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The Qualitative Report

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Implementation Of An Action Research Course Program For Science Teachers: A Case For Turkey, Mehmet Küçük, Salih Çepni Jun 2005

Implementation Of An Action Research Course Program For Science Teachers: A Case For Turkey, Mehmet Küçük, Salih Çepni

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to introduce an AR approach to a group of science teachers during an in-service AR course program and learn its contributions to their professional development. Data were gathered through an AR project by working with a group of eight science teachers throughout a four-week period. In the content of the course, knowledge on educational research was given to teachers and then the participants were encouraged to conduct small-scale AR projects. During this process, it was found that project teachers willingly participated in all the meetings, embracing the views of doing research based on their …


Preparing A Qualitative Research-Based Dissertation: Lessons Learned, Glenn A. Bowen Jun 2005

Preparing A Qualitative Research-Based Dissertation: Lessons Learned, Glenn A. Bowen

The Qualitative Report

In this article, a newly minted Ph.D. shares seven lessons learned during the process of preparing a dissertation based on qualitative research methods. While most of the lessons may be applicable to any kind of research, the writer focuses on the special challenges of employing a qualitative methodology. The lessons are: (1) Read, read, read; (2) Consult the experts; (3) Adhere to university regulations; (4) Pay attention to rigor and trustworthiness; (5) Give details of the methodology; (6) Don't be afraid to include numerical data; and (7) Prepare to publish.


Human Nature And Research Paradigms: Theory Meets Physical Therapy Practice, Margaret M. Plack Jun 2005

Human Nature And Research Paradigms: Theory Meets Physical Therapy Practice, Margaret M. Plack

The Qualitative Report

Human nature is a very complex phenomenon. In physical therapy this complexity is enhanced by the need to understand the intersection between the art and science of human behavior and patient care. A paradigm is a set of basic beliefs that represent a worldview, defines the nature of the world and the individuals place in it, and helps to determine criteria used to select and define research inquiry. A paradigm guides scientific inquiry, not only in the manner in which an investigation is performed, but also in how the investigator defines truth and reality and how the investigator comes to …


Maps And Meaning: Reading The Map Of The Holy Land, Noga Collins-Kreiner Jun 2005

Maps And Meaning: Reading The Map Of The Holy Land, Noga Collins-Kreiner

The Qualitative Report

The research methods of hermeneutics and semiotics were used to analyze maps of the Holy Land. The main conclusion of this study is how those methods could help us to read and understand maps. Other issues of concern are which religious elements actually appear and their form of representation in the range of maps. Narratives identified on the various maps were the holy Christian narrative- which proved the most dominant, the Jewish narrative and the Muslim narrative that was rarely found in the maps, even in those with a Palestinian narrative. A ubiquitous finding was disregarded for political issues, although …


Research As Improvisation: Dancing Among Perspectives, Glenda-Mae Greene, Shirley Freed Jun 2005

Research As Improvisation: Dancing Among Perspectives, Glenda-Mae Greene, Shirley Freed

The Qualitative Report

This article captures the way research methods were intertwined with core identities to understand the success development of Caribbean-Canadian women. It highlights the importance of researchers experimenting with a blend of perspectives to fit their problem as well as their identity. Viewing the research process through the eyes of the researcher and her dissertation chair, issues of validity and collaboration emerge. Ultimately both authors listen to family voices as they dance among research perspectives.


Transformation Of Rural Teachers Earning Graduate Degrees, Susan A. Santo Jun 2005

Transformation Of Rural Teachers Earning Graduate Degrees, Susan A. Santo

The Qualitative Report

This study tells the stories of four successful graduate students within a cohort of learners who were earning graduate degrees in technology for education and training by distance. The students were practicing teachers in the Dakota Interactive Academic Link (DIAL) consortium. Courses were offered by the University of South Dakota, using videoconferencing through the statewide Digital Distance Network (DDN) and WebCT asynchronous discussions. Mezirows 1991 theory of transformative learning suggests that adult learners may experience a transformational experience. Results showed that the four study participants experienced major changes in their way of thinking about learning and themselves. Conducting longitudinal studies …


An Evening Of Grounded Theory: Teaching Process Through Demonstration And Simulation, Frances Huels Jun 2005

An Evening Of Grounded Theory: Teaching Process Through Demonstration And Simulation, Frances Huels

The Qualitative Report

Grounded theory can be effectively introduced in a survey course through a combination of lecture/demonstration and simulation. The class session presented here illustrates a way to introduce graduate students to the process of grounded theory and gain hands-on experience through simulation. The lesson utilizes concepts that the students are familiar with, allowing them to focus on the research process, and encourages internalization of concepts through immediate application.


Systematic Metaphor Analysis As A Method Of Qualitative Research, Rudolph Schmitt Jun 2005

Systematic Metaphor Analysis As A Method Of Qualitative Research, Rudolph Schmitt

The Qualitative Report

George Lakoff and Mark Johnsons theory of metaphor (1980, 1999) provides a basis for describing everyday cognitive structures using linguistic models and thus, making it possible to uncover both individual and collective patterns of thought and action. Lakoff and Johnson have not, however, developed a workable system for carrying out qualitative research. This paper outlines the fundamentals of this approach and proposes a procedure for the reconstruction of metaphorical concepts. As is normally the case in qualitative research, such guidelines can only ever represent the interplay between the ability of the researcher to understand the sense of things and the …


Through The Lens Of Postmodernism: Uniqueness Of The Anorectic Families, Zenobia C.Y. Chan, Joyce L.C. Ma Jun 2005

Through The Lens Of Postmodernism: Uniqueness Of The Anorectic Families, Zenobia C.Y. Chan, Joyce L.C. Ma

The Qualitative Report

This paper challenges the monolithic assumption of the anorectic families in Hong Kong by blindly adopting the western theoretical framework of family therapy. It is problematic that family therapy lacks indigenous culture-specific knowledge and ignores the voices of these multi-categories of families. It is inappropriate to conceptualize these families as being similar and to stereotype them as experiencing particular difficulties. In order to bridge the homogeneity and address the multiplicity of these families, the paper examines both the ideologies of postmodernism and the process of confession that can enrich the understanding of anorectic families and advance family practice. The paper …


Using Hermeneutics As A Qualitative Research Approach In Professional Practice, Margo Paterson, Joy Higgs Jun 2005

Using Hermeneutics As A Qualitative Research Approach In Professional Practice, Margo Paterson, Joy Higgs

The Qualitative Report

This paper is targeted primarily at doctoral students and others considering hermeneutics as a research strategy. Research using hermeneutics was carried out with occupational therapy educators and clinicians in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK. A total of 53 participants engaged in focus groups and individual interviews over a one-year. The paper explores hermeneutics as a credible, rigorous and creative strategy to address aspects of professional practice that similarly need to be flexible, adaptable to particular needs, and justifiable in the contexts of evidence-based as well as client-centred practice. The hermeneutic study produced A Model of Professional Practice Judgment …


Teacher Perceptions Of Multicultural Issues In School Settings, Danielle Martines Mar 2005

Teacher Perceptions Of Multicultural Issues In School Settings, Danielle Martines

The Qualitative Report

This study employed qualitative methods to analyze teacher's level of multicultural understanding and perceptions of cultural issues when discussing their culturally diverse students in the context of the consultation process. Three school psychologists in urban city high schools, engaged in audio-recorded consultation sessions with consultee-teachers who voluntarily sought services. Audio-recorded tapes of consultation sessions were transcribed and coded by two trained raters and qualitatively analyzed by co-researchers who recorded multicultural thematic issues as categories. Cultural themes and categories indicated that teachers demonstrated cultural awareness and sensitivity regarding their culturally diverse students, yet showed less developed cultural knowledge-base and skill levels. …


Beyond High Stakes Testing: Rural High School Students And Their Yearbooks, Lynn M. Hoffman Mar 2005

Beyond High Stakes Testing: Rural High School Students And Their Yearbooks, Lynn M. Hoffman

The Qualitative Report

I conducted surveys, focus group interviews, and analyzed the yearbooks of fifty four yearbook students from five rural high schools to investigate students process of yearbook construction and to determine what was meaningful and memorable to them throughout their high school experience. Changs (1992) construct of an adolescent ethos, including the elements of getting along with everyone, being involved, and being independent, provided a conceptual framework, and was affirmed by students responses. References to rites of passage and intensification embedded in the high school program as described by Burnett (1969) confirmed these students perceptions of high school as a four …


Doing Gender In Research: Reflection On Experience In Field, Larisa V. Kosygina Mar 2005

Doing Gender In Research: Reflection On Experience In Field, Larisa V. Kosygina

The Qualitative Report

The article shows how doing gender (mutual gender categorization of interacting people and construction of their behavior according to this categorization) can influence research method and research hypothesis. Communication between respondent and researcher during semi-structural interview is in focus.


The Rise And Fall Of A Songwriting Partnership, Peter Devries Mar 2005

The Rise And Fall Of A Songwriting Partnership, Peter Devries

The Qualitative Report

The working relationship of two novice songwriters is examined in this ethnographic study, which highlights the importance of common goals and values in a songwriting collaboration. Stemming from this core there are a number of sub-themes: the pair saw a popular song as consisting of melody, harmony, and lyrics; they played on the strengths and offset the weaknesses of each others songwriting skills; both writers valued originality; and they believed songwriting had a mystical element to it. Finally, it will be shown how conflict in their status as writing partners resulted in the demise of the collaboration. The difficulty of …


The Examination Of Change Management Using Qualitative Methods: A Case Industry Approach, Aaron C.T. Smith, Daniel M. Evans, Hans M. Westerbeek Mar 2005

The Examination Of Change Management Using Qualitative Methods: A Case Industry Approach, Aaron C.T. Smith, Daniel M. Evans, Hans M. Westerbeek

The Qualitative Report

Despite the number of theories explaining the nature and antecedents of change, there is no consensus on a universally applicable model. Competing theories have been tested using deductive methods focusing on hypothesis testing. This study has utilized qualitative methods for collecting data within the sport industry to provide an initial understanding of change within that case industry Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 sport managers across Australian National and State Sporting Organizations and clubs participating in national league competitions. Interviews were transcribed and coded in a grounded interpretation culminating in a typology of change types. Results highlighted that Australian sport …


My Body, My Stigma: Body Interpretations In A Sample Of People Living With Hiv/Aids In Puerto Rico, Nelson Varas-Díaz, José Toro-Alfonso, Irma Serrano-García Mar 2005

My Body, My Stigma: Body Interpretations In A Sample Of People Living With Hiv/Aids In Puerto Rico, Nelson Varas-Díaz, José Toro-Alfonso, Irma Serrano-García

The Qualitative Report

AIDS related stigma continues to impact the lives of People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) negatively. Although the consequences of stigmatization have been widely documented, certain areas of study need to be further addressed in order to better understand their implications for PLWHA; such is the case of the perceptions of the bodys role in AIDS stigma. A qualitative study was implemented including 30 in-depth interviews of PLWHA in Puerto Rico in order to explore their perceptions of the bodys role in the process of stigmatization. Results include: participants perceptions on how their bodies evidence their serostatus, description of past body …


Conducting Qualitative Research On Desertification In Western Lesvos, Greece, Theodoros Iosifides, Theodoros Politidis Mar 2005

Conducting Qualitative Research On Desertification In Western Lesvos, Greece, Theodoros Iosifides, Theodoros Politidis

The Qualitative Report

The main aim of this article is to present some critical methodological strategies employed in a qualitative research study on local socioeconomic development and desertification in western Lesvos, Greece. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with local producers in western Lesvos, Greece, an effort was made to identify and analyze the links between the local socioeconomic trajectory and environmental marginality. The article concerns the justification of the choice of qualitative investigation on the matter, the main methodological strategies employed in the field, and the basic data analysis processes. In particular, we discuss the gradual development of a coding framework and a conceptual …


Databases Don’T Measure Motivation, Joseph Yeager Mar 2005

Databases Don’T Measure Motivation, Joseph Yeager

The Qualitative Report

Automated persuasion is the Holy Grail of quantitatively biased data base designers. However, data base histories are, at best, probabilistic estimates of customer behavior and do not make use of more sophisticated qualitative motivational profiling tools. While usually absent from web designer thinking, qualitative motivational profiling can be integrated into data base designs. However, qualitative profiling would require that designers add to their repertoire a set of qualitative motivational profiling tools. Clearly the quantitative or qualitative tool must fit the task. This contemporary confusion is corrected by separating the marketing and market research tools into quantitative or qualitative applications according …


Using The Afrocentric Method In Researching Indigenous African Culture, Queeneth Mkabela Mar 2005

Using The Afrocentric Method In Researching Indigenous African Culture, Queeneth Mkabela

The Qualitative Report

The article highlights the realities and dynamics facing researchers researching indigenous African culture. The cultural aspirations, understandings and practices of African indigenous people should position researchers to implement and organise the research process. Suggestions are also made for implementing the Afrocentric method and how to use African indigenous culture as a foundation for the Afrocentric method. The intent of this article is to stimulate enlightened discussion about the definition, mechanisms, and purpose of the Afrocentric method as an appropriate research method for indigenous African culture and how it can be used as a complement to qualitative research methods.


Maternal Postpartum Role Collapse As A Theory Of Postpartum Depression, Linda Clark Amankwaa Mar 2005

Maternal Postpartum Role Collapse As A Theory Of Postpartum Depression, Linda Clark Amankwaa

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development of a theory of maternal postpartum role collapse. The influences of traditional role theory and symbolic interactionism are presented. The development of the maternal postpartum role collapse theory emerged from the study of postpartum depression among African-American women (Amankwaa, 2000). Major components of the theory of postpartum maternal role collapse consist of role stress, role strain, and finally role collapse. A discussion of the extension of role theory to role collapse as it is related to the postpartum mother is offered as an explanation of postpartum depression.


Qualitative Evaluation Of Emotional Intelligence In-Service Program For Secondary School Teachers, Seval Fer Dec 2004

Qualitative Evaluation Of Emotional Intelligence In-Service Program For Secondary School Teachers, Seval Fer

The Qualitative Report

This paper is an attempt to evaluate the Emotional Intelligence (EQ) In-Service Program on the basis of experiences of 20 secondary school teachers who attended the program in a private school in Turkey. A phenomenological approach, with a focus group method was used. The first objective of this study was to evaluate EQ program on the basis of teachers’ experiences. The second was to explore the teachers’ perceptions about the implications of EQ skills in classroom situations. The results were discussed in terms of the evaluation of the EQ program and its implications for learning and teaching activities in the …


Using Nvivo To Analyze Qualitative Classroom Data On Constructivist Learning Environments, Betul C. Ozkan Dec 2004

Using Nvivo To Analyze Qualitative Classroom Data On Constructivist Learning Environments, Betul C. Ozkan

The Qualitative Report

This article describes how a qualitative data analysis package, NVivo, was used in a study of authentic and constructivist learning and teaching in the classroom. The paper starts with a summary of the research study in which NVivo was used to analyze the data and overviews the methodology that was adopted in this study. It, then, describes how NVivo was used in the analysis of observational (video) data, interviews and field notes.


A Qualitative Look At Leisure Benefits For Taiwanese Nursing Students, Shwu-Ching Hsieh, Angela Spaulding, Mark Riney Dec 2004

A Qualitative Look At Leisure Benefits For Taiwanese Nursing Students, Shwu-Ching Hsieh, Angela Spaulding, Mark Riney

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to determine attitudes of first year nursing students toward leisure participation at the Jen-Te Junior College of Medicine Nursing and Management in Miao-Li, Taiwan. The three research questions used for this study were: What types of leisure activities do first year nursing students at Jen-Te Junior College participate in?, what are the attitudes of first year nursing students at Jen-Te Junior College toward leisure?, and what is the relationship between leisure attitudes and leisure participation of first year nursing students in Jen-Te Junior College? The grounded theory method was used to generate the research …


You Were Hired To Teach! Ideological Struggle,Education, And Teacher Burnout At The New Prison For Women, Randall L. Wright Dec 2004

You Were Hired To Teach! Ideological Struggle,Education, And Teacher Burnout At The New Prison For Women, Randall L. Wright

The Qualitative Report

Critical theorists consider schools as sites of ideological struggle. The following is an account of Suzettes (pseudonym) attempts to define the educational practices in a women’s prison according to the democratic principles suggested in the Task Force Report on Federally Sentenced Women: Creating Choices, (Correctional Service of Canada, 1990). This report led to the construction of five new prisons for women across Canada. Suzettes case illustrates how ideological struggles are experienced personally, and how they contribute to her burnout disillusionment and resignation. Habermass critical research program and his concept of system and lifeworld undergirds this interpretation of this teachers resistance …


Threats And Aggression Directed At Soccer Referees: An Empirical Phenomenological Psychological Study, Margareta Friman, Claes Nyberg, Torsten Norlander Dec 2004

Threats And Aggression Directed At Soccer Referees: An Empirical Phenomenological Psychological Study, Margareta Friman, Claes Nyberg, Torsten Norlander

The Qualitative Report

A descriptive qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews involving seven provincial Soccer Association referees was carried out in order to find out how referees experience threats and aggression directed to soccer referees. The Empirical Phenomenological Psychological method (EPP-method) was used. The analysis resulted in thirty categories which were summarized in six themes. The main themes described the perceived causes of threat, reactions to threat, how the referees manage stressful situations, and their motives to referee.


Perceptions On School-Based English Teacher Education: A Qualitative Study, Leyla Tercanlioglu Dec 2004

Perceptions On School-Based English Teacher Education: A Qualitative Study, Leyla Tercanlioglu

The Qualitative Report

The National Education Development Project (NEDP) is one of the most important attempts to improve the quality of teacher education in Turkey. NEDP focused on the development of practice in pre-service secondary school language teacher education in Turkey. NEDP supported this research to explore student, mentor, teacher educator, and mentor trainer opinions and experiences in depth and understand the actual implementation of school-based teacher education at schools. Individual interviews were conducted in a British University to explore participants' perceptions. This paper will discuss each issue which emerged from the data separately to highlight the issues that appeared important.


The Relationship Between Health Professionals And The Elderly Patient Facing Drug Prescription: A Qualitative Approach, Fernando Lefevre, Jorge Juarez Vieira Teixeira, Ana Maria Cavalcanti Lefevre, Lia Lusitana Cardozo De Castro, Aracy Witt De Pinho Spínola Dec 2004

The Relationship Between Health Professionals And The Elderly Patient Facing Drug Prescription: A Qualitative Approach, Fernando Lefevre, Jorge Juarez Vieira Teixeira, Ana Maria Cavalcanti Lefevre, Lia Lusitana Cardozo De Castro, Aracy Witt De Pinho Spínola

The Qualitative Report

Aiming at identifying the relationship between the elderly patient facing drug prescription and health professionals, an exploratory and descriptive study of a qualitative cut was carried out using semi-structured interviews. To this end, the Collective Subject Discourse analysis technique was employed. Thirty elderly patients living in the urban area of Maring (Paran State, Brazil) were sampled. They were interviewed from February 25 to March 22, 1998 and selected from the Co-participatory pharmacy database of the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Universidade Estadual de Maring . The finding supplied eleven central Collective Subject ideas, with different discourses. The rich material provided …


Phd Students Perceptions Of The Relationship Between Philosophy And Research: A Qualitative Investigation, Joan Efinger, Nancy Maldonado, Geri Mcardle Dec 2004

Phd Students Perceptions Of The Relationship Between Philosophy And Research: A Qualitative Investigation, Joan Efinger, Nancy Maldonado, Geri Mcardle

The Qualitative Report

This study explored, described, and discovered meaning in the lived experiences of PhD students regarding two courses: Philosophy of Science and Qualitative Methods. The philosophical underpinning was constructivism. The phenomenological methodology employed a structured questionnaire to collect data. It involved mailed computer disks with questions. Twenty of 43 students returned the disks. Content analysis and QSR N6 software were employed in data analysis. Findings included three broad areas: Thinking about Thinking, The Ah-Ha of Me and Thee, and The Never-Ending Journey of Darkness to Light. Philosophy of Science appears to have value for students in every aspect of their lives. …


Beyond Abstraction: Philosophy As A Practical Qualitative Research Method, Eric Sheffield Dec 2004

Beyond Abstraction: Philosophy As A Practical Qualitative Research Method, Eric Sheffield

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, I take up a discussion of what philosophic method is, and why it should be viewed as an important qualitative research method. After clarifying the nature of philosophic method within the larger framework of social practices, I argue that philosophy is important to both practice and research, and I suggest that philosophers work in concert with other qualitative researchers. I argue that recently (relatively speaking) philosophy has been viewed with some understandable disdain among both practitioners and researchers as an enjoyable but abstract (and therefore useless) social practice. That perception can be fixed but only if philosophical …


Enhancing The Interpretation Of Significant Findings: The Role Of Mixed Methods Research, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Nancy L. Leech Dec 2004

Enhancing The Interpretation Of Significant Findings: The Role Of Mixed Methods Research, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Nancy L. Leech

The Qualitative Report

The present essay outlines how mixed methods research can be used to enhance the interpretation of significant findings. First, we define what we mean by significance in educational evaluation research. With regard to quantitative-based research, we define the four types of significance: statistical significance, practical significance, clinical significance, and economic significance. With respect to qualitative-based research, we define a significant finding as one that has meaning or representation. Second, we describe limitations of each of these types of significance. Finally, we illustrate how conducting mixed methods analyses can be used to enhance the interpretation of significant findings in both quantitative …