Showing papers in "International Journal of Social Research Methodology in 2007"
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of the research question in social research is discussed and two discourses are found in interviews with researchers about their practices in relation to mixed-method research, where a particularistic discourse that reflects the traditional view, whereby mixed method research is viewed as only appropriate when research questions warrant it, was uncovered.
Abstract: This paper addresses the role of the research question in social research. It outlines what is taken to be the conventional view in many methodological discussions, namely, that research questions guide decisions about research design and research methods. This position is taken to imply that social researchers typically take the view that research methods need to be tailored to the research questions that guide an investigation. The paper questions how far this position pertains to actual research practice. Drawing on interviews with researchers about their practices in relation to mixed‐method research, two discourses were found in the transcripts. A particularistic discourse that reflects the traditional view, whereby mixed‐method research is viewed as only appropriate when research questions warrant it, was uncovered. In addition, a universalistic discourse, which sees mixed‐method research as more generally superior, was also uncovered. The implications of these viewpoints for understanding the role ...
193 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss emotions and research from a number of perspectives to unearth the ways that emotions are implicated in the research process, arguing that emotion is necessary for knowledge.
Abstract: This article discusses emotions and research from a number of perspectives to unearth the ways that emotions are implicated in the research process. The emergence of the Sociology of the Emotions urges rethinking of the relation between knowledge and emotion, arguing that emotion is necessary for knowledge. We discuss memory work in a study of emotion, and the psychosocial approach of Walkerdine and her colleagues, concerned with their own subjectivity in the research process and emotion and unconscious processes. Ethical issues raised by feminists in the case of women establishing rapport in researching women are considered, as is the emotion work demanded by particularly qualitative research. Some examples from researchers’ field experiences and potential solutions to the pains of emotions and emotion work in the field are given. The argument is made that emotions are important in the production of knowledge and add power in understanding, analysis and interpretation.
176 citations
TL;DR: Although non‐respondents are systematically different from respondents at Waves 1 and 2, these differences in the propensity to respond are small compared with the unequal selection probabilities built into the sample design, and it is unlikely that weighting adjustments will have a substantial effect on longitudinal analyses based on the first two waves of the study.
Abstract: The advantages that birth cohort data offer researchers interested in the measurement and explanation of change across the life course are tempered by the problem of non‐response that becomes progressively larger as cohorts age. This article sets out the extent of this problem for the first two waves of the fourth in the series of UK birth cohorts: the Millennium Cohort Study. The response rate at Wave 1 is 72%, declining to 58% at Wave 2. Sample loss between Waves 1 and 2 was due to the failure to trace families who had moved, to contact families at a known address and to refusal. The correlates of these three kinds of non‐response are different. Although non‐respondents are systematically different from respondents at Waves 1 and 2, these differences in the propensity to respond are small compared with the unequal selection probabilities built into the sample design. It is, therefore, unlikely that weighting adjustments will have a substantial effect, over and above the effect of the sample design, on l...
103 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an electronic version of an article published in International Journal of Social Research Methodology: Theory & Practice, Volume 10(1), 63-77, is presented.
Abstract: This is an electronic version of an article published in International Journal of Social Research Methodology: Theory & Practice, Volume 10(1), 63-77. International Journal of Social Research Methodology is available online at:
http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=article&issn=1364-5579&volume=10&issue=1&spage=63
90 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss key methodological issues for qualitative research with learning disabled children, based on the author's experience of involving learning disabled students in her doctoral study, and discuss the issues that arose throughout the research process, from the early stages of gaining access to children, to communication challenges for interviewing learning disabled individuals, and the analysis and dissemination of data.
Abstract: This paper discusses key methodological issues for qualitative research with learning disabled children, based on the author’s experience of involving learning disabled children in her doctoral study. The study was founded on the social model of disability and a sociological understanding of childhood that recognizes the abilities of disabled children as competent research participants. Issues that arose throughout the research process, from the early stages of gaining access to children, to communication challenges for interviewing learning disabled children, and the analysis and dissemination of data, are discussed. Within this context, this paper explores key methodological issues for researchers with regard to interviewing learning disabled children and actively involving them in qualitative research.
70 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reflect on the author's ethnographical work with a British police force and suggest that while only relatively minor instances of misbehaviour were witnessed, these nonetheless raised challenging ethical issues.
Abstract: Ethnographies of policing have referred to the difficulties that researchers face as they encounter corruption, malpractice and police deviance. This paper reflects on the author’s ethnographical work with a British police force and suggests that while only relatively minor instances of misbehaviour were witnessed, these nonetheless raised challenging ethical issues. In addition to exploring the practicalities of negotiating access to the field and the difficulties of securing informed consent, the paper highlights the importance of anticipating the ethical dimensions of the mundane realities encountered during fieldwork.
60 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the conceptual issues involved in conducting mixed-methods research through a review of the technical and epistemological issues involved, the appropriate use of statistical methods and the presen...
Abstract: To examine the organizational processes that occur in police decision‐making, one needs to uncover what, when, how, why and to what extent some decisions are made over others. This paper suggests that the most appropriate research design for this research is a fully integrated mixed model – that is, this research uses not only quantitative and qualitative data but also analyses the qualitative data both statistically and through a grounded theory approach. Consequently, the description and explanation of police decision‐making adopts a pragmatist approach incorporating analyses that are both quantitative – showing the factors which are associated with outcomes – and qualitative – showing the ways in which police officers’ understanding of their occupational world conditions their behaviour. This paper highlights the conceptual issues involved in conducting mixed‐methods research through a review of the technical and epistemological issues involved, the appropriate use of statistical methods and the presen...
58 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the research scenario through reflection on doctoral fieldwork in the Pakistani community of Bradford, Northern England, and argued that access can still be gained through traditional ethnographic methods, classic "research bargaining" and what will be called reciprocal exposure, or more simply the researcher's will to be questioned by the potential respondents.
Abstract: Studies on Muslim communities in Britain have flourished in the 1990s and early 2000 mainly in the form of ethno-anthropological accounts. In what is a critical moment for multicultural relations in Britain after September 11th and July 2005 bombings in London, however, social researchers are allegedly struggling in gaining access. The article explores this research scenario through reflection on doctoral fieldwork in the Pakistani community of Bradford, Northern England. Here, it will be argued that access can still be gained through traditional ethnographic methods, classic ‘research bargaining’ and what will be called ‘reciprocal exposure’, or more simply the researcher’s will to be questioned by the potential respondents. In the conclusion it will be argued first, that the reliability of the research is improved through the personal rapport between researcher and respondents. Secondly, participant observation seems to offer an alternative to formal interviews. Respondents in fact tend to be influenced by the burden they feel is imposed onto them as representative of Islam. In the current public value discourses faith is never disenfranchised from political pressures and researchers and funding bodies should acknowledge it to enhance the quality of their data.
57 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a female transcriber involved in a narrative inquiry into the lives and identities of people who have been traumatized in childhood and subsequently misused drugs is described, in which the transcriber's witnessing of the participant's stories, when taken back to the participant, enabled the researcher to validate her interpretation and check the focus of her analysis, in line with participant's expectations: it also helped the participant develop new stories of resourcefulness and strength.
Abstract: This paper reports on the experiences of a female transcriber involved in a narrative inquiry into the lives and identities of people who have been traumatized in childhood and subsequently misused drugs. It addresses the potential and actual impact of transcribing traumatic life stories and the need for researchers to consider ethical responsibilities ‘to do no harm’. It also shows how the transcriber’s witnessing of the participant’s stories, when taken back to the participant, enabled the researcher to validate her interpretation and check the focus of her analysis, in line with the participant’s expectations: it also helped the participant develop new stories of resourcefulness and strength. The paper uses taped conversations between the transcriber and the researcher, and between the researcher and the participant, to illustrate a rich unfolding process that enhanced understanding and created new meanings. It offers some ways forward to ensure that transcribers come to no harm through their work with...
55 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors share with readers their journey towards creating and evaluating a mixed-methods research course in education using a course design framework to guide the discussion and discuss important questions such as what goes into a mixedmethods syllabus, what resources are available to instructors and students, what learning goals we might set for our students and how we might assess whether students achieve these goals in the context of teaching their own course for the first time.
Abstract: In this paper, the author shares with readers his journey towards creating and evaluating a mixed‐methods research course in education using a course design framework to guide the discussion. He discusses important questions such as what goes into a mixed‐methods syllabus, what resources are available to instructors and students, what learning goals we might set for our students and how we might assess whether students achieve these goals in the context of teaching his own course for the first time. There is a need for dialogue among the ‘first generation’ of instructors of mixed‐methods research courses about how we teach these courses – readers are encouraged to continue this dialogue about teaching mixed‐methods research courses by following up on and extending the ideas in this paper.
53 citations
TL;DR: This article provided a candid account of the challenges two researchers faced while collecting qualitative in-depth interview data on two different studies of emotionally sensitive topics, which involved asking participants to describe their feelings about a difficult experience such as the loss of a loved one to murder and the termination of a pregnancy.
Abstract: This article provides a candid account of the challenges two researchers faced while collecting qualitative in‐depth interview data on two different studies of emotionally sensitive topics. These studies involved asking participants to describe their feelings about a difficult experience—the loss of a loved one to murder and the termination of a pregnancy. We build on the literature on feminist methodology by offering a backstage look at qualitative research on an emotional topic and with an emotionally vulnerable population. Using illustrations from our respective studies, we share some of the insights we gained on recruitment problems, interview question development and participant compensation (e.g., financial, interpersonal and follow‐up contacts). We also discuss the need for monitoring and attending to the participants’ emotions as well as our own throughout the data collection process.
TL;DR: The authors argue for a resolution of the crisis by the adoption of a post-positivist position in which they are clear that the emerging interpretation and representation of our disparate and complex data set is our story.
Abstract: Issues relating to the trustworthiness of research narratives are particularly relevant for those family researchers who attempt to interpret, legitimate and represent comparative accounts of family life collected from different family members within the same family unit. We discuss these issues with reference to research we have carried out with 57 family groups. In confronting the analysis that emerges from a process of comparison and combining differing perspectives we ask: whose story are we telling? This question raises deeper epistemological problems regarding the ‘crisis of representation’ in social research. We argue for a resolution of the crisis by the adoption of a post‐positivist position in which we are clear that the emerging interpretation and representation of our disparate and complex data set is our story. Furthermore, we argue that we need to incorporate ourselves within our emerging narrative, bringing a ‘strong objectivity’ (Harding, 1993) to bear on our interpretation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe how optimal matching or sequence analysis can be used to empirically evaluate the use of ideal typologies to describe the lifecourse and explore the extent to which the experience of structurally advantaged or disadvantaged states are related to a good QoL in later life.
Abstract: This paper describes how optimal matching or sequence analysis can be used to empirically evaluate the use of ideal typologies to describe the lifecourse. In our illustration, the lives of over 250 individuals, originally members of the Boyd Orr study as children in the 1930s, now in early old age (aged 65–75 years) have been reconstructed using sequence data derived from life grid interviews. Individuals are allocated to various ideal types for three distinct pathways or trajectories describing a person’s labour market, relationship and housing histories. Finally, these allocations are examined in relation to an individual’s self‐reported quality of life (QoL) in an attempt to explore the extent to which the experience of structurally advantaged or disadvantaged states are related to a good QoL in later life. Our findings suggest that individuals assigned to structurally advantaged statuses, in each of the trajectories, generally experience higher levels of QoL compared to those assigned to structurally ...
TL;DR: The more recent interpretation of triangulation in social and educational research was summarised and examined with reference to theory triangulations applied in an empirical study by as mentioned in this paper, where the construction of special educational needs (SEN) from the individual experiences of a sample of SEN co-ordinators and SEN teachers, parents, and adolescents with emotional and behavioural difficulties or physical disabilities were interpreted from the perspectives of personal construct theory, bio-psycho-social model, socio-psychological analysis, bioecological model of human development and a developmental model of selfunderstanding.
Abstract: The more recent interpretation of triangulation in social and educational research was summarised and examined with reference to theory triangulation applied in an empirical study. The construction of special educational needs (SEN) from the individual experiences of a sample of SEN co‐ordinators and SEN teachers, parents, and adolescents with emotional and behavioural difficulties or physical disabilities were interpreted from the perspectives of personal construct theory, bio‐psycho‐social model, socio‐psychological analysis, bioecological model of human development and a developmental model of self‐understanding. Their points of convergence and divergence enriched and extended theoretical understanding. The focus on the ‘verstehen’ psychological level of analysis and on forging closer theory, concept and data connections influenced the range of theory choice. This instance of theory triangulation casts doubts on the Duhem‐Quine thesis of underdetermination.
TL;DR: Research conducted to update the Question Appraisal System to identify problems due to cross‐cultural and cross‐linguistic application of questions is described.
Abstract: Many approaches are used to prepare instruments for multicultural administration, depending on the scope, schedule and budget of the study. Sequential questionnaire development, the most common approach to developing cross‐cultural instruments, is also the most affordable. Designers formulate and pretest an instrument in the source language, then translate it into the target language(s) using culture‐specific tailoring. In contrast, parallel development incorporates target cultures throughout the design and pretesting process. The disadvantages to parallel development are that it is expensive, time‐consuming and subject to version control problems. Question Appraisal System (QAS) is a coding tool for pretesting instruments. The QAS is supported by an item taxonomy of the cognitive demands of a question and documents the features that may lead to response error. Results of the appraisal are used to revise question wording, response wording, questionnaire format and question ordering. This article describes...
TL;DR: The authors argue that in some circumstances such instruments can be used to yield rich thick descriptions of the kind normally associated with interviewing, and argue that researchers should be more open to the possibilities that postal questionnaires may be capable of generating authentic qualitative data, and that interviewing should be an explicit choice not the default position in qualitative research.
Abstract: There is a common assumption that a postal questionnaire is an inappropriate research instrument for collecting rich qualitative data. In this article we challenge this and argue that in some circumstances such instruments can be used to yield rich thick descriptions of the kind normally associated with interviewing. We give the example of research into lesbian identities. Our experience led us to question what we call the epistemology of presence and the assumption that presence guarantees authenticity. We also suggest that the ethics of the face‐to‐face encounter may be different from those occurring at a distance. We conclude by arguing that researchers should be more open to the possibilities that postal questionnaires may be capable of generating authentic qualitative data, and that interviewing should be an explicit choice not the default position in qualitative research.
TL;DR: The overall result is a unique longitudinal dataset of early feeding patterns and maternal characteristics from birth which will form the basis of further investigation and analysis of the cohort.
Abstract: This is a study investigating feeding and growth in infancy. Its principal aim was to examine the joint influence of infant feeding behaviour and maternal psychological characteristics on weight gain. Infants of mothers resident in Gateshead, UK, born in pre‐specified weeks in 1999–2000 were eligible, and 1029 were recruited. Routine clinic weights were collected, and heights and weights were measured by research nurses at 13 months for 82% of the cohort. Parental postal questionnaire completion rates varied from 81% at 6 weeks to 63% at 12 months and to 49% at 30 months. The strength of the study was that many data were collected at routine clinical contacts. The main difficulties were maintaining up‐to‐date contact details and keeping the families involved, for which direct contact was more successful than postal contact. Support from health professionals, telephone reminders, media involvement, birthday cards and newsletters helped the success of the study. More recently, 83% of the cohort has been tra...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the potential for study participants to opt in/opt out of consecutive Delphi rounds, and found that participants exercised the option of opting in/opting out of different DELPHI rounds.
Abstract: Policy Delphi methods have not received the level of methodological scrutiny evidenced by more established techniques. This paper provides an examination of the potential for study participants to opt in/opt out of consecutive Delphi rounds. The literature proposes that this is a positive feature of the approach but evidence to support this position is lacking. This paper provides a brief review of the Policy Delphi method and than presents details of participation patterns in a study where the opt‐in/opt‐out option was available. Findings showed that participants exercised the option of opting in/opting out of different Delphi rounds. Although only 20.6% of the original participants completed all three Delphi rounds, the response rate (regardless of participants’ involvement in previous rounds) across all three Delphi rounds held fairly consistent at around 40%. These findings are significant as they relate to the need for an expanded repertoire of research tools that can address the complex, non‐linear ...
TL;DR: This article found that US mothers engage in paid work much sooner after childbirth than UK mothers and that greater financial and human capital predict higher rates (and earlier entries) of post-birth employment; however, among the subset of US mothers who were employed pre-birth, it is socioeconomic disadvantage that predicts sooner returns.
Abstract: The recent establishment of two national, longitudinal studies of contemporary birth cohorts in the UK and USA creates a valuable opportunity for cross‐national research on the experiences of young children and their families. This article describes these new datasets and highlights the potential advantages and challenges of their combined use. To illustrate some of the issues involved in comparative research, we describe our study of the patterns and predictors of UK and US mothers’ (re)entry into the labour force during infants’ first 9 months of life. Similar to previous studies, we find that US mothers engage in paid work much sooner after childbirth than UK mothers. In both samples, greater financial and human capital predict higher rates (and earlier entries) of post‐birth employment; however, among the subset of US mothers who were employed pre‐birth, it is socioeconomic disadvantage that predicts sooner returns. We consider how different policy environments in the UK and USA help to explain these ...
TL;DR: In this article, four specific problems related to selecting comparable cases in cross-national political research are discussed, and it is suggested that the method of paired comparisons be applied more than before to minimize the many variables, small N problem.
Abstract: Four specific problems are discussed that relate to selecting comparable cases in cross‐national political research. First, to manage the so‐called Galton's problem, which is about the assumption of autonomous units, two strategies are discussed. The one is to abandon the assumption and study the mechanisms of diffusion, the second is to choose cases for comparison which can be assumed to have influenced each other to a minor extent only. Second, it is suggested that the method of paired comparisons be applied more than before to minimize the ‘many variables, small N problem’ (Arend Lijphart). Third, the tendency of the comparable cases strategy to over‐determine the dependent phenomenon throws an unfavourable light on binary comparisons, which are much too popular in comparative political science. Finally, the task of explaining by means of variances in several independent variables the variance in one dependent variable requires the use of several and not only one set of cases.
TL;DR: Estimated diet diaries should be considered for longitudinal studies to enable the role of diet in health and lifestyle to be accurately investigated.
Abstract: Dietary assessment is an important component of longitudinal studies, allowing examination of the role of nutritional factors on health and societal outcomes. Dietary intake can be assessed by a number of methods, varying in respondent and interviewer burden, cost, and detail of type and quantity, as well as frequency of foods consumed. Many longitudinal studies utilise Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs) because of ease of administration and low cost, but these lack food detail, rely on good memory and have been questioned in terms of their capability to show diet–disease relationships. Estimated diet diaries are growing in popularity because of lower respondent burden than weighed records yet providing equally valid information, with more detail than FFQs. Costs of coding and translation to nutrients can be built into study budgets; estimated diaries should be considered for longitudinal studies to enable the role of diet in health and lifestyle to be accurately investigated.
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between researcher and participant contributes to the production of knowledge around sexuality and how this then relates to the practices and concepts which constitute ‘sex' and the way sex is represented in everyday life.
Abstract: This article explores the relationship between methodologies used for sex research and the way sex is represented in everyday life. Drawing on a cross‐generational study of heterosexuality, this article asks how the relationship between researcher and participant contributes to the production of knowledge around sexuality and how this then relates to the practices and concepts which constitute ‘sex’. Working amongst women and men aged between 15 and 90, analysis involves comparing data drawn from interviews where a 60‐year age gap may separate the researcher and the participant; and those where both are similarly aged. Questions addressed within the article include: Does the researcher’s adaptation of her sexual terminology reflect sensitivity or ageism? How might it direct rather than enable the speaker? How can the data be interpreted as an account of sexual experience? How have participants sought to represent experience which they found emotionally charged, taboo or have difficulty translating into wo...
Abstract: Growing Up in Australia is a national longitudinal study of the development and wellbeing of 10,000 Australian children. The study has been committed since inception to support data linkage to other datasets, to value‐add to the primary modes of data collection from parents and others. It can increase the efficiency of data collection by reducing respondent and interviewer burden as well as adding new dimensions to addressing key research questions. The viability of data linkage needs to take into account the relevance of the data for research and policy, as well as data quality and cost, privacy and consent issues and the ease of access. This article documents the various sources for data linkage considered for Growing Up in Australia, including government health and education records, child care accreditation data, and community‐level data, and examines the strengths and challenges associated with each. †Views expressed in this article are those of the authors and may not reflect the policy or opinions ...
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of residence and contact disputes in court which utilised a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods in order to gain a multidimensional picture of these disputes is presented.
Abstract: This article discusses a study of residence and contact disputes in court which utilised a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods in order to gain a multidimensional picture of these disputes. It is argued that in a study such as this, the different datasets are best viewed as complementary, rather than as a means of validating each other. The data from each stage address a different aspect of these court disputes, thus offering a better understanding of the complexity of what goes on at court. I examine the ways in which the mixed methods approach improved the research team’s ability to interpret the findings. I conclude that the study has highlighted that because there is not just one view of how well the courts work, a variety of criteria needs to be used in evaluating this: when, for whom, for which problems and on which measures.
TL;DR: The study and follow-up of national birth cohorts was pioneered in the UK by James Douglas, Mia Kellmer-Pringle, Neville Butler and colleagues who established the British birth cohort studies of 1946, 1958 and 1970.
Abstract: Large‐scale longitudinal surveys of children, followed from birth, are increasingly being adopted as a vehicle for social and medical research. As technology for data collection, storage and analys...
TL;DR: New findings about respondent views on child health measures and the conditions under which CATI versus face‐to‐face methods for child health data collection methods would be acceptable are provided.
Abstract: Pre‐testing is a standard tool to increase appropriateness and to capture the audience, yet rarely is this technique employed for population surveys. This study aimed to examine parental views on the content and methodology of a population child health survey. Forty‐eight Australian families of children aged 0–12 years were interviewed about the content and proposed data collection methods of the draft Victorian Population Survey of Child Health and Wellbeing. Concerns with instructions and items of several commonly used child health measures were identified. Parents preferred face‐to‐face methods rather than telephone interviews due to survey legitimacy; however, 72% of parents indicated that they would participate in a telephone survey. This study provided new findings about respondent views on child health measures and the conditions under which CATI versus face‐to‐face methods for child health data collection methods would be acceptable.