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Mysteries And Qualitative Research? Review Of Mats Alvesson And Dan Kärreman’S Qualitative Research And Theory Development: Mystery As Method, Tom Strong

The Qualitative Report

In an era of postmodern and social constructionist thought, qualitative researchers have experienced method as a mess. This time of conflict and tension has contributed to concerns and questions about researchers’ interpretive and reflexive contributions to the study of social reality. Into these confusing times, Mats Alvesson and Dan Kärreman, social constructionist researchers, take a novel approach to how qualitative research can inform theory development. They suggest researchers embrace the mysteries when trying to make sense of social situations by taking a reflective and interpretive approach towards their empirical material to create results that can challenge established theory and thus …

Narratives From The Online Frontier: A K-12 Student’S Experience In An Online Learning Environment, Michael Barbour, Jason Siko, Jacinda Sumara, Kaye Simuel-Everage

The Qualitative Report

Despite a large increase in the number of students enrolled in online courses, published research on student experiences in these environments is minimal. This article reports the narrative analysis of a series of interviews conducted with a female student at a brick-and-mortar school enrolled in a single virtual school course. Her narratives describe a student who often struggled with the content in her online course and was reluctant to interact with her online teacher. When she interacted with people online, it was using text, because she was shy and the hardware often did not work. Darlene’s experiences, likely typical of …

Conducting Qualitative Data Analysis: Managing Dynamic Tensions Within, Part One, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

In the third of a series of “how-to” essays on conducting qualitative data analysis, Ron Chenail examines the dynamic tensions within the process of qualitative data analysis that qualitative researchers must manage in order to produce credible and creative results. These tensions include (a) the qualities of the data and the qualitative data analysis of these qualities, (b) errors of deficiency and exuberance, (c) tacit and public knowledge, (d) separation and connection, and (e) verticality and horizontality.

Recursive Frame Analysis: Reflections On The Development Of A Qualitative Research Method, Hillary Keeney, Bradford Keeney

The Qualitative Report

The origin of recursive frame analysis (RFA) is revisited and discussed as a postmodern alternative to modernist therapeutic models and research methods that foster hegemony of a preferred therapeutic metaphor, narrative, or strategy. It encourages improvisational performance while enabling a means of scoring the change and movement of the contextual organization of communication. Here we revisit the origin of RFA, its subsequent development, and new directions it may pursue both in the domains of organizing therapeutic discourse and post hoc critical analysis.

Being A Korean Studying Koreans In An American School: Reflections On Culture, Power, And Ideology, Minjung Lim

The Qualitative Report

Recent debates on situated knowledge highlight the issue of the researcher’s position in the research process, challenging the traditional assumption of the insider/outsider dichotomy. Drawing on my fieldwork among Korean immigrant parents in an American school, I describe my shifting positions in negotiation and scrutinize the ways my reflexivity intersects with culture, power relations, and political ideologies in the research process. This self-analysis highlights partial and situated knowledge claims, questioning the author’s value-neutral, authoritative voice in texts. I argue that the researcher should critically reflect on her location in the field and articulate how this position influences the research.

Intersectionality Of Ethno-Cultural Identities And Construal Of Distant Suffering Outgroups, Marek Palasinski, Jackie Abell, Mark Levine

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, we explore how white Catholic men talk about the indirect dilemma of non-intervention for black ethnic outgroups. We illustrate how they mobilise global categorisation (all humanity) and use various forms of denial to deal with their non-involvement. Having analyzed representative fragments of their prejudice avoidance talk, we conclude with some observation about the strategic deployment of categories and denial forms as part of identity management talk. In contrast to quantitative research that oversimplifies the ingroup-outgroup distinction, we show how the status and outgroupness levels of the needy appear to be both flexible and intricate, which depends on …

Clarifying My World: Identity Work In The Context Of Workplace Bullying, Premilla D'Cruz, Ernesto Noronha

The Qualitative Report

Based on a study rooted in van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenology, conducted with agents working in international facing call centers in Mumbai and Bangalore, India, this paper describes targets’ identity work in the context of workplace bullying. Data were gathered through conversational interviews and were subject to sententious and selective thematic analyses. The core theme of “clarifying my world” captures participants’ attempt to reconstruct their identity following the emergence of identity disruptions stemming from the experience of being bullied. Major themes which include building personal security and insulation, recreating equilibrium, maintaining dignity and poise, re-establishing ontological foundations and seeking continuity in …

Online Gaming Issues In Offline Couple Relationships: A Primer For Marriage And Family Therapists (Mfts), Katherine M. Hertlein, Blendine P. Hawkins

The Qualitative Report

Although the challenges around participation in online gaming grow, gamers and their partners who experience online relationship issues related to gaming, present a new set of treatment challenges for therapists. In this article, we report on the findings of a hermeneutic research study aimed at evaluating the scholarly literature related to online gaming and interpret these texts to determine the effect such online activity has on the couple relationship. We reviewed 18 articles published between 1998 and 2010 related to online gaming and interpersonal relationships, focusing solely on empirical articles related to the search criteria. Our interpretation of the text …

Calendar Interviewing And The Use Of Landmark Events – Implications For Cross-Cultural Surveys, Tina Glasner, Wander Van Der Vaart, Robert F. Belli

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This paper discusses potential methodological issues in the design and implementation of calendar recall aids such as the Life History Calendar for cross-cultural surveys. More specifically, it aims to provide insights into how the use of landmark events in calendar interviewing may be influenced by cross-cultural variability. As an example, we compare the landmark events reported by Dutch and American respondents in two studies in which calendar recall aids were used. The study discusses differences that were found between the two countries in the numbers and types of reported landmark events, as well as in the temporal distribution of those …

Nebraska Risk And Protective Factor Student Survey Results For 2012. Profile Report: State Of Nebraska, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Student Health and Risk Prevention Surveillance System (SHARP)

No abstract provided.

State Of Nebraska 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Student Health and Risk Prevention Surveillance System (SHARP)

No abstract provided.

Cross-Year Comparison Of Life In Hampton Roads Survey Results, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

The Social Science Research Center (SSRC) at Old Dominion University recently completed data collection for the third annual Life in Hampton Roads telephone survey. The purpose of the survey was to gain insight into residents’ perceptions of the quality of life in Hampton Roads. The survey also attempted to determine the attitudes and perceptions of citizens regarding topics of local interest such as transportation and traffic, local and state government, crime, and other issues. Funding for the 2012 survey was provided by the ODU Office of Research and the Dean of the College of Arts and Letters. Questions were generated …

Life In Hampton Roads Report: 2012 Tables, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (Nasis) 2011-2012 Methodology Report, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

CONTENTS

Introduction 3

Mode Selection 3

Design & Item Selection 3

Sampling Design 4

Experimental Design Treatment 4

Data Collection Process 4

Response Rate 5

Data-Entry Training, Supervision, and Quality Control 5

Processing of Completed Surveys 5

Data Cleaning 5

Representativeness of the Survey 6

NASIS Sample Weights 6

Figures 8

Tables 9

Appendix A: Cover Letter 11

Appendix B: Formatted Mail Survey 13

Appendix C: Future Interest Research Form 45

Appendix D: Reminder Postcard 46

Appendix E: County Codes 47

Appendix F: Variables and Descriptions 48

Nasis 2012: Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey Questionnaire, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

We need your help to learn about how Nebraskans think, feel, and live. Researchers from the University of Nebraska and across the state are counting on your help to learn about a variety of issues. Your responses will help shape program and policy development in Nebraska now and into the future.

105 questions; 16 pages

Advanced Seminar – Interviewer-Respondent Interaction: Survey Research & Methodology Special Topics 898, Spring 2012, Robert Belli

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This course will explore the theory and observations that underlie the attempt of survey methodologists to understand the nature of interviewer-respondent interactions and their impact on data quality. This exploration will entail the examination of different interviewing methods and different methods to observe and analyze the verbal behavioral streams that occur between interviewers and respondents. In addition, analytic approaches that seek to understand the impact of verbal behaviors on data quality will be considered.

Mixed-Methods Research Methodologies, Steven R. Terrell

The Qualitative Report

Mixed-Method studies have emerged from the paradigm wars between qualitative and quantitative research approaches to become a widely used mode of inquiry. Depending on choices made across four dimensions, mixed-methods can provide an investigator with many design choices which involve a range of sequential and concurrent strategies. Defining features of these designs are reported along with quality control methods, and ethical concerns. Useful resources and exemplary study references are shared.

Macrostructure From Microstructure: Generating Whole Systems From Ego Networks, Jeffrey A. Smith

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper presents a new simulation method to make global network inference from sampled data. The proposed simulation method takes sampled ego network data and uses Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGM) to reconstruct the features of the true, unknown network. After describing the method, the paper presents two validity checks of the approach: the first uses the 20 largest Add Health networks while the second uses the Sociology Coauthorship network in the 1990’s. For each test, I take random ego network samples from the known networks and use my method to make global network inference. I find that my method …

Manufacturing Change, Una Ruddock

The Qualitative Report

This is a highly accessible presentation of organisational research, which demonstrates how ethnography can elicit a holistic understanding of across section of employees and thereby reveal a workplace culture. It suggests that change efforts fail if culture is ignored and offers a detailed account of how critical incidents translate into tools for change. The data analysis reveals the weakness in working relationships and how blame functions to prevent change. The Ideal Plant project emerges, which validates transformation tools to create cooperative workplace interactions and collaborative problem solving. The past and future, metaphorically represented as two different places, are connected by …

Qualitative Inquiry Into Church-Based Assets For Hiv/Aids Prevention And Control: A Forum Focus Group Discussion Approach, Godwin N. Aja, Naomi N. Modeste, Susanne B. Montgomery

The Qualitative Report

Assets church members believed they needed to engage in effective HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities. We used the three-step forum focus group discussion (FFGD) methodology to elicit responses from 32 church leaders and lay members, representing five denominations in Aba, Nigeria. Concrete resources, health expertise, finances, institutional support, capacity building, and spiritual support connected to the collective interest of members were indicated as useful for church members to engage in HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities. Adequate planning and delivery of cost-effective, appropriate and sustainable health promotion programs require an understanding of perceived church-based assets.

An Exemplar For Teaching And Learning Qualitative Research, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Nancy L. Leech, John R. Slate, Marcella Stark, Bipin Sharma, Rebecca Frels, Kristin Harris, Julie P. Combs

The Qualitative Report

In this article, we outline a course wherein the instructors teach students how to conduct rigorous qualitative research. We discuss the four major distinct, but overlapping, phases of the course: conceptual/theoretical, technical, applied, and emergent scholar. Students write several qualitative reports, called qualitative notebooks, which involve data that they collect (via three different types of interviews), analyze (using nine qualitative analysis techniques via qualitative software), and interpret. Each notebook is edited by the instructors to help them improve the quality of subsequent notebook reports. Finally, we advocate asking students who have previously taken this course to team-teach future courses. We …

Conversing Life: An Autoethnographic Construction, Christopher N. Hoelson, Rod Burton

The Qualitative Report

This autoethnography is a constructed account of a co-exploration into the nature and effects of a longitudinal dyadic conversation process from a relational constructionist perspective. The conversations, between me as participant autoethnographer and a co-participant, aimed at maximising personal learning for both. Through co-created contexts of mutual engagement and respectful presence, we were able to focus our learning on the spontaneous process and content of the conversations. The qualitative data were sampled purposively from diary entries summarizing the conversations which spanned a period of five years. The data were analysed into themes and together, with selected illustrative examples of significant …

Using Realist Synthesis To Develop An Evidence Base From An Identified Data Set On Enablers And Barriers For Alcohol And Drug Program Implementation, Barbara Hunter, Lynda Berends, Sarah Maclean

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to show how “realist synthesis” methodology (Pawson, 2002) was adapted to review a large sample of community based projects addressing alcohol and drug use problems. Our study drew on a highly varied sample of 127 projects receiving funding from a national non-government organisation in Australia between 2002 and 2008. Open and pattern coding led to the identification of 10 barrier and nine enabler mechanisms influencing project implementation across the sample. Eight case studies (four demonstrating successful implementation; four demonstrating less than successful implementation) were used for depth exploration of these mechanisms. High level theories …

A Qualitative Inquiry In The Evaluation Of A Pedagogical Course From The Prospective Teachers’ Points Of View, Banu Yucel Toy, Ahmet Ok

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative inquiry has gained importance in the evaluation of educational settings because it provides in-depth information, shedding light on context, situations, or processes. In this study, a qualitative inquiry was undertaken in order to evaluate a pedagogical course from the prospective teachers’ points of view. In this case study, data were collected through focus group interviews with three groups of prospective teachers. The lack of putting theories into practice, the lack of relating the topics to teaching life, the lack of attention and participation, and the lack of a variety of materials appeared to be the most essential problems. In …

Grandparental Death: Through The Lens Of An Asian Child, Wing-Fu Lai

The Qualitative Report

Bereavement has been extensively studied over the years, yet scholarly work depicting, with the first-person perspective, the experience of childhood bereavement is severely lacking. The research question I set out to answer here is: What is it like as an Asian child to experience bereavement following grandparental death? As such, self-introspection was exercised, and this, together with the diaries and free writings generated at the time of my grandma’s death, was used as the basis for autoethnographic reflections. It is hoped that my story presented here can offer a psychological portrayal of an Asian child enduring grandparental death, and illuminate …

Group Supervision Attitudes: Supervisory Practices Fostering Resistance To Adoption Of Evidence-Based Practices, Charles T. Brooks, David A. Patterson, Patrick M. Mckiernan

The Qualitative Report

The focus of this study was to qualitatively evaluate worker’s attitudes about clinical supervision. It is believed that poor attitudes toward clinical supervision can create barriers during supervision sessions. Fifty-one participants within a social services organization completed an open-ended questionnaire regarding their clinical supervision experiences. Results suggest four key areas which appear to be strong factors in workers’ experiences and attitudes regarding group supervision: a. facilitator’s skill level; b. creativity; c. utilization of technology; and d. applicability. For organizations interested in overcoming potential barriers to adopting best practices, effectively addressing workers’ negative attitudes toward group supervision would be a worthy …

Administrator Insights And Reflections: Technology Integration In Schools, Bryan Berrett, Jennifer Murphy, Jamie Sullivan

The Qualitative Report

There are numerous technology tools that educators utilize to support student learning. Often, technology is mandated from the top down with school administrators’ responsible for overseeing the implementation. Innovative technological approaches to learning often meet resistance within schools. The pervasive culture in education is counteractive to technology integration, which may be useful to pedagogy and in the long run may help students deal with the ever growing level of technology present in today’s society. Characteristics are identified at two out of four schools as a way of assessing the progress of technology integration and locating individuals who will help move …

Practical Wisdom: A Review Of Foundations Of Ethical Practice, Research, And Teaching In Psychology And Counseling, Fatima A. Cotton

The Qualitative Report

In Karen Strohm Kitchener and Sharon K. Anderson’s Foundations of Ethical Practice, Research, and Teaching in Psychology and Counseling (2011) they use the term practical wisdom or prudence as a way to make right decisions in real life situation. The authors lay the foundation for conceptually dealing with ethical problems for psychologists, counselors, students, and trainees. The book is in two parts. In the first six chapters, the authors focus on the foundations of ethical reasoning. The next part focuses on the ethical issues psychologists and counselors are confronted with in their roles.

Member Checking: Can Benefits Be Gained Similar To Group Therapy?, Melissa Harper, Patricia Cole

The Qualitative Report

Member checking continues to be an important quality control process in qualitative research as during the course of conducting a study, participants receive the opportunity to review their statements for accuracy and, in so doing; they may acquire a therapeutic benefit. The authors of this article suggest that this benefit is similar to some of the components of group therapy, especially in normalizing the phenomenon being experienced. Even if the participants never meet, they can feel a sense of relief that their feelings are validated and that they are not alone.

Residential Grief Camps: An Initial Phenomenological Study Of Staff Perspectives, Tiffany B. Brown, Thomas G. Kimball

The Qualitative Report

Research has focused primarily on the impact of death on family functioning and the stages and tasks of grief, though little attention has been given to grief camps or the experiences of those who work there. This study explored the experiences of staff at a four-day overnight children’s grief camp. Eight participants reported their experience of camp in two major categories: connection to others and independence in grief and five themes. Camp provides the opportunity for campers to connect to others while finding their own path to healing. Clinical implications and future research directions are also discussed.