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

Relevance Of Family Therapy In The Resolution Of Family Dispute Among Couple: Indian Perspective, Binod Kumar, Amool Ranjan Singh

The Qualitative Report

This paper addresses the relevant of institution of family that had come under considerable strain with the changing present scenario. The aim of this paper is to help middle class family to resolve frequent conflicts that threaten interpersonal relationship and to explore best alternative possible solutions. Employing phenomenological approach, psycho social factors of immediate social environment was assessed using semi structured qualitative interview, telephonic conversations, and observations during therapy sessions over a period of seven months. Depression of the patient and family functions were assessed using Zung self-rating scale and McMaster family assessment device respectively. Results showed that family therapy …

Qualitative Research By A Non-Hierarchical Team, José G. Rigau-Pérez, Silvia E. Rabionet, Annette B. Ramírez De Arellano, Wilfredo A. Géigel, Raúl Mayo-Santana, Alma Simounet

The Qualitative Report

In this and subsequent issues, The Qualitative Report will publish eight articles about a journal written by Edward B. Emerson (1805-1834), a younger brother of American philosopher and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson. This introduction will describe the origins of the project, the sources, the process and the outcomes of the collaboration. The authors hope to document and illustrate the richness and value of interdisciplinary qualitative inquiry, while providing specifics of how the Emerson Journal Project evolved. We provide examples to illustrate the characteristics of effective teamwork, but also present the challenges along the way and how they were surmounted. The …

Edward Bliss Emerson's Transnational Journal: Danish West Indies, Puerto Rico, New England, 1831-1834, José G. Rigau-Pérez

The Qualitative Report

The journal and letters written by Edward Bliss Emerson in the Caribbean provide exciting, idyllic, and at times troublesome visions of that region, but also insights on the life of a sick, poor, religious and brilliant young man. Emerson’s reflections on life in St. Croix remain unquoted, and although brief excerpts from the Puerto Rico portion of the journal appeared in print in 1959 and 1991, his more extensive text supplements the contemporary publications, which only praised the colonial administration. A third, and equally important location, is the implicit base for his perspective – New England in the period of …

The Kodiak Study: Narratives Of Diversity And Acceptance On The American Frontier, Steve Drewry

The Qualitative Report

This article describes a qualitative study of diversity and acceptance on the American frontier comprised of interview data and ethnographic observations gleaned from a sample of residents on Kodiak Island, Alaska. Convenience and snowball sampling methods were used to select the study population, after which individual interviews with people who are members of various cultural groups were completed by the researcher. Also included in the study are elements of anthropological investigation, historical context and thick description. The data were analyzed using (primarily) narrative and thematic analysis placed in the cultural context of life on Kodiak Island. Findings suggest that multiple …

The Edward Bliss Emerson Journal Project: Qualitative Research By A Non-Hierarchical Team, José G. Rigau-Pérez, Silvia E. Rabionet, Annette B. Ramírez De Arellano, Wilfredo A. Géigel, Alma Simounet, Raúl Mayo-Santana

The Qualitative Report Books

Edward Bliss Emerson (1805-1834), a younger brother of the renowned essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, lived in the Caribbean for the final three years of his life. His journal and letters are a rich manuscript source for the history of the Danish Virgin Islands (1831-1832) and Puerto Rico (1831-1834). The texts also reflect the contemporary political and cultural situation in the United States, and Edward's search for health, economic independence, intellectual stimulation and metaphysical fulfillment.

These writings ignited an intellectual passion in José G. Rigau-Pérez, a physician, medical epidemiologist, and historian in Puerto Rico. Furthering access to these unique …

Patriarchal Ideology And Violence Against Women: A Theoretical Contribution Using Longitudinal, Individual-Level Analyses, Jesse Robert Mckee

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Feminist researchers have recently highlighted the need to revive patriarchy as a theoretical tool in regards to violence against women. Patriarchy is typically considered to be a structural concept, but a theory of patriarchy for violence against women must also include an individual-level component of patriarchal ideology. Patriarchal ideology has not been clearly conceptualized and is rarely operationalized. Very little research has assessed patriarchal ideology as a dependent variable and almost none has done this longitudinally. This research aims to fills these gaps. The current study also seeks to identify significant predictors of change in patriarchal ideology, an issue of …

The Effects Of Art Therapy On The Self-Efficacy And Self-Concept Of A Group Of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Sarah Peters

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

This quantitative study utilized a within group, pre and posttest design to examine whether a group art therapy experience would have an effect on the self-concept and self-efficacy of group of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Six subjects took part in the study (n=3 male) and (n=3 female) ages 7 to 10. The subjects took part in eight group art therapy sessions which lasted approximately one hour each. The art tasks were designed to provide students with opportunities to gain mastery and competence. It was hypothesized that an experience in an art therapy group would …

An Evaluation Of Virginia Gold: A Medicaid Program To Improve Nursing Facility Quality Of Care, Gerald A. Craver, Amy K. Burkett, Karen E. Kimsey

The Qualitative Report

A qualitative case study design employing focus groups was used to evaluate certified nursing assistant (CNA) (n = 26) and resident (n = 30) perceptions of the Virginia Gold Quality Improvement Program, a Medicaid funded 2-year quality improvement intervention piloted in five nursing facilities. As part of the program, the nursing facilities implemented quality improvement projects to develop supportive work environments in an effort to reduce CNA turnover and improve quality of care. Overall, the focus group participants viewed Virginia Gold positively and reported that CNA turnover decreased, while care quality improved during the program. These findings are supported by …

Couples' Conceptualizations Of Problems In Couple Therapy, Cameron Kiely Froude, Rachel B. Tambling

The Qualitative Report

While a great deal is known about the problems that clients bring to therapy, little is known about the way in which clients conceptualize problems during the course of couple therapy. Understanding clients’ conceptualizations of problems is important because it provides the therapist with a client-centered context on how to approach discussions about the problems during the course of treatment. This manuscript provides the results of an exploratory qualitative inquiry concerning how clients conceptualize problems during therapy and across the trajectory of treatment. The sample consisted of 26 individuals comprising 13 couples attending couple therapy. Participants completed a semi-structured interview …

Concept Mapping As A Data Collection And Analysis Tool In Historical Research, Nancy Baugh, Ann Mcnallen, Michelle Frazelle

The Qualitative Report

Nurse researchers explored the history of Mary Breckenridge’s Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) during the years 1925 to 1965, to elicit how her experience could inform present day concerns regarding universal access to healthcare. A historical biographical approach informed by critical theory was selected as the methodology. As historical research tends to generate large volumes of data, concept mapping was selected to collect, reduce, organize and interpret data. Additionally, concept mapping can assist researchers to agree on meaning as seen in interrelationships of the data. The final aggregate concept map is a graphic, visual representation of the outcome of this historical …

Academic Staff Perceptions Of Factors Underlying Program Completion By Australian Indigenous Nursing Students, Roianne West, Kim Usher, Kim Foster, Lee Stewart

The Qualitative Report

An increase in the number of Indigenous health professionals is one way to help reduce the poor health outcomes of Australia’s Indigenous people. However, while Indigenous students are enrolling in Australian tertiary undergraduate nursing courses in increasing numbers, their completion rates remain lower than non-Indigenous students and many barriers hinder course completion. This critical interpretive qualitative study explores academic staff perceptions of factors enabling successful course completions by Indigenous nursing students from universities in Queensland, Australia. Content analysis of data revealed five themes: (a) Individual student characteristics; (b) Institutional structures, systems, and processes; (c) Relationships, connections, and partnerships; (d) Family …

Representations Of Middle Age In Comedy Film: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Margaret Gatling, Jane Mills, David Lindsay

The Qualitative Report

The discourse of middle age includes a commonly-held perception that it is a time of crisis resulting in unusual, atypical, dramatic or extravagant behaviours. The aim of this study was to find out if the discourse of middle age, as depicted in comedy film, supports this stereotype. Three comedy films were reviewed using dispositive analysis to critically-evaluate the actions, objects and language employed to represent middle age on-screen. The findings show that crisis, sparked by a fear of ageing and with some distinct gender differences, is a frequent feature of on-screen middle age. Building on the generally accepted hypothesis that …

A'S For Everyone: The Effect Of Student Consumerism In The Post-Secondary Classroom, Anthony D. Plunkett

The Qualitative Report

With millennial students as the primary population in many higher education institutions today, many instructors experiencing a paradigm shift of behaviors they are observing in their classroom. Many educators are observing today’s students failing to take personal responsibility for their educational endeavors and in turn viewing their educational experiences as a services-for-payment relationship rather than an exploration of knowledge. With this shift and the ever present consumerism type behaviors now being observed, the role of instructor has changed and many are seeking tools to effectively manage their students and classroom.

Believing Is Seeing: Korean Immigrants' Perception Of The Former South Korean President Roh, Hyunjung Kim

The Qualitative Report

This study explores how individual characteristics interact with news media choice and people’s perception of mediated news events and public figures focusing on South Korean immigrants’ perception of the former South Korean President Roh. Thirteen South Korean immigrants were interviewed, and the results demonstrate a three-way relationship between (a) interviewees’ political orientation, (b) media choice, and (c) perception of Roh and the newspapers. The interviewees supporting Roh, who read online news on a regular basis but did not read conservative newspapers, recognized the political claim that the oligopoly of the conservative newspapers has influenced public opinion on Roh, while the …

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Technology In Relationships: Findings From An Open-Ended Survey, Katherine M. Hertlein, Katrina Ancheta

The Qualitative Report

The technology world has been growing and flourishing the interest in designing technologies that mediate and create a feeling of relatedness within interpersonal relationships beyond the explicit verbal communication. The purpose of this article is to present a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of technology in couple relationships. To accomplish this, we conducted a recursive open-coding analysis on an already existing data set. Findings indicated the advantages of technology in relationships include the contribution to the development of relationships, relationship management, and relationship enhancement. Challenges introduce by technology into relationships include distancing, lack of clarity, and impaired trust. Implications …

Revealing The Colour And Personality In Texts: Putting The "Person" Back Into Our Results, Rod Pitcher

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to show how the colour and personality contained in texts can be derived and analysed. This colour and personality indicates something important about the respondents’ thinking which is lost using normal analytical techniques. The method used to extract the meaningful words was largely intuitive. That is, I selected the words which seemed to me to indicate something about the thoughts of the respondents and provide colour and personality to the text. These words show how the subject under discussion is seen by the respondent. I would suggest that the method described in this paper …

Letters To Grandma: A Comparison Of Generational Perspectives Of Women's Growth As Higher Education Faculty, Elyn Mcreynolds Palmer

The Qualitative Report

This ethnographic compilation is the result of a course exercise in qualitative research. A current student of Texas Tech University interviewed an 87-yearold faculty member from the 1950s, comparing her experiences to those of the author in similar, present-day academic environments. The author developed the format of the paper as letters between a young faculty member and her experienced grandmother. Results of the study reflect many similarities between the experiences of past female faculty members and female faculty of today; the exercise does convey, however, many advances for women in the academic culture as well. Finally, the recorded experiences of …

Identifying Ugliness, Defining Beauty: A Focus Group Analysis Of And Reaction To Ugly Betty, Adria Goldman, Damion Waymer

The Qualitative Report

This article discusses the ideological construct “beauty” that permeates our society by focusing specifically on socially constructed ideals of beauty and ugliness as they are represented in media text, specifically, in the TV sitcom Ugly Betty. For this study we conducted focus group interview sessions to explore the influence an alternative representation of beauty and ugliness, as portrayed in the show Ugly Betty, has on college aged females’ definition and interpretation of beauty—typically questions explored using traditional experimental and other quantitative methods. Moreover, this study provides insights into tensions surrounding how beauty and ugliness are defined and the implications of …

Conversation Analysis And Gender: Establishing And Challenging The Relevance Of Gender In Ca Research, Stephanie Anne Shelton

The Qualitative Report

In this book review, I addressed the ways that qualitative researchers have examined the links between Conversation Analysis (CA), which often is criticized as a method without context or theory, and the issue of gender. I consider the ways that the editors adopt the controversial position that CA is a politically laden method and that authors extend and challenge existing CA research. I point out the ways that this book both inconsistently connects its chapters and establishes its intended audience, while clearly offering a balanced examination of the ways that gender-in-talk is often relevant but not omnipresent in conversations.

Feeling Elite: The Collective Effervescence Of Team Usa At The 2012 Itu World Triathlon Grand Final, Caroline Faure, Karen M. Appleby, Beverly Ray

The Qualitative Report

Collective effervescence is an amplified, excited reaction made possible when a group of people experience something emotional together. We used a descriptive mixed methods approach to investigate both the individual and collective emotions of Team USA age group triathletes as they participated in the 2012 International Triathlon Union’s (ITU’s) Grand Final in Auckland, New Zealand. The results of our study suggest that participation in this event evoked emotions consistent with the themes of Intrinsic Arousal, Anxiety, National Pride, and Social Arousal. Further, the results indicated that this group of experienced athletes was less motivated by performance outcome goals (i.e., placing …

Through Their Lens: The Potential Of Photovice For Documentation Of Environmental Perspectives Among Kenyan Teachers, Cassie F. Quigley, James Dogbey, S. Megan Che, Jeffrey Hallo, Patrick Womac

The Qualitative Report

This study explores the potential of photovoice for understanding environmental perspectives of teachers in the Narok District of Kenya. The objective of this paper is to share this photo-methodology with environmental educators so they may use it as an innovative methodological tool to understand the construction of environmental perspectives. The researchers analyzed the digital images and the accompanying narratives for themes emerging for each of the key terms. The researchers utilized Critical Visual Methodology to guide the data analysis. Each photograph was coded according to its site of audiencing (including both compositionality and social modalities). The themes - shares local …

The Unremarkable Things Matter: A Book Review Of David Silverman's A Very Short, Fairly Interesting And Reasonably Cheap Book About Qualitative Research (2nd Ed.), Lun Li

The Qualitative Report

In this review of the book, A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Qualitative Research by David Silverman, I write from the perspectives following Silverman’s arguments about “unremarkable things matter” in qualitative research. Based on his inspiring thoughts on modern qualitative research, I also express my reflective ideas as a doctoral student.

Denormalizing Violence: Evaluation Framework For A Public Health Model Of Violence Prevention, Jeffrey A. Butts, Lindsay Bostwick, Jeremy Porter

Publications and Research

John Jay College's Research and Evaluation Center evaluated the effectiveness of the Cure Violence approach to violence reduction. Between April 2013 and February 2014, researchers began the project by visiting Cure Violence sites in New York City and Chicago, the home base for Cure Violence. The research team observed the program's operation and assessed the model's suitability for detailed evaluation. The report addresses the operations of the Cure Violence model and how it differs from other approaches for reducing gun violence. It reviews the evidence underlying these models and proposes an agenda for future evaluation research.

Networked Grounded Theory, Alexios V. Brailas

The Qualitative Report

The present paper demonstrates a research method combining Grounded Theory and Network Analysis for the inductive generation of a theory solely based on the empirical data being analyzed. This method was developed during my PhD research on the utilization of a virtual community (case study in Wikipedia) in formal Education institutions (tertiary or secondary education). The focus of this paper is on demonstrating the research method developed during this study. Networked Grounded Theory constitutes a remodeling of Grounded Theory and the rationale for the inclusion of Network Analysis techniques into the process of theory generation is explained. The software used …

Real Projects, Virtual Worlds: Coworkers, Their Avatars, And The Trust Conundrum, Michael F. Lohle, Steven R. Terrell

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study informs project managers of the impact that the authentic projection of coworker identity via avatars has on trust and potential project management success when teams use virtual worlds to collaborate. By exploring the common experiences and reactions of potential virtual team participants to a demonstration that showed how to customize avatars and use them to communicate with others, it facilitated the development of a grounded theory that confirms whether the projection of authenticity via avatars is an antecedent of team trust and real project management success. Real management success was the main objective, since it is vital …

Teacher Technology Narratives: Native Hawaiian Views On Education And Change, D. Lilinoe Yong, Ellen S. Hoffman

The Qualitative Report

Narrative inquiry is a method by which "silenced voices" may be heard. In this study, eight Native Hawaiian teachers share their experiences of the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program (HLIP), or Papahana Kaiapuni, within the Hawai‘i public school system. The teachers describe change over time in HLIP with a focus on technology and their perceptions of how it has enhanced preservation of the Hawaiian language. By giving voice to their views on indigenous culture and teaching, the stories provide a rich and nuanced view of growth and school reform as framed by the teachers' own words. Themes of commitment to students …

Graduating Black Males: A Generic Qualitative Study, Edward E. Bell

The Qualitative Report

Black males face a difficult educational battle. Across America, graduation statistics for Black males are sobering. The purpose of this study was to explore why Black males drop out of school and to examine the current employment status of the study participants. The research took place in rural North Carolina. Fifteen Black American male high school dropouts took part in a snowball sample. This study was qualitative and used open and axial coding. Findings from this study may provide guidance and directions for school and community leaders to help Black males stay in school through graduating.

One Step At A Time: A Journey Of Hope, Inspiration, And Determination, Melinda Hermanns, Barbara K. Haas

The Qualitative Report

Approximately three million persons in the United States face the challenge of living with Parkinson's Disease (PD). In spite of medical and surgical interventions, the disease progresses, resulting in bradykinesia, rigidity and postural instability that impair functional ability and quality of life. The purpose of this case study is to illuminate the impact an exercise program may have on an individual with PD. A single case study design was used to explore the effect of exercise on the quality of life of a 73-year old gentleman with advanced PD. Interviews and field observations of the client, wife, and staff at …

Researching Children's Lives And Social Situations With Respect And Integrity, Dudu Jankie

The Qualitative Report

In Research with children: Theory & practice, Michelle O’Reilly, Pablo Ronzoni and Nisha Dogra engage the readers in navigating the successes and hurdles of researching with diverse children. The book, which is meant for “researchers who are new to research with children” presents engaging descriptions on how to link in culturally sensitive ways the overall research process involving the lives and social situations of children who are participants in qualitative and quantitative research projects. Furthermore, the book balances the theory and practice of research with children through the activities used and the practical examples provided, some of which are drawn …

Teacher Educators Wrestling With Issues Of Diversity In Online Courses, Kristine S. Lewis Grant, Vera J. Lee

The Qualitative Report

This manuscript provides an overview of the findings of an ongoing qualitative exploratory study that examined how preservice and inservice teachers in two different online education courses (ED 600 and ED 500) developed an understanding of the multifaceted issues that affect diverse learners. The study also investigated the instructors’ reflections about their courses through their individual journals. An analysis of the study participants' Discussion Board posts and interactions online revealed how the Discussion Board forum was used as a critical, reflective space for participants' to engage in self-reflection and to exchange and challenge one another's ideas. The journals also revealed …