Showing papers in "The International Journal of Qualitative Methods in 2007"

Redefining Case Study

Abstract: In this paper the authors propose a more precise and encompassing definition of case study than is usually found. They support their definition by clarifying that case study is neither a method nor a methodology nor a research design as suggested by others. They use a case study prototype of their own design to propose common properties of case study and demonstrate how these properties support their definition. Next, they present several living myths about case study and refute them in relation to their definition. Finally, they discuss the interplay between the terms case study and unit of analysis to further delineate their definition of case study. The target audiences for this paper include case study researchers, research design and methods instructors, and graduate students interested in case study research.

Questions Arising about Emergence, Data Collection, and Its Interaction with Analysis in a Grounded Theory Study

Abstract: There has been a strong call for increased clarity and transparency of method in qualitative research. Although qualitative data analysis has been detailed, data management has not been made as transparent in the literature. How do data collection and analysis interact in practical terms? What constitutes sufficient data? And can research be both planful and emergent? In this paper, the author highlights several methodological strategies for addressing data management challenges in a grounded theory study of preservice mathematics teachers.

Using focus groups to research sensitive issues: insights from group interviews on nursing in the Northern Ireland 'Troubles'

Abstract: In this article the authors discuss the usefulness of focus groups for researching sensitive issues using evidence from a study examining the experiences of nurses providing care in the context of the Northern Ireland Troubles. They conducted three group interviews with nurses during which they asked about the issues the nurses face(d) in providing nursing care amid enduring social division. Through a discursive analysis of within-group interaction, they demonstrate how participants employ a range of interpretive resources, the effect of which is to prioritize particular knowledge concerning the nature of nursing care. The identification of such patterned activity highlights the ethnographic value of focus groups to reveal social conventions guiding the production of accounts but also suggests that accounts cannot be divorced from the circumstances of their production. Consequently, the authors argue that focus groups should be considered most useful for illuminating locally sanctioned ways of talking about sensitive issues.

Ethical Issues in Qualitative E-Learning Research:

Abstract: In the mid 1980s education researchers began exploring the use of the Internet within teaching and learning practices, now commonly referred to as e-learning. At the same time, many e-learning researchers were discovering that the application of existing ethical guidelines for qualitative research was resulting in confusion and uncertainty among both researchers and ethics review board members. Two decades later we continue to be plagued by these same ethical issues. On reflection on our research practices and examination of the literature on ethical issues relating to qualitative Internet- and Web-based research, the authors conclude that there are three main areas of confusion and uncertainty among researchers in the field of e-learning: (a) participant consent, (b) public versus private ownership, and (c) confidentiality and anonymity.

Internationally Educated Female Teachers Who Have Immigrated to Nova Scotia: A Research/Performance Text

Abstract: This research/performance text emerged from a study involving internationally educated female teachers who have immigrated to Atlantic Canada The text features the words and artwork of the research participants as well as excerpts from newspapers, academic writing, and documents about immigration in Nova Scotia juxtaposed so as to foreground the complexity of the women’s immigration and integration experiences Introductory comments provide contextual information about the research project, the participants, and the evolution of, as well as rationale for, the text as performance piece

Moral Geography of Focus Groups with Participants Who Have Preexisting Relationships in the Workplace

Abstract: Focus group interviews have become increasingly popular in the past three decades, but ethical issues related to conducting focus groups with participants who have preexisting power relationships in workplaces has received scant attention in the methodological qualitative literature. In this paper the authors offer three propositions to strengthen the moral geographical space between researchers and participants: (a) prior to data collection: highlight the risks and benefits of the method and stress that confidentiality cannot be assured outside the group; (b) during data collection: document group dynamics and encourage participants to share insights after the session; and (c) ongoing: researchers to research and write about the dynamics of the moral space between researcher-participant.

Phenomenological Reduction and Emergent Design: Complementary Methods for Leadership Narrative Interpretation and Metanarrative Development

Abstract: The author’s intent in this paper is to discuss new methods for conducting research on and connecting the works of chaos and complexity theorists with interpretive, hermeneutical, and phenomenological theorists as a multiple-method mode of inquiry. He proposes a methodological design that incorporates a recursive process of phenomenological reduction to find connectedness and generate shared meanings among the research performed by leadership theorists. He also provides an emergent metanarrative method for presenting research results, using a complexity-based, interpretive framework.

Exploring the Gendering of Space by Using Memory Work as a Reflexive Research Method

Abstract: How can memory work be used as a pathway to reflect on the situatedness of the researcher and field of inquiry? The key aim of this article is to contribute to knowledge about the gendering of space developed by feminist geographers by using memory work as a reflexive research method. The authors present a brief review of feminist literature that covers the local, and global, symbolic meanings of spaces and the power relations within which space is experienced. From the literature they interpret themes of the interconnections between space, place, and time; sexualization of public space; and the bodily praxis of using space. Our memories of gendered bodies and landscapes, movement and restricted space, and the disrupting of space allow us to explore conceptualizations within the literature as active, situated, fragmented, and contextualized.

Unity and Detachment: A Discourse Analysis of Doctoral Supervision

Abstract: In this article the authors report on an approach that they used to enhance their understanding of the complex nature of doctoral supervision by analyzing e-mail communication within a supervisory relationship. Although some scholars have discussed research supervision, empirical research on the subject is limited, and the authors found no published attempts to explore doctoral supervision through the analysis of e-mail communication. The authors analyze correspondence between one doctoral student and two supervisors using discourse analysis influenced by the Foucauldian notion of disciplinary power. The findings revealed the discourses of unity and detachment operating throughout the course of the doctoral relationship. The authors suggest that research students might be no less detached from their supervisors on completion of their studies than at the beginning of their relationship and argue that understanding the discourses of doctoral supervision can enhance the quality and successful outcome of the experience.

"Just Chatting": Research Ethics and Cyberspace

Abstract: Research conducted through computer-mediated communication is challenging traditional definitions of what is ethical research. In this article the author examines the changing role of assent/consent, confidentiality, and participant observation in qualitative research conducted in cyberspace. She concludes that REBs (research ethic boards) might be becoming more conservative in their decisions at the very moment that Internet research requires more flexibility and broader ethical definitions.

Using Videorecording to Enhance the Development of Novice Researchers' Interviewing Skills

Abstract: Little has been written about how to teach novice researchers about qualitative research interviewing. In this article, the authors recognize qualitative research interviewing as a practice that one develops through reflexivity. They propose that novices can develop a reflexive interviewing practice by using a guided framework to review videorecords of the interviews they conduct. The authors discuss the framework and illustrate its use with an exemplar derived from the experience of a novice researcher. They conclude with a discussion of the need for further research about how best to enhance the development of novice researchers as qualitative research interviewers.

Through a Painted Window: On Narrative, Medicine, and Method Interview with Arthur W. Frank Conducted by the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology EQUIPP Students, November 16, 2005:

Abstract: In a 2005 interview with doctoral and postdoctoral students Arthur W. Frank discusses a variety of topics related to qualitative research, such as methodology, narrative, power, rigor, and the peer review process. He reflects on his own work and the artists, philosophers and sociologists who have influenced him. He provides a selective history of research in the social sciences and discusses changes in health care and the practice of medicine.

An Alternative Approach for Personal Narrative Interpretation: The Semiotics of Roland Barthes

Abstract: In this paper the authors propose Roland Barthes’s analytical method, which appears in his classic work S/Z (1974), as a new way of analyzing personal stories. The five codes that are described in the book are linked to the domains of poetics, language, and culture, and expose facets that are embedded in the deep structure of narratives. These codes are helpful in revealing findings with regard to the development of the professional careers of teacher educators.

Focus Groups in a Medicine-Dominated Field: Compromises or Quality Improvements?

Abstract: Mammography screening has traditionally been viewed as a field for medical research. The medical science discourse, however, is highly quantitative, and its claims for validity somewhat opposed to those of qualitative research. To communicate research in a cross-disciplinary field, it is necessary to adapt one’s research to several paradigms. The authors conducted focus group interviews with women due to be screened in a national breast cancer screening program. Their prospective design, both strategic and random sampling, and free discussions during focus groups are all questions of satisfying a medical science discourse in the frames of qualitative research. Focus group research showed itself adaptable through the data collection phase in a cross-disciplinary research project on mammography screening.