Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons^™

Perceptions Of Empty Nest Mothers From Diverse Socioeconomic Backgrounds With Boomerang Kids, Banning Kent Lary

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, a growing number of young people are failing to launch into self-sufficiency, a characteristic of adulthood recognized by most cultural groups. These "boomerang children" return home and interrupt the life course development of their "empty nest" mothers who must suspend plans for self-development. How mothers from different socioeconomic backgrounds cope with this countertransitional phenomenon while preparing their children for successful relaunch is not well known. Elder's life course paradigm provided the theoretical framework for this phenomenological study. Perceptions were collected from an ethnically diverse group of 23 empty nest mothers with 30 boomerang children and seven …

Extralegal Factors Important To Judges' Decisions In Child Abuse Custody Cases, Marilyn Jeanette Nolan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Extralegal Factors Important to Judges' Decisions in Child Abuse Custody Cases

by

Marilyn J. Nolan

MS, Pittsburg (Kansas) State University, 1986

BS, Missouri Southern State University, 1982

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Human Services

Walden University

May 2015

Research has shown juvenile court judges are skeptical of mental health testimony; however there is a lack of research regarding what types of testimony by what kinds of experts are valued by judges. Using the theory of legal pragmatism, the purpose of this study was to assess how 83 Oklahoma District Court …

Exurban Residents’ Perceptions Of Naturally Returning Predators: Connecticut Case Study, Margaret E. Sackrider, Susan G. Clark, Isaac M. Ortega

Yale Day of Data

As a result of reforestation, growth of exurban areas and wildlife adaptation, it is believed that the public is currently encountering more human-wildlife conflicts than ever before. The key to balancing wildlife conservation and human development is understanding the dynamic relationship between humans and carnivores. Specifically, gaining insight into the complexity of this relationship will aide in the creation of more effective conservation policy and outreach.

Reforestation throughout Connecticut has supported a tremendous population growth of pray species and subsequently the growth of predator populations including coyotes, Canis latrans, and black bears, Ursus americanus. According to some biologists, …

Parenting Behaviors, Adolescent Depressive Symptoms, And Problem Behavior: The Role Of Self-Esteem And School Adjustment Difficulties Among Chinese Adolescents, Cixin Wang, Yan Ruth Xia, Wenzhen Li, Stephan M. Wilson, Kevin Bush, Gary Peterson

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Cross-sectional data from 589 Chinese adolescents were used to investigate whether parenting behaviors are directly or indirectly (through self-esteem and school adjustment difficulties) associated with adolescent depressive symptoms and problem behavior. Structural equation modeling results showed that school adjustment difficulties fully mediated the relations between two parenting behaviors (parental punitiveness and paternal monitoring) and adolescent problem behavior and partially mediated the relation between maternal monitoring and adolescent problem behavior. Adolescent self-esteem partially mediated the relations between maternal punitiveness and adolescent depressive symptoms and fully mediated the relations between parental support and adolescent depressive symptoms. Parental love withdrawal was not significantly …

Between Sites: Critical Convergences At The Personal, Interpersonal, And Institutional Levels In A Service Learning Course, Kendra Rashaun Brewster

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Set within the context of the increasing emphasis on civic engagement and transformative education, this work addresses service learning as a form of civic engagement that holds both the risks of acriticality and critical potential. This study examines the capacity for the critical consciousness and relationality that define the primary commitments of critical service learning (see Kinefuchi, 2010). Thus, this study is grounded in the ways that the circuits of privilege and dispossession were breached in a service learning course where college students travelled to mentor adolescent girls who were in a secure residential facility. The narratives of former service …

Possible Psychosocial Benefits Of Having A Sibling With A Disability, Jenna M. Talbott

Senior Honors Theses

Possible psychosocial benefits resulting from exposure to siblings with disabilities are investigated in the current study. Previous literature has generally overlooked the possibility of psychosocial benefits by exclusively focusing on the negative effects of having a sibling with disabilities. Contact theory suggests that the increased exposure to individuals with disabilities should increase positive attitude toward those who are struggling with disadvantages. This investigation hypothesized that this tendency would be manifested as elevated empathy and compassion in individuals who have siblings with disabilities, and that these traits would be influenced by certain demographic variables. A survey was distributed, and the responses …

"When I Heard About The March": Testimonies And Participatory Archiving In Peacebuilding, Carolina Muñoz Proto

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation studies the Memoscopio archive and its collection of testimonies about the 2009 World March for Peace and Nonviolence (the March). This collection came into existence during 2009 and 2010 through a participatory archiving project carried out by a team of peace advocates and researchers in collaboration with March participants. The March was a transnational and decentralized campaign that promoted peace, nonviolence, and justice through activities in 600 cities, social media, and a three-month march around the world. Through the case of Memoscopio and the March, this dissertation explores the personal and cultural meanings of transnational peace marchers in …

Efficacy Of Cultural-Based Psychoeducational Group Therapy For Increasing Marital Satisfaction Among Latino Couples, Maria Jesus Ampuero

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has indicated the importance of providing marriage education to ethnic minority couples who are struggling with their marital relationships. Despite this known importance, significantly fewer resources are available for Latino couples, who have a high rate of divorce. The purpose of this quantitative, randomized, wait-list control group trial design was to determine whether Couples in Contact, a culturally-based, psychoeducational intervention group program for Latino couples, increases marital satisfaction, as measured by the Marital Satisfaction Inventory, Revised (MSI-R). This study drew on cognitive behavioral therapy applied to couples, and the supportive theories underlying family systems theory and Gottman's theory. …

Living With Uncertainty: The Impact On Breast Cancer Survivors And Their Intimate Partners, Kimberley Dockery

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

This study explored the lived experiences of breast cancer survivors and their intimate partners. The research was informed by a social constructionist framework and phenomenological method of inquiry. While the body of literature on the physical, psychological, and social health of breast cancer survivors is growing, only a few studies have focused solely on the lived experience of survivorship and the uncertainty of recurrence. This study sought to explore the construction of meaning in the couples' context and experiences of surviving breast cancer. The present study examined how breast cancer survivors make meaning of their survivorship in context of living …

A Good Old Age: Experiencing A Satisfying Life, Kaitlin Thimann

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The definition of successful aging has been changing, however, there is a lack of current studies on existing aging trends and how to experience a good old age. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe themes and factors that can lead to an individual experiencing a good old age. This study is a qualitative, exploratory ethnography in which interviews were used to gather information on a good old age from adults aged sixty-five and older. The study revealed that there were several common factors throughout the interviews. Physical and mental health, social support, and financial stability are …

Data Analysis Using Regression Modeling: Visual Display And Setup Of Simple And Complex Statistical Models, Emil N. Coman, Maria A. Coman, Eugen Iordache, Russell Barbour, Lisa Dierker

Yale Day of Data

We present visual modeling solutions for testing simple and more advanced statistical hypotheses in any research field. All models can be directly specified in analytical software like Mplus or R.

Data analysis in any substantive field can be easily accomplished by translating statistical tests in the intuitive language of regression-based path diagrams with observed and unobserved variables. All models we presented can be directly specified and estimated in analytical software.

Students can particularly benefit from being taught the simple regression modeling setup of the path analytical method, as it empowers them to apply the techniques to any data to test …

The Problem With Adhd: Researchers' Constructions And Parents' Accounts, Bora Pajo, David Cohen Dr.

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

An enduring controversy over the nature of ADHD complicates parents’ decisions regarding children likely to be diagnosed with the condition. Using a fallibilist perspective, this review examines how researchers construe ADHD and acknowledge the controversy. From a systematic literature search of empirical reports using parents of ADHD-diagnosed children as primary informants, 36 reports published between 1996 and 2008 (corresponding to 30 studies) were selected. Data on the studies’ characteristics and methodologies, definitions of ADHD, and extent of the acknowledgment of the ADHD controversy were extracted, as were data on a wide range of parental concerns and experiences. Researchers in 27 …

The Impact Of Home Visitor Relationship Quality On Parenting And Child Outcomes: Does Maternal Age Matter?, Elizabeth A. Colsey

Senior Honors Theses

Early Head Start (EHS) is an early intervention program that seeks to mitigate the effects of risk for those families with young children. Consistent with attachment theory, the home visiting component of EHS targets parent-child relationships in order to combat negative child outcomes. Research indicates that children of adolescent mothers are susceptible to poor outcomes both in childhood and adulthood. The current study utilized EHS data from 1198 parent-child dyads to assess the indirect relationship of home visitor quality on child aggression through parent quality, as moderated by maternal age. Findings indicated that home visitor quality may have a greater …

There Are No "Innocent Victims": The Influence Of Just World Beliefs And Prior Victimization On Rape Myth Acceptance, Rebecca Lynne Vonderhaar

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Approximately 209,000 women report being raped every year. Of those 209,000 rapes, only 19,491 arrests were made (U.S. Department of Justice 2011). Furthermore, reports estimate that one out of every three women will be raped at some point in her life (Amir, 1971). The prominence of rape in the United States, as well as the disparity between documented rapes to the police and victim reports of rape, is problematic for researchers in fully understanding the breadth of the problem. Considering that rape occurs at such an overwhelmingly high rate and frequently goes unreported, it is important to understand the attitudes …

Emotion, Community Development, And The Physical Environment: An Experimental Investigation Of Measurements, George E. Boone

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

A wide range of research fields have studied how emotions and behavior are affected by the physical environment. This gestalt theorist approach of experimental research as well seeks to measure emotion (using the valence-arousal scale) and micro-scale community development interactions when weighted physical environment factors are adjusted. Community development (CD) interactions at the micro-scale have received but slight attention from scholars in the CD research field and this study aims partially to investigate developing objective measures from social observations. CD interactions from recordings along with self-reported emotion through surveys in four quasi-experimental groups (where the environments were constructed based on …

Strengths And Limitations Of Qualitative Approaches To Research In Occupational Health Psychology, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Joseph J. Mazzola

Publications and Research

Like all research methods, qualitative methods have strengths and limitations. This chapter describes seven strengths and five limitations. With an understanding of their strengths and limitations and how to minimize and/or balance them, occupational health psychology (OHP) researchers can benefit from qualitative methods. It is important to understand that qualitative findings do not establish generalizable cause-effect relations. However, qualitative methods can help an OHP researcher develop a theory of causality and derive hypotheses related to the theory and, thus, motivate quantitatively organized research designed to test the hypotheses. The challenge for the OHP researcher is to be mindful of what …

Calendar Interviewing And The Use Of Landmark Events – Implications For Cross-Cultural Surveys, Tina Glasner, Wander Van Der Vaart, Robert F. Belli

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This paper discusses potential methodological issues in the design and implementation of calendar recall aids such as the Life History Calendar for cross-cultural surveys. More specifically, it aims to provide insights into how the use of landmark events in calendar interviewing may be influenced by cross-cultural variability. As an example, we compare the landmark events reported by Dutch and American respondents in two studies in which calendar recall aids were used. The study discusses differences that were found between the two countries in the numbers and types of reported landmark events, as well as in the temporal distribution of those …

Traumatic Family Narratives In A Cosmopolitan World: Identity In American Third Generation Holocaust Survivors, Karen L. Burton

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Examines what role traumatic family narratives play in identity formation of subsequent generations. Considers transmission processes of memory and history. Specifically focuses on identity of adult (age 18-40) grandchildren of Holocaust survivors in America juxtaposed with identity of adult Jewish Americans whose families were not directly impacted by the Holocaust. Original research in the form of oral history is analyzed using sociological frameworks.

Relationship Between Perceived And Actual Quality Of Data Checking, Hunter Speich, Sophia Karas, Dan Erosa, Kelly Grob, Kimberly A. Barchard

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Data quality is critical to reaching correct research conclusions. Researchers attempt to ensure that they have accurate data by checking the data after it has been entered. Previous research has demonstrated that some methods of data checking are better than others, but not all researchers use the best methods. Perhaps researchers continue to use less optimal data checking methods because they mistakenly believe that they are highly accurate. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived data quality and actual data quality. A total of 29 participants completed this study. Participants checked that letters and numbers …

How Masculinity Works To Oppress Men As Defined By Iris Marion Young's Five Faces Of Oppression, Nathan Svare

Honors Capstones

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

Qualitative Methods Can Enrich Quantitative Research On Occupational Stress: An Example From One Occupational Group, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Edwin Farrell

Publications and Research

The chapter examines the ways in which qualitative and quantitative methods support each other in research on occupational stress. Qualitative methods include eliciting from workers unconstrained descriptions of work experiences, careful first-hand observations of the workplace, and participant-observers describing ‘‘from the inside’’ a particular work experience. The chapter shows how qualitative research plays a role in (a) stimulating theory development, (b) generating hypotheses, (c) identifying heretofore researcher-neglected job stressors and coping responses, (d) explaining difficult-to-interpret quantitative findings, and (e) providing rich descriptions of stressful transactions. Extensive examples from research on job stress in teachers are used. The limitations of qualitative …

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.

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 Qualitative Inquiry Of Conceptualized Heterosexuality And Its Influence On The Counseling Process, Breyan N. Haizlip

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

With CACREP's increasing attention to majority cultural group memberships and its influence on trainee self-awareness and the counseling relationship (see CACREP 2001/2009), heterosexually-identified counselors have little or no opportunity to increase awareness of their own sexuality, creating challenges when working with clients of various sexual identities. The purpose of this article is to present a qualitative analysis of conceptualized heterosexuality and its influences on the counseling process. A model of the process by which heterosexually-identified counselors conceptualize their heterosexual identity and its influences the counseling process is proposed. Results suggest that providing counselor trainees an opportunity to explore the relationship …

Agreement Answer Scale Design For Multilingual Surveys: Effects Of Translation-Related Changes In Verbal Labels On Response Styles And Response Distributions, Ana Villar

Survey Research and Methodology Program: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Answer scales in survey instruments are widely used, but little is known about how to choose verbal descriptors as labels. In multilingual research, this matter is further complicated because answer scales must be appropriate for all languages and function comparatively. Comparing source questionnaires to translations of multinational projects (e.g., the World Values Survey, the European Social Survey), it was observed that certain verbal features differed across languages, countries, and modules. This dissertation empirically investigates the effect of such changes on response distributions. The verbal feature examined is the presence or absence of an intensity modifier in the second and fourth …

Métodos Qualitativos E Quantitativos Na Pesquisa Sobre Stress Ocupacional, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Edwin Farrell

Publications and Research

O presente artigo examina as formas pelas quais os métodos qualitativos e quantitativos se apóiam mutuamente na pesquisa sobre o stress ocupacional. Os métodos qualitativos incluem (a) obtenção de informações a partir de descrições livres de vivências no trabalho, (b) observações diretas, cuidadosas no local de trabalho e (c) observadores participantes que descrevem uma determinada experiência de trabalho a partir do local onde ela ocorre. Mostra, também, como a pesquisa qualitativa estimula o desenvolvimento de teorias, a geração de hipóteses e a identificação de estressores no trabalho e de respostas de coping. As limitações da pesquisa qualitativa, especialmente na área …

Cumulating Evidence About The Social Animal: Meta-Analysis In Social-Personality Psychology, Blair T. Johnson Dr., Marcella H. Boynton Dr.

CHIP Documents

Like most scientific fields, social-personality psychology has experienced an

explosion of research related to such central topics as aggression, attraction, gender,

group processes, motivation, personality, and persuasion, to name a few. The

proliferation of research can be a monster unless it is tamed with the scientific

review strategy of meta-analysis, literally analyses of past analyses that produce

a quantitative and empirical history of research on a particular phenomenon. The

purpose of this article is to outline the basic process and statistics of meta-analysis,

as they pertain to social-personality psychology. Meta-analysis involves: (i) defining

the problem under review; (ii) gathering qualified …

Euthanasia: An Exploration Of Public Opinion, Debra M. Babylon

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The acceptance of euthanasia is examined using the 1972-2002 GSS cumulative dataset. The dataset contains a total of 43,698 respondents. The euthanasia question, "Should a terminally ill patient be allowed the right to die?" was asked beginning in 1977. The number of respondents answering the euthanasia question totals 22,039. The independent variables age, race, gender, political view, religious affiliation, and education were reviewed to assess their impact on support of euthanasia. Additionally, in order to test the "slippery slope" hypothesis, the abortion question, "Should abortion be allowed under any circumstance?" was added to the independent variable list. Cross tabulation was …

Sorrow Into Joy: A Phenomenological Study Of Adult Women Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse, Eldine M. Webster

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to learn how six mid-life women who had been sexually abused as children perceived the way in which that early experience had impacted their life to date. Using a phenomenological qualitative life-history approach, each participant was interviewed for a period of from one to three hours. Content analysis of the interviews and member-checking with participants who volunteered to do so resulted in eight major themes emerging from the data: memories, family, career, addictions, depression, boundaries and embodiment, counseling, and synchronicity. The last theme, synchronicity, very closely related to the concept of spirituality and a …

Moral Judgment In Abusive Relationships: Implications For Interventions, Robert Marshall Masterson

Graduate Theses

Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Interview and parallel dilemmas depicting abusive domestic situations were used to compare moral development of two groups of couples. Twenty men from a program for abusive men and their wives were compared to 20 couples selected by convenience sampling from university students, two church congregations, and friends. The Conflict Tactics Scale for couples was used to determine the validity of the responses of the male partner. No differences in Global Stage Scores were found between abusive or non-abusive men. None were found between genders. Weighted Average Scores on traditional Kohlberg stories and spousal abuse dilemmas were similar …