Sociology Commons^™

Using Literary Ethnography As A Form Of Qualitative Document Synthesis To Explore The Maltreatment Of Vulnerable Populations: An Examination Of Verbal Neglect And Abuse In Nursing Homes, Jason S. Ulsperger

The Qualitative Report

Studying vulnerable populations can be highly problematic. This is especially true when they are located in institutional settings. When gatekeepers block access and a researcher wants to examine a delicate topic, one ethical, feasible way to paint an interpretive picture of everyday life involves the use of a literary ethnography. With data on the verbal neglect and abuse of elders in United States nursing homes, this paper details the six-stages of a literary ethnography. It includes a discussion of identifying sources, reading and interpreting the documents, identifying textual themes, classifying themes, developing a set of analytic constructs, and re-reading documents …

Weekend Warriors: Autonomy-Connection, Openness-Closedness, And Coping Strategies Of Marital Partners In Nonresidential Stepfamilies, Becky L. Degreeff, Ann Burnett

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to examine the classic and unique relationship tensions marital partners of non-residential stepfamilies experience. Grounded in relational dialectical theory, transcripts from interviews of five non-residential stepfamily couples were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to search for and identify autonomy-connection and openness-closedness dialectical tensions and coping strategies utilized by the participants. These relational dialectical tensions were illustrated in every interview. Tensions were present not only between the relationship partners, but also in regard to the non-residential children. Participants utilized a variety of coping strategies to deal with the relationship tensions experienced in their marriage within …

Analysis Of Mammoth Cave Pre-Park Communities, Matthew Brunt

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Before the creation of Mammoth Cave National Park, this area was home to numerous communities, each with a sense of identity. To prepare for the creation of the National Park, all residents living within these communities were relocated, and many of these communities were lost to the passage of time. Today, public memory of these lost communities is being fostered by the descendents of the pre-park area.

Through the use of a Historical Geographic Information System, 1920 Edmonson County manuscript census data, and statistical analysis, the demographic composition of these lost communities was explored. This project not only brought to …

A Tri-Disciplinary Analysis Of Religion, Alicia Wallace

Social Sciences

This paper analyzes religion using a multi-disciplinary approach. Studying the Social Sciences exposes one to an opportunity not just to learn a single discipline, but three, and this unique learning experience can teach one to look at the world’s phenomena with a multi-perspective view. Using a tri-disciplinary approach when exploring topics can broaden ones outlook on how there are many ways to explore and investigate a topic in greater detail. By using Anthropological, Sociological and Geographical theoretical perspectives one can understand a topic more fully by using a multi-perspective approach when exploring this diverse world culturally, socially and physically.

Comprehensive Yet "Passionate"— Discovering Qualitative Methods: Field Research, Interviews, And Analysis (2nd Ed.) By Carol A. B. Warren And Tracy Xavia Karner, Angela Yehl

The Qualitative Report

Warren and Karner’s (2010) second edition of Discovering Qualitative Methods provides the novice and/or student sociology researcher with a solid foundation in the historical and theoretical underpinnings of qualitative research as it is applied to the social sciences. Once the reader is grounded in the history and principles of qualitative research the book evolves into a rich, informative, "how-to" guide for those undertaking the complexities of contemporary qualitative research, including fieldwork, qualitative interviews, and collection of visual/textual and internet data.

A Review Of Action Research In Teaching And Learning: A Practical Guide To Conducting Pedagogical Research In Universities, Johanna Tunon

The Qualitative Report

Action Research in Teaching and Learning: A Practical Guide to Conducting Pedagogical Research in Universities by Lynn S. Norton provides a useful resource for those in higher education interested in using action research. Action research takes place when educational practitioners reflect on their approach to education and test pedagogical theories with research that is then presented for consideration within the institution and in the wider academic arena. After making a case for the use of action research as an important part of the scholarship of teaching and learning that should take place in higher education, the author discusses the steps …

Exploring Sheila Keegan’S World Of Commercial Qualitative Research, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

The world of commercial qualitative research reflects an emergent and exciting area of contemporary qualitative research which might not be all that familiar to academic qualitative researchers. Traditionally mentored in an oral and experiential fashion, the next generation of market qualitative researchers are benefiting from new books such as Sheila Keegan’s Qualitative Research: Good Decision Making through Understanding People, Cultures and Markets to learn how to address their clients’ needs for gaining insights into their customers’ perspectives. Academic-oriented qualitative researchers can also benefit from Keegan’s insights into this similar but different realm of qualitative inquiry

Forty Years In The Making: Harry Wolcott Shares His Expertise In Writing Up Qualitative Research, Gary M. Bowler Jr.

The Qualitative Report

Harry Wolcott’s major focus in the third edition of Writing Up Qualitative Research is on writing what has come to be known as qualitative or descriptive or naturalistic research. To this end Wolcott draws upon the experiences from his life in the field of qualitative inquiry from over the past 40 years to offer suggestions on every aspect of the writing process from the beginning to end of a qualitative research project. Wolcott discusses how to jump start the writing process by providing guidance ranging from when and how to begin, how to keep the writing process going, what to …

Online Interviewing: It’S Not As Simple As Point And Click, Robin Cooper

The Qualitative Report

In Online Interviewing, Nalita James and Hugh Busher offer a thoughtful discussion of epistemological, methodological, and ethical considerations related to qualitative research in the online environment. They describe several forms of online interviews, as well as benefits and challenges associated with this form of research. The authors include practical tips for online researchers and examples from studies that employed online research methods.

Decoding Coding Via The Coding Manual For Qualitative Researchers By Johnny Saldaña, Robin Cooper

The Qualitative Report

The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers by Johnny Saldaña is a valuable resource for novice and experienced qualitative researchers alike, offering a clear, comprehensive explanation of codes and coding methods and the role they play in qualitative research. This explanation includes a discussion of writing analytic memos and a detailed list of First Cycle and Second Cycle coding methods. The book also includes useful appendices with samples of data and exercises for readers to practice coding.

Soup To Nuts In Doing Qualitative Research: A Comprehensive Guide By David Silverman And Amir Marvasti, Diana Riviera

The Qualitative Report

Doing Qualitative Research: A Comprehensive Guide by David Silverman and Amir Marvasti is a masterpiece for any graduate student looking for guidance in research and dissertation process. The authors provide extensive information on the entire research and dissertation procedure as well as offer tips to conquer the qualifying exam and the rewards and challenges to publishing post dissertation.

Quantum Of Solitude: Lonelines As Experienced By Pastors' Wives, Jama Davis, Frederick Milacci

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This phenomenological study investigated the individual experiences of eight pastors’ wives with the phenomenon, loneliness. Data was collected using informal, conversational, taped and transcribed interviews. Descriptions of the experiences of loneliness and the general factors contributing to loneliness were identified by the participants. The experiences and general contributing factors were compared and contrasted. The findings of this study suggest three factors which most significantly impact pastors’ wives and loneliness. Suggestions for future research involving pastors’ wives and pastors are provided.

A Means-End Approach To Understanding Adventure Race Participation, Brandii Brinkley

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

This multiple purpose qualitative research initiative sought to (a) provide research on the relationship between attributes and values associated with adventure race participation, (b) discover motivations for adventure racing, (c) provide support for prior means-end research, and (d) research a new, emerging recreational activity. An adventure race was held on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. After the conclusion of the race, race participants were asked to complete a self-administered survey which offered attributes and values which potentially serve as motivations for adventure race participation. Means-end theory provided the framework for how the data obtained in the …

Entering Into A "Community" Of Experience And Meaning: A Review Of Interviewing For Education And Social Science Research: The Gateway Approach By Carolyn Lunsford Mears, Robin Cooper

The Qualitative Report

In Interviewing for Education and Social Science Research: The Gateway Approach, Carolyn Lunsford Mears outlines an approach to in-depth interviewing in qualitative research that draws upon educational criticism, oral history, and poetic display. Mears describes this narrator centered approach as including the development of an insider’s perspective and the use of excerpted narratives. She also provides useful guides and examples in the appendices to the book, making the text especially helpful to the novice qualitative researcher

Insider Experiences Of The Qualitative Report’S Reviewing Process, Pamela Felder, Tom Strong, Jennifer Ronald

The Qualitative Report

We (Pamela, Tom, and Jenn) wanted to give you our insiders’ experiences of the manuscript submission and reviewing process at The Qualitative Report (TQR). Respectively, we are a researcher-author, an instructor-reviewer, and a student-reviewer who were involved in the reviewing process that resulted in the publication of Pamela’s TQR article: On Doctoral Student Development: Exploring Faculty Mentoring in the Shaping of African American Doctoral Student Success (Felder, in press). In this brief article, we will adopt a somewhat conversational approach to relating our individual and collective experiences. How we came to work together, what that work entailed, and our experiences …

Seeing The Forest Through The Trees: A Review Of Gibson And Brown’S Working With Qualitative Data, Jacquelyn Browne

The Qualitative Report

In their 2008 book, Working with Qualitative Data, Gibson and Brown introduce their readers to the notion that qualitative data analysis is more of an on-going process integral to the overall qualitative research process than a set of techniques or tools. In making this assertion, the authors help their audience connect analysis with theory, design, and final qualitative research report

The Perceptions Of Student Teachers About The Effects Of Class Size With Regard To Effective Teaching Process, Melek Çakmak

The Qualitative Report

The main purpose of this study was to determine student teachers' perceptions concerning the effects of class size with regard to the teaching process. A total of 41 fourth-year student teachers participated in the study. A questionnaire including open-ended items was used for data collection. The study revealed that there is a direct relationship between class size and motivation, teaching method used, classroom management, and assessment according to student teachers' views. Although carried with a small sample size, this study is expected to establish a firm basis for the future studies to contribute to teacher training programs, which enhance student …

"Dr. Right": Elderly Women In Pursuit Of Negotiated Health Care And Mutual Decision Making, Kevin Evans, Suzanne Robertson

The Qualitative Report

This study explores a group of elderly women who were searching for physicians that were interested in providing negotiated health care options with particular interest in mutual decision making. The grounded theory approach was used to explore the health care interactions between the physicians and the elderly women (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Qualitative interviews were conducted with eleven women, 75 years and older. The categorical working title of "Looking for Dr. Right" helped to focus our discovery of the reasons for these women's search for a new physician. Grounded in the data, a proposed hypothesis was developed regarding the need …

We Have The Videoconference Equipment Installed, Now What?, Janine Lim, Shirley Freed

The Qualitative Report

As K-12 schools acquire equipment for videoconferencing, they often experience limited usage of the equipment. The purpose of this study was to identify specific concerns of educators currently involved in videoconferencing. The primary data for the study was 400 discussion posts from 34 educators in an online class about videoconferencing. Data were analyzed using a basic iterative hermeneutic approach. The findings fell into two major categories: teacher concerns and administrative support. Teachers' concerns were related to professional development and curriculum expectations, and administrative support issues included the placement of the equipment, scheduling, and budgeting. Successful implementation of videoconferencing requires the …

Setting Up Targeted Research Interviews: A Primer For Students And New Interviewers, Darren Noy

The Qualitative Report

This article analyzes key strategic considerations for setting up targeted research interviews, including human subjects and Institutional Review Board requirements, approaching respondents, the medium of contact, using technology, cultural conceptions of time and commitment, using networks, wading through bureaucracies, and watching for warning signs. By making these considerations explicit and conscious, we can better specify how to gain interviews for our research and how to ethically approach this task. This analysis will be most useful as a pedagogical explanation for students and for scholars newly approaching interviewing.

An Asian Indian Student's Identity: Living In Two Worlds, Kavita Mittapalli

The Qualitative Report

Using narrative inquiry, I tell the story of an Asian Indian student attending a large mid-Atlantic university who approached me in the summer of 2002 for my master's thesis interview. She was an Indian by birth who was adopted by White parents when she was an infant. She had not been to India since. Her story provided me with rich insights into her life including her childhood, identity formation, relationships with her adoptive parents and siblings, and social interactions outside home while attending school. I came to understand issues of meaning-making of her life and sub-culture through her story. I …

Why We Teach: Autobiographies Of Traditionally And Alternatively Certified Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers, Susan Santoli

The Qualitative Report

This study describes the analysis of the social studies autobiographies of 46 students compiled over a 15 month period. Two major questions were addressed: (1) what motivational patterns are revealed in these autobiographies and (2) what differences and similarities exist in the autobiographies of students seeking alternative and traditional certification. Both groups noted the influence of family and other significant adults, and the influence of social studies teachers, both K-12 and postsecondary, in their decisions to pursue social studies teaching careers. There were more similarities than differences between the two groups. The autobiographies echoed influences that are found in the …

The Proliferation Of Theoretical Paradigms Quandary: How One Novice Researcher Used Eclecticism As A Solution, David W. Stinson

The Qualitative Report

When a doctoral student plans to conduct qualitative education research, the aspect of the dissertation that often becomes problematic is determining which theoretical paradigm(s) might frame the study. In this article, the author discusses how he resolved the quandary through eclecticism. The author begins by describing briefly the purpose of his dissertation study, providing a justification for eclecticism in the selection of theories. He follows with a description of the three theories-poststructural theory, critical race theory, and critical theory-that framed his study and discusses briefly the methodology employed. The author concludes with a discussion of likely objections of his study …

Drama: A Comparative Analysis Of Individual Narratives, Susanna Belle Spaulding, James Banning, Clifford P. Harbour, Timothy Gray Davies

The Qualitative Report

In a narrative inquiry, five educators who taught college in prison share stories about working in this non-traditional learning environment that is often dangerous and frustrating. From the tension between the prison's emphasis on social control and the educators' concern for democratic classrooms, three broad themes emerged: working in borderlands, negotiating power relations, and making personal transformations. Large intact segments from transcripts of participant interviews form a dramatic text that illuminates how a selected group of educators made meaning of their experience teaching college courses to incarcerated students. A comparative analysis presented in a one act play brings together the …

Approaches To Qualitative Research: Theory And Its Practical Application (A Guide For Dissertation Students), John Hogan, Paddy Dolan, Paul Donnelly

Books/Book Chapters

Qualitative research is a multifaceted approach that investigates culture, society and behaviour through an analysis and synthesis of people’s words and actions. Qualitative methods produce compelling knowledge of how and why people behave as they do, whether in organisational, family, personal, or other social roles.

The primary objective of this book is to introduce students to the concepts underlying qualitative research and how this kind of research can be conducted in a practical manner. To this end, it discusses various approaches to qualitative research and provides examples of these approaches being carried out in practice. In doing so, the book …

Shifting Priorities: Reflections On Teaching Qualitative Research Methods, Keonya C. Booker

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to describe pedagogical approaches to qualitative methodology by an instructor of educational psychology at a large research university. The essay begins with an overview of how my graduate training influenced my orientation to empirical study. Next, I will focus on the obstacles encountered when instructing graduate students who are currently practicing school teachers, counselors, and administrators. Specifically, I will detail how I approach teaching qualitative research methods, ways I deal with resistance from students, and methods for introducing apprehensive learners to the ways of interpretist design. Finally, I conclude with a discussion of how …

Visualizing Qualitative Information, Debra J. Sloane

The Qualitative Report

The abundance of qualitative data in today's society and the need to easily scrutinize, digest, and share this information calls for effective visualization and analysis tools. Yet, no existing qualitative tools have the analytic power, visual effectiveness, and universality of familiar quantitative instruments like bar charts, scatter-plots, and pie charts. Amid a discussion of the need for more powerful qualitative analysis and visualization tools, this article presents a device that takes us toward better representations of qualitative results.

How I Learned To Design And Conduct Semi-Structured Interviews: An Ongoing And Continuous Journey, Silvia E. Rabionet

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative interviewing is a flexible and powerful tool to capture the voices and the ways people make meaning of their experience Learning to conduct semi-structure interviews requires the following six stages: (a) selecting the type of interview; (b) establishing ethical guidelines, (c) crafting the interview protocol; (d) conducting and recording the interview; (e) crafting the interview protocol; and (f) reporting the findings. A researcher’s personal journey in crafting an interview protocol to interview HIV researchers is summarized. She highlights that training and experience are crucial and identifies some readings that can help in the process.

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.

Multiple Perspectives On Mixing Methods: A Review Of Bergman’S Advances In Mixed Methods Research: Theory And Applications, Nisaratana Sangasubana

The Qualitative Report

More books on mixed methods research have been published recently. One notable contribution to this growing body of work is Bergman’s 2008 Advances in Mixed Methods Research: Theories and Applications. This edited work features contributions by different researchers and addresses a myriad of issues ranging from the need to re-conceptualize the paradigmatic differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches to methodological issues and challenges. This book should prove useful to researchers and graduate students interested in mixed methods designs.