Social Statistics Commons^™

A Guiding Resource In The Field Of Qualitative Enquiry: A Review Of Kathleen Demarrais, Kathryn Roulston, And Janie Copple’S Qualitative Research Design And Methods: An Introduction, Solomon Terfasa Dinka

The Qualitative Report

In my review of Qualitative Research Design and Methods: An Introduction by Kathleen deMarrais, Kathryn Roulston, and Janie Copple (2024), I found that the book is an essential resource for both new and experienced researchers interested in qualitative studies. The authors provide an in-depth framework for understanding different qualitative research methodologies, seamlessly combining theoretical concepts with practical applications. They also include helpful examples that illustrate how these methodologies can be applied in real-world settings. These are remarkable aspects of the book that I particularly valued in my review.

The Role Of Quality-Of-Life Indicators In Developing Ur-Ban Communities: An Applied Study Of The Case Of Egyp-Tian Rural Urbanization, Hatem Mostafa Rashed El Bakry Hatem El Bakry

Journal of Engineering Research

Quality of life is a comprehensive concept that assesses the well-being of individuals and communities based on multiple criteria including health, education, economy, environment, and security. Its definitions vary, but they generally refer to a balance between physical, psychological, and social aspects. The most important criteria for its assessment include public health, income level, quality of education, environmental sustainability, and social security.

Quality of life indicators are used in the development of urban communities to ensure the provision of health and education services, advanced infrastructure, and green spaces. Some developing countries such as Brazil, India, and Kenya also rely on …

Middle Age Blues: A Heuristic Response To Patricia Leavy’S Novel Film Blue, Sandra L. Faulkner

The Qualitative Report

In this personal narrative, the author discusses how good art can be a heuristic for creative practice using Leavy’s novel, Film Blue, as an example. The author uses ekphrastic poetry and themes in Film Blue to examine negotiations of identity as someone who is solidly middle aged and winging their way through how they can be who they want and need to be outside of culturally stifling messages about middle aged womxn. The author concludes that we can turn melancholy into a state of creativity. And perhaps instead of middle age being a blue period, it can be orange …

Writing Research Into Fiction, Jessica Smartt Gullion

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative methodology has evolved to include all sorts of epistemologies that positivism excludes. We have seen an increase in the use of arts-based methods as ways of gathering, analyzing, and writing research. This includes the genre of fiction as research. In fiction as research, the researcher gathers and analyzes data, but writes the findings from them to the audience as fiction. This is often done to expand the audience of readers and include people who might not normally read (or have access to) research reports. In this article, I discuss my own use of social fiction and highlight the contributions …

Social Fiction: Leavy Pioneers A Genre, Christine Sleeter

The Qualitative Report

In this article Sleeter details how Patricia Leavy pioneered the genre of social fiction. She details the method and the publication of the landmark Social Fictions book series, the first and only series of its kind. Sleeter reviews a handful of Leavy’s acclaimed novels, her own fiction, and other titles in the series. She explains how and why social fiction is significant for the qualitative research community.

Shiny New Beginnings: Reaching For Celestial Bodies In Romance And Research, Alexandra C. H. Nowakowski

The Qualitative Report

This commentary explores a series of social fiction novels about relationships through the lens of ethnographic research. It amplifies the lessons about love and life from Dr. Patricia Leavy’s Celestial Bodies series focused around two people with complex trauma finding kinship and healing with one another after a chance meeting. In the process, it uplifts the rigor and uniqueness of Leavy’s methods in translating findings from many years of observational research with people in different kinds of relationships to the social fiction format whose name she coined herself. In journeying through a shared life with main protagonists Tess Lee and …

Patricia Leavy: Social Fiction Icon, Alexandra Lasczik

The Qualitative Report

This article explores Patricia Leavy’s social fiction novels. The article details how and why Leavy’s work has been a source of inspiration, how the development of “social fiction” broadened the arts-based research landscape, and how this works makes possible new forms of creative research. Lasczik then reviews in detail much of Leavy’s extensive fiction catalog, her use of different genres, the messages embedded in her novels, and what those novels mean to readers.

Kismet Meets Serendipity: A Personal Reflection On Using Patricia Leavy’S Novel Low-Fat Love To Bring Meaning To College Students, U. Melissa Anyiwo

The Qualitative Report

In this article Melissa Anyiwo writes about meeting Patricia Leavy and reading her debut novel, Low-Fat Love. She reflects on the impact this book has had on her personally, and how as a work of social fiction it resonated deeply with her own life experiences. She details using social fiction novels in undergraduate classroom settings, why she has used Low-Fat Love so many times in her courses, the lessons embedded into the novel, and the kinds of self and social reflection the novel stimulates. She references other well-known examples of popular culture in her analysis of meaning-making in Low-Fat …

A Full-Fat Remix Of Low-Fat Love Stories, Tabitha Chilton, Gioia Chilton

The Qualitative Report

Low-Fat Love Stories is a book coauthored by Patricia Leavy and Victoria Scotti. The book is a collection of short stories and visual arts based directly on women’s interview transcripts. In this article, the authors respond to Low-Fat Love Stories through text and visual art. The authors show how artistic analysis inspires personal reflection.

The Impact Of Patricia Leavy’S Sociological Fiction, J. E. Sumerau

The Qualitative Report

This article examines the impact of Patricia Leavy’s Sociological Fiction upon students, professors, and other readers. Utilizing examples from over seven years teaching and writing sociological fiction works at a private liberal arts university in the southeastern United States, I illustrate and discuss some ways Leavy’s works facilitate (1) students finding themselves and sociology as a field of study; (2) professors navigating personal and professional questions during the life course; and (3) readers, regardless of identity, navigating self-development, reflection, and sociological inquiry as a potential interest or commitment. In so doing, I suggest examples of sociological fiction by Leavy and …

Patricia Leavy’S Spark As A Novel And Metaphor For Creative Interdisciplinary Research, Ashleigh Watson

The Qualitative Report

Spark by Patricia Leavy follows Sociology Professor Peyton Wilde as she travels to remote Iceland to participate in a mysterious scholarly seminar. Set in a moody grand manor with an enigmatic host and an eclectic cast of characters, the story blends intellectual intrigue with personal discovery and highlights the strength of Leavy’s social fiction: her characterisation, her use of motifs, and her attention to questions at the heart of scholarly work. This article reflects on the research tensions, interpersonal differences and everyday materialities that animate the story and raise valuable questions for interdisciplinary collaboration. For those interested in fiction and …

Conclusion To This Special Issue: An Autoethnographic Peek Into My Catalog, Patricia Leavy

The Qualitative Report

In the conclusion to this special issue, Patricia Leavy considers the different facets of her life and career that led her to social fiction and creative, artistic scholarship. She also shares some of the things she has learned by writing fiction.

An Exploratory Case Study Of A Community Food Pantry In Northwest Louisiana, Abigail Clair Henington

Master's Theses

Many individuals are struggling with food insecurity in Louisiana; according to the Louisiana Food Bank Association's website, Feeding Louisiana’s 2023 impact report, an estimated 683,100 people in Louisiana experience food insecurity. In northwest Louisiana, 30% of the population lives below the poverty line, with an average income of $34,485 per household. Common Ground is a nonprofit community outreach program in Northwest Louisiana, specifically Shreveport. The program has been in operation for over 20 years and strives to provide a place free of judgment and a place of common ground for those in the Cedar Grove community. Each week, they have …

Poverty Among New York City’S Most Vulnerable: 2000-2022, Juan Dolores Cerna, Suleyma Vergara-Tapia

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

This report examines the trends of poverty in New York City between the years 2000 and 2022, focusing on economically vulnerable groups such as women, children, and older adults

Methods

This report uses data for the years 2000, 2012, and 2022 released by the U.S. Census Bureau and harmonized for public use by IPUMS USA at the University of Minnesota. See Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Ma hew Sobek, Daniel Backman, Annie Chen, Grace Cooper, Stephanie Richards, Renae Rodgers, and Megan Schouweiler. IPUMS USA: Version 15.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2024. https://www.ipums.org/projects/ipums-usa/d010.V15.0

Discussion

From 2000 to 2022, New York City experienced …

Editorial: On Social Fiction And The 2025 Special Issue Of The Qualitative Report, Patricia Leavy

The Qualitative Report

In this editorial Patricia Leavy situates her work in the context of writing as inquiry. She discusses coining the term “social fiction and her fictional story-worlds. The piece ends with an invitation to the story.

Celebrating Dr. Patricia Leavy’S Body Of Work: An Introduction To This Special Issue, Laurel Richardson, U. Melissa Anyiwo

The Qualitative Report

In this article Laurel Richardson and Melissa Anyiwo detail Patricia Leavy’s contributions to qualitative inquiry. After providing background information, they provide a thematic look at Leavy’s contribution in the areas of innovation and trailblazing, paradigm shifts, border crossing, creativity and artistry, and social justice and humanitarianism. They conclude with remarks about Leavy’s enduring legacy in the field of qualitative research.

Enhancing Learning In The Uae: Exploring Chatgpt As A More Knowledgeable Other (Mko) In Science And Non-Science Courses In The Uae, Nagaletchimee Annamalai, S. Abdellatif, Gaforov Ikboljon Uktamovich, Bilal Mohammed Zakarneh

The Qualitative Report

This study examines the role of ChatGPT as a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) in educational settings, encompassing both scientific and non-scientific courses. A qualitative case study involved 20 educators from higher education institutions. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews, and the collected data was subsequently analysed using the thematic analysis suggested by Braun and Clarke (2006). The findings emphasize the significance of validating educational resources and maintaining control over their usage to mitigate issues related to plagiarism and uphold academic integrity. ChatGPT serves as an MKO by guiding learners in enhancing their technical writing skills and aiding in information …

Community Safety Investments: Violence Prevention Initiatives Across New York State, Rebecca Balletto, Jeffrey A. Butts, Sheyla A. Delgado, Justice D. Evans, Gina Moreno, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Kathleen A. Tomberg, Michael Rempel, René Ropac

Publications and Research

At the request of New York State's Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice conducted an assessment of over a decade of state-funded violence prevention initiatives implemented at the county level. Beginning in 2010 and expanding significantly after 2021, these initiatives were adopted by nearly two dozen counties by 2014. Research teams from the Research and Evaluation Center (JohnJayREC) and the Data Collaborative for Justice (DCJ) analyzed county-level trends in serious and violent crime between 2010 and 2023 to assess the potential impact of these investments on community safety outcomes. The study aimed …

Wireless Access: A Barrier To Success?, Kara Dees Auger

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study investigates the differences in the speed of the Internet among various libraries in rural and urban counties, as well as how this difference affects KSU students' access to educational materials. The primary purpose was to determine how download and upload speeds compare across libraries and what impact those differences have on academic performance. A sample of libraries in counties with over 500 KSU students was selected, and speed tests were executed at two major libraries per county.

Data analysis by the Kruskal-Wallis test revealed the presence of considerable differences, with rural libraries like Maude P Ragsdale Public Library, …

A Prototype Online Platform For Exploring Post-Covid Academic Recovery In U.S. Public Schools: An Example From California Public Schools, Nicole Baz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project introduces a prototype online platform designed to analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on academic achievement in public schools and districts across the United States. Leveraging data from the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the platform enables users to examine recovery rates as measured by standardized test scores. California serves as a proof-of-concept case study, demonstrating the platform's ability to explore recovery patterns in Reading Language Arts and Mathematics between 2019 and 2023. The platform provides interactive data visualizations and dashboards that facilitate analyses based on district size, resources, …