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The Qualitative Report An online journal dedicated to qualitative research since 1990 Volume 8 Number 3 September 2003 http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR8-3/index.html |
| Ronald J.
Chenail, Ph.D., Sally St. George, Ph.D., and Dan Wulff,
Ph.D., Editors ISSN 1052-0147 |
Marriage & Family Therapy Students Learning Qualitative
Research: Frameworks Identified Through Participatory-Observation
(pp. 333-352)
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Dawn Marie Pratt and Megan Leigh Dolbin-MacNab
Abstract: In this study, we used participant-observation to achieve grounded theory as we constructed a model outlining how marriage & family therapy graduate students learn qualitative research methods. We identified three major learning frameworks: Pragmatism, Ethics/Morality, and Identity of the Researcher. We also found that certain learning modalities are most congruent for students holding these major frameworks. Critical learning incidences appeared to cause a shift or re-balancing of students frameworks as they learn qualitative research. Application of these findings may help guide instructors who are teaching students with little previous exposure qualitative methodology. Recommendations for future research are also included.Key Words:
Self-Monitoring and Consumer Behavior (pp. 353-376)
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Sue-Ellen Kjeldal
Abstract: In the present research, the relationship between the psychological construct of self-monitoring (Snyder, 1974) and consumer behavior is investigated. The word association study undertaken for the present paper was deliberately unstructured. This type of methodology provides respondents with a contextfree environment in which contents of fruit and vegetable knowledge structures can be elicited. This is the first such study that examines selfmonitoring in a freerecall situation, and the results are instructive in providing more information on the specific nature of selfmonitoring effects. Furthermore, the results of this study demonstrate a relationship between two sub-disciplines of psychology, namely self-monitoring (Snyder, 1974) and decision-making (Damasio, 1994; Epstein, 1997; Hammond, 1996). Key Words: Self-Monitoring, Decision-Making, Word Association, Consumer Behavior
Lives in Transition: Stories of Three Foreign Elementary
Students from India (pp. 377-407)
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Beloo Mehra
Abstract: This qualitative study tells the stories of three Asian Indian children dealing with the initial phases of adjustment and acculturation at a multicultural elementary school in USA. Constructed using data collected through classroom observations and in-depth interviews with children, parents, and school personnel, these stories reveal important linkages between families and schools, and their respective roles in foreign-born childrens acculturation into the host culture. The pressures to maintain Indian identity, language, food habits, and traditions are all important aspects of these childrens experiences. The school context shapes their educational experiences and adjustment. This study also touches upon some important policy issues for schools in relation to multicultural programs, ESL instruction, native language instruction, and support services for their increasingly diverse student and parent communities. One such issue pertains to the recognition of students ethnic and cultural identity in a public school. Key Words: Asian Indian, Foreign Students, Voluntary Minority, Immigrant Education, Multiculturalism In Education
Disparate Academic Environments: An Emergent Framework of
Socialization (pp. 408-434)
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Michael D. Thompson
Abstract: Twenty-four graduate associate and/or full professors from four disparate academic environments were interviewed on the salient attributes they emphasize and reinforce to their graduate students in socializing them to the professional norms of their respective academic discipline. Qualitative research methodology was utilized to assess and understand the socialization mechanisms and processes of graduate students within disparate academic environments. The results of the study have produced a new theoretical framework for understanding the differential patterns of student learning and development as a result of students collegiate experience. Key Words: Academic Environments, Graduate Education, Faculty, Students, Professional Socialization, Socialization
Qualitative Migration Research: Some New Reflections Six
Years Later (pp. 435-446)
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Theodoros Iosifides
Abstract: The main purpose of this article is a brief presentation of the most crucial stages of a research process concerning migration of foreign workers in Greece. The research (within my doctoral studies at Sussex University, Brighton, UK) was undertaken for a period of almost nine months (1995-1996) in Athens, Greece. In this article I present some important dimensions of the multiple methods used (semi-structured interviews with informational questionnaires, in-depth interviews and participant observation) to obtain information and data, mainly on the employment and housing conditions and situations of immigrants in the city, and take the opportunity to critically reflect on that researchs methodology and findings today. Key Words: Qualitative Methods, Migration Research, Critical Realism
The Five-Question Method For Framing A Qualitative
Research Study (pp. 447-461)
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Mark L. McCaslin and Karen Wilson Scott
Abstract: The Five-Question Method is an approach to framing Qualitative Research, focusing on the methodologies of five of the major traditions in qualitative research: biography, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, and case study. Asking Five Questions, novice researchers select a methodology appropriate to the desired perspective on the selected topic. The Method facilitates identifying and writing a Problem Statement. Through taking a future perspective, the researcher discovers the importance and direction of the study and composes a Purpose Statement. The process develops an overarching research question integrating the purpose and the research problem. The role of the researcher and management of assumptions and biases is discussed. The Five-Question Method simplifies the framing process promoting quality in qualitative research design. A course outline is appended. Key Words: Qualitative Research, Five-Question Method, Biography Research, Phenomenology Research, Grounded Theory Research, Case Study Research, Ethnography Research
Shifting Paradigms and Mapping the Process: Graduate
Students Respond to Qualitative Research (pp. 462-480)
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Marcia Reisetter, Melinda Yexley, Deborah Bonds, Holly Nikels, and William McHenry
Abstract: We describe the experiences and responses of a group of graduate students as they first encountered an in-depth study of qualitative research methods. Four themes emerged as having important contributions: the nature of previous research experiences, personal style and learning preferences, epistemological and philosophical commitments, and assessment of professional viability. Key Words: Qualitative Research, Conceptual Change, and Graduate Students Beliefs
Homophobia: An Autoethnographic Story (pp. 481-486)
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Shamla McLaurin
Abstract: This article is an autoethnographic account of one persons struggle with homophobia. It chronicles the experiences and internal battle of the author as she struggles to understand and be accepting of homosexuality. The author identifies and discusses messages received, in early childhood and adulthood, as it relates to homosexuality and gender. These messages encompass religious ideology, as well as family and community beliefs toward gay/lesbian individuals. Key Words: Homophobe, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Gender, Gay/Lesbian
A Critical Reconstruction of Care-in-Action (pp.
487-512)
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Barbara Korth
Abstract: This paper uses the findings of a critical ethnography studying the interactions of adult colleagues (Korth, 1998) to propose a critical approach to care theory and research. The argument proceeds from Jaggars (1995) critique of the scholarship on care. Her criticism voices concerns regarding the lack of attention to the justificatory potential of care research/theory and the over-dependence on particularities. This paper provides one set of responses capable of addressing these concerns and of reformulating the concerns into a more complex conceptualization of care. The resulting analysis implies a theory of care as a pragmatic-communicative constructone that is more precise, but compatible with the interpersonal rationality to which Noddings (1991) attributes caring. Care emerges as a communicative act with a complex but definitive horizon structure. Care did not reconstruct from on-going interactions as a simple intention, nor a feeling, nor anything extra-rational or non-rational. This approach to understanding caring locates Jaggars concerns within the interpretive life of interactants. The papers specific contributions include exemplifying a refined analysis of care-in-action, articulating a metatheory useful for the theory and study of care, introducing a typology of caring acts, demonstrating the critical potential of care research, and illustrating the connection between critique and justification. Key Words: Care, Jaggar, Noddings, Critical Ethnography, Justification, and Critique
Montserrat Place and Monsrat neaga: An Example of
Impressionistic Autoethnography (pp. 513-529)
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Jonathan Skinner
Abstract: This is an impressionistic tale from the field. It is a composite of fieldwork days, the dramatic recall of ethnographic work on Montserrat, a British Dependent Territory in the Eastern Caribbean. At the tail-end of my fieldwork research period, I was evacuated from the island as a volcano erupted, eventually destroying almost all of where this piece is set - where the ethnography was practised. Though this is not salvage ethnography, there is thus an element of reconstruction to this piece, of paradise regained. On Montserrat, neaga is a term with derogatory connotations, but it is also an inclusive term referring to folk. This experimental insight into doing ethnography, autoethnography in this case, is dedicated to Pippa and those who have been killed and displaced by the volcano. Key Words: Montserrat, Impressionistic Autoethnography, Narrative, Self
