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The Qualitative Report An online journal dedicated to qualitative research since 1990 Volume 8 Number 2 June 2003 http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR8-2/index.html |
| Ronald J.
Chenail, Ph.D., Sally St. George, Ph.D., and Dan Wulff,
Ph.D., Editors ISSN 1052-0147 |
Converting Evidence Into Data: The Use Of Law Enforcement
Archives As Unobtrusive Measurement (pp. 151-176)
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David Canter and Laurence J. Alison
Abstract: The newly emerging area of Investigative Psychology provides a behavioural science basis for crime detection by examining investigative processes and criminal behaviour. It draws upon a range of material collected by law enforcement agencies that is not widely utilised in the social sciences. This may be regarded as a form of non-reactive, unobtrusive data that has many of the advantages originally promoted by Webb, Campbell, Schwartz and Sechrest (1966) and more recently explored by Lee (2000). The value of such data, derived from police sources, has been demonstrated in a variety of Investigative Psychology studies. However, law enforcement material is not usually collected as data but rather as evidence. Consideration is therefore given to how to address the challenges this poses. The unobtrusive measures derived from police investigations provide a different perspective on crime and other aspects of human actions from that based on more conventional sources of data such as questionnaires and interviews. To assist in the effective use of measures derived from police information a framework for considering this material is proposed reflecting the range of sources of measures that Lee (2000) identified; personal records, running records, physical traces, and simple observation. As in other areas, close attention to the methods of collecting such material can considerably improve its utility. The measures being utilized in Investigative Psychology therefore offer some fruitful directions for other areas of social science research. Development of these measures can also improve the effectiveness of criminal investigations. Key Words: Offender Profiling, Investigative Psychology, and Archives
Using A Polar Grounded Composite To Describe The Socio-Cultural
Determinants Of ESL Teaching In Rural Fijian Schools (pp. 177-194)
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Béatrice Boufoy-Bastick
Abstract: This paper utilises a grounded narrative to report on the most culturally-Fijian characteristics of teaching. The grounded narrative is a qualitative reporting methodology used to convey the Fijian educational setting vividly and authentically. It highlights the salient cultural characteristics that typify Fijian teaching by depicting a most culturally-extreme Fijian rural school, the 'ideal type'. This description effectively highlights the sociocultural determinants of Fijian school ethos by reporting on extreme aspects of English teaching and daily school management. Key Words: Qualitative Reporting, Grounded Narrative, Grounded Theory, ESL, Teaching Methods, and Fiji
False Starts, Suspicious Interviewees and Nearly
Impossible Tasks: Some Reflections on the Difficulty of Conducting Field
Research Abroad (pp. 195-209)
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Larry D. Hubbell
Abstract: In this article, I discuss some of the problems I have encountered in conducting field research abroad, specifically in England, South Africa, Russia and China - a broad variety of societies ranging from free to not free societies. I discuss the problems I encountered and how I overcame some of them and was stymied by others. I have had problems gaining access to interviewees; establishing rapport with interviewees from different societies; and have had my motives questioned. Nevertheless, my research has been rewarding and has resulted in a number of serendipitous discoveries. Key Words: Field Research, Open-Ended Interviewing, Research Abroad, Reflexivity, Serendipity, South Africa, Russia, China and England
Using Participatory Focus Groups Of Graduate Students To Improve
Academic Departments: A Case Example (pp. 210-223)
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Deanna Linville, Jennifer Lambert-Shute, Christine A. Fruhauf, and Fred P. Piercy
Abstract: The authors report on a participatory focus group evaluation of an academic department. The 20 participants, and the majority of the evaluators, were graduate students in that department. The authors report on their methods, their reflections, ethical issues they encountered and what they did about them, and how they used the results. Key Words: Program Evaluation, Focus Groups, Graduate Students, and Academic Department
LEAP-ing Toward Accountability? Ideology, Practice, and the
Voices of Louisiana Educators (pp. 224-250)
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Jim Horn
Abstract: Louisiana educators at an urban K-5 school participated in a two-year study to share their experiences related to the implementation of a state high-stakes testing program (LEAP 21) that is used to make promotion decisions in grades 4 and 8. Observations, document analysis, and interviews were used to study the development of attitudes, perceptions, and practices related to the use of and consequences emanating from this testing practice. It was found that the state test has far-reaching effects on teaching, curriculum, school climate, students, parents, and school administration. The ideology of testing as a positive reform idea and the practice of testing as a constant and tangible threat, form the two poles of an experiential field that these educators encounter as figure and ground. The avoidance of failure and the threat of failure push these educators toward an ideological commitment to testing. Key Words: High Stakes Tests, Accountability, Testing Programs, Academic Achievement, Student Evaluation, and Teacher Attitudes
Teaching Qualitative Analysis Using QSR NVivo (pp.
251-256)
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Margaret Walsh
Abstract: This paper describes new opportunities for teaching qualitative research methods to undergraduates using software as a tool. The author recounts her own experiences and challenges using one such program, QSR NVivo. The account includes students' reflections on how technology advances the analysis process. Strengths and weaknesses of the software and presented and discussed. Key Words: Qualitative Analysis, NVIVO, Teaching Sociology, and Research Methods
Beginning On-Line Delphi Ethnographic Research:
The BOLDER Method (pp. 257-285)
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Jeffrey K. Edwards
Abstract: The use of the Internet to gather data, produce and report research has changed the face of the fields of education and research. This paper will present a method for combining electronic on-line media and Delphi methodology to begin the process of ethnographic research with participant inclusion, informed consent, data gathering by discourse facilitation, and preparation for coding. The use of a reflecting team by the research group provides impetus for second round responses by participants. Methods, format, a case study and an evaluation of the process will be presented. Key Words: Delphi, Electronic Research, Ethnography, Narrative Therapy, On-line Research, Postmodern Research, and Reflecting Teams
Confessions Of A (Somewhat) Reluctant
Consultant: Or, What Happens When Academic Dreams Go "Poof" (pp.
286-305)
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Lawrence Hammar
Abstract: This essay really is about a protracted and painful transition from academic and teacher to consultant and researcher, but first, I want to get a few things off my chest. If you can stand some wholly relevant whine at the outset, stay with me, but if not, just skip to the third section. Key Words: Anthropology, Consulting, Academia, and Qualitative Research
Dare I Embark On A Field Study? Toward An Understanding Of Field
Studies (pp. 306-313)
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Yan Xiao and Paul Milgram
Abstract: Field studies have frequently been advocated as a means for understanding cognitive activities in naturalistic settings. However, there are several fundamental obstacles that one has to overcome to conduct a field study. This paper discusses two of these obstacles in the context of studying problem solving in complex environments: defining goals of a field study and justifying methods used in data analysis. Based on our experience from a recently finished field study, we outline a framework for understanding the nature of field studies and suggest a specific approach to data analysis. We argue that the goal of field studies should not be limited to hypothesis testing, and that the process of data analysis in field studies can be viewed as an inductive abstraction process. Our field study is used to illustrate the abstraction approach to data analysis and how the obstacles in field studies were dealt with. Through these discussions, we encourage researchers to engage in more field studies. Key Words: Field Study Methodology, Cognitive Engineering, Anesthesiology, and Data Abstraction
"We're Just Friends": Myth Construction As A Communication
Strategy In Maintaining Cross-Sex Friendships (pp. 314-332)
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Vickie Harvey
Abstract: The main goal of this research is to present a narrative description and identify categorical myths of cross-sex friendship in order to more fully understand the romance challenge confronting women and men in friendship. Closer examination into the challenges confronting cross-sex friends through narratives generate insight into the process of communication and interpretation of how friends construct, change and sustain their reality of their friendship. Current research suggests that cross-sex friendships differ from same-sex friendships (Werking, 1997). Respondents were 120 college students from a Midwest college and a West Coast college attending communication classes between 2000-2002. Respondents kept a journal discussing developmental and current issues of one cross-sex friendship. Key words: Cross-Sex Friendship, Romantic Challenge of Friendship, and Narrative Inquiry.
