International Journal of Qualitative Methods: ARCHIVE
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Philosophical Hermeneutic Interviewing
No full textThis article describes, exemplifies and discusses the use of the philosophical hermeneutic interview and its distinguishing characteristics. Excerpts of interviews from a philosophical hermeneutic study are used to show how this particular phenomenological tradition is applied to research inquiry. The purpose of the article is to lay out the foundational background for philosophical hermeneutics in a way that clarifies its unique approach to interviewing and its usefulness for advancing health care knowledge. Implications for health care research and practice are addressed
Hermeneutics of Self as a Research Approach
No full textCircumstances shaped the decision to engage in a hermeneutics of self. In contrast to a common research approach, the researcher became the participant. The purpose of the research was to reveal interpretive meaning of that experience toward the view of becoming a global coworker. Philosophical insights informing the methodological approach and the analysis were drawn from Heidegger, Gadamer, and theological authors. Twelve people drawn from a variety of backgrounds were invited to interview the researcher following a 3-week field visit to explore HIV/AIDs in Malawi. Interviews were transcribed and analysis achieved through THREADs: Thinking Hermeneutically and Reflecting through the Experience, Asking questions while Dwelling in the everyday. For the researcher the experience was at times painful but deeply rewarding. The insights that emerged provide a mirror through which intending global coworkers can consider their own assumptions, values, and motivations. Such an approach is worthy of adding to the research repertoire
Research Diary: A Tool for Scaffolding
No full textDiaries have long been seen as tools for reflection in learning languages, and learning about teaching. Despite this recognition of the importance of narratives in diary writing, little attention has been paid to the role of research diaries in the process of learning about research, and learning how to be a researcher. During the author’s own research into the construction of teaching knowledge by pre-service trainees, she became aware that her research diary was scaffolding her own construction of research knowledge. In this article the author discusses the role of a research diary based on a socio-cultural theory of learning. The diary acts as the expert other in the scaffolding of research knowledge by the novice researcher. The discussion of the nature of the scaffolding and the role of diary writing draws on examples from the author’s research diary written during her doctoral studies
Doing Ethnographic Research in Chinese Families - Reflections on Methodological Concerns from Two Asian Cities
No full textThis paper compares and contrasts the ethnographic practices of two non-native researchers – a Singaporean researcher studying families in mainland China and a Swedish researcher studying Chinese families in Singapore. A novel conceptual frame of ‘radius of observation positions’ has been proposed to explicate the extent of intrusion and intimacy to which researchers may venture in the private family domain. The opportunities and challenges of two positions of observation within this radius are discussed. The choice of position is largely influenced by the interacting forces of the contextual and cultural factors as well as the personhood of the researcher. The authors call for special attention to cultural sensitivity in conducting Chinese family research. Families are embedded in culture, and the possibility of accessing family spaces hinges on one’s awareness of the intricacies of family cultures and realistic assessment of one’s strengths and limitations in handling complex family dynamics
The Mall Method: Applied in a Study of Inhabitants\u27 Appreciation of Urban Cultural Heritage Areas
No full textCriticism has been directed at traditional approaches to cultural heritage management, as reflected in legislation and policy, for ignoring elements integral to community perceptions of cultural heritage. Although discussions on the right to define are lively, there has been less focus directed towards the significance which personal affiliations and memory play in the processes of forming people’s conceptions of important cultural heritage assets and valuable places. But how does one achieve insight into the subjective appreciations of heritage environments? The point of this article is to show how new subjective methodological
approaches, tested by what is identified in this article as the Mall Method, can reveal subjective narratives and perspectives linked to inhabitants’ everyday life in urban contexts, and to their memories of places. This article searches for subjective meanings of places and landscapes, realized by a stall in a town mall. The method is evaluated in the light of the
importance of situated knowledge and subjectivity
A Place for Theoretical Inconsistency
No full textThe current article articulates how the expectation of theoretical consistency can be constraining for qualitative researchers. The author considers the origins of the tradition of theoretical consistency, and suggests that postmodern research – particularly that which focuses on social justice – might in fact be served by considering possibilities that emerge from multiple theoretical perspectives. To illustrate the application and contribution of theoretical inconsistency, three concrete examples of how these ideas have been applied within qualitative studies are discussed. By pragmatically drawing connections across theoretical differences, it is hoped that researchers will engage critically with their own theoretical commitments and assumptions, thus opening themselves up to new possibilities and to new and creative ways of coming together
Transitioning from Clinical to Qualitative Research Interviewing
No full textIn this paper one aspect of the transition that must be made by experienced clinicians who become involved in conducting qualitative health research is examined, specifically, the differences between clinical and research interviewing. A clinician who is skillful and comfortable carrying out a clinical interview may not initially apprehend the important differences between these categories and contexts of interviewing. This situation can lead to difficulties and diminished quality of data collection because the purpose, techniques and orientation of a qualitative research interview are distinct from those of the clinical interview. Appreciation of these differences between interview contexts and genres, and strategies for addressing challenges associated with these differences, can help clinician
researchers to become successful qualitative interviewers
Transactional Analysis: Conceptualizing a Framework for Illuminating Human Experience
No full textMyriad methods exist for analyzing qualitative data. It is, however, imperative for qualitative researchers to employ data analysis tools that are congruent with the theoretical frameworks underpinning their inquiries. In this paper, I have constructed a framework for analyzing data that could be useful for researchers interested in focusing on the transactional nature of language as they engage in Social Science research. Transactional Analysis (TA) is an inductive approach to data analysis that transcends constant comparative methods of exploring data. Drawing on elements of narrative and thematic analysis, TA uses the theories of Bakhtin and Rosenblatt to attend to the dynamic processes researchers identify as they generate themes in their data and seek to understand how their participants’ worldviews are being shaped. This paper highlights the processes researchers can utilize to study the mutual shaping that occurs as participants read and enter into dialogue with the world around them
Photovoice as a Method for Revealing Community Perceptions of the Built and Social Environment
No full textOver the last number of years there has been growing interest in the use of community-based participatory research (CBPR) for preventing and controlling complex public health problems. Photovoice is one of several qualitative methods utilized in CBPR, as it is a participatory method that has community participants use photography, and stories about their photographs, to identify and represent issues of importance to them. Over the past several years photovoice methodology has been frequently used to explore community health and social issues. One emerging opportunity for the utilization of photovoice methodology is research on community built and social environments, particularly when looking at the context of the neighbourhood. What is missing from the current body of photovoice literature is a critique of the strengths and weaknesses of photovoice as a method for health promotion research (which traditionally emphasizes capacity-building, community-based approaches) and as a method for revealing residents’ perceptions of community as a source of health opportunities or barriers. This paper will begin to address this gap by discussing the successes and challenges of using the photovoice methodology in a recent CBPR project to explore community perceptions of the built and social environment (with the ultimate goal of informing community-based chronic disease prevention initiatives). The paper concludes with methodological recommendations and directions for future research