Showing papers in "International Journal of Social Research Methodology in 2014"
TL;DR: Doing Q-Methodology as discussed by the authors is a qualitative research technique designed to capture the subjective viewpoints of its participants, and it has been applied in a wide range of areas of research.
Abstract: Q-methodology is a qualitative research technique designed to capture the subjective viewpoints of its participants. Doing Q-Methodological Research: Theory, Method and Interpretation sheds light o...
488 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a discussion regarding vignette development and administration as a means of protecting research participants in social research is presented, where the authors argue that vignettes provide protection for research participants by placing distance between their experience and that of the Vignette character.
Abstract: This paper is a discussion regarding vignette development and administration as a means of protecting research participants in social research. Health and social care researchers investigate a plethora of issues that may be sensitive or upsetting, for example, abuse or bereavement. This exposes participants to potential emotional harm caused by revisiting the original trauma. Using research methods that offer a protective layer is important. Evidence suggests that vignettes provide protection for research participants by placing distance between their experience and that of the vignette character. However, there are few methodological papers regarding vignette use. Utilising examples from our own research, we engage in a critical discussion regarding vignette development and administration. The paper offers a new framework to support researchers – particularly those in health and social care – in the development and administration of vignettes. We contend that the framework supports best practice in vigne...
87 citations
TL;DR: The potential uses of FOIA and the limitations in its use are identified, and the place of FOIA within mixed methodology and cross jurisdictional studies is considered, demonstrating the central role that FOIA can play in research.
Abstract: The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) is a powerful tool for social researchers. However, these researchers have yet to harness the full potential of FOIA. Drawing on a number of studies using FOIA as a method of obtaining data, this article identifies the potential uses of FOIA and the limitations in its use, offering important advice on research design for studies which use FOIA both in the UK and abroad. The section ‘The role of freedom of information in research’ outlines the provisions of the UK FOIA and the section ‘How to make a request for information’ outlines the costs and benefits of utilising FOIA as a data collection tool. In sections ‘The risks and rewards of FOIA’ and ‘Combining FOIA and other methodologies,’ the article considers the place of FOIA within mixed methodology and cross jurisdictional studies, demonstrating the central role that FOIA can play in research.
81 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a methodological approach, called a wardrobe study, which allows for the analysis of the way in which clothes relate to each other on the whole or within parts of the wardrobe is discussed.
Abstract: The material is not just ‘a carrier’ of different types of symbols, but an active element in the practices. Bringing this to the fore requires new research methods. This article discusses a methodological approach, we call it a wardrobe study, which allows for the analysis of the way in which clothes relate to each other on the whole or within parts of the wardrobe. More specifically, we discuss how this method can contribute to increasing the materiality of clothes studies. The theoretical point of departure for this approach is a practice theory in which the material enters as an integral part. First, the article briefly discusses developments within the study of dress and fashion. Second, the methods combined and developed in wardrobe studies are discussed. The emphasis here is primarily not only on the weaknesses of the individual methods in practice-oriented dress studies, but also on how they jointly can contribute to the wardrobe study.
69 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a reflective account of the emotional dimensions of in-depth field research in prisons and argue that performance and impression management play crucial roles in the research process.
Abstract: This article presents a reflective account of the emotional dimensions of in-depth field research in prisons. Drawing on the work of Goffman to make sense of ethnographic processes and techniques, it is argued that performance and impression management play crucial roles in the research process. However, it is suggested that there are commensurate emotional costs associated with the roles and identities that ethnographers might enact in the field. It is argued that the finer details of ethnographic practice can be better understood when the emotional dimensions of research experiences are carefully analysed and processed.
66 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the formation, salience and reformation of everyday bodily routines and resources in relation to cycling are discussed, and how we can study them ethnographically in different places.
Abstract: This article discusses the formation, salience and reformation of everyday bodily routines and resources in relation to cycling; it also examines how we can study them ethnographically in different places. I discuss forms of embodied, sensuous and mobile ethnography that can illuminate how routines, habits and affective capacities of cycling are cultivated and performed. The article argues that autoethnography is particularly apt at illuminating the embodied qualities of movement, and it sits within established ethnographies of ‘excising’ and ‘mobile bodies’. In the second part of the article, I draw upon ongoing autoethnographies of cycling in a familiar place (my hometown, Copenhagen) and by learning to cycle ‘out-of-place’ (in London) and ‘in-a-new–way’ (when commuting long distance on a racer bike). The study challenges static notions of the body by analysing how cyclists’ (and researchers’) affective capacities develop as they practice cycling.
65 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a quantitative survey on water consumption and practice in homes in the south and south-east of England is presented, focusing on the diversity of performances of practice across populations in a more systematic way.
Abstract: There is a growing body of research arguing the relevance of practice approaches to understand resource consumption, and to highlight alternative pathways to sustainability. These practice approaches offer an alternative conceptualisation of demand and have been demonstrated largely by qualitative research, particularly in the work on water and energy consumption in the home. However, these historical narratives and qualitative research have not, to date, lead to the development of quantitative or mixed methodologies that could potentially reflect the diversity of performances of practice across populations in a more systematic way. This paper reflects, critically, on one such attempt to scale a practice-based perspective into a quantitative survey on water consumption and practice in homes in the south and South-East of England. The use of quantitative and mixed methodology has substantial potential – from translating practice-based research to policy; developing indictors to track patterns of practices ...
55 citations
TL;DR: Personal construct psychology (PCP) has always been better known for its methods than its theory, but many researchers are not aware of the range of qualitative methods offered by a PCP approach as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Personal construct psychology (PCP) has always been better known for its methods than its theory, but many researchers are not aware of the range of qualitative methods offered by a PCP approach. We argue that PCP methods have been overlooked as tools for the qualitative researcher and that they satisfy some key requirements of much qualitative research, such as the capacity to provide in-depth insight into personal experience, to establish a ‘democratic’ relationship between researcher and participants and to represent the participant’s ‘voice’. We illustrate several of these methods, drawing on research examples. We show how they enable participants to articulate their experience, and how they may be used as part of an in-depth interview. We conclude that Personal Construct methods provide opportunities for qualitative researchers to create innovative ways of researching personal experience.
52 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined how the storied material generated by narrative approaches can contribute to understanding of the everyday practices of family life, practices that are often unacknowledged, hidden or assumed.
Abstract: The study of the everyday is recognised as central to the understanding of identities, agency and social life. Yet, attempts to research everyday life often fail to capture the complexity of the mundane. This paper draws on findings from two studies: fatherhood across three generations and adult narratives of childhood language brokering to illuminate that complexity. The purpose of bringing these studies together is methodological; in particular, it is to examine how the storied material generated by narrative approaches can contribute to understanding of the everyday practices of family life, practices that are often unacknowledged, hidden or assumed. One study adopted a narrative form of interviewing while the second combined narrative photo-elicitation techniques with narrative accounts. Methodologically, the two studies illustrate that no one method produces ‘objective’, comprehensive knowledge of family practices. Together, however, they produce new insights into family practices around fatherhood, ...
51 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of survey design features play in gaining respondents' consent in data linkage, and they find that interview features such as question format (dependent/independent questions) and placement of the consent question within the questionnaire have an impact on consent rates.
Abstract: When performing data linkage, survey respondents need to provide their informed consent. Since not all respondents agree to this request, the linked data-set will have fewer observations than the survey data-set alone and bias may be introduced. By focusing on the role that survey design features play in gaining respondents’ consent, this paper provides an innovative contribution to the studies in this field. Analysing experimental data collected in a nationally representative household panel survey of the British population, we find that interview features such as question format (dependent/independent questions) and placement of the consent question within the questionnaire have an impact on consent rates.
47 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report the development of a synchronous text-based online interviewing tool with a continuity of private discussion that is not achieved in open-ended questionnaires, email interviews and online discussion boards.
Abstract: The article reports the development of a synchronous text-based online interviewing tool with a continuity of private discussion that is not achieved in open-ended questionnaires, email interviews and online discussion boards. The participants were women who had undergone a surgical or natural menopause, who in a pilot interview highlighted the potential sensitivity of this subject and inspired the implementation of this method. The overall feedback was positive with the main advantages centred on feelings of anonymity, convenience and a more comfortable interview environment. Disadvantages included lack of body language and technical issues with computers. This technique ensures a degree of confidentiality while still obtaining depth of enquiry, where other qualitative methods potentially risk invading a participant’s privacy. It can be offered both alongside other interviewing techniques to allow participant choice and on its own when exploring sensitive and personal topics or when extra participant ano...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed how coverage as an important descriptive statistic in fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is influenced by the interaction between membership function form and crossover threshold choice, and found that changes in the former influence coverage in either a negative or a positive direction, and to different magnitudes.
Abstract: Fuzzy-set theory has provided researchers with a new perspective on many social-scientific problems. In particular, the method of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) has gained in popularity across various disciplines. However, while the methodological development of fsQCA has progressed on a number of fronts, sensitivity diagnostics have only recently been put on the agenda. This article analyses how coverage as an important descriptive statistic in fsQCA is influenced by the interaction between membership function form and crossover threshold choice. Depending on the relative location of the latter, changes in the former influence coverage in either a negative or a positive direction, and to different magnitudes. This influence is not uniform but varies in relation to cases’ distance from unique peak points. Although the orientation of this article is theoretical, its results have implications for empirical research. Most importantly, the influence of membership functions should become pa...
TL;DR: In this article, an interview-based study of infertility and reproductive disruption among British Pakistanis in Northeast England, the authors explore how they, as researchers, sought and were drawn into various kinds of connections with the study participants; connections that were actively and performatively constructed through time.
Abstract: Acts of counter-subjectification in qualitative research are always present but are often submerged in accounts that seek to locate the power of subjectification entirely with the researcher. This is particularly so when talking to people about sensitive issues. Based on an interview-based study of infertility and reproductive disruption among British Pakistanis in Northeast England, we explore how we, as researchers, sought and were drawn into various kinds of connections with the study participants; connections that were actively and performatively constructed through time. The three of us that conducted interviews are all female academics with Ph.Ds in anthropology, but thereafter our backgrounds, life stories and experiences diverge in ways that intersected with those of our informants in complex and shifting ways. We describe how these processes shaped the production of narrative accounts and consider some of the associated analytical and ethical implications.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report the experience of a political science student who began to conduct a systematic review as part of his Ph.D. dissertation but who did not complete it, identifying challenges and lessons learned from this experience and formulate recommendations for postgraduate students who wish to make an informed choice with respect to the use of these methods.
Abstract: Systematic review and synthesis methods have gained wide acceptance within the social sciences and, as a result, many postgraduate students now consider using them for their thesis or dissertation research. However, students are rarely aware of all the concrete implications that their decision entails. This reflective narrative reports the experience of a political science student who began to conduct a systematic review as part of his Ph.D. dissertation but who did not complete it. The aim of this article is to identify challenges and lessons learned from this experience and to formulate recommendations for postgraduate students who wish to make an informed choice with respect to the use of these methods.
TL;DR: In this paper, a mixed-methods study uses both cognitive interviewing and a quantitative field test to provide empirical evidence on the value of cognitive interviewing for questionnaire development, using both thinking-aloud and probing techniques.
Abstract: This mixed-methods study uses both cognitive interviewing and a quantitative field test to provide empirical evidence on the value of cognitive interviewing for questionnaire development. Ten interviews were conducted with a questionnaire on patient experiences with cataract surgery (75-item consumer quality index cataract), using both thinking-aloud and probing techniques. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, problems were coded with the commonly used systems of Levine et al. and Willis, and results were compared with item non-response in a field test. The coding systems revealed similar numbers and type of problems: 55 items showed a total of 174 problems. However, most problematic items (67%) had an adequate response in the field test. Results stress the importance of cognitive interviewing as a pre-survey evaluation method to early identification of questionnaire problems, and it is recommended to use the coding system of Willis for it provides specific directions for questionnaire optim...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the contribution of Julia Brannen's contribution to the field of mixed methods research and examine both her methodological writings on the principles of doing mixed method research and some of her research which derives from the approach.
Abstract: Julia Brannen is very much a pioneer of mixed methods research having organised one of the first conferences on the subject in June 1989. In this paper, I assess her contribution to the field of mixed methods research. I examine both her methodological writings on the principles of doing mixed methods research and some of her research which derives from the approach. Through this examination of the two strands of her mixed methods work, I tease out the distinctiveness of her approach to the field and the contribution she has made. In so doing, I address quality issues in mixed methods research, something Julia Brannen touched on in her early writings, how these might be developed, and how they relate to her work.
TL;DR: The authors argue that children can participate in the co-production of knowledge in decisive and ethically sound ways through conventional interviews, even when research issues are sensitive and informants are under age.
Abstract: Recent methodological discussions among childhood researchers seeking to empower children have, to a large extent, circled around ways to widen the boundaries for children’s conventional involvement as research informants, leaving the interview encounter somewhat unexplored. This article directs attention to the co-production of knowledge that takes place between an interviewer and an interviewee. It argues that, and aims at making explicit how, informants can participate in the production of knowledge in decisive and ethically sound ways through conventional interviews, even when research issues are sensitive and informants are under age.
TL;DR: In this article, a door-to-door survey on food shopping and physical activity was conducted with the primary food shopper in 514 households on 30 randomly selected blocks in West and Southwest Philadelphia over seven weeks during the summer of 2010.
Abstract: This paper argues that door-to-door surveys are a valuable tool for collecting information about health and the environment in urban areas in a manner consistent with community-based participatory research principles. We describe in detail how a door-to-door survey on food shopping and physical activity was conducted with the primary food shopper in 514 households on 30 randomly selected blocks in West and Southwest Philadelphia over seven weeks during the summer of 2010. We identify the elements of our door-to-door protocol that had benefits for the quality of the data collected, flow of data collection, the perceived safety of interviewers and residents, and that informed subsequent phases of this multimethod four-year study of urban food and physical activity environments. We conclude that door-to-door surveys are appropriate and valuable in certain research contexts, when spending time in a community, conducting observations and building relationships are central to the goals and success of a study.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the general and specific challenges of using GT for doctoral theses and dissertations by sharing their personal experiences from their Ph.D. programs in the USA.
Abstract: Grounded theory (GT) has been a popularly used qualitative research methodology in the social sciences and has become increasingly popular for doctoral theses and dissertations. Yet, issues such as the changing nature of grounded theory, time constraints, theses advisors, doctoral committee procedures and Institutional Review Board regulations create challenges for doctoral candidates (researchers) who choose to use GT for their dissertations. In this paper, we present the general and specific challenges of using GT for doctoral theses and dissertations by sharing our personal experiences from our Ph.D. programmes in the USA. We conclude by providing practical suggestions for doctoral researchers who are considering using GT for their theses and dissertations.
TL;DR: In this article, the costs and benefits of combining and integrating different research methods both within and across paradigms in international comparative research are explored, and the reasons for the supposed incompatibility between different epistemologies and associated methodologies are discussed.
Abstract: This article explores the costs and benefits of combining and integrating different research methods both within and across paradigms in international comparative research. It reviews the reasons for the supposed incompatibility between different epistemologies and associated methodologies. Drawing on examples from international projects, it examines the various ways in which methodological pluralism can be exploited to extend the scope of comparative studies. Although combined methods may not be a panacea in international comparative research, the author suggests that they can provide a fruitful approach for researchers seeking to capture more fully the complexity of the objects under study.
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that conventional truth table analysis is not an ideal way to compare the analytic consequences of alternative calibrations and therefore an alternative is employed which allows a more direct comparison of consistency indices while keeping comparative configurational contexts intact.
Abstract: The use of Charles Ragin’s Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is increasing in the social sciences. However, some of its characteristics, especially those of its fuzzy set variant, are still not well understood by users. QCA, a set theoretic method, aims to describe, in a Boolean form, the configurations of conditions that are necessary and/or sufficient for some outcome. The calibration of set memberships is a central feature. We discuss how two alternative calibrations of a condition affect the assessment of consistency with sufficiency. Using first an abstract example and then an empirical one from the sociology of education, we explain why “stricter” calibration of conditions results in higher consistency with sufficiency. We demonstrate that conventional truth table analysis is not an ideal way to compare the analytic consequences of alternative calibrations and therefore employ an alternative which allows a more direct comparison of consistency indices while keeping comparative configurational c...
TL;DR: Concepts of the definition of image manipulation, image management, and research integrity are developed and adapted to the context of visual social research and a series of recommendations for notifying human participants of image management techniques via the informed consent processes are developed.
Abstract: Undocumented alterations to research images, defined in this piece as image manipulation, may represent a case of research misconduct. What constitutes image manipulation, particularly when images of human participants used in research need to be adjusted for protection of participant confidentiality? In this article, conceptual clarifications of the definition of image manipulation, image management, and research integrity are developed and adapted to the context of visual social research. Using these definitions, a series of recommendations for notifying human participants of image management techniques via the informed consent processes and a set of guidelines for managing images of identifiable human participants in research in visual studies research are developed.
TL;DR: Experimental partnering as mentioned in this paper proposes that established research techniques can be developed in new directions by becoming attentive to the ways in which novel epistemological and ontological frameworks can shape the production of research knowledges.
Abstract: This paper proposes that established research techniques can be developed in new directions by becoming attentive to the ways in which novel epistemological and ontological frameworks can shape the production of research knowledges. Drawing upon ideas from performance theory and science studies, and two brief fieldwork examples – archival research on the MRC’s Common Cold Unit and participant observation of the challenge of moving a herd of cattle – we argue that habits are also always to extent improvised; shaped by the capacities of human bodies to sense and respond to the nonhuman agentive world around them, including methodological habits. We propose a new term, ‘experimental partnering’ to define an interpretative approach that is attentive to how practice can illuminate the improvisatory or unstable temporary alignments that underlie some habits. ‘Experimental partnering’ is not offering a new way to access the research field, but a term to express a particular interpretative mode that draws attenti...
TL;DR: The articles in this special issue have one thing in common: all engage with the epistemological and methodological concerns of researching habits, routines and practices as discussed by the authors. But in developing th...
Abstract: The articles in this special issue have one thing in common: all engage with the epistemological and methodological concerns of researching habits, routines and practices. However, in developing th...
TL;DR: The authors argue that an agnostic position can be methodologically productive as a research strategy, but this must be counterbalanced by awareness of the fieldworker risks, which include emotional distress and identity threats.
Abstract: The study of religious and spiritual beliefs raises complex epistemological and methodological questions for interpretive social scientists concerning our ability to understand the everyday lifeworlds that belief-based communities inhabit. The primary focus of recent debates has been on the long-standing methodological insider/outsider dynamic, defined in terms of religious belief or affiliation, which intersects with other social categories such as gender or ethnicity. We contribute to this debate by considering a relatively neglected position, methodological agnosticism, which informs our study of religion and spirituality in the workplace. We argue that an agnostic position can be methodologically productive as a research strategy, but this must be counterbalanced by awareness of the fieldworker risks, which include emotional distress and identity threats. Agnosticism also encourages greater epistemological reflexivity as it implies ‘not knowing’ in relation to both metaphysics and social scientific kn...
TL;DR: The authors reflect on Julia Brannen's contribution to the development of theory and methods for intergenerational research, contextualised within a contemporary turn to time within sociology, involving tensions and synergies between sociological and historical imagination.
Abstract: This paper reflects on Julia Brannen’s contribution to the development of theory and methods for intergenerational research. The discussion is contextualised within a contemporary ‘turn to time’ within sociology, involving tensions and synergies between sociological and historical imagination. These questions are informed by a juxtaposition of Brannen’s four-generation study of family change and social historian Angela Davis’s exploration women and the family in England between 1945 and 2000. These two studies give rise to complementary findings, yet have distinctive orientations towards the status and treatment of sources, the role of geography in research design and limits of generalisation
TL;DR: In this paper, a study into the impact of work on social inclusion and social relationships of people suffering from severe mental illness (SMI) serves to illustrate the use of visual methods such as photo elicitation and graphic elicitation in the context of in-depth interviews with the aim of improving the aforementioned target group's participation in research, participation understood as one of the basic elements of inclusive approaches.
Abstract: This article explores the possibilities offered by visual methods in the move towards inclusive research, reviewing some methodological implications of said research and reflecting on the potential of visual methods to meet these methodological requirements. A study into the impact of work on social inclusion and the social relationships of people suffering from severe mental illness (SMI) serves to illustrate the use of visual methods such as photo elicitation and graphic elicitation in the context of in-depth interviews with the aim of improving the aforementioned target group’s participation in research, participation understood as one of the basic elements of inclusive approaches. On the basis of this study, we reflect on the potential of visual methods to improve the inclusive approach to research and conclude that these methods are open and flexible in awarding participantsa voice, allowingpeople with SMI to express their needs, and therefore adding value to said approach.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide new conceptual and practical insights about the issues associated with ethics and dignity when undertaking research involving the collection of photographic data Case studies of photographs taken as part of a research project in Chennai, India, are employed to illuminate the significance of dignity.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to provide new conceptual and practical insights about the issues associated with ethics and dignity when undertaking research involving the collection of photographic data Case studies of photographs taken as part of a research project in Chennai, India, are employed to illuminate the significance of dignity The case studies reveal that dignity-in-context provides a useful conceptual tool that encapsulates the range of ethical issues that might be encountered This concept has two dimensions The first, dignity-in-outcome, assists deciding what and whether to photograph by drawing attention to the need for those being researched to benefit from the research, to present an authentic view of the situation and to ensure that participants are not demeaned or reduced The second is dignity-in-process that helps researchers decide why and how to photograph in terms of involving those being researched in the way an image is captured, choosing the right angle for the image and the impr
TL;DR: This article explored the use of focus group methodology as part of a life course approach building on Julia Brannen's pioneering work in these two areas and found how focus group discussions about individual choice for future work and "life" or "lifestyle" can highlight shared assumptions of this birth c...
Abstract: This paper explores the use of focus group methodology as part of a life course approach building on Julia Brannen’s pioneering work in these two areas. Much life course research uses individual interviews, including biographical interview techniques. It is less usual to find focus groups used within the life course perspective. This paper draws on a PhD study of young British and Asian adults’ experiences of the transition from university to full-time employment, using focus groups as part of a multi-method approach, within a life course perspective. The study drew explicitly on Julia Brannen’s approach to life course transitions. Three focus group excerpts are presented and discussed to illustrate how focus group data can further the understanding of the ways in which a group of peers discuss the transition to work and especially future work–life balance. We show how focus group discussions about individual choice for future work and ‘life’ or ‘lifestyle’ can highlight shared assumptions of this birth c...