Sociology Commons^™

Challenging Methodological Traditions: Research By Email, Donna Mcauliffe

The Qualitative Report

Engaging human service practitioners as partners in research about sensitive areas of front-line work can be difficult for a range of reasons. Time constraints, geographic limitations, trust in the research relationship, issues of privacy, and fear of professional judgment are only some of the barriers that researchers need to overcome in order to assist workers to become involved in a reflective process about areas of practice. This article outlines the development of a new method of qualitative data collection designed to aid the reflective process and assist practitioners to engage in an ongoing dialogue about complex ethical dilemmas they had …

Legitimising The Subjectivity Of Human Reality Through Qualitative Research Method, Adrian K. Morgan, Vicki B. Drury

The Qualitative Report

The controversy that has surrounded the value of quantitative research methods as opposed to qualitative approaches as a means to increasing the knowledge and understanding of human behaviour in health and illness, has been contested by nurse scholars for several decades. This paper continues debate around this issue and provides a critique of the problems associated with these competing paradigms. It challenges the convention that all nursing research must be objective and value free in order to be scientific, and provides an overview of the processes that should be considered by researchers utilizing qualitative methods of inquiry.

Participant Observation Of Alcoholics Anonymous: Contrasting Roles Of The Ethnographer And Ethnomethodologist, Seán O'Halloran

The Qualitative Report

This paper is an attempt to explore the possible research stances available to the researcher involved in participant observation of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) . It examines some ethnographic studies of AA, within both naturalistic and symbolic interaction is m research paradigms. However , mindful of the constitutive nature of language in social interaction and also wishing to focus on AA as a discoursal process, ethnomethodological approaches are examined, particularly the insights available through Conversational Analysis (CA) and Institutional Interaction. The methods of scrutiny available through these approaches - the emphasis on data and fine-grained detail as well as the context …

Qualitative Research - Airy Fairy Or Fundamental?, Adri Labuschagne

The Qualitative Report

For many scientists used to doing quantitative studies the whole concept of qualitative research is unclear, almost foreign, or 'airy fairy' - not ' real' research. Clinical scientists sometimes find it difficult to accept this research method where the generation of hypotheses often replaces the testing thereof, explanation replaces measurement, and understanding replaces generalisability. Since qualitative research is becoming a prominent tool in medical research, it will be worthwhile to have a closer look at what it is and how it works.

Getting Connected: How Sociologists Can Access The High Tech Élite, Trond Arne Undheim

The Qualitative Report

Élite studies have been relatively neglected in the qualitative methods literature (Coleman, 1996, p. 336; Hertz & Imber, 1995) . As a consequence, the interview methods literature in the social sciences does not adequately address the issue of access to élite interviews. Nor does it address the élite interview process itself (Breakwell, Hammond, & Fife-Schaw, 1995; Brenner, Brown, & Canter, 1985; Crabtree & Miller, 1992; Fog, 1994; Fowler & Mangione, 1990; McCracken , 1988; Stewart & Cash, 1997; Sudman & Bradburn, 1982; Weiss, 1994) . Despite its élite sample (scientists, engineers, policy- makers) the science and technology studies (STS) community …

Innovative Motivational Profiling: Comparing Marketing Projective Techniques Versus Linguistic Forensic Techniques, Joseph Yeager

The Qualitative Report

Motivational profiling is commonly done in both marketing and forensic contexts. In an unabashed quest for creativity, many marketer s use projective psychological techniques to search for inspiration that leads to ad concepts that will, ultimately, sell more products. Forensic professionals also seek predictive information about motivation in search of facts that will effectively lead to the capture and handling of criminals by using the recent advances found in linguistic technology. Projective profiling techniques produce very soft, opinionated data that are open to interpretation and which has only random relevance to predicting customer behavior. In contrast, linguistic profiling techniques produce …

Using A Polar Grounded Composite To Describe The Socio-Cultural Determinants Of Esl Teaching In Rural Fijian Schools, Béatrice Boufoy-Bastick

The Qualitative Report

This paper utilizes a grounded narrative to report on the most culturally-Fijian characteristics of teaching. The grounded narrative is a qualitative reporting methodology used to convey the Fijian educational setting vividly and authentically. It highlights the salient cultural characteristics that typify Fijian teaching by depicting a most culturally-extreme Fijian rural school, the 'ideal type'. This description effectively highlights the sociocultural determinants of Fijian school ethos by reporting on extreme aspects of English teaching and daily school management.

False Starts, Suspicious Interviewees And Nearly Impossible Tasks: Some Reflections On The Difficulty Of Conducting Field Research Abroad, Larry D. Hubbell

The Qualitative Report

In this article, I discuss some of the problems I have encountered in conducting field research abroad, specifically in England, South Africa, Russia and China - a broad variety of societies ranging from free to not free societies. I discuss the problems I encountered and how I overcame some of them and was stymied by others. I have had problems gaining access to interviewees; establishing rapport with interviewees from different societies; and have had my motives questioned. Nevertheless, my research has been rewarding and has resulted in a number of serendipitous discoveries.

Leap-Ing Toward Accountability? Ideology, Practice, And The Voices Of Louisiana Educators, Jim Horn

The Qualitative Report

Louisiana educators at an urban K-5 school participated in a two-year study to share their experiences related to the implementation of a state high-stakes testing program (LEAP 21) that is used to make promotion decisions in grades 4 and 8. Observations, document analysis, and interviews were used to study the development of attitudes, perceptions, and practices related to the use of and consequences emanating from this testing practice. It was found that the state test has far-reaching effects on teaching, curriculum, school climate, students, parents, and school administration. The ideology of testing as a positive reform idea and the practice …

Teaching Qualitative Analysis Using Qsr Nvivo, Margaret Walsh

The Qualitative Report

This paper describes new opportunities for teaching qualitative research methods to undergraduates using software as a tool. The author recounts her own experiences and challenges using one such program, QSR NVivo. The account includes students' reflections on how technology advances the analysis process. Strengths and weaknesses of the software and presented and discussed.

Beginning On-Line Delphi Ethnographic Research: The Bolder Method, Jeffrey K. Edwards

The Qualitative Report

The use of the Internet to gather data, produce and report research has changed the face of the fields of education and research. This paper will present a method for combining electronic on-line media and Delphi methodology to begin the process of ethnographic research with participant inclusion, informed consent, data gathering by discourse facilitation, and preparation for coding. The use of a reflecting team by the research group provides impetus for second round responses by participants. Methods, format, a case study and an evaluation of the process will be presented.

Confessions Of A (Somewhat) Reluctant Consultant: Or, What Happens When Academic Dreams Go "Poof", Lawrence Hammar

The Qualitative Report

This essay really is about a protracted and painful transition from academic and teacher to consultant and researcher, but first, I want to get a few things off my chest. If you can stand some wholly relevant whine at the outset, stay with me, but if not, just skip to the third section.

"We're Just Friends": Myth Construction As A Communication Strategy In Maintaining Cross-Sex Friendships, Vickie Harvey

The Qualitative Report

The main goal of this research is to present a narrative description and identify categorical myths of cross-sex friendship in order to more fully understand the romance challenge confronting women and men in friendship. Closer examination into the challenges confronting cross-sex friends through narratives generate insight into the process of communication and interpretation of how friends construct, change and sustain their reality of their friendship. Current research suggests that cross-sex friendships differ from same-sex friendships (Werking, 1997). Respondents were 120 college students from a Midwest college and a West Coast college attending communication classes between 2000-2002. Respondents kept a journal …

Barbarous Magnificence: The Decline And Continuity Of Akan Traditional Religious Practices, Kwasi Bempong

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses archaeological, anthropological, and historical evidence along with indigenous texts as the determining factors to address two major problems in the literature: the widely held belief that Akan culture developed in the forests of modem Ghana and that their supreme deity, Onyame, is a 'withdrawn deity', with whom they did not share an intimate relationship. Although these problems may seem unrelated the former is used to support the latter by ignoring the historical antecedents of Northern Akan culture that blossomed in the savanna-forest transition zone and the subsequent movement of well-developed religious practices and beliefs from the north …

Civil Rights, Carl Milofsky

Northern Ireland Archive

A panel including significant leaders of the Civil Rights movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s including individuals who led the march that ended in the killings of Bloody Sunday. Moderator is an important, centrist, Catholic peace leader, Eamonn Deane. Panelists Ivan Cooper, Eamonn McCann, and Bernadette McAlisky give personal histories, tell recollections of the civil rights movement, and actively debate together the meanings of events.

Note: Handwritten Note, Edna Louise Saffy

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Handwritten note about one final goal. Date: May 27, 2003

Handwritten Notes: Home Repairs

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Dr. Edna L. Saffy's handwritten notes on home repairs.

The Tourist Experience In Boston, 1848-1910: American History, Middle-Class Leisure And The Development Of Urban Tourism, Hillary Corbett

American Studies Graduate Final Projects

This project analyzes a selection of representative guidebooks produced between 1848 and 1910, to illustrate the development of a tourist industry in Boston and to indicate how the changing nature of the city influenced a similar change in the tourist experience. It also provides the necessary context in which to place this narrative. Part I introduces two key elements essential to understanding the relevance of urban tourism in Boston: the city’s experiences with the national phenomena of electrification and urban planning in the mid- to late-nineteenth century, and Boston’s distinctive role in nineteenth-century America’s developing national identity and history. In …

The Impacts Of Migration On Establishment Of Social Capital And Environmental Degradation In Kibwezi, Kenya, Eveily Freeman

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Invitation, Nat Glover For Election Night Celebration, May 13th

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

An invitation to the Election Night Celebration for Nat Glover Tuesday May 13, 2003 Modis building lobby. Nat Glover for Mayor (2003). Box 32 Folder 5

A Review Of Gendered Consumption In Sport And Leisure, Lee Mcginnis, Seungwoo Chun, Julia Mcquillan

Bureau of Sociological Research: Faculty Publications

In this review, we examine literature from leisure sciences, sociology, marketing, and history to demonstrate how Firat’s (1994) modern significations of gender categories can be used as an effective lens for showing the lingering effects of modernism. In the process, we provide evidence in a sport and leisure context of what is associated with men and masculinity is valued over what is associated with women and femininity.

In the postmodern era, which many Western cultures are now beginning to experience, the categories of sex and gender are beginning to collapse and multiple categories of gender are arising. This transformation, according …

Ua3/9/5 A Spirit Of Celebration, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Program and remarks used by WKU president Gary Ransdell at the 2003 recognition dinner for honorary doctorate recipients and university programs.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 78, No. 57, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

• Brown, Abbey. Suspicious Fire Leaves Freshman Critical – Katie Autry
• Lord, Joseph & Abbey Brown. Pellville Freshman Known as Shy & Funny Without Even Trying
• Sasseen, Jessica. Sprinklers Extinguished Fire
• Hopkins, Shawntaye. Poland Hall Security Heightened
• Tucker, Kyle. Family Shocked by Events
• Hoang, Mai. Dorm Evacuation Delays Studying for Final Exams
• Hoang, Mai. Students Urged to Talk About Feelings
• Casagrande, Michael. Freshman Football Players Drowns on Fishing Trip – Trey McMiller

Opting Out Of Oppositionality : Toward An Informed And Engaged "Third Wave" Feminism, Amanda Ashman

Senior Scholar Papers

I begin by citing a definition of "third wave" from the glossary in Turbo Chicks: Talking Young Feminisms at length because it communicates several key issues that I develop in this project. The definition introduces a tension within "third wave" feminism of building and differentiating itself from second wave feminism, the newness of the term "third wave," its association with "young" women, complexity of contemporary feminisms, and attention to multiple identities and oppressions. Uncovering explanations of "third wave" feminism that go beyond, like this one, generational associations, is not an easy task. Authors consistently group new feminist voices together by …

Influences On Juror's Perceptions Of Sexual Harassment, Shawn Rainey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Participants role-played jurors evaluating the facts of a potential sexual harassment incident, including information on victim and perpetrator intoxication levels. They first made an individual determination of sexual harassment, followed by a group determination. Generally, sober perpetrators were more likely to be perceived as guilty of sexual harassment than either intoxicated perpetrators or when no information on perpetrator intoxication was available. However, victim intoxication interacted with gender to impact decisions of sexual harassment. Men were less likely than women to find the perpetrator guilty when the victim was sober. Women were less likely than men to find the perpetrator guilty …

Married Asian-Indian Women's Attitude Toward Divorce And Its Relationship To Acculturation In The United States, Kavita K. Ajmere

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between married predominantly Hindu Asian-Indian women's attitude toward divorce and their acculturation in the United States. The final data set included a total of 66 participants (33 first generation and 33 second generation). These participants were administered The Majority Minority Relations Survey (MMRS), the Attitudes Toward Divorce Questionnaire, and a Demographic Information Questionnaire. Results showed on average, first generation participants endorsed more conservative attitudes toward divorce, higher levels of perceived prejudice by the majority group, and higher level of language usage in their native Indian language. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that acculturation added 15% …

Ua12/2/1 Life After The Walk, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

College Heights Herald magazine issue with the following articles:

• Sainlar, Lindsay. Seniors Battle Pre-Graduation Jitters as Real World Awaits
• Pike, Daniel. Senior Wonders Why He’s Still Here
• Mason, Kristy. Trips, Money Make Good Gifts
• Toone, Stephanie. Graduates Plan Barbecues, Parties After Big Day
• Brown, Abbey. No Job? Join the Peace Corps
• Hagan, Laura. Council on Postsecondary Education President to Speak – Tom Layzell
• Coffman, Josh. Hotels, Restaurants Booked
• Brueggemann, Marlene. Grads Head for New Life
• Damron, Catherine. Couples Face Graduation

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 78, No. 56, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

• Lord, Joseph. Project Control Sought – Construction
• Hopkins, Shawntaye. Western May Build Greek Village
• Mills, Zach. Bridging the Gap – Hispanic Resource Center
• Sebastian, Kandace. Western Plays for 100^th Anniversary
• Student Receives National Scholarship – Meghan Bishop
• Warren, Brandy. Broadcast Students Win Awards
• Brown, Abbey. Department Tries to Fill Vacancies – WKU Police
• Brown, Abbey. Woman Held for Indecent Exposure – Theresa Bager
• The 2003 Marsupial Awards
• Roberts, Amy. Student Still Searching for Herself
• Moore, Brian. Why Shouldn’t Western Prosper?
• Cordy, Thomas. New Puppy Teaches Tough Lesson
• Hoang, …

A Comparative Analysis Of Growing And Declining Regions In Central Illinois, Clifford M. Cross

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Economic development is the development of tools and programs to promote growth within a specific geographic location. In today's society, the need for economic development is extremely important because the loss of the traditional family farm has changed the landscape of the labor force that currently exists throughout the United States. In addition, a continued pattern of rural to urban migration, of America's educated youth, has contributed to the overall decline of the skilled labor force that exists throughout small rural communities. Furthermore, economic development professionals need to develop tools, programs and practices that create un-skilled, semi-skilled, and skilled employment …

Racial And Ethnic Differences In Rural And Urban Migration, Lisa L. Knapp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Most past research on migration has focused on young adults or recent retirees since these are the two groups most likely to migrate. Very little research has looked at the factors that affect the migration of people in the middle stages of life. The purpose of this research is to identify those factors, and determine if there are differences between whites, blacks, and Hispanics.

The data utilized for this research were from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 79, a study funded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that has been ongoing since 1979. Migration was defined as the movement …