Showing papers in "Quality & Quantity in 2002"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an approach to systematize the analysis process and to increase the traceability and verification of the analyses of qualitative analysis in the context of multiple sclerosis.
Abstract: The constant comparative method (CCM) together with theoretical sampling constitutethe core of qualitative analysis in the grounded theory approach and in other types ofqualitative research. Since the application of the method remains rather unclear, researchers do not know how to `go about' the CCM in their research practice. This study contributes to a purposeful approach of the CCM in order to systematize the analysis process and to increase the traceability and verification of the analyses. The step by step approach is derived from and illustrated with an empirical study into the experience of multiple sclerosis (MS) by patients and their spousal care providers. In this study five different steps were distinguished on the basis of four criteria: (1) the data involved and the overall analysis activities, (2) the aim, (3) the results and (4) the questions asked. It is concluded that systematization of qualitative analysis results from the researcher using a sound plan for conducting CCM regarding these four aspects.
2,740 citations
TL;DR: This paper revisits the quantitative-qualitative debate and reviews the arguments for and against using mixed-methods, and discusses the implications stemming from the view, that the paradigms upon which the methods are based have a different view of reality and therefore adifferent view of the phenomenon under study.
Abstract: Health care research includes many studies that combine quantitative and qualitative methods. In this paper, we revisit the quantitative-qualitative debate and review the arguments for and against using mixed-methods. In addition, we discuss the implications stemming from our view, that the paradigms upon which the methods are based have a different view of reality and therefore a different view of the phenomenon under study. Because the two paradigms do not study the same phenomena, quantitative and qualitative methods cannot be combined for cross-validation or triangulation purposes. However, they can be combined for complementary purposes. Future standards for mixed-methods research should clearly reflect this recommendation.
1,354 citations
TL;DR: This article described multi-method triangulation as a means to enhance the internal validity in qualitative studies on a complex topic such as teachers' practical knowledge, which is viewed as a multi-dimensional concept, requiring multiple instruments for its exploration.
Abstract: This article describes multi-method triangulation as a means to enhance the internal validity in a qualitative study on language teachers' practical knowledge. Teachers' practical knowledge is viewed as a multi-dimensional concept, requiring multiple instruments for its exploration. In the triangulation procedure, data collected with three instruments were analysed and related to each other. Three steps of analysis, preceded by a pre-analysis step, were used to combine these data. The triangulation procedure culminated in a fairly comprehensive understanding of teachers' practical knowledge with respect to the teaching of reading comprehension to 16- to 18-year-old students. It was concluded that multi-method triangulation is a worthwhile procedure to enhance the internal validity in qualitative studies on a complex topic such as teachers' practical knowledge.
275 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of the mother's education and occupational status on children's educational attainment is investigated and it is shown that adding the mother influence to that of the father's does not change general conclusions on trends in educational reproduction.
Abstract: The first objective of this article is to clarify which model best captures the structure and trend of the influence of social origin on children's education. The second objective is to analyse how general conclusions on historical trends in educational reproduction change if we add the mother's status background to the model. Six contrasting hypotheses are derived from the body of literature dealing with models on families' socioeconomic status. All hypotheses are translated into empirical models and their explained variance is compared. A pooled data set is used that contains data from the Netherlands, West Germany, and the USA. The Modified Dominance Model, that distinguishes the influence of the highest from the lowest status parent, has the best model fit. Regarding the second objective we see that adding the mother's influence to that of the father's does not change general conclusions on trends in educational reproduction. Over time the influence of both parents decreases continuously. However, the influence of the mother's education and occupational status on children's educational attainment is substantive.
127 citations
TL;DR: This paper used a multilevel multinomial model to analyse interviewer effects on various components of unit nonresponse to a face-to-face survey: refusals and noncontacts.
Abstract: This note demonstrates an application of a multilevel multinomial model. We use that model to analyse interviewer effects on various components of unit nonresponse to a face-to-face survey: refusals and noncontacts. The model allows for an analysis of these two interviewer effects and a possible connection between both at the same time. Our results show that both the chances for refusals as for noncontacts are subject to interviewer effects. We also find some evidence for a relation between both interviewer effects: interviewers who obtain more refusals are also more likely to report noncontacts. That result is however at least partly dependent on an outlier, an interviewer with a high number of refusals and noncontacts.
66 citations
TL;DR: The possibilities for computerised content analysis in such a way that all postwar manifestos in established democracies can be compared with each other with the help of flexible coding schemes are explored.
Abstract: In the last twenty years, an international group of political scientists has coded nearly 2000 party manifestos with the help of one single coding scheme based on 56 categories which covers all main topics of these documents. However, there is a growing awareness of the shortcomings of the underlying coding scheme, such as overlapping and missing categories, which cannot be repaired without coding all manifestos all over again. Some have presented an alternative for manifesto-research by means of expert opinions on party policy positions, but these are unable to provide reliable time series for subsequent election years. The unborn solution to some of the problems with the coding scheme would be the computerised content analysis on digitalised party manifestos. This would open up a new universe of infinite possibilities for recodings and reanalyses. The extended consequences from full computerisation of textual analysis are mind boggling. But at the present, these possibilities are merely potentials as the computerised techniques are still underdeveloped. This article explores the possibilities for computerised content analysis in such a way that all postwar manifestos in established democracies can be compared with each other with the help of flexible coding schemes.
65 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that the results of election research can indeed be affected by bias in the distribution of political attitude and voting behavior variables as a result of both nonresponse bias and stimulus effects.
Abstract: Bias is a much-debated issue in survey research. Answer effects (respondents claim to have behaved differently than they did in reality), nonresponse bias (nonrespondents differ on important variables from the respondents) and stimulus effects (by participating in a previous wave of a study, respondents change their behavior or attitude) can seriously distort the results of survey research. By using data from the 1998 Dutch National Election Study the authors show that the results of election research can indeed be affected by bias. Not only are significant effects found in the distribution of political attitude and voting behavior variables as a result of both nonresponse bias and stimulus effects, it is also shown that relations between variables change as a result of bias.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a category system for observation in roller-hockey was presented and the behavior flow obtained with this category system was analyzed sequentially using the lag technique, and the main behavior patterns were compared with the results of Exact Permutations analysis of the same data.
Abstract: This study, part of a wider research project, presents (1) a category system for observation in roller-hockey, and (2) the results obtained with it. The behavior flow obtained with this category system was analyzed sequentially using the lag technique. The behavior patterns were compared with the results of Exact Permutations analysis of the same data. Finally, the main behavior patterns, and their psychosocial implications, are described. The most distinctive feature of the study is its use of specific software in both the coding and the analysis of the observational categories.
Resume.Cette etude qui est une parte d'autre recherche plus grande, presente(1) une systeme de categories du observationen hockey sur patins, et(2) les resultat obtenu avec cette systeme de categories sont traite avec un analyse sequenciel, pour celui-ci est use le techique de retard. Les patrones de conduite obtenu sont compare avec les analyses dePermutations Exact reussi avec les memesdonnees. A la fin sont decrire les patrones de conduite et leur implication Psychosopcial. Le plus distinctif caracteristique de cette etude est l'ussage de softwarespecifique pour la codification etpour l'analyse du les categories de observation.
35 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors tried to estimate the size of the homeless population in Budapest by using two non-standard sampling methods: snowball sampling and capture-recapture method, using three different data sets.
Abstract: In this study we try to estimate the size of the homeless population in Budapest by using two – non-standard – sampling methods: snowball sampling and capture-recapture method. Using two methods and three different data sets we are able to compare the methods as well as the results, and we also suggest some further applications. Apart from the practical purpose of our study there is a methodological one as well: to use two relatively unknown methods for the estimations of this very peculiar kind of population.
30 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a deductive method for classifying individual response patterns is introduced, which can be tested at the level of individual participants and demonstrated with a Monte Carlo simulation, and some useful applications of this method are described, limitations of the method and potential generalizations are discussed.
Abstract: Strategy descriptions like the ``Take The Best''-heuristic (G. Gigerenzer et al., 1991), the weighted additive rule, and the equal weight decision rule are competing theories about information integration in multi-attribute decision tasks. Behavioral decision research is confronted with the problem of drawing conclusions about unobservable decision strategies from behavioral data. Although there has been considerable progress due to methodical traditions like `Structural Modeling' and `Process Tracing', these paradigms have certain limitations in testing specific hypotheses about individual strategies. Some of these problems are summarized briefly. A deductive method for classifying individual response patterns is introduced. Predictions about regression coefficients are deduced from competing substantial hypotheses about strategies for decision making. These can be tested at the level of individual participants. The validity of this classification procedure is demonstrated with a Monte Carlo simulation. Some useful applications of the method are described, limitations of the method and potential generalizations are discussed.
26 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors extend the earlier analysis and show that these differences in findings are due to the lack of experimental control for the inferences from the full British Household Panel Study (BHPS) sample in the Laurie et al. (1999) report rather than the shorter time frame considered in Campanelli and O'Muircheartaigh (1999).
Abstract: The conventional wisdom in survey research suggests that it is advisable to have the same interviewers return to the same respondents in order to maintain good response rates in longitudinal surveys. There has been, however, very little documented experimental research to support this. Work conducted by Campanelli and O'Muircheartaigh (1999) using a subsample of the British Household Panel Study (BHPS) at Wave 2 with experimental control of the allocation of respondents to interviewers showed no evidence of a positive continuity effect on nonresponse; more extensive analysis by Laurie et al. (1999) of the full BHPS sample using Waves 2 through 4 presents contradictory results. This paper extends the earlier analysis and shows that these differences in findings are due to the lack of experimental control for the inferences from the full BHPS sample in the Laurie et al. (1999) report rather than the shorter time frame considered in Campanelli and O'Muircheartaigh (1999). This paper also considers variation in interviewer continuity effects across areas through the use of multilevel statistical models.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used a Monte Carlo study to compare some DIFdetection techniques with respect to their ability to detect uniform as well as non-uniform item bias.
Abstract: This paper uses a Monte Carlo study to compare some DIFdetection techniques with respect to their ability to detect uniform aswell as nonuniform item bias.The techniques that are used in the comparison are the loglinearmodel, the logistic regression model, the signed and the unsignedarea between the item characteristic curves, the SOS1 and theSOS3 measure. A first Monte Carlo study was set up to assess theempirical distributions of the unsigned area (in the 2-PLM), theSOS1 and the SOS3 measures. A second simulation study compares all these techniques with respect to their ability to detect DIF. It was alsoinvestigated whether using a two-stage approachyields better results.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of the mother's education and occupational status on children's educational attainment is investigated and it is shown that adding the mother influence to that of the father's does not change general conclusions on trends in educational reproduction.
Abstract: The first objective of this article is to clarify which model best captures the structure and trend of the influence of social origin on children's education. The second objective is to analyse how general conclusions on historical trends in educational reproduction change if we add the mother's status background to the model. Six contrasting hypotheses are derived from the body of literature dealing with models on families' socioeconomic status. All hypotheses are translated into empirical models and their explained variance is compared. A pooled data set is used that contains data from the Netherlands, West Germany, and the USA. The Modified Dominance Model, that distinguishes the influence of the highest from the lowest status parent, has the best model fit. Regarding the second objective we see that adding the mother's influence to that of the father's does not change general conclusions on trends in educational reproduction. Over time the influence of both parents decreases continuously. However, the influence of the mother's education and occupational status on children's educational attainment is substantive.
TL;DR: This paper combines two estimation procedures: Iterative Generalized Least Squares as used in the software MLwiN; Gibbs Sampling as employed in thesoftware BUGS to produce a modelling strategy that respects the hierarchical nature of the Teaching Styles data and also allows for the endogeneity problems encountered when examining pupil progress.
Abstract: This paper combines two estimation procedures: Iterative Generalized Least Squares as used in the software MLwiN; Gibbs Sampling as employed in thesoftware BUGS to produce a modelling strategy that respects the hierarchical natureof the Teaching Styles data and also allows for the endogeneity problems encountered when examining pupil progress.
TL;DR: In this article, a comprehensive application of the expectancy × value part of the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) including interactions of latent variables is presented. But the main purpose of the study is to overcome limitations of similarprevious analyses of Baumgartner and Bagozzi (1995) and Yang Jonsson (1997,1998) with an empirical example from representative survey data.
Abstract: Nonlinear relationships in structural equation analysis became moreinteresting for applied researchers since the implementation of nonlinearconstraints in software programs (i.e., LISREL). This article provides acomprehensive application of the expectancy × value part of the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) including interactions of latent variables.The main purpose of the study is to overcome limitations of similarprevious analyses of Baumgartner and Bagozzi (1995) and Yang Jonsson (1997,1998) with an empirical example from representative survey data. Nonlinearrelationships of the theories' constructs (Attitude toward the behavior, subjectivenorm and perceived behavioral control) are analyzed one upon another withmultiple group comparisons and latent interaction models. Results confirmthe strategy to use multiple group techniques for preliminary analyses(i.e., detection of an interaction effect). With latent interaction models thestrength and the significance of the interaction is estimated under controlfor random measurement error. Parameters, standard errors, andgoodness-of-fit statistics are compared between three estimationtechniques (ML, GLS and WLS). Multiple group analyses and latentinteraction modeling detect a significant interaction for perceivedbehavioral control but not for attitude toward the behavior and subjective norm. Variations of the estimators of the perceived behavioral controlsubmodel is proved by bootstrapping. Further model improvements andalternative model techniques are discussed in the final chapter.
TL;DR: The authors discusses the problem of separating the motivation concept empirically from other relevant concepts in research on mass media audiences, and argues that these questionnaire items are double-barrelled and that any measurement of motivations based on the items can largely be considered an ambiguous mixture of behaviour and its social or mental origin.
Abstract: The present article discusses the problem of separating the motivation concept empirically from other relevant concepts in research on mass media audiences. For about half a century, audience researchers use questionnaire items with a distinct format as measurements of motivations for media exposure. It is argued that these motivation items grammatically reflect the nature of the motivation concept as a theoretically intermediate variable between behaviour and its social or mental back- ground, thus constituting the most plausible indicators of the concept. However, it is also argued that these questionnaire items are double-barrelled and that any measurement of motivations based on the items can largely be considered an ambiguous mixture of behaviour and its social or mental origin. A study is presented that provides empirical support for this position.
TL;DR: The seasonal unit root tests as discussed by the authors make it possible to determine the nature of the deterministic and stochastic seasonal fluctuations, and the HEGY test procedure is used to evaluate the seasonal integration notion.
Abstract: The seasonal unit root tests make it possible to determine the nature of the deterministic and stochastic seasonal fluctuations. In Section 2, we define the main seasonal time series models and the seasonal integration notion. Section 3 describes the HEGY test procedure.
TL;DR: This work correct and extend the model of Moon and Choi (1998) and Hariga and Ben-Daya (1999) by considering the lead time demand with the mixture of distributions, and applies the minimax mixture of distribution free approach to the model.
Abstract: In recent papers, Moon and Choi (1998) and Hariga and Ben-Daya (1999)considered a continuous review inventory model with a mixture of backordersand lost sales in which the lead time, the order quantity, and the reorder pointare decision variables was studied. Moreover, they also develop a minimaxdistribution free procedure for the problem. While the demands of differentcustomers are not identical in the lead time, then we can't only use a singledistribution (such as Moon & Choi (1998) and Hariga & Ben-Daya (1999))to describe the demand of the lead time. Hence, we correct and extend the modelof Moon and Choi (1998) and Hariga and Ben-Daya (1999) by considering thelead time demand with the mixture of distributions. In addition, we also applythe minimax mixture of distributions free approach to the model by simultaneouslyoptimizing the order quantity, the reorder point, and the lead time to devise a practical procedure which can be used without specific information on demand distribution.
TL;DR: Evidence is presented which shows that researchers are not using techniques to manage the data quality of their current research across a variety of academic disciplines, and an analysis is provided as to why these techniques have not been adopted.
Abstract: This paper discusses the importance of managing data quality in academic research in its relation to satisfying the customer. This focus is on the data completeness objectivedimension of data quality in relation to recent advancements which have been made in the development of methods for analysing incomplete multivariate data. An overview and comparison of the traditional techniques with the recent advancements are provided. Multiple imputation is also discussed as a method of analysing incomplete multivariate data, which can potentially reduce some of the biases which can occur from using some of the traditional techniques. Despite these recent advancements in the analysis of incomplete multivariate data, evidence is presented which shows that researchers are not using these techniques to manage the data quality of their current research across a variety of academic disciplines. An analysis is then provided as to why these techniques have not been adopted along with suggestions to improve the frequency of their use in the future.
Source-Reference. The ideas for this paper originated from research work on David J. Fogarty's Ph.D. dissertation. The subject area is the use of advanced techniques for the imputation of incomplete multivariate data on corporate data warehouses.
TL;DR: In this article, a nonparametric method, based on a bootstrap approach, for assessing whether dropouts are missed at random is described. But this method is limited to a single case.
Abstract: Withdrawing from a longitudinal investigation is a common problem in epidemiological research. This paper describes a nonparametric method, based on a bootstrap approach, for assessing whether dropouts are missed at random. The basic idea is to compare scores of dropouts and non-dropouts at different assessments using a weighted nonparametric test statistic.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore differential equations involving alcoholism, social mobility, excess female mortality, and international arms competition and conclude that the most edifying interpretations of differential equations focus on the equations themselves, the resulting trajectories, the relationships between equations and trajectories and the theoretical significance of all three.
Abstract: We explore differential equations involving alcoholism, social mobility, excess female mortality, and international arms competition. In each of these instances we show that the initial equation, or system of equations, has a sociological plausibility comparable to that of the associated solutions; the solutions do indeed describe time-series trajectories that seem to represent important and unique social processes. We argue that the central challenge of differential equation modeling is to use experimentation to clarify relationships between, on the one hand, the equations and their coefficients and, on the other, the solutions and the time-series orbits created by them. Such feedback interaction of differential equations and their solutions appears to be the basis for further theoretical insight, and rapid assessments of these interactions are now possible largely because modern software encourages experimentation with many combinations of input coefficients. This paper expands on an argument made by Nielsen and Rosenfeld (1981, p. 161), who re- commend that differential equations be interpreted in a way that emphasizes their solutions, i.e., the time-series trajectories of Y values, the orbits of Y, taken to represent behavior of dependent variables through time. We conclude that the most edifying interpretations of differential equations focus on the equations themselves, the resulting trajectories, the relationships between equations and trajectories, and the theoretical significance of all three.
TL;DR: In this paper, the author's memory of events between 1941-60 in World War Two and civilian employment in Burma and Tanganiyika, was tested by three psychologists over three days on the basis of his 3,000 page diary and other written records which had not been read since they were written.
Abstract: The author's memory of events between 1941–60 in World War Two and civilian employment in Burma and Tanganiyika, was tested by three psychologists over three days on the basis of his 3,000 page diary and other written records which had not been read since they were written.The results found discrepancies in both traumatic and non-traumatic events. The methodology involved complex interpersonal relationships related to age, sex, appearance, class, education, ethnicity, and trust in the researchers as well as issues of what to test in such a mass of material and the validity of the base line tests.The methodology brought out the need for researchers to know the social field surrounding memory such as current affairs and routine and the need for an industrial work study approach to research planning.The overall approach used an elitist language code and did not allow for the physical tiredness and social obligations of those involved.
TL;DR: In this article, a new algorithm of fuzzy clustering, based on analogy withmechanics physics, is presented, where vectors xi are compared with material points and the clusters can be looked on as material points clouds, that are characterized by specific units.
Abstract: This paper presents a new algorithm of fuzzy clustering, based on analogy withmechanics physics. The vectors xi are compared with `material points' and the clusters can be looked on as material points clouds, that are characterized byspecific units. The choice is based on a study of potential energy. Once a specificunit is chosen, we calculated the membership of the other units whit respect it. A study of a sociology test is performed and the results are very encouraging,though an further deepening is needed like a thermodynamics analogy application.
TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that the mean and the constant have different values in autoregressive models, and that they have an algebraic and graphical relationship in Box-Jenkins time series models.
Abstract: Certain manuals and computer programs mistakenly identify the mean with the constant in Box-Jenkins time series models In this paper, it will be shown that (a) the mean and the constant have different values in autoregressive models, and (b) they have an algebraic and graphical relationship
TL;DR: A descriptive analysis of the distribution of the rate ratio shows that this index is a good indicator when there is no relationship, but when the exposure factor is a risk factor the data didn't show the adequacy of the indicator so convincingly.
Abstract: Contemporary epidemiology bases its study of the relationship betweenan exposure factor and a particular disorder on the first occurrence of that disorder. However,many disorders present more than one episode. This work aimed to develop a strategy fordetermining the rate ratio (RT) in the study of disorders with relapses.