Sociology Commons^™

Women In Transition: Experiences Of Asian Women International Students On U.S. College Campuses, Siva Jeyabalasingam

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

Often referred to as people in transition, international students usually arrive in the U.S. with a clear sense of their academic goals; however, they often have not considered what their lives will be like or how they may change in non-academic ways. In addition to the typical level of university-related stress, international students face additional problems and difficulties generated in part by the cultural differences between the U.S. and their own countries. This is particularly true for Asian students. Of several studies that have investigated the experiences of international students in the U.S., only a handful have examined Asian students' …

Increasing Access To Family Planning (Fp) And Reproductive Health (Rh) Services Through Task-Sharing Between Community Health Workers (Chws) And Community Mid-Level Professionals In Large-Scale Public-Sector Programs: A Literature Review To Help Guide Case Studies, James R. Foreit, Sarah Raifman

Reproductive Health

This literature review covers case studies related to community-based distribution of family planning programs, and community health worker (CHW) programs that included family planning and other reproductive health services. It offers essential processes and implications for additional operations research which look at constraints and factors critical to introducing new program procedures or strengthening existing ones.

Choosing To Serve: Modeling Antecedents Of Public Service Motivation In Undergraduate Students, Vivian Walker Greentree

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

This research builds upon the public service literature to better understand the distinctive nature of motivations associated with pursuing careers in the public sector. Previous research has shown that a wide variety of socialization experiences help to develop one's public service motivation (PSM). However, the research has fallen short of providing a comprehensive explanation. Additionally, a majority of the research focuses on those already employed in the public sector, with a dearth of exploration into students' preferences. This study utilized Perry's (1996) original survey instrument to measure PSM scores (both composite and dimensions) in college students, those who we must …

Era[C]Ing Diversity: A Critical Rhetorical Approach To Race And The New Citizen, Theresa Donovan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Era[c]ing Diversity is guided by a broad question of inquiry regarding the formation and reformation of subjectivity through the filling out of "blank" forms such as the application for naturalization. This dissertation examines how the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service uses and distributes race, and how subjects participate in the social reproduction of the dominant ideology to create a society where individuals think: I am White; He/she is Black, or Asian, or Native American etc. Era[c]ing Diversity examines how the N-400 constructs the new citizen and the ways that permanent legal residents of Mexican origin disrupt or reify this construct. …

Embracing The Visual: Using Timelines With In-Depth Interviews On Substance Use And Treatment, Lynda Berends

The Qualitative Report

People typically seek treatment for addiction only when faced with a major crisis. Understanding the trajectory of substance use and treatment seeking may assist in identifying points for intervention. In this study I explored the use of visual methods with in-depth interviews to represent people's substance use, critical events, and treatment pathways. Ethics approval was granted with the condition that only aggregate findings would be presented, although occasional quotes could be used for illustration. Typical timelines were developed, along with text vignettes describing hypothetical participants whose experience matched that shown in these timelines. Benefits of the timelines include the combination …

Culture For Sale? An Exploratory Study Of The Crow Fair, Thomas D. Bordelon, Marie Opatrny, Wendy G. Turner, Steven D. Williams

The Qualitative Report

This paper describes an ethnographically-oriented participant-observation study conducted during the annual Crow Fair, held in south central Montana. Data collected included audio-recorded interviews with participants, participant observations, photographic and video recordings. Narrative interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparison method. Multiple data sources improved the veracity of this study through triangulation, and four themes emerged from the data: commercialization, alcohol abuse, spirituality, and community. The researchers discuss these themes and their conclusions regarding the "selling" of Native American culture as a form of cultural transmission. Theme analysis revealed the researchers recognized that the principal researcher had changed his …

Risk Of Nursing Home Admittance Among Working Age Residents With Mental Illness, Stephanie Jones Bernard

The Qualitative Report

The number of working age (18-64) nursing home (NH) residents with a mental diagnosis at admission rose from 70,600 in 1997 to 97,200 in 1999 (Jones, 2002). Utilizing the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations (Gelberg, Andersen, & Leak, 2000), I examined factors associated with NH admittance in a sample of working age residents with mental illness. I conducted a qualitative analysis of 20 residents' healthcare and social experiences leading to NH admittance. Data came from semi-structured interviews, medical records, and clinicians. Results showed that homelessness, drug abuse, and low functional status were perceived by residents to play a role in …

Female Drug Offenders Reflect On Their Experiences With A County Drug Court Program, James C. Roberts, Loreen Wolfer

The Qualitative Report

This paper examines the experiences of a group of female drug offenders who successfully completed a county drug court program in northeast Pennsylvania. Using the constant comparative method, we analyzed interviews with these women for thematic patterns in order to provide an evaluation of this program based on participants' subjective perceptions of its strengths and weaknesses. While other drug court evaluations identify rewards for good behavior and compassionate program staff as important contributing factors to participants' success, women in this study credited their recovery and successful completion of the program primarily to fear of punishment and program structure. Our analysis …

Anxiety, Knowledge And Help: A Model For How Black And White College Students Search For Hiv/Aids Information On The Internet, Kim Smith

The Qualitative Report

Using the "think aloud" protocol, which allows for the collection of data in real time, the researcher audio taped comments from 13 white college students from a predominately white university in the Southeastern United States and 15 black students from a predominately black university, as they explained how they searched for HIV/AIDS information on the Internet. A grounded theory analysis of the tapes revealed a three-stage model that students progressed through as they searched for HIV/AIDS information on the Internet. That model also revealed that all of the white students searched for general information about HIV/AIDS on the Internet, while …

Teaching Qualitative Research For Human Services Students: A Three-Phase Model, Ruhama Goussinsky, Arie Reshef, Galit Yanay-Ventura, Dalit Yassour-Borochowitz

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative research is an inherent part of the human services profession, since it emphasizes the great and multifaceted complexity characterizing human experience and the sociocultural context in which humans act. In the department of human services at Emek Yezreel College, Israel, we have developed a three-phase model to ensure a relatively intense exposure to and practice in qualitative methodology. While in the first phase students are exposed to the qualitative thinking and writing, they are required in the second phase to take a Qualitative Research Methods course that includes practice. The third and final phase includes conducting a qualitative research …

Career Paths, Images And Anchors: A Study With Brazilian Professionals, Zélia Miranda Kilimnik, Anderson De Souza Sant'anna, Luiz Claudio Vieira De Oliveira, Delba Teixeira Rodrigues Barros

The Qualitative Report

This article analyses career anchors changes associated to images and professionals trajectories. Its main question: Do anchors careers change through time? We conducted twelve interviews involving professionals from the Administration Area, applying Schein's Career Anchors Inventory (1993). We did the same two years later. In both of them, the Lifestyle anchor was the most found, reflecting the need of a balance between family life and work. It was observed that the main anchors tend to remain as such, but in some cases, it is possible to observe changes which are associated to career transitions. The reapplication of the Inventory supports …

Work Experiences Of People With Mental Illness In Malaysia: A Preliminary Qualitative Study, Su-Lyn Boo, Jaymee Loong, Wai-Sheng Ng

The Qualitative Report

This is a preliminary qualitative study, using a basic interpretive approach, to investigate the work experiences of people with mental illness in Malaysia. Six females and four males (aged 30-70) from a residential home for the mentally ill participated in semi-structured interviews. Three inter-relating themes emerged, namely the experience of self at work, perception of work, and experience of others at work. All participants reported problems in either work or family relationships; most of which interfered with their work. In addition, findings suggest that the participants' self experience may be related to the extent of one's illness integration, experience of …

Mandatory Identification Bar Checks: How Bouncers Are Doing Their Job, Elizabeth Monk-Turner, John Allen, John Casten, Catherine Cowling, Charles Gray, David Guhr, Kara Hoofnagle, Jessica Huffman, Moises Mina, Brian Moore

The Qualitative Report

The behavior of bouncers at on site establishments that served alcohol was observed. Our aim was to better understand how bouncers went about their job when the bar had a mandatory policy to check identification of all customers. Utilizing an ethnographic decision model, we found that bouncers were significantly more likely to card customers that were more casually dressed than others, those who were in their 30s, and those in mixed racial groups. We posit that bouncers who failed to ask for identification did so because they appeared to know customers, they appeared to be of age, or they took …

The Lived Experience Of Late-Stage Doctoral Student Attrition In Counselor Education, Brad Willis, Karla D. Carmichael

The Qualitative Report

Doctoral student attrition occurs across academic disciplines and presents problems for noncompleting students and the programs from which they withdraw. The following research question guided the present study, "What is the experience of doctoral attrition in counselor education?" Six late-stage doctoral noncompleters from counselor education programs participated in research interviews that were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results showed two distinct types of attrition. Five participants reported a negative experience of encountering barriers that acted against the internal desire of the participants to obtain the doctorate. One participant reported a positive experience of an internal change that altered the …

The Quipped Project: Exploring Relevance And Rigor Of Action Research Using Established Principles And Criteria, Christine Chapman, Margo Paterson, Jennifer M. Medves

The Qualitative Report

This paper is the last in a series of three manuscripts published in the TQR journal over the past few years. This work is part of a larger program of research that has been carried out by a team of researchers detailing various aspects of a three year action research project carried out from 2005 and 2008. This particular paper addresses issues of quality in action research by critiquing our research against five interdependent principles and criteria raised in the literature specifically by Davison, Martinson and Kock which was published in 2004. Our action research project aimed to facilitate interprofessional …

Youtube As A Qualitative Research Asset: Reviewing User Generated Videos As Learning Resources, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

YouTube, the video hosting service, offers students, teachers, and practitioners of qualitative researchers a unique reservoir of video clips introducing basic qualitative research concepts, sharing qualitative data from interviews and field observations, and presenting completed research studies. This web-based site also affords qualitative researchers the potential avenue to share their reusable learning resources for all interested parties to use.

Learning To Appraise The Quality Of Qualitative Research Articles: A Contextualized Learning Object For Constructing Knowledge, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Helping beginning qualitative researchers critically appraise qualitative research articles is a common learning objective for introductory methodology courses. To aid students in achieving competency in appraising the quality of qualitative research articles, a multi-part activity incorporating the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme's (CASP) Making Sense of Evidence Tool: 10 Questions to Help You Make Sense of Qualitative Research to evaluate the articles is shared. A Contextualized Learning Object for Constructing Knowledge or CLOCK approach is used to represent the appraising activity in terms of its context, content, evaluation components, exemplary outcomes, and options for customizing parts of the assignment.

Qualitative Researchers In The Blogosphere: Using Blogs As Diaries And Data, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Weblogs or blogs can provide qualitative researchers with a medium for expressing their thoughts and opinions on qualitative research methods and products as well as serving as the source of data for qualitative studies. Present examples serve as exemplary guides to the potential value of this virtual communication application.

Utilizing Microsoft® Office To Produce And Present Recursive Frame Analysis Findings, Ronald J. Chenail, Maureen Duffy

The Qualitative Report

Although researchers conducting qualitative descriptive studies, ethnographies, phenomenologies, grounded theory, and narrative inquiries commonly use computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) to manage their projects and analyses, investigators conducting discursive methodologies such as discourse or conversation analysis seem to find such software packages not as useful. In our work with Recursive Frame Analysis (RFA), a systemic approach to the analysis of text and talk, we have taken a slightly different route by utilizing Microsoft® Office applications to produce and present our RFA findings. In the paper we describe RFA, explain how we use Word and PowerPoint to carry out RFA's …

Facilitating Coherence Across Qualitative Research Papers, Ronald J. Chenail, Maureen Duffy, Sally St. George, Dan Wulff

The Qualitative Report

Bringing the various elements of qualitative research papers into coherent textual patterns presents challenges for authors and editors alike. Although individual sections such as presentation of the problem, review of the literature, methodology, results, and discussion may each be constructed in a sound logical and structural sense, the alignment of these parts into a coherent mosaic may be lacking in many qualitative research manuscripts. In this paper, four editors of The Qualitative Report present how they collaborate with authors to facilitate improvement papers' coherence in such areas as co-relating title, abstract, and the paper proper; coordinating the method presented with …

Communicating Qualitative Analytical Results Following Grice's Conversational Maxims, Jan S. Chenail, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Conducting qualitative research can be seen as a developing communication act through which researchers engage in a variety of conversations. Articulating the results of qualitative data analysis results can be an especially challenging part of this scholarly discussion for qualitative researchers. To help guide investigators through this difficult communicative process, the authors suggest Grice's (1989) Conversational Maxims of Quantity, Quality, Relation, and Manner as general guidelines to follow when formulating and presenting findings in qualitative research products as well as basic assumptions to guide readers when judging the quality of result representations.

Face-To-Face In Writing: My First Attempt At Conducting A Text-Based Online Focus Group, Steven R. Terrell

The Qualitative Report

Having completed graduate degrees in educational research and counseling, I have studied the theory of focus groups and participated in many while in a classroom setting. Interestingly, I had never moderated one until my first attempt in a text-based online environment. This paper describes my preparation for the session as well as the issues I faced while actually conducted the focus group. Readers will find that being prepared by establishing rapport with their group prior to the event, understanding the change of dynamics that distance brings to the process and handling the pressures of an expanded role as moderator, will …

How-To Data Collection Series: The Evolution Of The Focused Discussion Group: From Non-Participant To One Of The Crew, José Luis Calderón

The Qualitative Report

This article is part of The Weekly Qualitative Report's occasional series on "How-To Collect Qualitative Data." The qualitative data collection method described is that of focused discussion groups (FDG's). This method involves the moderator, or scripter as is the preferred term in focused discussion groups, to move beyond that of a non-participant data collector to that of an engaged participant-observer, observer-participant who is willing to get into the discussion with the participants and to provide accurate information to them while prodding them to discuss the topic in increasingly personally meaningful ways. Focused discussion groups are particularly helpful for working with …

How I Learned To Conduct Focus Groups, Maribel Del Rio-Roberts

The Qualitative Report

The use of focus groups may provide researchers with important insights into research questions via participant discussion and interaction. As a human services practitioner and researcher, I became interested in learning how to conduct focus groups in order to apply these steps to my research and gain valuable insights about the human experience that the focus group interaction aims to bring to light. In this review, I will highlight the steps that I took to learn to conduct focus group research and through my experience I hope that readers gain familiarity and clarity into this unique qualitative research approach.

2011 Life In Hampton Roads Survey, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

[Introductory paragraph]

The Social Science Research Center (SSRC) at Old Dominion University recently completed data collection for the second 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 2011 survey was provided by the ODU Office of Research and the Office of University Advancement. Questions were generated through email …

2011 Life In Hampton Roads Survey Results*, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

No abstract provided.

Information Withholding And The Management Of Productivity In Teams, Dolores Drumheller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The importance of good communications between team members has been well documented. Yet previous studies on communications between team members have neglected to focus on reasons for information withholding between people working on teams. The purpose of this case study of 16 engineers and 6 educators was to understand why team members withhold information when working together. A convenience sample was selected from a software engineering organization. Collective intelligence theory in a modern communications environment was used as the theoretical foundation. This theory posits that the synergy of full group collaboration results in enhanced performance and the spread of new …

Perceptions Of White Men On Affirmative Action Planning, Linda Lee Hansken

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined the perceptions of White men on whether they should or should not be treated with total equality and be included in affirmative action (AA) planning in the workplace. Previous studies explored the topic of discrimination toward white males and AA. Using Festinger's cognitive-dissonance theory and Adams's theory of equity, this study focused on research questions addressing basic knowledge of AA planning, perceived discrimination, dissonance, and, the perceptions of White men about AA planning. Using phenomenological methodology, data were collected from personal interviews, and analyzed by obtaining a sense of the phenomenon, categorizing the interviews into meaningful and …

The Relationship Between Computer-Mediated Communication And The Employment Of Deaf People, James A. Schiller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Job satisfaction results from a workplace meeting individual needs for income, belonging, and professional growth. Accordingly, core factors contributing to satisfaction vary across individuals and groups. Deaf people have traditionally located satisfying employment among enclaves of other deaf people working within the predominantly manufacturing oriented economy of the 20th Century. With the current shift toward more spatially distributed service industries in the 21 stcentury, there is little research on factors that contribute to job satisfaction among deaf people engaged in this new workforce. Operating from a theoretical perspective of worker/environment fit proposed by Alderfer, the exploratory correlational study investigated relationships …

A Q Methodology Analysis Of Individual Perspectives Of Public Decision Making Influences Of Collaborative Processes, Perry D. Gross

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Suboptimal public policy formulation and implementation often result from traditional representative democratic practices. Increasing government fragmentation, eroding trust among policy actors, and an increasingly complex policy making environment contribute to this problem. Collaborative decision making is considered to be a pragmatic alternative by its advocates. The purpose of this research was to explore the claim that process dynamics lead participants to prefer collaborative approaches to decision making among local and regional transportation plans in a western state. The conceptual framework was the diversity, interdependence, and authentic dialogue (DIAD) theory-based model of collaboration in decision making. The research questions focused on …