Qualitative Methods (Sociology)

Sheridan, J., Chamberlain, K., & Dupuis, A. (2011). Timelining: Visualising experience. Qualitative Research, 11(5), 552-569.

by Kerry Chamberlain

doi: 10.1177/1468794111413235

This paper discusses the uses and benefits of an innovative method of graphic elicitation; timelining. The method was... more This paper discusses the uses and benefits of an innovative method of graphic elicitation; timelining. The method was developed in the context of a narrative-based research project on fatness and weight loss. Participants’ weight over time was plotted on a graph, informed and elaborated by a variety of material objects such as photographs, diaries, and medical records. The timeline provided a focus for participants and prompted their stories of weight loss experiences over time. While initially intended as a simple heuristic tool for eliciting talk, over the course of the research the process of timelining became a central feature of the project. Timelining is a subtle and malleable research method. While keeping time in view, timelining documents, records, extends and deepens understandings of participants’ past experiences. It encourages the construction of rich temporal narratives. It also provides opportunity for deeper researcher-participant relationship to develop. This form of graphic elicitation has particular value for narrative forms of research.

How to make qualitative research more popular and public

by Phillip Vannini

Introductory chapter for the book published in 2012 by Peter Lang

See the book's website at: See the book's website at: http://www.popularizingresearch.net/

"The royal we": Gender ideology, display, and assessment in wedding work

by Áine Humble

Humble, A. M., Zvonkovic, A. M., & Walker, A. J. (2008). "The royal we": Gender ideology, display, and assessment in wedding work (PDF- 109 KB). Journal of Family Issues, 29(1), 3-25. doi:10.1177/0192513X07305900

Family rituals provide a rich context in which to study the relation between ideology and action. Guided by the gender... more Family rituals provide a rich context in which to study the relation between ideology and action. Guided by the gender perspective, we analyzed the experiences of wives and husbands from 21 newly married heterosexual couples who described how they planned their weddings. The interplay among gender ideology, gender display, and gender assessment differed across three types of couples: traditional (n = 6), transitional (n = 10), and egalitarian (n = 5). An examination of gender assessment in transitional couples illustrates how holding competing ideologies contributes to the reproduction of hegemonic gendered work patterns within wedding planning.

The second time 'round: Remarried couples' gender construction in wedding planning

by Áine Humble

Humble, A. M. (2009). The second time 'round: Remarried couples' gender construction in wedding planning (PDF- 139 KB). Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 50(3/4), 260-281.

Humble, Zvonkovic, and Walker (2008) studied division of labor in first-time marriages, finding a range of gender... more Humble, Zvonkovic, and Walker (2008) studied division of labor in first-time marriages, finding a range of gender construction. The present study applied their conceptualization to remarried couples, for which little is known about division of labor or wedding experiences. Fourteen couples in which at least one spouse had recently remarried were interviewed about their wedding planning. Data analysis consisted of direct content analysis, rank order comparison, and matrix analysis. Contrasting Humble et al.’s findings, traditional and egalitarian couples were more common than transitional couples. Although remarriages tended to involve smaller and less complicated weddings, the majority of the couples replicated gendered patterns from their first weddings in subsequent weddings.

Wedding work

by Áine Humble

Humble, A. M. (2009). Wedding work (Method in Practice Report #9). [On-line supplement to Sage Publications' Companion Website to L. Richards' Handling qualitative data (2nd ed.).

In this paper, I describe in detail the method behind a study I did on remarrying couples' wedding planning. Topics... more In this paper, I describe in detail the method behind a study I did on remarrying couples' wedding planning. Topics are (a) setting up the project, (b) creating data, (c) working with the data, (d) analysis, and (e) reporting the data.

This is one of 10 on-line "Method in Practice" reports associated with Lyn Richards' "Handling Qualitative Data" (2nd ed.) book, and it was posted in 2009.

Technique triangulation for validation in directed content analysis

by Áine Humble

Humble, A. M. (2009). Technique triangulation for validation in directed content analysis (PDF- 208 KB). International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 8(3), 34-51.

Division of labor in wedding planning varies for first-time marriages, with three types of couples—traditional,... more 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.

Qualitative data analysis software: A call for understanding, detail, intentionality, and thoughtfulness

by Áine Humble

Humble, A. M. (2012). Qualitative data analysis software: A call for understanding, detail, intentionality, and thoughtfulness. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 4(2), 122-137. doi:10. 1111/j.1756-2589.2012.00125.x

Qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) programs have gained in popularity, but family researchers may have little... more Qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) programs have gained in popularity, but family researchers may have little training in using them and a limited understanding of important issues related to their use. This article urges increased understanding, detail, intentionality, and thoughtfulness with regard to QDAS. A brief history of QDAS is provided. Family-focused research trends in qualitative research and QDAS use are presented. Factors to be considered when choosing a qualitative software program are described, and current debates in the field noted. Suggestions for increasing dialogue about QDAS in the field of family studies are included.

The impact of inter-generational change on the attitudes of working-class South Asian Muslim parents on the education of their daughters

by Tahir Abbas

co-authored with Aisha Ijaz

This paper presents the findings of ethnographic research into inter-generational attitudinal change of parents... more This paper presents the findings of ethnographic research into inter-generational attitudinal change of parents towards the education of young British Muslim women. Based on in-depth interviews with parents of different generations, given social class and ethnicity, there is a universal belief in the importance of education for young Muslim women per se, with economic and cultural factors significant in shaping this sentiment. A range of important differences in attitudes towards Islamic schooling and mainstream education, and questions relating to marriage, however, were found. There are complex issues of identity and religion among Muslims in relation to educational issues, but there has been a move towards Islamisation among both generations; the first generations through a form of cultural traditionalism and the second generations through Islamic conservatism. Although this finding is based on a study of a relatively small and isolated working-class Muslim community in a declining post-industrial town in the West Midlands, it is argued that this Islamisation places both particular risks and opportunities in relation to young Muslim women in education in such isolated and disaffected communities which have a wider conceptual, theoretical and policy impact.

Qualitative Research in the Positivist-Behavioral Tradition: Resources for Addressing Type I and Type II Errors in Code Associations Using ATLAS.ti

by Corey M. Abramson

The Propaganda Model: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations

by Jeffery Klaehn

‘The Propaganda Model: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations,’ Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 2009, Vol. 6(2): 43-58.

This article provides an overview of the Propaganda Model and rehearses central theoretical considerations concerning... more This article provides an overview of the Propaganda Model and rehearses central theoretical considerations concerning the model’s overall understanding of media behaviour. The article then advances a contemporary state-of-the-art discourse on the methodological techniques that may be utilized in applying the model, highlights potentially complementary approaches to the critical study of mass media behaviour and explores criticisms of the model.

Class Reunion: The Remaking of the American White Working Class

by Darcie Vandegrift

Telling the CAQDAS Code: Membership Categorization and the Accomplishment of ‘Coding Rules’ in Research Team Talk

by Robin James Smith

Housley W and Smith R.J. (2011) ‘Telling the CAQDAS Code: Membership Categorization and the Accomplishment of ‘Coding Rules’ in Research Team Talk’ Discourse Studies 13 (4): 417

During the course of this paper we examine data gathered from two research meetings in which coding issues and data... more During the course of this paper we examine data gathered from two research meetings in which coding issues and data organisation are being discussed in relation to the use of the software package Atlas.ti. The meetings were concerned with the organisation and coding of semistructured interviews carried out by three different groups as part of a wider collaborative research project. A number of papers have considered aspects of coding practice in teams or small groups; however, little work exists on the analysis of first order collaborative CAQDAS coding interaction. In doing so this paper respecifies formal coding and collaboration models through the examination of practical methods of situated interaction and data sense making in the course of producing
social scientific facts and explanation. In this sense, the analysis reveals the way in which the professional argot of social science codes can be understood to rely on everyday methods of sense making within team based contexts. These methods can be understood to be realised through the fine detailed ‘granular’ categorical and sequential specifics of talk-inmeetings where matters relating to social scientific reasoning, accountability, stakeholders interests, defeasible and defensible reasoning protocols, disciplinary rights and the ‘search for underlying patterns’ are salient features and recognisable and accountable concerns for team members as a routine aspect of doing qualitative social science.

Interconnecting lives: Examining privacy as a shared concern for the researched and researchers

by Geraldine Lee-Treweek

Co-authored with Jan Bourne-Day

Bourne-Day, J. and Lee-Treweek, G. (2008), Interconnecting lives: Examining privacy as a shared concern for the researched and researchers, in Brinda Jegatheesan (ed.) Access, a Zone of Comprehension, and Intrusion (Advances in Program Evaluation, Volume 12), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.29-61

Privacy is a highly valued ideal in western societies and the researcher is usually expected to protect the privacy of... more Privacy is a highly valued ideal in western societies and the researcher is usually expected to protect the privacy of the researched. However, real world fieldwork experiences are highly complex and the researcher can often find their private life encroached upon. The chapter uses the authors’ own field experiences to discuss this complexity. Lee-Treweek focuses upon her research experience with disabled children living in rural England and Bourne-Day on projects with refugee and asylum seekers in Staffordshire, England. Their discussions reveal that more often than not, privacy issues in the field often interconnect researcher and the researched.

On the remarkable persistence of asymmetry in doctor/patient interaction

by Robert Dingwall

(A. Pilnick and R. Dingwall) ‘On the remarkable persistence of asymmetry in doctor/patient interaction’, Social Science and Medicine, 2011, 72; 8: 1374-1382

Highlights

► The medical profession has long been criticised for exerting professional dominance over... more Highlights

► The medical profession has long been criticised for exerting professional dominance over patients. ► A variety of reforms have attempted to address this, notably the emphasis on patient-centred medicine. ► Analysis of empirical studies of consultations shows continued asymmetry. ► We argue that this is because this asymmetry has roots that are inaccessible to talk reform. ► We advocate for a different reform project.

Qualitative Experiences of a Quantitative Success: Grassroots Experiences of a Mexican Poverty Alleviation Programme.

by Berenice Rivera Macias

International Journal of the Humanities, Volume 3, Issue 5, pp.179-188. 2006

This article looks at the grassroots experiences of Oportunidades, a Mexican poverty alleviation programme. With an... more This article looks at the grassroots experiences of Oportunidades, a Mexican poverty alleviation programme. With an ethnographic, sociologically informed analysis of such experiences, I will try to provide a strong argument in favour of generating a multidisciplinary approach and richer consensus that different studies about such programme, for instance, could provide for its better understanding and implementation.
Both qualitative and quantitative studies on Oportunidades have been carried out with the assistance of international and Mexican institutions. The Mexican state, nonetheless, sees beneficial statistics as evidence of an improvement of the poverty levels in Mexico, therefore showing Oportunidades as a success at the international arena. Yet figures are not the only available representations of human lives (some would say they are not a representation at all), they are only figures.
For instance, the programme has been uncritically delivered to the diverse levels of institutional staff, who then deliver it in the same way to the grassroots personnel. There are challenges that are dealt with at the micro-level which can also define the success or failure of the programme. Some of those challenges - diverse ethic background/make-up and plural hermeneutics - and the way they are dealt with might not be represented in the majority of those figures.
By looking at the micro-level of Oportunidades implementation, at the experiences throughout the diverse set of interactions at the grassroots level, I intend to build up an ontologically rich analysis of difficulties which more quantitative analyses might have left aside. Perhaps a growth of research from different qualitative approaches could shed a light on such phenomena and also offer a different, far richer perspective to them. My argument is based on the narrative of two cases of grassroots personnel. Those case studies come from the ethnographic evidence gathered through fieldwork carried out in a semi-rural town in the southern province of Veracruz in Mexico.
This article shall begin with a description of Oportunidades and of the town of Tequila. Secondly, I will present the stories, before closing with a discussion of how this idea may or may not prove important for social policy research.

New roles to support practice learning – Can they facilitate expansion of placement capacity?

by Mike O'Driscoll

Co-authors: Smith, P., Magnusson C.

The National Health Service (NHS) Plan [Department of Health, 2000. The NHS Plan: A Plan for Investment, a Plan for... more The National Health Service (NHS) Plan [Department of Health, 2000. The NHS Plan: A Plan for Investment, a Plan for Reform, The Stationery Office, London] set out an ambitious programme of growth for the number of students undertaking health professional education programmes. To meet this demand there is a growing and widely acknowledged need to increase the number of clinical placements needed by these students. This paper outlines the findings from a regional project that aimed to map the current pattern and availability of clinical placements for healthcare students by the collection of quantitative placement data (such as location, specialty, and number of mentors) as well as in-depth interviews with Clinical Placement Managers (CPMs). This article will focus on the findings from interviews with CPMs and their views and experiences of what role they can play in increasing placement capacity. The study revealed that the introduction of this role had facilitated the development and expansion of placement capacity, as the CPMs filled a gap in the form of up-to-date local knowledge about the clinical areas. The CPMs provided a much needed 'bridge' between the Higher Education Institution (HEI), the student and the clinical area. Recommendations are made in relation to future introduction of similar roles that aim to support student learning in practice. Furthermore, useful insights for ongoing policy implementation and development are highlighted.

The Impossible Intermediary. Some Reflections on Epistemology and Ethics in Qualitative Research

by Jose Antonio Cerrillo Vidal

Published (Spanish Only) in NÓMADAS Nº 24 VOL. II (December 2009). It's a Critical Social Sciences journal published by the Complutense University of Madrid.

The qualitative researcher's ethical position is one of the most committed of the scientific field. On the one hand,... more The qualitative researcher's ethical position is one of the most committed of the scientific field. On the one hand, as scientists we must satisfy the requirements of rigor, analysis and formalization of the field, i.e. we tend to objectify the studied subjects. In addition, we are compelled to respond to the funders of our research, especially the state and market, which inserts our work into strategies of power. On the other hand, the characteristics of our methodology, especially direct bonding with the subjects we study, difficult moral distancing, pushing ourselves to question our own methods, knowledge and the role of qualitative research. This tension between our moral and material duties, our methods, knowledge and ethical considerations, prevent us from placing ourselves at the comfortable position of the intermediary: the modern figure which replaces the moral responsibility for the technical competence. This leads to paradoxes that are difficult, if not impossible, to solve for qualitative research. In this paper I examine the main ones and present some provisional solutions for them. In summary, I believe that this difficult epistemological and ethical position is the main feature of qualitative research and the engine that invites us to reflect further on our research practices.

PhotoVoice as Authentic Civic Engagement: Lessons Learned in One Immigrant Community

by Angie Mejia

Co-Authored with Meg Merrick
Please secure permission before reproducing multiple copies.

Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity: Lessons From the Portland Healthy Eating Active Living (Heal) Coalition

by Angie Mejia

Co-authored with Margaret Everett, PhD

Citation:
Everett, M., A. Mejia, et al. (2009). "Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity: Lessons from the Portland Healthy Eating Active Living (Heal) Coalition." Practicing Anthropology 31(4): 21-26.

The Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Coalition is a community-based health promotion program begun in 2006 in North... more The Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Coalition is a community-based health promotion program begun in 2006 in North Portland's Portsmouth neighborhood. The program seeks to promote community health and prevent childhood obesity by addressing barriers at local, regional and policy levels, with particular attention to the built environment. This article describes the findings of a program evaluation based on interviews with school staff and Latino parents. Important themes include the impact of the closure of a neighborhood school, access to grocery stores with affordable healthy foods, and concern about school meals. The comprehensive approach of programs like HEAL, which uses the socio-ecological model of health promotion, lends itself well to the participation of applied social scientists.

Science learning at the zoo: Evaluating children’s developing understanding of animals and their habitats

by Eric Jensen

Co-authored with Dr Brady Wagoner (Aalborg University), published in Psychology & Society (http://www.psychologyandsociety.ppsis.cam.ac.uk/currentissue)

This study investigated the development of new ideas about animals, habitats and the zoo amongst a sample of pupils... more This study investigated the development of new ideas about animals, habitats and the zoo amongst a sample of pupils attending ZSL London Zoo. Results indicate the potential of educational presentations based around zoo visits, for enabling conceptual transformations relating to environmental science. At the same time, the research highlights the vital role of existing cultural representations of different animals and habitats which are confronted by the new ideas introduced during educational visits to the zoo.

Wagoner, B. & Jensen, E. (2010). ‘Science learning at the zoo: Evaluating children’s developing understanding of animals and their habitats’. Psychology & Society, 3(1): p. 65-76.