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

Beliefs About Alcohol And The College Experience, Locus Of Self, And College Undergraduates’ Drinking Patterns, Lizabeth A. Crawford, Katherine B. Novak

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which locus of self (institutional versus impulse), measured using the Twenty Statements Test (TST), moderates the relationship between beliefs about alcohol and the college experience (BACE) and alcohol use among college undergraduates. Although the majority of our respondents listed more idiosyncratic personal characteristics and preferences than consensual social roles in response to the TST, the number of students classified as institutionals was notably higher than what has been reported within the literature. In opposition to our hypothesis that BACE would affect levels of alcohol consumption primarily among these individuals, …

More About "Research In Ambiguous, Conflictual, And Changing Contexts": Studying Ethnic Populations In China, Xi'an To Urumqi, Linda Dorsten, Yuhui Li

The Qualitative Report

A recent article in this journal discusses ways to manage uncertainty when the research field abruptly and significantly changes on researchers working inside their own society (Kacen & Chaitin, 2006). Our essay extends this discussion by asking: How do researchers manage ambiguous, conflictual, and rapidly changing events when they engage in study outside their own society? We describe three aspects of our data collection experience that coincidentally began one week before the Urumqi city, Xinjiang, China, riots of 2009 in which over 200 people were reported as killed and several thousand injured: (a). our original research agenda and the uncertain …

Contextualizing The Perceived Barriers Of Adult Learners In An Accelerated Undergraduate Degree Program, David Deggs

The Qualitative Report

Research has consistently suggested that colleges and universities should review academic programs and support services in order to make modifications to meet the needs of adult learners. However, one could argue that colleges and universities cannot be successful in meeting adult learners' needs without understanding the barriers they experience. This study utilized phenomenology to examine the perceived barriers of adult learners in an accelerated undergraduate degree program in the mid-South. Analysis of data collected from adult learners identified three types of barriers: (a). intrapersonal, (b). career and job-related barriers, and (c). academic-related. The results of this study suggested that barriers …

Grounded Theory Methodology: Positivism, Hermeneutics, And Pragmatism, Lars-Johan Age

The Qualitative Report

Glaserian grounded theory methodology, which has been widely adopted as a scientific methodology in recent decades, has been variously characterised as "hermeneutic" and "positivist." This commentary therefore takes a different approach to characterising grounded theory by undertaking a comprehensive analysis of: (a) the philosophical paradigms of positivism, hermeneutics, and pragmatism; and (b) the general philosophical questions of the aims of science and the issue of choosing a scientific methodology. The commentary then seeks to position grounded theory methodology in terms of these philosophical perspectives. The study concludes that grounded theory methodology contains elements of positivism, hermeneutics, and pragmatism. In coming …

Understanding The Evolving Roles Of Improvement-Oriented High School Teachers In Gilgit-Baltistan, Takbir Ali

The Qualitative Report

In this paper the author presents a framework for understanding how improvement-oriented high school teachers' accounts of change experiences portray their evolving roles as change agents in school reform. The data on which this paper is based come from a one-year long in-depth study (doctoral thesis research project) in which the author set out to investigate how improvement-oriented teachers pursue important changes in the realm of classroom, school and community; how the teachers-initiated changes can be characterized; and how the teachers' roles evolve with their change practices. The researcher employed qualitative case study methodology, using in-depth interviews, classroom observations, post-observation …

Working Together More Than Alone: Students' Evolving Perceptions Of Self And Community Within A Four-Year Educational Administration Doctoral Cohort, Lance Ford, Courtney Vaughn

The Qualitative Report

School administrators rarely have the opportunity to confer and share their challenges with colleagues. To address this problem in 2005 the Educational Administration Department (EAD) at Central University (a Midwestern PhD granting institution located in a thriving city of about 100,00 people) created a virtual/local doctoral cohort for 14 school leaders living and working in two states. Three years into the course of study we conducted a year long inquiry that asked, "How did students' self-perceptions evolve within a cohort context, and how did these changes advance or retard professional learning community (PLC) growth?" Our interviews had a phenomenological focus …

Competing Cultural Worldviews In The United States: A Phenomenological Examination Of The Essential Core Elements Of Transnationalism And Transculturalism, Mark P. Orbe, Darlene K. Drummond

The Qualitative Report

The objective of this study was to explore inductively the complex ways in which everyday discourse reflects larger - and often competing - cultural worldviews. A phenomenological framework was used to analyze transcripts generated through 13 focus group discussions involving 100 individuals. This particular analysis highlights how individuals who adopted a transnational worldview worked to transform cultural divisions through criticism of existing labels that failed to capture the multicultural nature of their identifies. Alternatively, individuals who adopted a transcultural worldview worked to transcend traditional cultural divisions through a rejection of traditional labels that worked against one unified social identity. The …

Ten Steps For Conceptualizing And Conducting Qualitative Research Studies In A Pragmatically Curious Manner, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

In a world of methodological pluralism and mixed-methods, qualitative researchers can take a pathway of pragmatic curiosity by exploring their research interests and the possible design and methodology choices to create studies that not only allow them to pursue their investigative curiosities, but also result in coherent and effective systems of procedural choices. Ten steps are offered for researchers to conceive and conduct qualitative research projects that are both responsive to research goals and objectives and defendable to criteria of quality and critics of utility.

Voicing The Less Heard: A Review Of Focus Group Methodology: Principles And Practice, Derya Kulavuz-Onal

The Qualitative Report

Focus Group Methodology: Principles and Practice is a powerful text in not only equipping novice researchers with all the stages of designing a focus group, but also facilitating their understanding of the philosophies and in-depth principles of focus group methodology. Although the text seems to have specifically aimed at researchers in health and social sciences, beginning qualitative researchers in other fields, such as educational sciences, can also gain valuable insights. The text also provides detailed accounts of previous research where focus groups have been used as well as an intensive discussion of more specific topics such as focus groups with …

From Tactics To Praxis: Learning Feminist Pedagogy Through Methodology, Laura L. Janik-Marusov, Lauren M. Sardi, Dina Giovanelli, Rita Offiaeli, Deric Shannon

The Qualitative Report

Through a self-reflexive and ongoing process, in this paper we chronicle how we as graduate students learned about feminist pedagogy through methodology. Primarily, we noted dilemmas in feminist methodology that became central dilemmas for us in our roles as feminist research guides within a combined graduate and undergraduate feminist methodologies course. As we became aware of these specific dilemmas, not only did we attempt to apply them to the research we were conducting for an institutional ethnographic research project on campus safety, but we also found them to be central pedagogical concerns in ways that were both unique and similar …

Who Wants To Be A Physical Education Teacher? A Case Study Of A Non-Traditional Undergraduate Student In A Physical Education Teacher Education Program, Scott Ronspies

The Qualitative Report

Forty percent of undergraduate students are non-traditional students. The purpose of this study was to identify what attracted the participant to physical education, identify what situational/social factors facilitated the career choice, and the beliefs of the participant about what it meant to be a physical educator. The study consisted of one male non-traditional student. Artifacts, observation, and interview methods were employed to gain an understanding of why the participant wanted to become a physical educator and what were the beliefs of the participant about physical education teaching or teachers. Findings indicated the participant was attracted to physical education by his …

Delphi In Criminal Justice Policy: A Case Study On Judgmental Forecasting, Kim Loyens, Jeroen Maesschalck, Geert Bouckaert

The Qualitative Report

This article provides an in-depth case study analysis of a pilot project organized by the section "Strategic Analysis" of the Belgian Federal Police. Using the Delphi method, which is a judgmental forecasting technique, a panel of experts was questioned about future developments of crime, based on their expertise in criminal or social trends. The results demonstrate how police authorities could implement judgmental forecasting methods like Delphi methodology for the anticipation of future criminal trends, and how this technique, applied under specific conditions, can complement current crime analysis techniques. This article will not focus on criminal trends that were forecasted in …

Aids Related Stigma In Social Relations: A Qualitative Study In Turkey, Aytul Kasapoglu, Elif Kus Saillard, Nilay Kaya, Feryal Turan

The Qualitative Report

The actual number of HIV/AIDS cases in Turkey is higher than the number of cases reported, and People Living with HIV (PLWHIV) may refrain from acknowledging their sickness or seeking help because of the stigma associated with HIV and fear of discrimination from their close friends, workmates, and even their families. In this paper we aim to explore HIV-positive people's relationships with significant others such as family members, friends, sexual partners, employers and health professionals in order to present the patients' perceptions about stigma and attitudes that lead to pro-social or anti-social behavior towards them. We carried out a qualitative …

Does Recreational Reading In Native Language Influence Foreign Language Learning Process?, Selami Aydin

The Qualitative Report

Limited studies have been conducted on the effects on recreational reading in native language on foreign language learning, whereas no findings exist on the effects of recreational reading in Turkish as a native language (L1) on English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effects of recreational reading in L1 on the process of learning EFL. The sample group consists of 70 learners and a background questionnaire, interviews, oral presentations, classroom discussions, essay papers, and responses to examination questions were used for data collection. The results indicated that recreational reading in L1 has some …

Ophthalmology For The Myopic Methodologist: A Review Of Five Ways Of Doing Qualitative Analysis, Carl Root

The Qualitative Report

In Five Ways of Doing Qualitative Analysis, Frederick J. Wertz, Kathy Charmaz, Linda M. McMullen, Ruthellen Josselson, and Rosemarie Anderson provide students and researchers with both a broad knowledge base and specific examples of each of their preferred methods of analysis. The authors apply their respective expertise of phenomenological psychology, grounded theory, discourse analysis, narrative research, and intuitive inquiry to sixth author Emalinda McSpadden's narrative of responding to an unfortunate situation. The result is a comprehensive comparison of each method emphasizing unique strengths and weaknesses in each approach as well as the reflexivity required of researchers utilizing such analyses.

Everybody’S Doin’ It (Right?): Neighborhood Norms And Sexual Activity In Adolescence, Tara D. Warner, Peggy C. Giordano, Wendy D. Manning, Monica A. Longmore

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

A neighborhood’s normative climate is linked to, but conceptually distinct from, its structural characteristics such as poverty and racial/ethnic composition. Given the deleterious consequences of early sexual activity for adolescent health and well-being, it is important to assess normative influences on youth behaviors such as sexual debut, number of sex partners, and involvement in casual sexual experiences. The current study moves beyond prior research by constructing a measure of normative climate that more fully captures neighborhood norms, and analyzing the influence of normative climate on behavior in a longitudinal framework. Using recently geo-coded data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study …

Appraising Qualitative Research Reports: A Developmental Approach, Robin Cooper

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, the author discusses the development of an appraisal instrument designed for evaluating submissions to The Qualitative Report-the TQR Rubric. Following a description of the context of TQR, she explains what led to the development of the TQR Rubric and describes its components. She concludes by presenting the plan of implementation of the rubric and a discussion of how the TQR Rubric's elements relate to notions of quality presented in the literature.

Methodological Gravitism, Muhammad Zaman

The Qualitative Report

In this paper the author presents the case of the exchange marriage system to delineate a model of methodological gravitism. Such a model is not a deviation from or alteration to the existing qualitative research approaches. I have adopted culturally specific methodology to investigate spouse selection in line with the Grounded Theory Method. This approach, indeed, suggests the unification of methodological individualism, collectivism, and the social positioning of the actor to study the complex and intricately intertwined networks of relatedness.

A Review Of Qualitative Research In Counseling And Psychotherapy, Nozomu Ozaki

The Qualitative Report

In reviewing Qualitative Research in Counseling and Psychotherapy (McLeod, 2011), I encountered with this text a backdrop of a grand tour question, "How well has the author contextualized qualitative inquiry in the realm of counseling and psychotherapy theory and practice?" I found McLeod (2011) constantly embedding qualitative methodology and plethora of methods into counseling and psychotherapy field by pointing out the relationship between research and practice of counseling and psychotherapy and giving detailed account on philosophical foundations and actual practice of qualitative methods while zigzagging among multiple levels of contexts. At the same time, McLeod maintained his pluralistic position on …

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (Nasis) 2010-2011 Methodology Report, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

Bureau of Sociological Research 2010-2011 NASIS Methodology Report 2

CONTENTS

Introduction 3

Mode Selection 3

Design & Item Selection 3

Sampling Design 4

Experimental Design Treatment 4

Data Collection Process 4

Response Rate 5

Data-Entry Training, Supervision, and Quality Control 5

Processing of Completed Surveys 5

Data Cleaning 5

Representativeness of the Survey 6

NASIS Sample Weights 6

Figures 8

Tables 9

Appendix A: Cover Letter 12

Appendix B: Formatted Mail Survey 17

Appendix C: Reminder Postcard 29

Appendix D: County Codes 30

Appendix E: Variables and Descriptions 31