bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analyzing Teachers' Stories
Authors: Kainan Anat
Published: January 2017

This article presents an integrated socio-literal approach as a way to analyze work stories. It uses a case of teachers' stories about the administration as an example. The stories focus on grumbles about various activities of members of the management of a school in a small town. The complaints appear in descriptions of the action, the characters, and, in particular, in the way the story is presented to the audience. The stories present a situation of two opposing groups-the administration and the teachers. The presentation of the stories creates a sense of togetherness among the veterans and new teachers in the staff room, and helps the integration of the new teachers into the staff. The veterans use the stories as an opportunity to express their anger at not having been assigned responsibilities on the one hand and their hopes of such promotion on the other. The stories act as a convenient medium to express criticism without entering into open hostilities. Behind them, a common principle can be discerned- the good of the school. The stories describe the infringement of various aspects of the school's social order, and it is possible to elicit from them what general pattern the teachers want to preserve in the school.
Advancing Uncertainty: Untangling and Discerning Related Concepts
Authors: Penrod Janice
Published: January 2017

Methods of advancing concepts within the qualitative paradigm have been developed and articulated. In this section, I describe methodological perspectives of a project designed to advance the concept of uncertainty using multiple qualitative methods. Through a series of earlier studies, the concept of uncertainty arose repeatedly in varied contexts, working its way into prominence, and warranting further investigation. Processes of advanced concept analysis were used to initiate the formal investigation into the meaning of the concept. Through concept analysis, the concept was deconstructed to identify conceptual components and gaps in understanding.

Using this skeletal framework of the concept identified through concept analysis, subsequent studies were carried out to add ‘flesh’ to the concept. First, a concept refinement using the literature as data was completed. Findings revealed that the current state of the concept of uncertainty failed to incorporate what was known of the lived experience. Therefore, using interview techniques as the primary data source, a phenomenological study of uncertainty among caregivers was conducted. Incorporating the findings of the phenomenology, the skeletal framework of the concept was further fleshed out using techniques of concept correction to produce a more mature conceptualization of uncertainty.

In this section, I describe the flow of this qualitative project investigating the concept of uncertainty, with special emphasis on a particular threat to validity (called conceptual tunnel vision) that was identified and addressed during the phases of concept correction. Though in this article I employ a study of uncertainty for illustration, limited substantive findings regarding uncertainty are presented to retain a clear focus on the methodological issues.
Analysis of Videotaped Data: Methodological Considerations
Authors: Morse Janice M. , Pooler Charlotte
Published: January 2017

Using videotaped data as the sole source for a study produces unique challenges that have not been fully addressed in the literature. Our particular interest was the analysis of videotaped data in which the scene–that captured within the frame–is the sole source of data. The researcher does not have access to interviews or other interpretive data to provide the participants' perspective, therefore analysis relies on the actions of the participants as they occurred. When recording video data in this manner, nothing is manipulated or staged for the recording. The challenge for the researcher is to describe and to analyze the scene as it stands. How does one make sense of such data? And how can one be assured that the research interpretation is correct? We argue here that the level and accuracy of interpretation possible depends on the context–on what is being studied, and what is known about the topic of interest.

In this section, we will address issues inherent in analysis of sole source videotaped data, with particular attention to the selection and use of a scaffold for analysis. The example that we use is a study that came later in the research program: a secondary analysis of videotaped data to explore nurse-patient-family interactions in a trauma-resuscitation room of the Emergency Department (Morse & Pooler, 2002).
Symposium Conclusion - Issues of Validity: Behavioral Concepts, Their Derivation and Interpretation
Authors: Morse Janice M. , Hupcey Judith E. , Penrod Janice , Spiers Jude A. , Pooler Charlotte , Mitcham Carl
Published: January 2017

Qualitative inquiry that commences with the concept, rather than the phenomenon itself, is subject to violating the tenet of induction, thus is exposed to particular threats of invalidity. In this symposium, using the examples of the concepts of uncertainty, trust, vulnerability and suffering, and interview and videotaped data, we discuss strategies to maintain the inductive thrust, and hence validity, during data analysis. The authors present the use of a skeletal framework and scaffold as techniques to “frame? the concept, while, at the same time, continuing to further develop the concept.
Representation, Legitimation, and Autoethnography: An Autoethnographic Writing Story
Authors: Holt Nicholas L.
Published: January 2017

The purpose of this article is to critique representation and legitimation as they relate to the peer review process for an autoethnographic manuscript. Using a conversation derived from seven reviewers' comments pertaining to one autoethnographic manuscript, issues relating to (a) the use of verification strategies in autoethnographic studies; and, (b) the use of self as the only data source are discussed. As such, this paper can be considered as an autoethnographic writing story. The problematic nature of autoethnography, which is located at the boundaries of scientific research, is examined by linking the author's experiences of the review process with dominant research perspectives. Suggestions for investigators wishing to produce autoethnographic accounts are outlined along with a call for the development of appropriate evaluative criteria for such work.
Blending Observational Methods: Possibilities, Strategies, and Challenges
Authors: Paterson Barbara L. , Bottorff Joan L. , Hewat Roberta
Published: January 2017

Qualitative researchers have used the observational strategies of video recording and participant observation to investigate specific phenomena. Although there have been recent advances in the separate use of these strategies, there is evidence that there is benefit in combining these observational approaches to study particular phenomena. The purpose of the paper is to present a discussion about the application of these observational methods as blended approaches. The authors draw on their own experience as researchers and that of others to explore how these observational strategies could be combined for use in a singular study. They provide directions for researchers who select observation as a primary research strategy.
The Nature of “Evidence” in Qualitative Research Methods
Authors: Miller Steven , Fredericks Marcel
Published: January 2017

The article is an attempt to show that a continuing issue in qualitative research methods is describing and justifying how qualitative data become “evidence” for a claim. Several models from the field of Confirmation Theory are developed and described within the context of a qualitative research example. It is argued that for the qualitative research case, the meaning and application of what constitutes evidence is best viewed in terms of a primary logical distinction.
A Pathway for Interpretive Phenomenology
Authors: Conroy Sherrill A.
Published: January 2017

In this article, a qualitative method for research is offered that clearly incorporates Heideggerian philosophy into an interpretive phenomenological research design. Several unique contributions to interpretive research are provided. Tested Hermeneutical Principles for Research (HPR) are outlined. These frame the design and method, and practically integrate the underlying philosophy.
Naturalistic Inquiry in E-Learning Research
Authors: Agostinho Shirley
Published: January 2017

In this article, the author explains how and why one particular qualitative research approach, the naturalistic inquiry paradigm, was implemented in an e-learning research study that investigated the use of the World Wide Web technology in higher education. A framework is presented that situates the research study within the qualitative research literature. The author then justifies how the study was compliant with naturalistic inquiry and concludes by presenting a model for judging the quality of such research. The purpose of this article is to provide an example of how naturalistic inquiry can be implemented in e-learning research that can serve as a guide for researchers undertaking this form of qualitative inquiry. As such, the focus of the article is to illustrate how methodological issues pertaining to naturalistic inquiry were addressed and justified to represent a rigorous research approach rather than presenting the results of the research study.
Doing Autoethnography
Authors: Muncey Tessa
Published: January 2017

The author has argued elsewhere that individual identity is sufficiently worthy of research and more than just a deviant case. The representation of an individual's story that contains one of society's taboos appears to require legitimation of not only the text but also the method by which it is conveyed. This is particularly important if memory and its distortions appear to be critical features of the process. Using the four approaches described in this article, namely the snapshot, metaphor, the journey and artifacts, in combination, the author seeks to demonstrate the disjunctions that characterize people's lives. In seeking to portray a new narrative to add to the received wisdom on teenage pregnancy, it is hoped that this multifaceted approach will demonstrate that although memories are fragmentary, elusive, and sometimes “altered” by experience, the timing and sequencing of them is more powerfully presented in this juxtaposition of themes than if they were presented sequentially.
Qualitative Inquiry as Gegenwerk: Connections Between Art and Research
Authors: Pigrum Derek , Stables Andrew
Published: January 2017

In this article, the authors apply the findings of research into transitional processes in the arts to a consideration of qualitative research. They identify and describe four types of transitional practice: the transferential, the transformational, the transpositional, and the transgressional. Transitional practices in both art and research are found to be dialectical, involving presencing and absencing, doing and undoing, and repetition with modifications, and to produce provisional or transitional outcomes. Such practices enable both artists and researchers to manage tangled connections, juxtapositions, intertwinings, overlappings, and dislocations. Research is therefore not a simple linear process but, like (other) artistic processes, involves absencing, transformation, and redetermination as processes of emergent disclosure. Transitional practices therefore involve “work against the work”: Gegenwerk. An understanding of, and training in, such practices has the potential to develop quality, reflexivity, and criticality in both the undertaking and the reading of qualitative research.
Co-producing Video Diaries: The Presence of the “Absent” Researcher
Authors: Gibson Barbara Ellen
Published: January 2017

Video diaries are said to provide a more “direct” understanding of participants' experiences than is afforded by data that are “controlled” by the researcher. In this article, the author problematizes this viewpoint and argues that personal video accounts are socially located constructions that are produced in response to a specific research context. Using examples from research that examines identity with young men who have severe physical impairments, she illustrates these effects and the role of the researcher in co-producing video accounts. Rather than viewing this as problematic, she suggests that examining how participants construct their video accounts as situated research participants provides a valuable source of analyzable data. The author outlines a method for interrogating video accounts that builds on these foundational assumptions.
Researching Creations: Applying Arts-Based Research to Bedouin Women's Drawings Ephrat Huss and Julie Cwikel
Authors: Huss Ephrat , Cwikel Julie
Published: January 2017

In this article, the author examines the combination of arts-based research and art therapy within Bedouin women's empowerment groups. The art fulfills a double role within the group of both helping to illuminate the women's self-defined concerns and goals, and simultaneously enriching and moving these goals forward. This creates a research tool that adheres to the feminist principles of finding new ways to learn from lower income women from a different culture, together with creating a research context that is of direct potential benefit and enrichment for the women. The author, through examples of the use of art within lower income Bedouin women's groups, examines the theoretical connection between arts-based research and art therapy, two areas that often overlap but whose connection has not been addressed theoretically.
Culture: Can you Take it Anywhere?
Authors: Agar Michael
Published: January 2017

This is a written version of a lecture delivered at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Eduction at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The original series of lectures can be viewed at http://www.education.ucsb.edu/thematicschool/ . In this “culture” lecture, the author explores the difficulties in using the concept in contemporary research with particular reference to its relational nature, its partiality, and the various problems that ethnography now addresses. In the end, the concept might have outlived its technical use, even as popular use increases.
Exploring Congruence between Habermasian Philosophy, Mixed-Method Research, and Managing Data Using NVivo
Authors: Smyth Robyn
Published: January 2017

Remaining faithful to the conceptual underpinnings of philosophy, methodological approach, and language can present researchers with dilemmas when a researcher exercises the freedom to choose mixed-method approaches to make meaning from inquiry. In this article, the author explores one approach to maintaining consistency while deriving outcomes that are trustworthy and have authenticity. She demonstrates how a researcher can remain grounded in the world of the research subject and thereby maintain authenticity and transferability. The discussion of computer-aided data management by programs such as NVivo illustrates how these tools can be usefully employed in constructivist methods to assist the researcher with the extensive bulk of qualitative research data.
Student Researchers Negotiating Consent in Northern Aboriginal Communities
Authors: Davison Colleen M. , Brown Micaela , Moffitt Pertice
Published: January 2017

In this article, the authors discuss what students are doing to reconcile the differences between institutional ethical review standards and the reality of community-based, qualitative research, particularly in northern Canada. They examine the experiences of 12 students who are currently undertaking or have recently completed qualitative research in the North. Students raised concerns about what informed consent really mean; the contentiousness of obtaining written consent, and modified consent forms and the flexibility of research ethics board (REB) standards. The authors demonstrate that significant judgment is required in the introduction of ethics procedures in northern Canadian research. More work is needed to guide novice researchers and help build their agency for making ethical judgments in the field.
A Talmud Page as a Metaphor of a Scientific Text Michal Rozenberg, Miri Munk, and Anat Kainan
Authors: Rozenberg Michal , Munk Miri , Kainan Anat
Published: January 2017

The authors' aim in this article is to deal with a new option of writing a hermeneutical text by using the metaphor of a Talmud page. They present this through the multiplicity in which three researchers contemplate a single set text. This case concerns the life story of Zoheira, a Bedouin student at a teacher's college. The use of the Talmudic layout as a metaphor of a scientific text presents a preference of a polyphony of voices, rather than one voice, when dealing with ambiguous texts. It also changes the places of both the reader and the researcher.
My Experience of Interviewing a “Crusader Participant” Tips for Fellow Researchers
Authors: Garg Anupama
Published: January 2017

In this article, the author describes the experience of interviewing a crusader participant where audio recording of the interview was not consented to, although she was allowed to take handwritten notes. A crusader participant is someone who is committed to the social justice aims of the research and wants to bring about change by his or her contribution to it. The author provides the lessons learned from this interview as tips for fellow researchers.
Using Focus Groups to Research Sensitive Issues: Insights from Group Interviews on Nursing in the Northern Ireland “Troubles”
Authors: Jordan Joanne , Lynch Una , Moutray Marianne , O'Hagan Marie-Therese , Orr Jean , Peake Sandra , Power John
Published: January 2017

In this article the authors discuss the usefulness of focus groups for researching sensitive issues using evidence from a study examining the experiences of nurses providing care in the context of the Northern Ireland Troubles. They conducted three group interviews with nurses during which they asked about the issues the nurses face(d) in providing nursing care amid enduring social division. Through a discursive analysis of within-group interaction, they demonstrate how participants employ a range of interpretive resources, the effect of which is to prioritize particular knowledge concerning the nature of nursing care. The identification of such patterned activity highlights the ethnographic value of focus groups to reveal social conventions guiding the production of accounts but also suggests that accounts cannot be divorced from the circumstances of their production. Consequently, the authors argue that focus groups should be considered most useful for illuminating locally sanctioned ways of talking about sensitive issues.
A Scheme for Analyzing the Results of Focus Groups
Authors: Vicsek Lilla
Published: January 2017

In this article the author presents a scheme that can be used to evaluate the results of focus groups. The novel feature of the scheme is that it involves the situational factors in the analysis: interactional factors, the environment, time factors, the content, personal characteristics of the participants, and the characteristics of the moderator. The author argues that it is worth taking these into account in making an analysis. If the analysis incorporates recognition that the data used are not independent of the concrete situation but are to be seen in context, the conclusions can be richer and more useful.
A Personal Experience of Working with Classical Grounded Theory: From Beginner to Experienced Grounded Theorist
Authors: Giske Tove , Artinian Barbara
Published: January 2017

In this article the authors offer an example of the application of principles of classical grounded theory (Glaser) in data collection and analysis and present how they generated a substantive grounded theory named Preparative Waiting for patients who underwent the diagnostic phase at a gastric ward. They demonstrate how patients' main concern emerged by constant comparison of data in open coding and how the core category of the theory and related concepts developed through selective coding. The authors offer examples of memos, the fitting of concepts to their data set, and the process of theoretical coding to illustrate how three different models were generated to improve fit, relevance, and workability of their grounded theory. They also discuss when and how to search and read the literature during a grounded theory study.
Adopting a Grounded Theory Approach to Cultural-Historical Research: Conflicting Methodologies or Complementary Methods?
Authors: Seaman Jayson
Published: January 2017

Grounded theory has long been regarded as a valuable way to conduct social and educational research. However, recent constructivist and postmodern insights are challenging long-standing assumptions, most notably by suggesting that grounded theory can be flexibly integrated with existing theories. This move hinges on repositioning grounded theory from a methodology with positivist underpinnings to an approach that can be used within different theoretical frameworks. In this article the author reviews this recent transformation of grounded theory, engages in the project of repositioning it as an approach by using cultural historical activity theory as a test case, and outlines several practical methods implied by the joint use of grounded theory as an approach and activity theory as a methodology. One implication is the adoption of a dialectic, as opposed to a constructivist or objectivist, stance toward grounded theory inquiry, a stance that helps move past the problem of emergence versus forcing.
Not Alone in the Field: Distance Collaboration via the Internet in a Focused Ethnography
Authors: Lee Bonnie K. , Gregory David
Published: January 2017

Ethnography as method remains orthodox in its application. It is largely replicated through the lone field ethnographer model. In challenging this fieldwork model, the authors describe distance collaboration via the Internet linking two researchers across space and time in the fieldwork process: one in the field, the other home based. Using a reflexive, retrospective analysis of e-mail correspondence generated during the fieldwork experience, they explicate key factors in their successful collaborative effort. In addition, interchanges conducive to “thickening” the ethnographic inquiry are highlighted. The collaborative process, facilitated through the Internet, lent psychological strength to the field researcher and added to research quality, timeliness, and trustworthiness in this focused ethnography. Cybertechnology invites exploration of new approaches and resultant challenges in conducting ethnographic fieldwork.
Sensemaking in Interpretive Management Accounting Research: Constructing a Credible Account
Authors: Abdul-Khalid Siti-Nabiha
Published: January 2017

As noted by several authors, field research has a craft-like element that makes it difficult for researchers to textualize the process of analyzing data. However, discussing our practices in field research could lead to the emergence of a more critical and self-reflective craft. With this objective, the author discusses the process of interpreting qualitative data from a 5-year longitudinal study on management accounting change in an Asian multinational company. The paper also includes a discussion of the institutional theories underpinning this research, which are used in the explanation of the data. Hence, this article elucidates the journey of moving from the “tape,” or the data, to the final written text.
The Space Between: On Being an Insider-Outsider in Qualitative Research
Authors: Dwyer Sonya Corbin , Buckle Jennifer L.
Published: January 2017

Should qualitative researchers be members of the population they are studying, or should they not? Although this issue has been explored within the context of qualitative research, it has generally been reserved for discussions of observation, field research, and ethnography. The authors expand that discussion and explore membership roles by illustrating the insider status of one author and the outsider status of the other when conducting research with specific parent groups. The strengths and challenges of conducting qualitative research from each membership status are examined. Rather than consider this issue from a dichotomous perspective, the authors explore the notion of the space between that allows researchers to occupy the position of both insider and outsider rather than insider or outsider.
Reconsidering Evaluation Criteria for Scientific Adequacy in Health Care Research: An Integrative Framework of Quantitative and Qualitative Criteria
Authors: Miyata Hiroaki , Kai Ichiro
Published: January 2017

It is important to reconsider evaluation criteria regarding scientific adequacy in health care research. In this article the authors review the four pairs of quantitative/qualitative paradigms. They discuss the use of evaluation criteria based on a pragmatic perspective after examining the epistemological issues behind the criteria. Validity/credibility is concerned with research framework, whereas reliability/dependability refers to the range of stability in observations, objectivity/ confirmability reflects influences between observers and subjects, and generalizability/transferability has epistemological differences in the way findings are applied. Qualitative studies should not always choose qualitative paradigms, and vice versa. If stability can be assumed to some extent in a qualitative study, it is better to use a quantitative paradigm. Regardless of whether it is quantitative or qualitative research, it is important to recognize the four epistemological axes.
A Practical Iterative Framework for Qualitative Data Analysis
Authors: Srivastava Prachi , Hopwood Nick
Published: January 2017

The role of iteration in qualitative data analysis, not as a repetitive mechanical task but as a reflexive process, is key to sparking insight and developing meaning. In this paper the authors presents a simple framework for qualitative data analysis comprising three iterative questions. The authors developed it to analyze qualitative data and to engage with the process of continuous meaning-making and progressive focusing inherent to analysis processes. They briefly present the framework and locate it within a more general discussion on analytic reflexivity. They then highlight its usefulness, particularly for newer researchers, by showing practical applications of the framework in two very different studies.
Technique Triangulation for Validation in Directed Content Analysis
Authors: Humble Áine M.
Published: January 2017

Division of labor in wedding planning varies for first-time marriages, with three types of couples—traditional, transitional, and egalitarian—identified, but nothing is known about wedding planning for remarrying individuals. Using semistructured interviews, the author interviewed 14 couples in which at least one person had remarried and used directed content analysis to investigate the extent to which the aforementioned typology could be transferred to this different context. In this paper she describes how a triangulation of analytic techniques provided validation for couple classifications and also helped with moving beyond “blind spots” in data analysis. Analytic approaches were the constant comparative technique, rank order comparison, and visual representation of coding, using MAXQDA 2007's tool called TextPortraits.
Ricoeur's Theory of Interpretation: An Instrument for Data Interpretation in Hermeneutic Phenomenology
Authors: Tan Heather , Wilson Anne , Olver Ian
Published: January 2017

Heidegger's hermeneutic phenomenology, although providing an appropriate philosophical foundation for research in the social sciences that seeks to investigate the meaning of lived experience, does not provide clarity of process, making it difficult to assign the degree of rigor to the work demanded in an era dominated by the positivist paradigm. Ricoeur (1981) further developed both Heidegger's and Gadamer's ideas, in the areas of method and interpretation of hermeneutic phenomenological research, in a direction that has addressed this difficulty. In this article the authors outline Ricoeur's theory, including three levels of data analysis, describe its application to the interpretation of data, and discuss two apparent contradictions in his theory. Ricoeur's theory of interpretation, as a tool for the interpretation of data in studies whose philosophical underpinning is hermeneutic phenomenology, deserves consideration by human sciences researchers who seek to provide a rigorous foundation for their work.
Insider Research with Family Members who have a Member Living with Rare Cancer
Authors: Foster Jan
Published: January 2017

In this article the author explores insider research in relation to family members facing a diagnosis of rare cancer, using her experiences as one such family member undertaking doctoral research into journeys similar to hers. The “insider” issue is explored through three realms: the ethical realm, including issues of “fitness” to undertake the research; the methodological realm, including how data are obtained and used; and the trustworthiness realm, including research rigor. The exploration of her insider experiences includes personal challenges in relation to facing familiar emotionally charged experiences, insights gained as a result of her insider status, and her ability to join with participants in ways that might not be possible for an outsider. In the paper the author challenges taken-for-granted assumptions that trustworthiness can be assured only from the position of “objective” researcher. Rather, this analysis places knowledge gained through the processes and products of research as constituted and contextualized.
Closing in on the Picture: Analyzing Interactions in Video Recordings
Authors: McNaughton Marie Jeanne
Published: January 2017

In this paper the author provides a detailed account of the processing and analyzing of data obtained through video recording during reflective practitioner research. She sets out five stages in the analysis of video recordings of classroom interactions during a series of educational drama lessons, from decisions relating to the selection of data for close analysis to the seeking of themes and finally to the presentation of conclusions. The researcher adapted and synthesized several processes derived from discourse analysis to produce a range of instruments for use in transcription and analysis of verbal and nonverbal discourse. These include a simple transcription key, classifications for verbal and nonverbal discourse, and a template for a transcription and analysis matrix.
Building a Conceptual Framework: Philosophy, Definitions, and Procedure
Authors: Jabareen Yosef
Published: January 2017

In this paper the author proposes a new qualitative method for building conceptual frameworks for phenomena that are linked to multidisciplinary bodies of knowledge. First, he redefines the key terms of concept, conceptual framework, and conceptual framework analysis. Concept has some components that define it. A conceptual framework is defined as a network or a “plane” of linked concepts. Conceptual framework analysis offers a procedure of theorization for building conceptual frameworks based on grounded theory method. The advantages of conceptual framework analysis are its flexibility, its capacity for modification, and its emphasis on understanding instead of prediction.
Exploring Ethical and Methodological Issues in Internet-Based Research with Adolescents
Authors: Battles Heather T.
Published: January 2017

Internet-based research is a relatively new and growing field that presents a number of ethical challenges regarding privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent. In light of a study examining discussions regarding the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine on a publicly viewable Internet message board among primarily American, Australian, and Canadian female adolescents and young adults, the author discusses the methodological and ethical concerns surrounding Internet-based qualitative research with youth. The author first provides some contextual background about the study and issues surrounding the HPV vaccine. She describes her methods of data collection and analysis and provides a summary of the results. The author then explores a number of ethical issues that arise in Internet-based research and examines her own ethical decision-making as informed by existing discussions and guidelines in this area.
The Contribution of Qualitative Methodologies to Rural Health Research: An Analysis of the Development of a Study of the Health and Well-Being of Women in Remote Areas
Authors: Harvey Desley J.
Published: January 2017

Understanding the influence of rural social determinants on health can contribute to alleviating disparities between the health of urban and rural populations. Qualitative methodologies have made a substantial contribution to our understanding of rural health issues. However, there are few published case studies of the process of designing qualitative studies which can contribute to a better understanding of how to conduct and evaluate qualitative research. This paper adds to the methodological literature by describing the process of developing a methodology for a study of how women in remote areas achieve health and well-being. In the paper the author documents the process and illustrates an individual's search for a method that would suit her research problem and her personal and professional ideology. Metaethnography, constructivist grounded theory, and dialogic/performance narrative methods are identified as a qualitative methods particularly suited to health and other areas of rural social research.
Using Concept Mapping to Enhance the Research Interview
Authors: Kinchin Ian M. , Streatfield David , Hay David B.
Published: January 2017

In this paper the authors report the use of concept mapping as a means of summarizing interview transcripts in the study of the information-seeking behavior of employees in an organization. Concept mapping differs from traditional methods of textual coding for interview analysis by making underlying cognitive structures transparent and giving a focus to the sets of propositions by which individuals construct meaning. Concept map structure correlates with the perceived richness of interview data. They provide quick summaries of the interview quality and may help to identify topics for further probing to elicit new information. In this study rich interviews provide complex concept map structures, whereas less successful interviews provide simpler, spoke structures. Issues in using concept maps with research interviews are discussed, including use as a retrospective interview probe, as a check on evidence saturation, as a form of data display or as a form of creative coding.
“Active Waiting”: Habits and the Practice of Conducting Qualitative Research
Authors: Hunt Matthew R.
Published: January 2017

Learning to conduct good qualitative research passes beyond the acquisition of research knowledge and technical skill. A variety of attributes and abilities are important in the research process such as creativity, flexibility, and inquisitiveness, among others. Quality in qualitative research also requires the development and practice of specific habits. Such habits are likely a taken-for-granted aspect of qualitative inquiry for seasoned researchers; they might not be as obvious for less experienced researchers or students. In this article the author examines the role of habits in and on the practice of qualitative research. To illustrate this topic, he examines how researcher habits can influence the pacing of an inquiry. Qualitative research requires the learned practice of active waiting: striking a balance throughout a research project between moving forward and advancing the research process and, on the other hand, allowing adequate time for the full development of each aspect of the research.
Photovoice as a Method for Revealing Community Perceptions of the Built and Social Environment
Authors: Nykiforuk Candace I.J. , Vallianatos Helen , Nieuwendyk Laura M.
Published: January 2017

Over the last number of years there has been growing interest in the use of community-based participatory research (CBPR) for preventing and controlling complex public health problems. Photovoice is one of several qualitative methods utilized in CBPR, as it is a participatory method that has community participants use photography, and stories about their photographs, to identify and represent issues of importance to them. Over the past several years photovoice methodology has been frequently used to explore community health and social issues. One emerging opportunity for the utilization of photovoice methodology is research on community built and social environments, particularly when looking at the context of the neighbourhood. What is missing from the current body of photovoice literature is a critique of the strengths and weaknesses of photovoice as a method for health promotion research (which traditionally emphasizes capacity-building, community-based approaches) and as a method for revealing residents' perceptions of community as a source of health opportunities or barriers. This paper will begin to address this gap by discussing the successes and challenges of using the photovoice methodology in a recent CBPR project to explore community perceptions of the built and social environment (with the ultimate goal of informing community-based chronic disease prevention initiatives). The paper concludes with methodological recommendations and directions for future research.
Embracing the Creative: The Role of Photo Novella in Qualitative Nursing Research
Authors: Burke Dawn , Evans Joan
Published: January 2017

Photo novella is presented as an effective and creative data collection method that has the ability to engage participants in the process of critical thinking and reflection. This reflective practice provides rich insight that can be of great benefit when exploring complex and multi-faceted health issues. In this study, oncology and palliative care nurses were asked to think about what spirituality meant to them and then take photographs that represented these concepts. Once developed, the nurses were asked to select 4–6 photographs that were most meaningful and the most representative of what spirituality meant to them. These photographs then guided the semi-structured interview. The photographs provided great insight into the nurses' perceptions and meanings associated with spirituality and highlight the benefits of utilizing photographs within qualitative nursing research.
Email as a Data Collection Tool when Interviewing Older Adults
Authors: Brondani Mario A. , MacEntee Michael I. , O'Connor Deborah
Published: January 2017

This article explores several aspects of electronic communication, specifically its advantages and disadvantages within the context of a brief experience using email to interview elders. Two older adults participated via email as the psychosocial impact of aging was collected using such venue. Our experiences are compared with published reports from others to analyze the benefits and limitations of email as a research tool. The email was spontaneous, comprehensive, interactive, efficient, confidential, and cost effective. The use of email within this exploratory study appeared to be an effective approach to collecting qualitative information about beliefs and behaviours from older adults who feel comfortable with this form of communication. The lack of similar studies limited the scope of discussion and comparison of findings; generalization is limited due to the small sample size. This investigation, however, suggested that the use of email as an interview tool may be considered in today's exploratory research arena as an alternative to conference calls or face-to-face interviews when time is a constraint.
A Novel Approach: The Sociology of Literature, Children's Books, and Social Inequality
Authors: Singer Amy E.
Published: January 2017

This article discusses the complexity of literary analysis and the implications of using fiction as a source of sociological data. This project infuses literary analysis with sociological imagination. Using a random sample of children's novels published between 1930 and 1980, this article describes both a methodological approach to the analysis of children's books and the subsequent development of two analytical categories of novels. The first category captures books whose narratives describe and support unequal social arrangements; the second category captures those whose narratives work instead to identify inequality and disrupt it. Building on Griswold's methodological approach to literary fiction, this project examines how children's novels describe, challenge, or even subvert systems of inequality. Through a sociological reading of three sampled texts - Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, A Wrinkle in Time, and Hitty: Her First Hundred Years - readers learn how these analytical categories work and how the sociology of literature might be enriched by attention to structural forms of inequality within literary fiction. This essay investigates children's books in order to reinvigorate the discussion and use of novels by sociologists.
Cooking as Inquiry: A Method to Stir Up Prevailing Ways of Knowing Food, Body, and Identity
Authors: Brady Jennifer
Published: January 2017

The paper develops a method of research called ‘ cooking as inquiry. ‘ This method seeks to add layers to the typically disembodied practices of social research that have long overlooked the body and the mundane rituals of foodmaking as sites of knowledge. Informed by autoethnography and collective biography, cooking as inquiry recognizes bodies and food as sites of knowledge and engages researchers as researcher-participants in reflexive, collaborative study that explores the ways in which the embodied self is performed relationally through foodmaking. In addition to a discussion of the epistemological and methodological frames of this method, this paper offers a case study that describes a project conducted by a colleague and the author.
Philosophical Hermeneutic Interviewing
Authors: Vandermause Roxanne K. , Fleming Susan E.
Published: January 2017

This article describes, exemplifies and discusses the use of the philosophical hermeneutic interview and its distinguishing characteristics. Excerpts of interviews from a philosophical hermeneutic study are used to show how this particular phenomenological tradition is applied to research inquiry. The purpose of the article is to lay out the foundational background for philosophical hermeneutics in a way that clarifies its unique approach to interviewing and its usefulness for advancing health care knowledge. Implications for health care research and practice are addressed.
Culturally Responsive Focus Groups: Reframing the Research Experience to Focus on Participants
Authors: Rodriguez Katrina L. , Schwartz Jana L. , Lahman Maria K. E. , Geist Monica R.
Published: January 2017

Focus groups are a frequently employed and valued method of data collection in the Social Sciences. This article specifically addresses maximizing the benefits of focus groups through the framework of culturally responsive research practice. Discussion of authors' research projects which utilized focus groups are presented in order to illuminate the advantages of using culturally responsive focus groups (CRFGs) in data collection. Three types of focus groups are discussed: traditional focus groups, CRFGs, and naturally occurring CRFGs. Focus groups are a powerful qualitative research method which, especially when designed to be culturally responsive, facilitate collection of rich and authentic data. Culturally responsive research practice will enhance work with a wide range of populations but is particularly important when facilitating groups with persons who have been traditionally marginalized. Methodological and ethical concerns of CRFGs are discussed.
Contextual Reflexivity: Towards Contextually Relevant Research with South African HIV/AIDS Home-Based Care Volunteers
Authors: Naidu Thirusha , Sliep Yvonne
Published: January 2017

What are the processes through which researchers understand context and its value in the qualitative research process? This is an important question for researchers to consider and is especially pertinent in non-Western environments where Western research precepts have traditionally been followed. This article proposes that continually addressing ethics in practice (ethical reflexivity) and maintaining methodological reflexivity keeps the researcher on the path to a deeper and broader perspective of the contextual salience of emerging data. The combination of the latter, which is referred to as ‘contextual reflexivity,’ produces an iterative-reflective-generative process, consistent with an Afrocentric view on research. This process includes ethical reflection on research activity beyond institutional requirements, as well as inter-relational reflexivity. Field material and reflective research journal extracts from a study on HIV/AIDS home-based care and support volunteers' (HBCVs) identity provide illustration of this process in practice.
Qualitative Data Gathering Challenges in a Politically Unstable Rural Environment: A Zimbabwean Experience
Authors: Mukeredzi Tabitha Grace
Published: January 2017

Gaining access to participants in rural, politically unstable settings demands authority and consent not only from the participants and immediate line managers, but also from other players with interests in the research sites. This paper discusses data gathering experiences and challenges encountered during fieldwork for a PhD amidst a politically volatile situation in Zimbabwe in mid-2008. The article highlights the challenges encountered, how the researcher overcame some of them, and was stymied by others. Specifically, political challenges related to gaining access to schools and participants, which created time constraints and frustrations, fears and anxieties for the researcher. Issues of poor topography and interview space also emerged as other challenges. The paper proposes that the snags and surprises, the feelings of frustration, fear and anger that go with researching participants in politically unstable settings should not stall the research process but instead, handled with flexibility and patience, and used as motivation to continue. The experiences not only enhance the researcher's own reflexivity and reflectivity but also provide insights into the human conditions and actions as viewed from multiple perspectives.
Re-Viewing Literature in Hermeneutic Research
Authors: Smythe Elizabeth , Spence Deborah
Published: January 2017

In academia there seems to be a taken for granted assumption that there is one way to do a literature review. This paper argues that the manner of reviewing literature needs to be congruent with the particular research methodology. As an example, the authors explicate reviewing literature in hermeneutic research. The paper begins by discussing philosophical assumptions. The authors then offer personal accounts of their experiences of working with literature in ways that are congruent with hermeneutic methodology. It is argued that the key purpose of exploring literature in hermeneutic research is to provide context and provoke thinking. Literature, which can include anything that provokes thinking on the phenomenon of interest, becomes an essential dialogical partner from which scholarly thinking and new insights emerge. In conclusion distinguishing hallmarks of ways of working hermeneutically with literature are articulated