Social Statistics Commons^™

Communication, Culture And Community: Towards A Cultural Analysis Of Community Media, Kevin Howley

The Qualitative Report

This paper promotes a research agenda committed to a sustained, multiperspectival cultural analysis of community-based media. In doing so, the essay takes up two interrelated arguments. First, it is suggested that community media represent a conspicuous blind spot in cultural approaches to communication studies: a situation that is at odds with the hallmarks of cultural studies scholarship, especially its affirmation of popular forms of resistance and its celebration of and keen appreciation for local cultural production. Second, the author maintains that as a site of intense struggle over cultural production, distribution, and consumption within and through communication and information technologies, …

Subjectivity In Research: Why Not ? But…, Martin Drapeau

The Qualitative Report

This article addresses the question of subjectivity in research. In order to facilitate the use of subjectivity in a research context, the author reminds readers of possible procedures as suggested in the literature. Particular attention is given to the idea of peer debriefing. Inspired by psychoanalysis, the author expands on the concept of discussant or debriefer and suggests that by doing so, subjectivity can be better understood. It is suggested that this may actually be fully integrated into a study in order to both better understand the subject under examination as well as the influence of the research mentor and …

A Differential Construct Methodology For Modelling Predictive Cultural Values, Béatrice Boufoy -Bastick

The Qualitative Report

This paper presents an explanatory model of cultural behaviours, which resulted from a four-year ethnographic study of the different academic attainments in English of indigenous Fijians and the Indo-Fijians in the Fiji Islands. Fiji is a natural laboratory for investigating differential cultural behaviours because of these two culturally distinct main ethnic groups. Their different cultural behaviours were found to serve different values within each culture. A three-construct grounded model of these different values emerged from observations and analyses of these behaviours. These constructs were then de-constructed to define and explain a fourth target construct of their Differential Teaching Behaviours, which …

Caregivers' Experiences Of Informal Support In The Context Of Hiv/Aids, Premilla D'Cruz

The Qualitative Report

Social support is an important buffer for family caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV/AIDS). With limited formal support options, these caregivers have to rely increasingly on informal networks. Yet, accessing this avenue is also fraught with difficulty due to the stigmatising nature of HIV infection. Research in this area is not just not sparse, but focusses largely on sources of support and the circumscribing effects of stigma. To further our understanding, a qualitative study was conducted using various concepts from social support theory. Twelve family caregivers in Mumbai, India, were interviewed, using the in-depth interview method. An iterative, thematic …

Cognition And The Language Of Learning In South Africa: A Grade 10 Economics Perspective, Gawie Schlebusch

The Qualitative Report

In South Africa an increasing number of learners are taught through the medium of English. Limited English proficiency (LEP) learners who enter classes where English is the language of learning, encounter serious problems in coping with their academic work. These learners have usually acquired informal, colloquial language or Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS), but lack Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). The primary aim of this article is to explore the language dilemma which Grade ten LEP learners' experience. From these findings, recommendations are made concerning ways in which educators can support English language acquisition in the context of the learning …

Role Of High School Teachers In Swedish Psychology Education: A Phenomenological Study, Torsten Norlander, Alexander Blom, Trevor Archer

The Qualitative Report

A descriptive, qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews involving six high school teachers of psychology was carried out in order to ascertain the factors contributing to the outcome of education in the discipline. The Empirical Phenomenological Psychological method (EPP-method) was used. Eighteen categories of "meaning units" were derived from the analysis of the interview materials and are described together with representative quotations taken directly from the raw material. Didactic image but also school leadership, governors, politicians and students all influenced content, organisation and teaching of the psychology course, which is viewed not only as an autonomous subject in its own right …

Learners' Lives: A Narrative Analysis, Heather J. Richmond

The Qualitative Report

Learner's lives, a narrative impulse, establishes the importance of stories, provides an illustrative example of the analysis of an adult learner's story. The paper provides a step-by-step account of how a researcher conducted a narrative analysis and developed an organizational structure useful for other researchers.

A Principled Complementarity Of Method: In Defence Of Methodological Eclecticism And The Qualitative-Quantitative Debate, Andy Roberts

The Qualitative Report

I found PhD study to be a stimulating, challenging and ideal conduit for exploring knowledge via discussion, argument and defence: to have the opportunity to explore method, methodology, epistemology, ontology and what may constitute 'acceptable' research practice is an enriching experience. I had previously heard of intepretivists decrying positivists et cetera, but I was unprepared to find quantitative researchers and lecturers openly dismissing qualitative approaches, and finding dismissals by qualitative researchers of the use of a quantitative approach: such are disappointing and confusing to a trainee researcher. Thus, a far less enriching experience for a trainee researcher is being faced …

Music As A Metaphor For Thesis Writing, Gertina J. Van Schalkwyk

The Qualitative Report

In the final throws of writing a doctoral thesis the struggle was to find a structure for presenting the vast amounts of literature that had to be integrated and synthesised to form a coherent whole and linking psychology and music, the basis for my thesis. As a systems theorist and adherent to social constructionist views, the metaphor plays an important role in constructing realities, and the framework that came to mind for structuring and presenting my thesis was that of the concerto from the Western classical music genre. In this paper I will explain how this metaphor was used for …

Research As A Learning Experience: A Phenomenological Explication, Charlotte Pietersen

The Qualitative Report

A phenomenological method was employed to explore the learning experiences of seven honours psychology learners who have completed research projects. The research event was experienced as a learning adventure, a period of personal growth, and also lead to a strong appreciation of the differences between doing research in practice and research as described in texts. They regarded time management and problem solving skills as important prerequisites to successful research. Findings provide guidelines for academics involved in the research training of learners and are a useful source of information, to provide insight into and alert learners to the challenges of research.

Going Beyond The Demonstrable Range In Educational Scholarship: Exploring The Intersections Of Poetry And Research, Liza Hayes Percer

The Qualitative Report

This essay reflects on experimental writing that incorporates poetry into research. The author supports the move toward research writing that breaks the constraints of traditional academic writing, but raises the concern that such writing must not casually adopt the form and name of poetry without studying the craft. Along these lines, she suggests that in order for work that introduces poetry into research to be done effectively, researchers must study the craft of writing poetry as critically as they study the craft of writing research. Finally, the author suggests that instead of attempting to map poetry onto research, researchers may …

The Technicity Paradigm And Scientism In Qualitative Research, Carol J. Steiner

The Qualitative Report

This philosophical paper suggests that almost all academic research, including qualitative research, is conducted under the influence of a "technicity paradigm" which values objectivity, generalisability and rationality. This paper explores, from a Heideggerian perspective, the fundamental characteristics of research under the influence of technicity and discusses how these characteristics manifest in qualitative research. It includes a reflection on what qualitative research might be like if it could escape the influence of technicity and realise its potential for inclusive and relevant knowledge making.

"Planned Barriers" Against Destructive Psychological Processes In Care Organizations, Gurli Fyhr

The Qualitative Report

This is the first study in a long-term qualitative, theory generating, research project aimed at uncovering conditions that facilitate development of destructive psychological processes in care organizations. Special focus was put on three previously identified problem areas, i.e., staff privileges, conflicting educational traditions/cultures among staff, and psychological reparative work on the part of the staff. A special approved home for teenage boys with serious psychosocial, drug and criminal problems was studied. The strategy used was grounded theory together with abductive reasoning. Data were collected using institutional documents, questionnaires and individual psychotherapeutic interviews. In spite of a target group with serious …

Getting At The Moral Leadership Of Education Deans, Shelley B. Wepner, Antonia D'Onofrio, Bernice Willis, Stephen C. Wilhite

The Qualitative Report

Vignettes were used to prompt four education deans to think aloud about ways in which they would resolve problems with embedded moral issues. Thematic coding was used to analyze the interview texts that had been tape recorded and transcribed. There was general support for the two moral themes of holding to broad social ideals and negotiating for mutually acceptable outcomes, but individual expressions of specific strategies and actions differed. The results of this study support a multi-dimensional approach to the study of the leadership of deans that simultaneously examines the moral, social, intellectual and emotional aspects of problem solving. The …

Factors Related To Community Mobilization And Continued Involvement In A Community-Based Effort To Enhance Adolescents' Sexual Behaviour, Christine Joffres, Deborah Langille, Janet Rigby, Donald B. Langille

The Qualitative Report

Purpose: This article describes and proposes a model of the factors that influenced community members' initial mobilization, continuing effort, or lack of involvement in a community based-intervention on adolescents' sexual health in Nova Scotia, Canada. Design: This study was conducted within the constructivist paradigm and guided by the principles of grounded theory. Methods: Factors related to community members' initial and continued involvement were explored using analyses of the contents of in-depth interviews and written documentation through pattern identification, clustering of conceptual groupings, identification of relationships between variables, constant comparisons, and theoretical memos. Subjects: Respondents included 14 participants, the 12 members …

The Changing Face Of Chicago: Demographic Trends In The 1990s, Kenneth M. Johnson

Sociology

The population of the Chicago metropolitan area grew by 869,000 (11.6%) between 1990 and 2000, the largest decade of growth in 30 years. The gain of 112,000 in the City of Chicago was the first in more than 50 years. Overall, gains were greatest in the outer suburbs and smallest in the city. Much of this growth was fueled by immigration and natural increase, with Hispanics contributing disproportionately to both.

Understanding Of Emotions And Emotion Regulation In Adolescent Females With Conduct Problems: A Qualitative Analysis, Lynne M. Kostiuk, Gregory T. Fouts

The Qualitative Report

Adolescent girls with conduct problems were interviewed regarding their (a) understanding of positive and negative emotions, (b) parental context of experiencing emotions, (c) ways of regulating emotions, (d) success in emotion regulation, and (e) use of alternative strategies in dealing with emotions. It was found that the girls have relatively little understanding of their negative internal states and/or are unable to express them to others, especially to fathers. They have few successful strategies for regulating negative emotions in themselves and others and are unaware of alternative strategies. This dysregulatory pattern likely prevents them from learning more appropriate ways of expressing …

Use Of Focus Groups In Survey Item Development, Sylvia C. Nassar-Mcmillan, L. Dianne Borders

The Qualitative Report

Focus groups are rapidly gaining popularity as a field research tool. This technique can be particularly effective in survey item development, as illustrated here via development of the Volunteer Work Behaviors Questionnaire. The steps involved in this process, ranging from item generation to finalizing logistics, are outlined. Implications for further research are proposed.

Bias In Qualitative Research: Voices From An Online Classroom, Beloo Mehra

The Qualitative Report

The issue of bias in qualitative research is an important one, and demands special attention and discussion in any qualitative research methods class. This reflective paper, written in the tradition of teacher-research, presents an analysis of how my students and I, working in an online classroom environment, learn together about the role researcher self and subjectivity play in designing and conducting qualitative research. While researcher bias and subjectivity are commonly understood as inevitable and important by most qualitative researchers, the beginners in qualitative research classes are generally not very comfortable with the idea of research that is not value-neutral. A …

Redefining Our Understanding Of Narrative, Amardo Rodriguez

The Qualitative Report

This paper is born out of my concern about the increasing use of narrative as merely a different methodology. I argue that narrative as methodology ultimately depoliticizes the potentiality of narratives. Narrative simply becomes one of the many methods that belong to qualitative inquiry. We generally discuss narrative as story-telling. We also focus on doing good narrative analysis. In this paper I recast in narrative in language of cosmology so as to highlight the libratory potentiality that narrative affords persons who strive for a new and different world. I discuss narrative in terms of being in the world. I also …

What's Rapport Got To Do With It? The Practical Accomplishment Of Fieldwork Relations Between Young Female Researchers And Socially Marginalised Older Men, Cherry Russell, Denise Touchard, Maree Porter

The Qualitative Report

Drawing on field notes, interview transcripts and personal reflections, this paper describes an ethnographic research project as a practical accomplishment. The project has employed two young female fieldworkers in negotiating and documenting the social worlds of socially disadvantaged and marginalised older men in inner city Sydney, Australia. We provide a rich description of the various processes involved in this kind of research such as gaining entry, recruiting participants, obtaining consent and conducting interviews. Our analytical and interpretive focus is on the social relationships of fieldwork and the problematic role of rapport as the ideal (or only) basis for such relationships. …

Nonmetro Recreation Counties: Their Identification And Rapid Growth, Kenneth M. Johnson, Calvin L. Beale

Sociology

More than 80 percent of the Nation’s 285 million people now reside in metropolitan areas. Many in this vast city and suburban population are attracted to the recreational opportunities and attractions of rural areas, such as beautiful scenery, lakes, mountains, forests, and resorts. For rural communities struggling to offset job losses from farming, mining, and manufacturing, capitalizing on the recreational appeal of an area fosters economic development, attracts new residents, and retains existing population. This article outlines a method to identify nonmetro counties with high recreation development. It then examines the linkage between such development and population change, and considers …

State Of Maine Bicycle Crash History 1996 - 2000, Maine Department Of Transportation

Maine Collection

State of Maine Bicycle Crash History 1996 - 2000

Prepared by: Maine Department of Transportation, Bureau of Maintenance and Operations, Accident Records Section, 16 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333 (circa 2002)

Contents: Preface / Bicycle Crash Tables and Charts 1996 - 2000 / Detailed Statewide Bicycle Accident Summaries / Appendix

Gender Contests, Susan Frelich Appleton

Scholarship@WashULaw

This contribution for the “Law, Ethics, and Gender in Medicine” column in the Journal of Gender Specific Medicine interrogates the understanding of gender itself, at a time when transgender and intersex issues were just beginning to “come out” in both popular culture and case law. Against this background, the column explores the roles that physicians have played in such gender contests and considers how evolving medical attitudes can help achieve reform.

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 …

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.

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 …

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

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.

Inquiries Into Dog Ownership In Abaco With Specific Referene To Aarf/Snip Sn Project, William J. Fielding

Management and Control of Companion Animal Populations Collection

Abaco, an island in the Bahamas, has a population of 10,003 in 2,998 households. Of this population, 3,381 (or 34%) live in 1,177 (or 39%) of the households in Marsh Harbour, the largest community on the island (Bahamas Department of Statistics, 2000). Two studies of the Abaco dog population in Marsh Harbor were conducted. The first was in February, 2000 and the second was in October 2000. Three AARF/SNIP clinics were held between the two studies in February, May and July, 2000. A fourth clinic was held in October after the second survey.