Sociology Commons^™

The What’S What And The Who’S Who Of Psychobiography, Ronald Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Joseph G. Ponterotto’s 2025 book, The Psychobiographer's Handbook: A Practical Guide to Research and Ethics, not only serves as an excellent introduction and practical methodological guide to psychobiography, but it also introduces readers to the leading psychobiographers from around the world via the 22 captivating profiles distributed throughout the book. Starting with his self-reflective introduction Ponterotto brings us inside the psychobiography craft by combining technical design and data management skills along with a relational awareness of the researcher to the historic subject. Lastly, the structure of this book can also serve as a template for anyone wanting to create …

Tale Of Transitions: Experiences Of A First-Year Ph.D. Asian Student In America, Aakash Kumar

The Qualitative Report

This autoethnographic account narrates my transition as a first-year Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University, USA. Employing Kurt Lewin’s Change Model, I have structured my narrative around three phases: (a) unfreeze, (b) change, and (c) refreeze. The unfreeze phase details the process of unlearning, adjusting to American academic practices, and the initial cultural shock intensified by homesickness. The change phase describes embracing a new identity, integrating into campus and cultural life, and overcoming academic challenges. Lastly, the refreezing phase involves consolidating new beliefs, perspectives, and skills, solidifying the transition to becoming a more confident and competent scholar. This autoethnographic account …

Major Crime Trends Differ In New York City And New York State, Jeffrey A. Butts, Gina Moreno

Publications and Research

Researchers at the John Jay College Research and Evaluation Center analyzed police-reported index crimes across New York State from 2010 to 2024, focusing on trends in violent and property offenses across three regional groups: New York City, its surrounding suburbs, and Upstate New York. While violent and property crimes declined statewide through 2020, both surged in NYC and its suburbs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Upstate regions showed continued or renewed declines. Per capita crime rates reveal more modest increases in NYC and notable decreases in other areas, underscoring regional disparities in crime trends post-2020.

Synthesizing The Global English-Language Abortion Narrative: A Comparative Analysis Of Media Discourse, Amy L. Adamczyk, Lindsay J. Lerner

Publications and Research

Abortion is one of the most politically divisive topics currently being discussed in the media. No study has yet attempted to make cross-national comparisons assessing the nuances associated with various views on abortion in the English public press. Using an original hand-coded sample of over 800 English-language newspaper articles from 41 countries that mentioned abortion, we examine how country-level influences and newspaper characteristics shape newspaper portrayals of abortion. Our three-level hierarchical models find that democracy and the freedom it engenders increase the likelihood that newspapers discuss laws, policies, and government claimsmakers when abortion is mentioned. When abortion is legal, newspapers …

On-The-Go Dining In America: Comparing Convenience, Service Quality, And Satisfaction In Qsr Versus Gas Station Food, Shiva Jahani, Mohammed Lefrid, Lorie A. Tuma

Journal of Tourism Insights

Purpose

The objective of this multi-group study is to examine the influence of service quality and convenience on customer satisfaction in quick service restaurants (QSRs) versus gas stations.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected online from 552 participants in the USA and analyzed using partial least square structure equation modeling (SmartPLS).

Findings

Service quality and convenience are strong predictors of customer satisfaction in both QSR restaurants and gas station food outlets. In addition, this study concluded significant differences between QSRs and gas stations in terms of these relations.

Research limitations/implications

This study makes a significant contribution to the foodservice and consumer behavior …

Utilising An Indigenous Qualitative Information Analysis Method: An Example Of The Application Of Thought Ritual, Meg M. Kelly, Kelly A. Marriott-Statham, Maria Mackay

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

This paper aims to provide a worked application of Thought Ritual as an Indigenous data (information) analysis tool. Thought Ritual is unique in providing an Indigenous underpinning to Indigenous research and promotes the use of cultural methods to analyse collected information. This worked example explores the use of Thought Ritual and dissects the four stages of the analysis tool: (1) connection, (2) diversity, (3) interaction and (4) adaption. Thought Ritual can be difficult to apply due to ambiguity with the associated stages. Due to the recent development of Thought Ritual, there remained limited application of the tool. This worked example …

(Un)Know Thy “Self”: Interconnected Consciousness And Different Ways Of Knowing, Laurel Waterman, Karyn Cooper

The Qualitative Report

This paper draws on preliminary data from a qualitative study in curriculum and pedagogy, “Stories of Teaching about Consciousness: An Inquiry into Worldviews and Wellbeing.” An emerging theme is the concept of the self and how it entwines with perspectives on consciousness. Analyzing consciousness and the self through The Five Contexts framework reveals assumptions at the heart of research and education that often go unquestioned. We wonder, what might alternative perspectives on consciousness and the self offer to researchers and educators? The study aims to inform a larger project of “consciousness education,” defined as education about perspectives on the source …

Ai-Enhanced Qualitative Research: Insights From Adele Clarke’S Situational Analysis Of Ted Talks, Natalija Mazeikiene, Judita Kasperiuniene

The Qualitative Report

This study explores the integration of ChatGPT-4 into the qualitative research process, focusing on the methodology of Situational Analysis by Adele Clarke and analysing TED Talks transcripts. Findings show ChatGPT's ability to process data quickly in initial coding, formulating broader categories reflecting Clarke's complexity of “situation,” recognising human and non-human elements, discourses, debates, and issues, temporal and spatial. In analysing data for different map types (situational, social worlds and arenas, positional), ChatGPT-4 “understands” their different analytical purposes, recognising different levels of abstraction and theoretical structuring. The research highlighted the challenges for generative AI in translating complex theoretical frameworks into situational …

"Traditionalizing" Effect Of Parenthood On First Time Mothers: Insights From A Longitudinal Study, Vilma Ražauskienė

The Qualitative Report

Researchers have documented that transitioning to parenthood may have a "traditionalizing“ effect on the gendered division of housework and childcare. The goal of this research is to enhance an understanding of the factors that influence this change in behaviour and attitudes swaying it to the side of traditional gender roles. To achieve this objective, two waves of individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten women during pregnancy and four to six months postpartum. Although convenience sampling was employed for data collection, the research participants displayed variation in terms of marital status, educational level, number of children, breastfeeding practices, and other …

Methodological Combinations In Qualitative Research In Music Education: Autobiography And Grounded Theory, Monica Marques, Teresa Mateiro

The Qualitative Report

This article explores the theoretical and methodological approaches of (auto)biographical qualitative research and grounded theory, based on their historical and epistemological characteristics. This study in music education aimed to gain an understanding of the process of becoming a primary school music teacher. The Supervised Internship course in teacher education for a music degree was analyzed using the methodological and formative (auto)biographical dispositifs of the Biographical Project Workshop (Delory-Momberguer, 2006) and situational analysis (Clarke, 2005), constructed through the students’ oral, written, and musical narratives based on their experiences as music teachers in the public elementary schools. As a result of the …

Minor Role Ii: Youth Under Age 18 And New York City Violence, Jeffrey A. Butts, Gina Moreno

Publications and Research

Researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice's Research and Evaluation Center analyzed NYPD arrest data from 2006 to 2024 (with 2024 figures estimated) to assess trends in felony assault, felony robbery, and felony weapon offenses across three age groups: under 18, 18–24, and 25 and older. The study examined concerns about youth crime following New York State’s “Raise the Age” law, which shifted most cases involving individuals under 18 to family court by 2019. While arrests rose across all age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, trends among youth generally paralleled those of adults. Robbery arrests among youth increased more …

Introduction To The Special Wcqr-Tqr Issue, Elena Lyutykh

The Qualitative Report

In a joint effort between WCQR and TQR, this issue sets forth a collection of papers that draw on multiple methodological perspectives to qualitative research. Narrative analysis, ethnographic analysis, thematic analysis, grounded theory, situational analysis, and philosophical interpretation are among the analytic strategies that the authors showcase in their research before participating in a scholarly discussion of ethical, theoretical, and practical implications of these methodological choices.

Emotionally Demanding Research: A Wartime Quest Or A Journey Of Connection, Thomas W. Gretton Dr, Anna Farello

The Qualitative Report

Emotionally demanding research (EDR) is a branch of qualitative inquiry that heavily draws from researchers’ psychological, emotional, and physical resources. EDR researchers have acknowledged diverse experiences and effects of EDR, including compassion fatigue, interpersonal tensions, and ill-being but there remains restricted, empirical understanding of how researchers perceive their relationship with EDR. Building on Kumar and Cavallaro’s (2018) model of researcher self-care in EDR, we explored how expert qualitative researchers encountered both the positive and the negative experiences and effects throughout their entire EDR journeys. Interview data were analyzed using a holistic form of structural analysis. Researchers narrated their EDR journeys …

Considering Participant Observation Methods For Nursing Qualitative Research, Ana Inês Lourenço Da Costa, Maria Da Luz Jansénio Monteiro De Almeida Fonseca Rosa, Paula Manuela Jorge Dioga

The Qualitative Report

Observation is used as a research technique and the selection of the appropriate type depends on the research question and the paradigm underlying each study. The degree of participation and involvement of a nurse researcher varies according to the nature of the setting and the research question. The objective is to reflect on the experience in applying observational techniques in nursing qualitative research. We report on the experience of using 14 observations of interactions between nurse-child-parents in a nursing appointment in a healthcare center. This data collection allowed identification of advantages and limitations in the nurse-child-parent interaction processes, in a …

Standing Still, Go Along, And Zooming In: Complementary Strategies Of Participant-Observations In Urban Ethnography, Lene Granzau Juel-Jacobsen

The Qualitative Report

This paper seeks to complement conventional ethnographic participant observation methods, proposing the integration of three distinct strategies. Motivated by own ethnographic studies, conducted in an urban supermarket and a food festival site, the paper contends that traditional long-term immersion may not always suffice for investigating transient urban phenomena. The paper advocates for the integration of complementary methodological strategies for participant observation adaptable to evolving contexts and research questions. Firstly, the "standing still" approach involves minimal engagement while observing a specific scene or interaction, offering a detached yet insightful perspective on fleeting moments or events. Secondly, the "go along" strategy entails …

Intergenerational Transmission Of Wisdom Through Family Narratives: A Qualitative Analysis Of Emerging Adults' Perspective, Emilia Mazurek

The Qualitative Report

Family narratives are a medium for the intergenerational transmission of life wisdom, which may influence recipient’s beliefs system and behaviors. Despite a growing body of knowledge on wisdom, emerging adults remain insufficiently researched as to what wisdom from their perspective was conveyed to them through stories. The aim was to identify what wisdom emerging adults perceive in the narratives told them by their parents about themselves. The study was conducted in Poland. Convenience sampling was used. 42 emerging adults (33 female, 8 male, 1 non-binary) ranging from 19 to 22 years participated in the study. Participants were asked to write …

From Sample To Population Generalization In Qualitative Research, Florentina Scârneci-Domnișoru

The Qualitative Report

The split of methodology into qualitative and quantitative had all sorts of negative consequences, including the neglecting of some important scientific goals, such as generalizing research results in qualitative studies. Even if they don’t talk about generalizations, many qualitative researchers illegitimately extend their research results to populations much wider than those investigated. The article shows that the generalization of research results (from sample to population) is possible in qualitative research but that it can only be achieved through a sampling procedure that complies with specific rules. The article describes this procedure of internal generalization of results through a logical or …

Tqr16: What It Is And What It Can Be, James A. Bernauer

The Qualitative Report

This article was written in response to the Call for the TQR16 Conference in 2025. I was compelled to write this article because of the poignancy of the theme. The questions posed were first whether we care whether our work makes an impact outside of academia and second whether this work would have a greater impact if we involved participants as true co-researchers from the very beginning of our inquiries. I explored these two questions by sharing my thoughts about the citations, the qualitative/quantitative divide, our natural need to discover, barriers to achieving the satisfactory answers to the two questions, …

Strategies And Practices For Guiding Students Through Qualitative Research In A Semester-Long Course, Ellen Block

Center for Teaching and Learning Lectures

In this Talking Teaching session, Dr. Ellen Block will discuss helpful strategies and practices for guiding students through the process of conducting qualitative research over the course of a semester. Topics will include preparing students for interviews, helping them with coding, using qualitative data software, guiding them through the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process, and supporting them as they write up their data. Participants will also have the opportunity to share their own interests, questions, and experiences with guiding student research during the semester.

Leveraging A Multi-Method Approach To Improve Mass Atrocity Forecasting, Hollie Nyseth Nzitatira, Trey Billing, Eric W. Schoon

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Forecasting mass atrocities is a central concern for academics, policymakers, and practitioners, but determining where and when mass atrocities will occur is far from straightforward. Over the last few decades, researchers around the world have developed several forecasting models. Some of these models—like the Political Instability Task Force model or the Australia Forecasting Project model—have emphasized quantitative assessments of the risk of mass atrocity. Others—like the UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes—have focused on how case-specific factors coalesce to impact the onset of mass atrocity. In this article, we suggest that a multi-methods framework that capitalizes on the strengths …

Losing Identity Or Regaining Confidence? A Collaborative Autoethnography On Teachers' Self-Efficacy, Geraldine Jiménez Grajales, Mariana Arias Torres, Keren Hapuc Guisao Bohórquez, Leslie J. Lopera

The Qualitative Report

This collaborative autoethnography analyzes the role of self-efficacy within our teacher identity crisis. As English teachers in training, we have experienced situations inside and outside the classroom that motivated a professional identity crisis and led us questioning our efficacy as teachers. Through this study we explore the intricacies of our very own selves as prospective English teachers. We blended storytelling and analysis through a set of data generation procedures that included collaborative witnessing, written personal narratives and semi-structured interviews, which allowed us to co-construct our stories. Our findings reveal three main themes that display the roles of self-efficacy within the …

Ideational Diffusion And The Great Witch Hunt In Central Europe, Kerice Doten‑Snitker, Steven Pfaff, Yuan Hsiao

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

The great upsurge of witch trials in early modern Europe remains a historical puzzle. Popularly known as the “witch craze”, this eruption of persecution is puzzling because belief in witchcraft had existed for centuries, but large-scale witch-hunting appeared rather abruptly, spread widely, and was remarkably brutal in comparison with the past. We define a theory of ideational diffusion to describe the general process of the emergence and spread of a new idea along with its prescribed behavioral change, in this case the adoption of witch-hunting. Ideational diffusion distinguishes between the adoption of new ideas, which lead social actors to reinterpret …

Providing End-Of-Life Counseling: A Narrative Inquiry, Carol Hecht, Sibyl West

Adultspan Journal

This qualitative study aimed to address the gap in the research related to end-of-life counseling by exploring the experiences of counselors working with clients at end of life. While counseling literature and education are lacking regarding end of life, many counselors will work alongside clients approaching death. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to better understand the nuanced experiences of counselors providing end-of-life counseling and (b) to explore the supports and preparations helpful for counselors to provide end-of-life counseling. A narrative approach, using the Listening Guide (Gilligan, 2015), was employed to analyze and present the stories of three …

Considerations Of Medicare Telehealth Services With Older Adults, Sonah Kho, Amanda Dediego

Adultspan Journal

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic set in motion a rapid expansion of mental health services offered via telehealth. With this rapid expansion came the need to examine how policy and practice should be shaped in a future where telehealth is considered common in counseling practice. For counselors to understand how to support older adult clients in using telehealth services, they must understand telehealth policy. Following the eligibility of licensed counselors to participate in Medicare, counselors need to stay abreast of regulatory changes regarding restrictions and regulations on use of telehealth for mental and behavioral health services, including video and …

Behind The Curtain: Recommendations For Neurodiversity Research, Andree Koehler

The Qualitative Report

Researchers have explored neurodiversity in terms of gender, gender identity and expression, masking, and more, yet the focus is often on neurodiversity as synonymous with autism. There remains a challenge to expand the body of neurodiversity research that is broader than autism. In my article, neurodiversity will be discussed as an element of the broad human condition, rather than a singular state or condition of impairment isolated to a portion of the population to delineate the paradigm based on neurological variations from medical and social models. This paper was designed to offer a “how to” for conducting research into neurodiversity …

Exploring The Practiced Values Of Asta Brata Leadership Style: A Phenomenological Study, Basilius Redan Werang Brw, Anak Agung Gede Agung Aaga, Ni Luh Gede Erni Sulindawati Nlges, I Gusti Agung Ayu Wulandari Igaaw, Anak Agung Putri Sri Aaps, Sandra Ingried Asaloei, Jiang-Bang Deng Jbd

The Qualitative Report

In the ever-evolving landscape of today's world, the realm of leadership finds itself confronted with a tapestry of intricate challenges, each thread contributing to the fabric of modern leadership style dilemmas. In this study, we aimed to explore the integrated values of Asta Brata’s leadership style within the leadership practices of school principals in Bali Provinces, Indonesia. We employed a phenomenological research design and interviewed a cohort of 50 principals from various elementary schools. We subjected the obtained data to thematic analysis and determined four themes: harmony, transformative inclusivity, professional integrity, and moral responsibility. The findings of this study not …

Caring For Adolescent Learners In The Virtual Classroom: Lessons From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Stephanie Welch, Jeasik Cho

The Qualitative Report

In the recent past, fully online instruction has been most prominent at the higher education level, though online K-12 schools have lately gained some traction. However, the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated new potential for rapid expansion of online K-12 education. As these settings continue to develop, the unique social emotional needs of adolescent learners must be considered, and the need for a robustly developed online pedagogy of care is pressing. An unexpected and untapped resource for developing a framework for an online pedagogy of care can be found in examining the practices of traditionally face-to-face teachers who were unexpectedly thrust into …

Ethnoracial Inequality In Egalitarian Sweden: Swedish Exceptionalism And Racial Legacies, Beiyi Hu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Ethnoracial Inequality in Egalitarian Sweden: Swedish Exceptionalism and Racial Legacies investigates the persistence of ethno-racial disparities in Sweden, a country often celebrated for its humanitarianism, egalitarianism, and tolerance. I explore several key questions: How do ethnic and racial minorities, as well as majority Swedes, perceive and understand race and ethno-racial inequalities in a country that does not officially recognize race? What sociohistorical legacies and institutionalized practices have contributed to contemporary ethnoracial inequalities in Sweden? And for ethnic and racial minorities, what are their day-to-day experiences of racism? Combining analysis of governmental data and in-depth interviews as well as exploratory spatial …

Case Study Research In The Digital Age, Jam'an Fahmi

The Qualitative Report

Case Study Research in the Digital Age is a book by John R. Gallagher, published by Routledge in 2024. This book describes case study research, which is still rarely discussed in the academic world, especially in research related to algorithms, social media, artificial intelligence, and other technological things. Human habits that cannot be separated from social relations following technological developments remain interesting to research and explain in detail in this book. Case Study Research in the Digital Age is a comprehensive guide that addresses the evolving landscape of case study research, particularly in the context of the digital age. This …

The Naked Truth Of My Voice: Surveying The Soul Of An Aspiring Educator From Dusk To Dawn: An Arts-Based Auto-Criticism Inquiry, Siddharth Maan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is based on auto-criticism, a new qualitative inquiry that combines educational criticism and arts-based research. It focuses on my own experiences as an aspiring educator who struggles with stuttering and public speaking anxiety. The study aims to describe, interpret, evaluate, and thematize my experiences of dealing with public speaking anxiety and stuttering before, during, and after classroom teaching. In addition, this dissertation highlights the potential contributions of auto-criticism as a methodology to qualitative research and higher education. I utilized journaling to document data. Photos and music were also used to enhance the understanding of my lived experiences and …