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

Using Constructivist Case Study Methodology To Understand Community Development Processes: Proposed Methodological Questions To Guide The Research Process, Heidi Lauckner, Margo Paterson, Terry Krupa

The Qualitative Report

Often, research projects are presented as final products with the methodologies cleanly outlined and little attention paid to the decision-making processes that led to the chosen approach. Limited attention paid to these decision-making processes perpetuates a sense of mystery about qualitative approaches, particularly for new researchers who will likely encounter dilemmas and uncertainties in their research. This paper presents a series of questions that assisted one Ph.D. student in making key methodological choices during her research journey. In this study, a collective case study design informed by constructivist grounded theory data analysis methods was used to develop a framework of …

A Case Study Of A Case Study: Analysis Of A Robust Qualitative Research Methodology, Catherine Snyder

The Qualitative Report

A unique multi-part qualitative study methodology is presented from a study which tracked the transformative journeys of four career-changing women from STEM fields into secondary education. The article analyzes the study’s use of archived writing, journaling, participant-generated photography, interviews, member-checking, and reflexive analytical memos. An exploration into the interconnectedness of the methodologies used reveals a robust framework from which the first stages of grounded theory emerged. A detailed explanation of the methodological aspects of conducting the study is discussed with the purpose of making this combination of qualitative methods replicable.

Thorough And Thought-Provoking: A Review Of Packer’S The Science Of Qualitative Research, Oksana Parylo

The Qualitative Report

The conflict between qualitative and quantitative directions in educational research is not new; however, this debate has resurfaced in the accountability era. The Science of Qualitative Research by Martin Packer (2011) is a thought-provoking book that explains why one should engage in qualitative research. Artfully combining history, examples, and his own reflections on the topic, Packer offers a list of well-grounded arguments that show the importance of and the need for qualitative research. Although this book does not explain how to design and conduct qualitative studies, it makes a good read for all those interested in theories behind modern qualitative …

Investigating Esl Graduate Students’ Intercultural Experiences Of Academic English Writing: A First Person Narration Of A Streamlined Qualitative Study Process, Lianhong Gao

The Qualitative Report

This report is a first person narration of the entire process of a qualitative study exploring the impact of ESL students’ native cultural and rhetorical conventions, as well as classroom cultures on their academic English writing in American universities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. A coding system was constructed to analyze transcriptions of the interviews. The study found that there were impacts of L1 culture on the students’ academic English writing, but their effects were minor. The main factors associated with ESL students’ English writing were their familiarity with the disciplinary contents and general composing skills. Implications for culturally …

Method And Writing: A Review Of Adams’ Narrating The Close, Sandra L. Faulkner

The Qualitative Report

The reviewer starts the review with her reading strategy of beginning with the discussion of the method. She argues that Adams’ work expands definitions of culture and what constitutes the field in ethnographic work in a beautifully written piece of autoethnography. Adams marries method, writing, and topic matter. The reviewer believes that this text would be appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students as well as those of us wanting an excellent example of autoethnography. In conclusion, the reviewer claims excitement to see where this will take ethnographers in the future, and especially those of us interested in the study of …

Parents’ Experiences During Their Infant’S Transition From Neonatal Intensive Care Unit To Home: A Qualitative Study, Sharon W. Hutchinson, Marydee A. Spillett, Mary Cronin

The Qualitative Report

Limited literature exists which examines how parents of infants hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) transition from their infant’s NICU hospital stay to home. This study examines the question, “What are the experiences of parents during their infant’s transition from the NICU to home? Grounded theory methods served as the paradigm to explore twelve NICU parents’ experiences during their infant’s transition. The basic social psychological process identified was “becoming a parent” which was based on the core problem “I’m not a parent.” Analysis of data contributed to a model described by the researchers as the resultant Model of …

Transfer Of Juveniles To Criminal Court Is Not Correlated With Falling Youth Violence, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

Though it may seem that transferring youth to criminal court should lower youth violent crime, this analysis shows no relationship. This databit looks at the transfer rate and violent crime declines in the six states that reported juvenile arrests to the FBI.

Democracy And Social Justice In Sarajevo’S Schools, Peter Mcdermott, Brian Kirby Lanahan

The Qualitative Report

After the end of the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, the people of Sarajevo found themselves rebuilding their country while also learning to live with their former enemies in this developing democracy. In this study we examined the extent to which democratic practices and social justice values were being taught in Sarajevo’s schools. Using a case study method, we gathered data gathered from interviews with educators in a variety of roles in Sarajevo, observations of elementary and secondary classroom teaching, and daily reflective journal entries about living and teaching in the city during the fall of 2008. Our data analyses revealed that …

The Process Of Creation: A Novel Methodology For Analyzing Multimodal Data, Erica Rosenfeld Halverson, Michelle Bass, David Woods

The Qualitative Report

In the 21st century, meaning making is a multimodal act; we communicate what we know and how we know it using much more than printed text on a blank page. As a result, qualitative researchers need new methodologies, methods, and tools for working with the complex artifacts that our research subjects produce. In this article we describe the co-development of an analytic methodology and a tool for working with youth produced films as multimodal artifacts of youth engagement with identity. Specifically, we describe how to employ this multimodal framework in data analysis, with an emphasis on how different modes interact …

Biography As Pedagogy: A Review Of Hemingway’S Boat: Everything He Loved And Lost, 1934-1961, Daryl Ward

The Qualitative Report

Hemingway’s Boat: Everything He Loved and Lost, 1934-1961 (2011) by Paul Hendrickson is an excellent example of a dual-purpose book for qualitative researchers. It firsts provides an example of high-quality scholarship in the field of life history research. It also offers the reader specific insights into the practice of qualitative research and how that data is used to create a narrative of the participant’s life. Through the use of authorial participation, a grounded narrative framework, and a detailed description of his research process, Hendrickson’s book is a keen exemplar of the process and product of qualitative work.

Critical Reflections: Interpretation And Analysis Of Japanese Women’S Settlement Experiences, Atsushi Takeda

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, I discuss how I came to call into question the way in which I interpreted interview data in my dissertation, which investigated the migration and settlement experience of Japanese women who are married to Australian men and reside in Australia. Through critical reflections, I realized the way in which the positionality of researchers and their experience, values, and beliefs may influence interpretation of data. The translation process of the interview data reminded me of the similarity with the data analysis process. I illustrate how such possible impact changed the meaning of data through sharing my reflections.

Mysteries And Qualitative Research? Review Of Mats Alvesson And Dan Kärreman’S Qualitative Research And Theory Development: Mystery As Method, Tom Strong

The Qualitative Report

In an era of postmodern and social constructionist thought, qualitative researchers have experienced method as a mess. This time of conflict and tension has contributed to concerns and questions about researchers’ interpretive and reflexive contributions to the study of social reality. Into these confusing times, Mats Alvesson and Dan Kärreman, social constructionist researchers, take a novel approach to how qualitative research can inform theory development. They suggest researchers embrace the mysteries when trying to make sense of social situations by taking a reflective and interpretive approach towards their empirical material to create results that can challenge established theory and thus …

Narratives From The Online Frontier: A K-12 Student’S Experience In An Online Learning Environment, Michael Barbour, Jason Siko, Jacinda Sumara, Kaye Simuel-Everage

The Qualitative Report

Despite a large increase in the number of students enrolled in online courses, published research on student experiences in these environments is minimal. This article reports the narrative analysis of a series of interviews conducted with a female student at a brick-and-mortar school enrolled in a single virtual school course. Her narratives describe a student who often struggled with the content in her online course and was reluctant to interact with her online teacher. When she interacted with people online, it was using text, because she was shy and the hardware often did not work. Darlene’s experiences, likely typical of …

Conducting Qualitative Data Analysis: Managing Dynamic Tensions Within, Part One, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

In the third of a series of “how-to” essays on conducting qualitative data analysis, Ron Chenail examines the dynamic tensions within the process of qualitative data analysis that qualitative researchers must manage in order to produce credible and creative results. These tensions include (a) the qualities of the data and the qualitative data analysis of these qualities, (b) errors of deficiency and exuberance, (c) tacit and public knowledge, (d) separation and connection, and (e) verticality and horizontality.

Recursive Frame Analysis: Reflections On The Development Of A Qualitative Research Method, Hillary Keeney, Bradford Keeney

The Qualitative Report

The origin of recursive frame analysis (RFA) is revisited and discussed as a postmodern alternative to modernist therapeutic models and research methods that foster hegemony of a preferred therapeutic metaphor, narrative, or strategy. It encourages improvisational performance while enabling a means of scoring the change and movement of the contextual organization of communication. Here we revisit the origin of RFA, its subsequent development, and new directions it may pursue both in the domains of organizing therapeutic discourse and post hoc critical analysis.

School Crime Has Declined Sharply Since The 1990'S, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

Between 1994 to 2010, the rate of violent victimizations at American schools dropped, with a sharp fall after 1994. This databit looks at property and violent crimes in schools from the early 1990s to 2010.

Being A Korean Studying Koreans In An American School: Reflections On Culture, Power, And Ideology, Minjung Lim

The Qualitative Report

Recent debates on situated knowledge highlight the issue of the researcher’s position in the research process, challenging the traditional assumption of the insider/outsider dichotomy. Drawing on my fieldwork among Korean immigrant parents in an American school, I describe my shifting positions in negotiation and scrutinize the ways my reflexivity intersects with culture, power relations, and political ideologies in the research process. This self-analysis highlights partial and situated knowledge claims, questioning the author’s value-neutral, authoritative voice in texts. I argue that the researcher should critically reflect on her location in the field and articulate how this position influences the research.

Intersectionality Of Ethno-Cultural Identities And Construal Of Distant Suffering Outgroups, Marek Palasinski, Jackie Abell, Mark Levine

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, we explore how white Catholic men talk about the indirect dilemma of non-intervention for black ethnic outgroups. We illustrate how they mobilise global categorisation (all humanity) and use various forms of denial to deal with their non-involvement. Having analyzed representative fragments of their prejudice avoidance talk, we conclude with some observation about the strategic deployment of categories and denial forms as part of identity management talk. In contrast to quantitative research that oversimplifies the ingroup-outgroup distinction, we show how the status and outgroupness levels of the needy appear to be both flexible and intricate, which depends on …

Could Focused Deterrence Strategies Reduce Drug-Related Violence In Mexico?, Douglas N. Evans

Publications and Research

Drug-related killings in Mexico have reached frightening proportions. This databit summarizes recommendations by Professor Mark Kleiman and analyzes drug-related murders in the Federal States of Mexico compared to total murders in U.S jurisdictions of comparable size.

Clarifying My World: Identity Work In The Context Of Workplace Bullying, Premilla D'Cruz, Ernesto Noronha

The Qualitative Report

Based on a study rooted in van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenology, conducted with agents working in international facing call centers in Mumbai and Bangalore, India, this paper describes targets’ identity work in the context of workplace bullying. Data were gathered through conversational interviews and were subject to sententious and selective thematic analyses. The core theme of “clarifying my world” captures participants’ attempt to reconstruct their identity following the emergence of identity disruptions stemming from the experience of being bullied. Major themes which include building personal security and insulation, recreating equilibrium, maintaining dignity and poise, re-establishing ontological foundations and seeking continuity in …

Online Gaming Issues In Offline Couple Relationships: A Primer For Marriage And Family Therapists (Mfts), Katherine M. Hertlein, Blendine P. Hawkins

The Qualitative Report

Although the challenges around participation in online gaming grow, gamers and their partners who experience online relationship issues related to gaming, present a new set of treatment challenges for therapists. In this article, we report on the findings of a hermeneutic research study aimed at evaluating the scholarly literature related to online gaming and interpret these texts to determine the effect such online activity has on the couple relationship. We reviewed 18 articles published between 1998 and 2010 related to online gaming and interpersonal relationships, focusing solely on empirical articles related to the search criteria. Our interpretation of the text …

Recent Increases In Drug Arrests Were For Possession, Not Sales, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

Between 1991 and 2006, arrests for drug sales and manufacturing dropped while arrests for possession grew, with the largest growth seen in youth under 18. This databit looks at drug-related arrests for youth under 18, young adults 18 – 24, and adults 25 and older.

As Serious Juvenile Crime Declined, Police Made More Arrests For Less Serious Offenses, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

Arrests by law enforcement for youth under 18 reached a 30-year low in 2012. Arrests for the eight serious offenses included in the FBI crime index decreased by almost half from 1995 to 2010. This databit looks at juvenile arrests in total and by offense from 1980 to 2010.

Announcements And Plenary Address – The Creative Habit: Curiosity And The Qualitative Researcher, Valerie J. Janesick

The Qualitative Report Conference

In this session I will describe and explain how creativity can be a good habit to nurture for the qualitative researcher. I will draw upon my experience in dance and in qualitative research to discuss the habits of observation, interviewing, writing, analyzing and disseminating research findings. Curiosity is a key component of working in the qualitative arena. In order to be creative and curious you have to prepare for it. By looking at exemplars in the arts, sciences and social sciences we can learn a great deal about becoming curious.

Chapter 4, My Life, In Intimacy And Community In A Changing World: Sikaiana Life 1980-1993, William Donner

Sikaiana Ethnography

A description of my life living with and learning from the Sikaiana people of the Solomon Islands, 1980-1993. The discussion includes how I established relationships and adjusted to life, and how I conducted ethnographic research.

A related website in www.sikaianaarchives.com

Chapter 1, Another Perspective, In Intimacy And Community In A Changing World: Sikaiana Life 1980-1993, William Donner

Sikaiana Ethnography

This chapter serves as an introduction to cultural anthropology as an enterprise and this ethnography of the Sikaiana people. It discusses why learning about other cultures is important to for understanding human diversity across the globe and also provided another perspective for examining and understanding my own culture.

Chapter 2, Getting There In Intimacy And Community In A Changing World: Sikaiana Life 1980-1993, William Donner

Sikaiana Ethnography

This chapter describes how I got to do ethnographic research on Sikaiana, how I decided to go there and the logistics of setting up my research including funding, traveling and my initial meetings of Sikaiana people.

A related website is at www.sikaianaarchives.com

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 …

A Polyphonic Approach To The 'Dark Side' Of Making Video Games, Johanna Weststar, Amanda Pettica-Harris, Steve Mckenna

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

This paper considers the video game industry and how it is represented through social media blogs and tweets. It aims to disentangle the polyphony of voices communicating through different stories about what it means to work in the gaming industry. The multiple voices found within the blogs and tweets weave a complex and contested narrative about the carnivalesque way in which video games are made, poignantly illustrating the good, the bad, and the ugly. Using the work of the Russian literary theorist and philosopher, Mikhail Bakhtin (1984, 1993), and particularly his notions of monologic and dialogic stories and narratives (McKenna, …

Cross-Year Comparison Of Life In Hampton Roads Survey Results, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

The Social Science Research Center (SSRC) at Old Dominion University recently completed data collection for the third annual Life in Hampton Roads telephone survey. The purpose of the survey was to gain insight into residents’ perceptions of the quality of life in Hampton Roads. The survey also attempted to determine the attitudes and perceptions of citizens regarding topics of local interest such as transportation and traffic, local and state government, crime, and other issues. Funding for the 2012 survey was provided by the ODU Office of Research and the Dean of the College of Arts and Letters. Questions were generated …