Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Telling Tales: A Review Of C. K. Riessman’S Narrative Methods For The Human Sciences, Shelley Victor

The Qualitative Report

In the second iteration of her book on Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences, Riessman presents a clear, concise description of four methods of narrative analysis: thematic, structural, dialogic/performance, and visual. Each section is replete with narrative examples of interviews, conversations, archival and written documents, photographs, and drawings. Riessman uses selections from published narratives to exemplify the process of narrative analysis. This book is applicable and appropriate for a variety of professions in the social sciences.

Qualitative Research Is Consonant With The Espoused Values Of Occupational Therapy: A Review Of Qualitative Research In Occupational Therapy, Kathleen M. Denault

The Qualitative Report

In her 2001 edited text, Qualitative Research in Occupational Therapy: Strategies and Experiences, Joanne Valiant Cook presents an approachable and informative introduction to qualitative research for occupational therapists. As the discipline of occupational therapy continues to develop its own base of knowledge, the need for research methods which capture the complexity of occupation has become evident. Through considering the similarity between the founding principles of occupational therapy and the world-view of qualitative research, Cook presents a theoretically-oriented research guide specific to the domain of concern of occupational therapy. Examples of qualitative studies and reflections of occupational therapy researchers will be …

An Exercise In Rigor: A Review Of Robert K. Yin’S Case Study Research Design And Methods, Crystal Daughtery

The Qualitative Report

In his fourth edition of Case Study Research Design and Methods, Robert K. Yin continues to encourage the formation of better case study research. The text provides a technical yet practical guide to aid the committed researcher. It is an effort to promote rigor and to encourage the recognition of the limitations and awareness of the strengths of case study research. Throughout the text, Yin forthrightly addressed criticisms of the method and provided a solid defense of case study research and its breadth as a research method. An unexpected bonus of the text is found in the cross reference table …

United States Institute Of Peace Teaches International Security Personnel To Resolve Conflicts Without Resorting To The Use Of Force, Mary H. Schwoebel

Conflict Resolution Studies Faculty Articles

Over the past decade, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has trained members of police and military forces around the world to prepare them to participate in international peacekeeping operations or to contribute to post-conflict stabilization and rule of law interventions in their own or in other war-torn countries. Most of the training takes place outside the United States, from remote, rugged bases to centrally located schools and academies, from Senegal to Nepal, from Italy to the Philippines. Training Programs for International Security Personnel Today's crisis, conflict, and post-conflict contexts are characterized by complexity, multiple parties, blurred boundaries, blurred …

Families Redefined: Kinship Groups That Deserve Benefits, Jane E. Cross, Nan Palmer, Charlene L. Smith

Faculty Scholarship

In Families Redefined: Kinship Groups that Deserve Benefits, the authors examine 1) the nature of kinship families, 2) the benefits accorded to married couples, 3) kinship families that lack protection and benefits, 4) the impact of denying kinship families protection and benefits, 5) the use of contract law in kinship relationships, and 6) using legislation to benefit kinship relationships.

This exploration of expanding family law protections to kinship groups addresses a series of interrelated topics. The first two sections of the article explore the characteristics and creation of kinship families in different societies. The third section addresses the legal …

Making Phenomenological Inquiry Accessible: A Review Of Jonathan A. Smith, Paul Flowers, And Michael Larkin’S Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method, And Research, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Jonathan A. Smith, Paul Flowers, and Michael Larkin’s Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method, and Research is an accessible account of an emergent qualitative psychology methodology which has great potential for studying a variety of psychological areas as well as being applied to studies outside of the behavioral sciences. The authors avoid the complexity found in some texts on phenomenological inquiry and present a simple plan for conducting this style of research.

Whetting Beginning Qualitative Researchers’ Appetites: A Review Of Green And Thorogood’S Qualitative Methods For Health Research, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Selecting texts for introductory qualitative research courses can be a challenge given the depth, breadth, and variety of contemporary qualitative inquiry. The new edition of Green and Thorogood’s Qualitative Methods for Health Research presents a great choice for professors teaching courses across the health care spectrum due to its authors’ ability to give students a diverse buffet designed to whet appetites and increase hunger for more qualitative research nourishment.

Ethnographers At Microsoft: A Review Of Human-Computer Interaction: Development Process, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative researchers and those with qualitative inquiry skills are finding tremendous employment opportunities in the world of technology design and development. Because of their abilities to observe and understand the experiences of end users in human-computer interactions, these researchers are helping companies using Contextual Design to create the next generation of products with the users clearly in mind. In Human-Computer Interaction: Development Process, the new edited book by Andrew Sears and Julie Jacko, the authors describe an array of models and methods incorporating qualitative research concepts and procedures that are being used in technology today and can have great potential …

A Review Of Corbin And Strauss’ Basics Of Qualitative Research: Techniques And Procedures For Developing Grounded Theory, Barbara Packer-Muti

The Qualitative Report

In the third edition of the classic text, Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory, Juliet Corbin continues to present the basics of grounded theory in the context of an evolving world of qualitative research. In doing so she is able to share the traditional essences of the method as put forth in the first two editions while weaving in contemporary changes resulting from her reflections on emergent method, methodology, theory, and who she has become as a researcher

Reflections On The Local And The Global In Psychology: Innovation, Liberation And Testimonio*, Terri M. Baker

The Qualitative Report

This paper presents some reflections on the process of creating research, from the point of view of a psychologist working in an academic environment in a developing country which is undergoing social transformation. It explores some tensions between global and local concerns in research, and reflects on the relation between research, art, narration, and the person of the researcher. The ideas presented are based on the personal reflections of the author after developing a methodology for a qualitative research project. The aim is to open up areas of inquiry into the process of constructing research, rather than providing final answers, …

On Being Degraded In Public Space: An Autoethnography, Todd A. Schoepflin

The Qualitative Report

In the form of an autoethnography, the author analyzes a violent attack he suffered in public and discusses how the incident relates to a degradation ceremony. The author explains why the incident did not meet the required conditions of a successful degradation ceremony and defines a concept called degradation incident. Like a degradation ceremony, a person who experiences a degradation incident is perceived by the public as lower in the local scheme of social types. Unlike a degradation ceremony, transformation of ones total identity is not a required outcome of a degradation incident. The significance of being degraded in public …

The Lived Experience Of Nurses Working With Student Nurses In The Clinical Environment, Donna Hathorn, Krisanna Machtmes, Ken Tillman

The Qualitative Report

One response to the nursing shortage is to increase promotion and retention in nursing programs: However, negative attitudes of nurses threaten student progression and retention. A phenomenological study explored the lived experience of nurses who worked with student nurses to discover what attitudes nurses had toward student nurses and how negative attitudes were developed. One time semi-structured informal audio taped interviews were conducted with six nurses. Data analysis identified the emerging themes as professional socialization attitudes, beliefs about nursing education, role expectations, and motivational deterrent, and communication factors. Findings suggest collaborative strategies to reduce negative attitudes and promote positive, professional …

Social And Virtual Networks: Evaluating Synchronous Online Interviewing Using Instant Messenger, Vanessa Hinchcliffe, Helen Gavin

The Qualitative Report

This paper describes an evaluation of the quality and utility of synchronous online interviewing for data collection in social network research. Synchronous online interviews facilitated by Instant Messenger as the communication medium, were undertaken with ten final year university students. Quantitative and qualitative content analysis of respondent and researcher evaluation of the quality and utility of IM indicated that IM was an integral part of student university life and also an excellent and innovative communication platform; a potential advancement for research interviewing. IM was subsequently compared with face-to-face communication in terms of gains and losses for research interviewing. The efficacy …

Femininity, Masculinity, And Body Image Issues Among College-Age Women: An In-Depth And Written Interview Study Of The Mind-Body Dichotomy, Patricia Leavy, Andrea Gnong, Lauren Sardi Ross

The Qualitative Report

In this article we investigate college-age womens body image issues in the context of dominant femininity and its polarization of the mind and body. We use original data collected through seven in-depth interviews and 32 qualitative written interviews with college-age women and men. We coded the data thematically applying feminist approaches to the analysis. We conclude that the current standard of femininity disproportionately associates womens worth with their bodies. Differing from literature that suggests femininity is associated with physicality and masculinity is not, our research suggests that masculinity is also partly associated with physicality, but in a way that is …

A Process Of Becoming: In Favour Of A Reflexive Narrative Approach, Ellyn Lyle

The Qualitative Report

As both researcher and practitioner, or in service educator, I often resist situating myself within one discrete tradition. For this reason, I turn to narrative as an approach to understanding. I believe employing narrative allows me to draw from a cross-section of scholarly work including reflexive inquiry, critical analysis, and autoethnography. Often qualified as a method or a tool of inquiry, the narrative approach is rarely examined for its epistemological underpinnings. Thus, A Process of Becoming refers to both the promotion of a methodological approach to knowing in social science and to the medium through which practitioners can become better …

Preliminary Investigation And Interview Guide Development For Studying How Malaysian Farmers Form Their Mental Models Of Farming, Steven Eric Krauss, Azimi Hamzah, Zoharah Omar, Turiman Suandi, Ismi Arif Ismail, Mohd Zaidan Zahari, Zanariah Mohd Nor

The Qualitative Report

The development of the interview guide is an integral aspect of the process of conducting qualitative research, yet one that receives little attention in the qualitative research literature. It is often assumed that interview guides are merely a list of questions used to guide a qualitative interview. The background analysis and preparation necessary to prepare an appropriate and effective guide cannot be dismissed, however, as they are integral aspects of the interview process. The current study on mental models of Malaysian smallholder farmers employed in-depth interviews as its primary approach to data generation. This paper details the initial processes undertaken …

Rasgando La Piel: Tatuajes, Cuerpos Y Significados, Jelitza Soto Roman, Linette Santiago Arroyo, Zuellem Cotto Gomez

The Qualitative Report

La modificacion corporal mediante el tatuaje se realiza con diferentes propositos y distintas motivaciones. Esta practica es muy comun en nuestra sociedad puertorriquena; no obstante, ha sido escasamente estudiada. Como resultado de esto, se desarrollo una investigacion con los objetivos de explorar la constitucion narrativa, el cambio de significado personal y social, y la percepcion de trabajadores/as sociales que subyace a la practica de tatuarse el cuerpo. Estos aspectos fueron estudiados entre personas tatuadas, no tatuadas y trabajadores/as sociales mediante la implantacion de un diseno exploratorio. Se espera que los hallazgos encontrados logren contribuir al interes en la realizacion de …

Characteristics Of Home: Perspectives Of Women Who Are Homeless, Christine A. Walsh, Gayle E. Rutherford, Natasha Kuzmak

The Qualitative Report

We employed participatory, community-based research methods to explore the perceptions of home among women who are homeless. Twenty women engaged in one or more techniques including qualitative interviews, digital story telling, creative writing, photovoice, and design charrette to characterize their perceptions of home. Analysis of the data revealed themes related to the physical, affective, and external environment. By understanding how participants perceive home and the qualities they deem necessary for home, we can begin to construct home from both a service and design perspective that meets womens needs for stable, safe housing and home, and also gain a better understanding …

The Experience Of Gifted Girls Transitioning From Elementary School To Sixth And Seventh Grade: A Grounded Theory, Jennifer L. Pepperell, Deborah J. Rubel

The Qualitative Report

This research explored the experiences of gifted girls transitioning from elementary school to sixth and seventh grade. The current literature indicates that gifted girls often struggle emotionally during this transition. Seven research participants were selected and interviewed over a four-month period. Grounded theory methodology was used to analyze data, generate subsequent interview questions, and build theory. This study indicated that these gifted girls transition was facilitated by their strong identities, which enabled them to balance their social and academic lives. Their strong identities allowed them to choose strategies that helped them build connections with both gifted and nongifted peers. These …

A Book Review Of Laura Ellingson’S Engaging Crystallization In Qualitative Research: An Introduction, Ronald J. Cugno, Kathy Thomas

The Qualitative Report

Ellingson (2009) might be the first qualitative researcher to contextualize "crystallization" as a formalized sub-methodology for conducting qualitative research using a nontraditional approach. For Ellingson "crystallization depends upon including, interweaving, blending, or otherwise drawing upon more than one genre of expressing data" (p. 11). Epistemologically, Ellingson’s feminist and social constructivist approach moves her notion of crystallization past positivism on one end and radical interpretivism on the other end of the qualitative research continuum. She looks beyond the established focus of traditional qualitative research to present crystallization as a holistic approach and "radical way of knowing" (Ellis & Ellingson, 2000, p. …

Giving Voice To The Results Of Your Study: A Review Of Authoring Your Life: Developing An Internal Voice To Navigate Life’S Challenges By Marcia B. Baxter Magolda, Robin Cooper

The Qualitative Report

In Authoring Your Life: Developing an Internal Voice to Navigate Life’s Challenges, Marcia B. Baxter Magolda offers a theory and model for building self-authorship through the development of an internal voice. Her primary audience is adults in their twenties and thirties, as well as their parents, peers, and employers. Qualitative researchers will also find the book of interest as a unique example of reporting results of a study in an original format.

Resilience Of Gendered Spheres In Transnational Migration: An Interpretive Book Review Of Sheba Mariam George’S When Women Come First: Gender And Class In Transnational Migration, Jose Luis Calderon

The Qualitative Report

Dr. Sheba George’s ethnographic study based using participant observation and purposive sampling and an insider transnational journey to examine changes in family and social roles that result when nurses from Kerala, India immigrate to the US ahead of their husbands. The author concludes that the economic and political gain immigration affords nurses does not translate into enhanced social status for their family in India or for their husbands in the US when they undergo gender transferral to homemaker. This transference causes a shift in gender structure from the home to the community, in this case the church as a way …

The Road Less Traveled: A Review Of Anfara And Mertz’S Theoretical Frameworks In Qualitative Research, Candace H. Lacey

The Qualitative Report

Editors Anfara and Mertz travel a new road with their tidy little book, Theoretical Frameworks in Qualitative Research. This tightly edited book begins by providing an up-close look at the process of taking a book from the germination of an idea to the delivery of the final product. As noted in the introduction, "To understand a theory is to travel into someone else’s mind." Most of the book clears the path toward that journey by presenting a sampler of chapters focusing on the use of theoretical frameworks in actual qualitative research studies. Finally, the editors bring the book full circle …

Personal, Thorough, And Accessible: A Review Of Carla Willig’S Introducing Qualitative Research In Psychology, Angela Yehl

The Qualitative Report

Carla Willig’s (2008) second edition of Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology provides the novice researcher with a solid foundation in the theoretical underpinnings of qualitative research, epistemology and how it drives qualitative research, as well as the application of six qualitative methodologies to the study of psychology.

Face-To-Face In Writing: My First Attempt At Conducting A Text-Based Online Focus Group, Steven R. Terrell

The Qualitative Report

Having completed graduate degrees in educational research and counseling, I have studied the theory of focus groups and participated in many while in a classroom setting. Interestingly, I had never moderated one until my first attempt in a text-based online environment. This paper describes my preparation for the session as well as the issues I faced while actually conducted the focus group. Readers will find that being prepared by establishing rapport with their group prior to the event, understanding the change of dynamics that distance brings to the process and handling the pressures of an expanded role as moderator, will …

The Role Of Qualitative Methods In Early Childhood Education: A Review Of J. Amos Hatch’S Early Childhood Qualitative Research, Maribel Del Rio-Roberts

The Qualitative Report

Early Childhood Qualitative Research is an edited book that captures the importance of conducting educational research and the significance of such research being scholarly and rigorous. In addition, this book does a phenomenal job of stressing the importance of giving participants in educational research a voice to describe their experiences is stressed, including the experiences of classroom teachers. The aim to provide professionals in the early childhood arena an opportunity to see different perspectives than they make typically be exposed to and to provide them with opportunities to critique current practices, in order to enhance qualitative research practices in the …

Measure Twice And Cut Once: A Review Of Clark And Creswell’S Mixed Methods Reader, Steven R. Terrell

The Qualitative Report

The Mixed Methods Reader is an edited book that presents the reader with a synthesized introduction to the philosophy, history, methodology and practice of mixed methods research. The first section presents the reader with a series of 14 foundational articles, with a second section presenting nine carefully chosen exemplar articles demonstrating best practices in the field. The editors did a remarkable job in combining theory and application with the inclusion of a framework throughout the text which includes discussion questions, visual diagrams and introductory comments for each article. This creates a synthesis and ease of use that guarantees this text …

Communicating Qualitative Analytical Results Following Grice’S Conversational Maxims, Jan S. Chenail, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Conducting qualitative research can be seen as a developing communication act through which researchers engage in a variety of conversations. Articulating the results of qualitative data analysis results can be an especially challenging part of this scholarly discussion for qualitative researchers. To help guide investigators through this difficult communicative process, the authors suggest Grice’s (1989) Conversational Maxims of Quantity, Quality, Relation, and Manner as general guidelines to follow when formulating and presenting findings in qualitative research products as well as basic assumptions to guide readers when judging the quality of result representations.

Qualitative Research Like Politics Can Also Be Local: A Review Of Interdisciplinary Standards For Systematic Qualitative Research, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

The political nature of defining what constitutes standards of rigor and quality in qualitative research comes to the forefront again in Lamont and Whites’ (2008) new report, Interdisciplinary Standards for Systematic Qualitative Research. Based upon a 2005 National Science Foundation (NSF) funded workshop for representatives from NSF’s Cultural Anthropology, Law and Social Science, Political Science, and Sociology programs, Lamont, White, and their colleagues share perspectives on what they see as strengths, standards, and opportunities for qualitative research today and in the near future. Although this manuscript might not allay the fears of those in the field concerned over the "conservative …

Qualitative Research For Social Workers Or Social Work For Qualitative Researchers?, Dan Wulff

The Qualitative Report

Deborah Padgett’s new edition of Qualitative Methods in Social Work Research significantly updates and expands her initial edition. This qualitative research text will be a welcomed addition to social work research courses. While becoming a more inclusive text with wide applicability for the research context today, the author only hints at some of the more contentious or evolving issues that continue to make the field of qualitative research challenging to traditional research approaches. Several places/issues of growth and evolution are suggested by this reviewer