleons: Using Autoethnography To Explore Change In The Female Educator, Leslie Pourreau

The Qualitative Report

What is a chameleon in the world of education? What defines her professionally, personally, and why? In this autoethnography, I explore the chameleon metaphor for meanings and implications in my personal and professional identity as a female educator by seeking answers to questions stemming from Mitchell and Weber (2005): Just who do I think I am? Just who do I think I am? Just who do I think I am? Just who do I think I am? I analyzed my own autobiographical journals using the four-part Listening Guide (Gilligan, Spencer, Weinberg, & Bertsch, 2003) coupled with theme-based family coding to …


Connecting The Dots: A Review Of Traversing The Uncharted Arena Of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software: Mapping Out Qda Miner 4.1 As A First-Time User, Andrea Cuva Dec 2014

Connecting The Dots: A Review Of Traversing The Uncharted Arena Of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software: Mapping Out Qda Miner 4.1 As A First-Time User, Andrea Cuva

The Qualitative Report

A review of QDA Miner 4.1, a mixed method computer assisted data analysis software (CAQDAS), was conducted to determine how accommodating (if at all) the software was for beginning researchers and/or individuals less proficient with computers. Rather than maintaining the more traditional focus on the technical functionality of QDA Miner, this review was structured around the needs and interests of a beginning researcher. Although QDA Miner offers a variety of helpful resources, questions regarding how to structure initial project to ensure findings yield methodological accuracy remain.


The Institutional Review Board (Irb) And Faculty: Does The Irb Challenge Faculty Professionalism In The Social Sciences?, Glenda Droogsma Musoba, Stacy A. Jacob, Leslie J. Robinson Dec 2014

The Institutional Review Board (Irb) And Faculty: Does The Irb Challenge Faculty Professionalism In The Social Sciences?, Glenda Droogsma Musoba, Stacy A. Jacob, Leslie J. Robinson

The Qualitative Report

Institutional Review Boards (IRB) were instituted to protect the rights of research participants and due to past (and at times egregious) practices committed in the name of research. We question whether the IRB is currently overstepping its bounds into the domain of the researcher. We illustrate possible ways in which the IRB subtlety and not so subtlety challenge faculty professionalism and limit faculty research independence, highlighting some instances in which qualitative research topics bump up against boards that mistrust or misunderstand the nature of qualitative research. Using case study vignettes from five universities, our concerns focused on mission creep and …


The Influence Of Confucianism On Identity Formation Of A Multi-Skilled Migrant: An Autoethnography, Annabella Fung Dec 2014

The Influence Of Confucianism On Identity Formation Of A Multi-Skilled Migrant: An Autoethnography, Annabella Fung

The Qualitative Report

In this autoethnographical study, I examine how my identities were influenced by Confucianism. Two main Confucian concepts were examined: “selfperfection,” and “filial piety and submissiveness.” As a migrant who left Macau for Australia at fifteen, I have been immersed in diverse cultural climates, experienced gender bias, identity crisis and racial discrimination. I consider all experiences as essential steps of my evolution with ethnographic, interpretative, phenomenological and narrative understandings. This paper introduces the term “seasonal fluctuations” as a way to describe the changing meanings of my lived experiences that were interrogated by my three distinctive personalities: The Writer, The Interpreter and …


Connecting The Dots: A Review Of Norman K. Denzin's Interpretive Autoethnography, Victoria Landu Dec 2014

Connecting The Dots: A Review Of Norman K. Denzin's Interpretive Autoethnography, Victoria Landu

The Qualitative Report

The interpretive autoethnography by Denzin (2014) described the interpretive autoethnography as a biographical study of life experiences and performance of a person. Using examplars, the author tried to connect the dots between lives, performance, the epiphany and its’ interpretation. It also explained strategies to conducting interpretive autoethnography. The book defined several genealogies of terms which helped to broaden the understanding of the explanation of process and performance in autoethnography. The book presented some of the pitfalls to avoid when conducting interpretive autoethnography. Defining several genealogies of terms, the book explained process and performance in autoethnographic study.


What's Wrong With Me?: An Autoethnographic Investigation Of The Co-Cultural Communicative Practices Of Living With Tourette Syndrome During Adolescence, Mark Congdon Jr. Dec 2014

What's Wrong With Me?: An Autoethnographic Investigation Of The Co-Cultural Communicative Practices Of Living With Tourette Syndrome During Adolescence, Mark Congdon Jr.

The Qualitative Report

Using an Autoethnographic methodology, this essay explores how I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. My experience illustrates a dynamic and difficult process of understanding and negotiating assimilation, using a variety of communication strategies related to self-perception, perceptions of others, and interactions with others. Using Co-Cultural theory (CCT) as a theoretical framework, three themes emerged from my experience: (1) nonassertive assimilation: negotiating with relationships of authority, (2) aggressive assimilation: negotiating relationships with peers, and (3) nonassertive separation: the convergence of negotiating relationships of authority and with peers. It is my hope that my story expands the awareness and conversation among and …


"Go For Broke And Speak Your Mind!" Building A Community Of Practice With Bilingual Pre-Service Teachers, Hyesun Cho Dec 2014

"Go For Broke And Speak Your Mind!" Building A Community Of Practice With Bilingual Pre-Service Teachers, Hyesun Cho

The Qualitative Report

Despite the popularity of communities of practice (CoP) in education, there is a paucity of research on teacher preparation programs that are deliberately created to build and sustain CoP to help bilingual pre-service teachers’ learning. This qualitative study describes how a community of practice was purposefully developed in a teacher preparation program for bilingual undergraduates in Hawaii. Using multiple forms of qualitative data, such as classroom transcripts, interviews, online discussion posts, and reflection journals, I illustrate how a cohort of pre-service teachers and their instructor created a facilitative and reflective classroom community of practice. Using narrative inquiry and thematic analysis, …


Caught In The Middle: Chat(Ting) About Black School Leaders, Demetricia L. Hodges Dec 2014

Caught In The Middle: Chat(Ting) About Black School Leaders, Demetricia L. Hodges

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this article is to “chat” about my experience using Eurocentric theories in racial and culturally centered qualitative inquiry. The challenge I face is that I believe researchers can use Eurocentric theories to conceptualize ‘appropriate’ frameworks to conduct rigorous culturally responsible and sensitive research that contributes to existing scholarly dialogue and empirical literature on culturally sensitive designs in the field of qualitative research. In this paper I use my research experience to address the question, “How can researcher(s) conduct culturally responsible and sensitive research?” I use autoethnography and writing as a method of inquiry to (re)present the multi-layers …


Disabilities Disabilities: A "Two-Way Mirror", Kathy A. Thomas Dec 2014

Disabilities Disabilities: A "Two-Way Mirror", Kathy A. Thomas

The Qualitative Report

There is nothing more intriguing than well-reported documented stories of real life experiences and genuine autoethnographic dialogue. When writers communicate and relate stories about the self and their experiences and include others who share a personal story, there is an amazing connection, unique intensive and extensive understanding and interpretation, and a cultural and social exchange in an authoethnographic representation of self and the respective culture of study. A dialogue generated among the authors as educators as they shared stories inside and outside the disabilities culture was the performance and autoethnographic delivery in Phil Smith’s book, Both Sides of the Table: …


Use Of Semi-Structured Interviews To Explore Competing Demands In A Prostate Cancer Prevention Intervention Clinical Trial (Pcpict), Theresa Crocker, Karen Besterman-Dahan, David Himmelgreen, Heide Castañeda, Clement K. Gwede, Nagi Kumar Dec 2014

Use Of Semi-Structured Interviews To Explore Competing Demands In A Prostate Cancer Prevention Intervention Clinical Trial (Pcpict), Theresa Crocker, Karen Besterman-Dahan, David Himmelgreen, Heide Castañeda, Clement K. Gwede, Nagi Kumar

The Qualitative Report

In this paper we report on findings from the first known study using qualitative methods to explore factors influencing physicians’ participation in an ongoing federally-funded prostate cancer chemoprevention clinical trial. We sought to identify ways to improve collaboration between researchers and physicians and enhance the success of future projects and employed purposive sampling to recruit physician/investigators who were involved or invited to participate in the trial. Using the data from open-ended semi-structured interviews, we examined patterns in their languaging and created themes. We found that individual and structural factors served as barriers and facilitators to participation. Willingness and desire to …


Not Just For Beginners - A Review Of Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide For Beginners, Gerald A. Craver Dec 2014

Not Just For Beginners - A Review Of Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide For Beginners, Gerald A. Craver

The Qualitative Report

In Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Beginners (2013), Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke present their method of thematic analysis as well as some strategies for successfully conducting qualitative research. The book is user-friendly and contains practical advice that may appeal to both novices and experienced researchers alike.


The Lived Experience Of Honduran And Usa Nursing Students Working Together In A Study Abroad Program, Lorinda J. Sealey, Donna Hathorn Dec 2014

The Lived Experience Of Honduran And Usa Nursing Students Working Together In A Study Abroad Program, Lorinda J. Sealey, Donna Hathorn

The Qualitative Report

Nursing study abroad is one approach to preparing student nurses to work more effectively in international environments as well as at home with culturally diverse clients. These programs foster self-reflection by permitting students to spend considerable time immersed in different cultures, thus exposing them to clients with different health beliefs and values. The authors of this transformational phenomenological study examined the lived experience of American and Honduran nursing students working collaboratively during a nursing study abroad program. One-time audio-recorded semi structured interviews were conducted to gather data from American and Honduran students. Six themes emerged: Communication (i.e., language and communication …


Qualitative Perspectives Toward Relational Connection In Pastoral Ministry, Jonathan W. Young, Michael W. Firmin Nov 2014

Qualitative Perspectives Toward Relational Connection In Pastoral Ministry, Jonathan W. Young, Michael W. Firmin

The Qualitative Report

We present the results of a phenomenological, qualitative research study in which 13 Southern Baptist (SB) pastors were administered in-depth interviews. The sample was selected from a total of 37 exemplars, identified in the quantitative component of a larger mixed-methods study, regarding the pastors’ perspectives toward relational connection in pastoral ministry. Three themes emerged from the data regarding relational connection in pastoral ministry. First, pastors indicated the need to be intentional about pastoral connection. Second, the pastors stressed the importance of being available to congregants who specifically desire pastoral connection. Finally, the participants related that pastors should give particular attention …


Cultural Proximity And Reflexivity In Interpreting Transnational Media Texts: The Case Of Malaysians Consuming Japanese Popular Culture, Eriko Yamato Nov 2014

Cultural Proximity And Reflexivity In Interpreting Transnational Media Texts: The Case Of Malaysians Consuming Japanese Popular Culture, Eriko Yamato

The Qualitative Report

Television programs such as animation and drama series from Japan have become common transnational products in Malaysia. Since studies on Malaysians who consume Japanese popular culture are lacking even a decade after its substantial rise in popularity, this qualitative study was designed to explore the media consumption of Japanese popular culture in Malaysia. In this article I examined how Malaysians are interpreting their favorite media texts from Japan specifically revisiting the concepts of “cultural proximity” and “reflexivity” suggested in the other studies of Japanese popular culture and the audience. I conducted in-depth interviews with 12 participants who have been consuming …


Using Ethnography To Understand Meaning: A Review Of Sam Ladner's Practical Ethnography: A Guide To Doing Ethnography In The Private Sector, Richard H. Rogers Nov 2014

Using Ethnography To Understand Meaning: A Review Of Sam Ladner's Practical Ethnography: A Guide To Doing Ethnography In The Private Sector, Richard H. Rogers

The Qualitative Report

Ethnography is a qualitative research methodology that explains the meaning of a culture within context. Ethnographers take the emic position, participants’ point of view, and try to understand their language, concepts, categories, and opinions that defines their research. The author, Sam Ladner, wrote a thorough text that bridges the research and the practical use of ethnography in the private or public sector. An experienced or new researcher could gain knowledge by reading this text and implementing the methods in his or her private or public sector job. If a client wants to understand why consumers make certain decisions, the methods …


Fiction Strengthens Research: A Review Of Patricia Leavy's Fiction As Research Practice: Short Stories, Novellas, And Novels, Richard H. Rogers Nov 2014

Fiction Strengthens Research: A Review Of Patricia Leavy's Fiction As Research Practice: Short Stories, Novellas, And Novels, Richard H. Rogers

The Qualitative Report

Arts-based research (ABR) is a form of qualitative research that includes genres such as poetry, music, theatrical scripts, visual art, novels, and short stories. Fiction-based research is one type of ABR that utilizes the strength of fiction to connect with readers and to portray real life and genuine human experiences. The author, Patricia Leavy, wrote a text that thoroughly explains the meaning and evaluation of fiction-based research. In addition, she provides exemplar pieces and uses her eight criteria to assess the research. Lastly, the text explains why fiction is an important pedagogy to use with students. Twenty-first century skills and …


Transition Experiences Out Of Intercollegiate Athletics: A Meta-Synthesis, Rhema D. Fuller Nov 2014

Transition Experiences Out Of Intercollegiate Athletics: A Meta-Synthesis, Rhema D. Fuller

The Qualitative Report

Given the renewed focus as to the degree in which institutions of higher education are preparing their student-athletes for life after sports, this study used a qualitative meta-synthesis research method design to examine the transition experiences of college athletes out of intercollegiate sport. The researcher synthesized data from nine qualitative studies, leading to the identification of six themes characteristic of the transition experience: athletic identity, anticipation and preparation, branching out, satisfaction with athletic performance, loss of camaraderie and support systems. Finally, the manuscript discusses the results of the meta-synthesis in light of their theoretical and practical implications.


"I'D Rather Dance Outside": A Phenomenological Examination Of Youth Experiences In Outdoor, Noncompetitive Physical Activity, Richard W. Christiana, Marsha Davis, Melissa Freeman Nov 2014

"I'D Rather Dance Outside": A Phenomenological Examination Of Youth Experiences In Outdoor, Noncompetitive Physical Activity, Richard W. Christiana, Marsha Davis, Melissa Freeman

The Qualitative Report

Research has shown that youth with low levels of fitness or little interest in organized sports and traditional physical education are more likely to participate in noncompetitive outdoor physical activity. However, little is known about what influences youths’ decisions to participate in these activities. This study examined rural young adolescents’ experiences of participating in noncompetitive outdoor physical activity. In depth qualitative interviews were conducted with young adolescents aged 11-13 years (N = 24) from one rural middle school to elicit detailed descriptions of experiences of participation in outdoor physical activities. Interview transcripts were analyzed inductively and emergent themes related to …


Water And Sanitation In Mumbai's Slums: Education Through Inquiry Based Learning In Social Work, Ronald Yesudhas, Patil Lalit, Antony Josy, Shenoy Impana Nov 2014

Water And Sanitation In Mumbai's Slums: Education Through Inquiry Based Learning In Social Work, Ronald Yesudhas, Patil Lalit, Antony Josy, Shenoy Impana

The Qualitative Report

Water and sanitation are the most important services necessary for life and dignity of citizens. But slum dwellers are excluded from these services, resulting in environmental degradation, marginalization and poor health. Through inquiry based learning, the first author has attempted to give his students an first hand and innovative learning experience by helping them to explore water and sanitation issues in the Ambujwadi slum of Mumbai (India) on their own. The paper highlights the pedagogical approach and by the way of illustrations helps the reader to understand its usefulness in teaching students of social work.


Out Of Our Comfort Zones: Reflections About Teaching Qualitative Research At A Distance, Cheyl A. Hunter, Debora Hinderliter Ortloff, Rachelle Winkle-Wagner Nov 2014

Out Of Our Comfort Zones: Reflections About Teaching Qualitative Research At A Distance, Cheyl A. Hunter, Debora Hinderliter Ortloff, Rachelle Winkle-Wagner

The Qualitative Report

How does an increase in distance technology alter the teaching of qualitative research? This article uses a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (McKinney, 2007) framework in which each author collected data in the form of personal narrative essays about teaching qualitative research from a distance, course products, teaching evaluations, and student comments. Individually we created a narrative reflection on the teaching and learning of qualitative methodology; particularly comparing our individual experiences with both distance and in-person teaching formats. Through these reflective essays, we provide ideas about our teaching of qualitative research via distance technology as a conceptual conversation about the …


An Exploration Of Collective Meaning-Making Among Migrant Workers, Patturaja Selvaraj Nov 2014

An Exploration Of Collective Meaning-Making Among Migrant Workers, Patturaja Selvaraj

The Qualitative Report

I engaged with workers in India who have migrated from rural districts in the southern state of Karnataka to work in the mess of an academic institute located in a western state of India. These workers faced significant challenges and vulnerabilities due to being part of the unorganised sector. The primary question for my inquiry was to understand how migrant workers negotiated these vulnerabilities and whether they could succeed in processes of informal collectivisation based on shared bonds of language and ethnicity. I interviewed six migrant workers to understand their experiences and difficulties they face. I analysed the data by …


A Sensitive Question: Asking About Race In A Research Interview, Laura O'Hare Nov 2014

A Sensitive Question: Asking About Race In A Research Interview, Laura O'Hare

The Qualitative Report

Conversations are significant, but often overlooked cultural sites where attitudes, beliefs, and values about race are both reified and challenged. As such, these sites deserve increased scholarly attention (Allen, 2007). We employed Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Theory as a framework to examine the discursive strategies used by 11 interviewers in a research context as they asked 115 patient participants (taking part in a larger study of patients at a community-based family medicine residency clinic) to identify their race, as well as to identify the discursive strategies used by patient participants who answered this question. Our analysis revealed that in their …


Mothers Of Sons With Substance Use Disorders: A Grounded Theory Approach Revealing Maternal Expectations And Three Stages Of Change, Judith A. Nelson, Richard C. Henriksen, Roseanne S. Keathley Nov 2014

Mothers Of Sons With Substance Use Disorders: A Grounded Theory Approach Revealing Maternal Expectations And Three Stages Of Change, Judith A. Nelson, Richard C. Henriksen, Roseanne S. Keathley

The Qualitative Report

Addiction problems in a family present challenges in coping with the addicted family member's behaviors are often described in terms of the psychopathology of the interactions of the family members. The present article describes a qualitative study of the lived experiences of mothers whose male children have struggled or currently are struggling with chemical dependence. Our overall aim in the study was to explore critical stages or events in the experiences of these mothers relevant to their chemically dependent sons. As such, our research question was: What are the lived experiences of mothers of substance abusing sons who are either …


Critical Approach To Reflexivity In Grounded Theory, Stephen J. Gentles, Susan M. Jack, David B. Nicholas, K. Ann Mckibbon Nov 2014

Critical Approach To Reflexivity In Grounded Theory, Stephen J. Gentles, Susan M. Jack, David B. Nicholas, K. Ann Mckibbon

The Qualitative Report

A problem with the popular desire to legitimate one’s research through the inclusion of reflexivity is its increasingly uncritical adoption and practice, with most researchers failing to define their understandings, specific positions, and approaches. Considering the relative recentness with which reflexivity has been explicitly described in the context of grounded theory, guidance for incorporating it within this research approach is currently in the early stages. In this article, we illustrate a three-stage approach used in a grounded theory study of how parents of children with autism navigate intervention. Within this approach, different understandings of reflexivity are first explored and mapped, …


Converting Capital: The Experiences Of Latinas/Os In Graduate Health Care Programs, Maristela C. Zell Oct 2014

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 …


Expert Opinion? A Micro-Analysis Of Eating Disorder Talk On Dr. Phil, Andrea Lamarre, Olga Sutherland Oct 2014

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 …


Autoethnography In Practice: A Book Review Of British Contemporary Ethnography, Jessica Nina Lester, Zulfkar Ozdogan Oct 2014

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 …