Showing papers in "The Qualitative Report in 2013"

Qualitative Case Study Guidelines

Abstract: : This report presents guidelines for conducting qualitative case studies. Yin's case study process is elaborated on and additional principles from the wider literature are integrated and explained. It is expected that following the guidelines presented in this report will facilitate the collection of the most relevant data in the most efficient and effective manner, simplify the subsequent analysis and enhance the validity of the resulting findings.

Qualitative Data Archiving in the Digital Age: Strategies for Data Preservation and Sharing

Abstract: Given the combination of recent mandates from funding agencies for data management plans and data sharing, and the explosion of data in digital form over the past two decades, it is time for the qualitative social science community to embrace digital archiving as an inherent component of research methodology. Archiving digital data ensures, at the least, that an individual scholar’s data is preserved and accessible to the user many decades into his or her career. Digital archiving also has the potential to preserve for the broader scholarly community, the full range of social science knowledge far beyond an individual researcher’s lifespan, or field site. However, the qualitative social science community has shown resistance to the archiving and data sharing movement. In this article I discuss the key debates around data archiving and sharing for qualitative research community, with particular attention to ethnographic data, and outline basic steps qualitative researchers can take as they begin to implement plans for digital archiving in their own research methodology.

Interrupting life history: Evolution of a relationship within the research process

Abstract: In this paper the author explores how relationships are defined within the context of constructing a life history. The life history of Benjamin, a homeless young man transitioning to adulthood, is used to illustrate how difficult it is to define the parameters of the research environment. During an “ethically important moment” in the research process, the author had to critically analyze his obligation to his participant based upon the relational titles exchanged. As chaos in Benjamin’s life increased, a choice needed to be made about the researcher’s involvement in his life. Should the researcher provide support or simply document events? Based upon the obligations inherent in how Benjamin defined his relationship with the researcher, the author explains why and how Benjamin’s life was interrupted.

Influences of Training and Personal Experiences on Counselor Trainees

Abstract: Literature surrounding gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) issues in counseling clearly has established that the therapist's sexual orientation is important to GLBT clients (Burckell & Goldfried, 2006; Liddle, 1999; Perry & Barry, 1998). Counselors who identify as GLBT have an advantage over their heterosexual counterparts in that they are often perceived by GLBT clients as having knowledge about GLBT-specific issues and to have increased empathy about their struggles due to shared experiences (Graham, 2009). In contrast, GLBT clients often perceive straight counselors as harboring heterosexist attitudes and feelings of homophobia (Garnets, Hancock, Cochran, Goodchilds, & Peplau, 1991; Graham, 2009; Liddle, 1997) and, especially concerning straight male counselors working with gay male clients, as being indirect contributors to the struggles for which they seek counseling (Perry & Barry, 1998). In addition to GLBT clients' preference for GLBT therapists, researchers also have found that GLBT individuals seek counseling services at a higher rate than do their heterosexual peers (Liddle, 1997; Razzano, Cook, Hamilton, Hughes, & Matthews, 2006), that they tend to participate in a greater number of counseling sessions than heterosexuals (Bieschke, McClanahan, Tozer, Grzegorek, & Park, 2000; Liddle, 1997), and that the GLBT population is steadily becoming more visible in society (Bull, 2000; Gross, 2001). These findings might point to a need in the counseling profession for more practicing GLBT counselors to adequately serve the increasingly visible homosexual population. However, counselor education programs are not comprised solely of GLBT students. In fact, the majority of students in counselor education programs are heterosexual, which means that counselor education programs are producing many new counselors who may be perceived by GLBT clients as bearing the stigma of a heterosexual label. Moreover, counselor education students who are straight may have little or no personal experience with GLBT individuals, and their only knowledge of GLBT issues and clients may come from the exposure to them that they receive in their counselor education programs (Graham, 2009). The issue, then, is not how counselor education programs might produce more GLBT counselors to meet the needs of GLBT clients, but rather, how counselor education programs can provide adequate training to produce counselors who, be they gay, straight, bisexual, or transgendered, are knowledgeable about issues that are unique to the GLBT population and who are competent and comfortable in working with GLBT clients. Bieschke and Matthews (1996) underscored the need for such counselors, and they extended the description of GLBT-competent counselors by describing them as affirmative, which means that they espouse more than simply an absence of harmful and negative behaviors and attitudes toward, and a mere acceptance of, GLBT clients, but that they also value them as individuals and behave in ways that convey this. Researchers in the fields of counselor education and psychology have been calling loudly for the integration of GLBT education into training programs over the past two decades (Israel & Selvidge, 2003; Matthews, 2005; Tyler, Jackman-Wheitner, Strader, & Lenox, 1997; Whitman, 1995). In response to their call, professional organizations such as the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling (ALGBTIC), and the American Psychological Association (APA) have revised their standards to promote counselors' understanding of multicultural issues, including those pertaining to sexual minorities, and their practice of ethical counseling with diverse populations (ACA, 2005; ALGBTIC, 2009; APA, 2000; CACREP, 2009). Moreover, some counselor educators and psychologists have been attempting to train students for working with GLBT clients, either by incorporating GLBT topics into multicultural classes (Israel & Selvidge, 2003) or by infusing GLBT education throughout the entire curricula of a counseling or psychology program (Ponterotto, 1997). …