International Journal of Qualitative Methods: ARCHIVE
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403 research outputs found
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Writing Competitions as a New Research Method
No full textThe goal of this article is to introduce the international audience to writing competitions as a data collection method. Although commonly used in Finland this method is less known elsewhere. The article will use a Canada-wide writing competition on the Finnish-Canadian sauna as an example of this method. It compares and contrasts the method to two other more commonly used methods, interviewing and auto-ethnography. The advantages, disadvantages and challenges of this method are described and discussed. According to the author, a writing competition is a fast way of gathering a large amount of data from a wide geographical area
Analyzing Teachers’ Stories
No full textThis article presents an integrated socio-literal approach as a way to analyze work stories. It uses a case of teachers’ stories about the administration as an example. The stories focus on grumbles about various activities of members of the management of a school in a small town. The complaints appear in descriptions of the action, the characters, and, in particular, in the way the story is presented to the audience. The stories present a situation of two opposing groups-the administration and the teachers. The presentation of the stories creates a sense of togetherness among the veterans and new teachers in the staff room, and helps the integration of the new teachers into the staff. The veterans use the stories as an opportunity to express their anger at not having been assigned responsibilities on the one hand and their hopes of such promotion on the other. The stories act as a convenient medium to express criticism without entering into open hostilities. Behind them, a common principle can be discerned- the good of the school. The stories describe the infringement of various aspects of the school’s social order, and it is possible to elicit from them what general pattern the teachers want to preserve in the school
Focus Group as a Method of Data Collection in Nursing Research: An Experiential Report
No full textThis article reports an experience with the focus group as a method of data collection in nursing research. Five discussion/reflection meetings were carried out having sexuality in nursing care practice as the central focus, with a group of seven students in the Nursing Graduation Course of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), in August and September 2001. It has been described here the motivation and the justification for the use of this technique; the organization of the group meetings; a synthesis of each one and its final evaluation
“Just Chatting”: Research Ethics and Cyberspace
No full textResearch 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
Cross-National Field Research in Developing Countries
No full textCross-national field research performed in developing countries presents researchers with a number of obstacles. Challenges include creating equivalent samples, countering biases, and managing linguistic and cultural issues. In this article the author reviews the conduct of a cross-national study focusing on small tourism operators and the adoption of information communication technologies. He presents the research process, the issues encountered and how they were addressed are discussed, and a number of lessons. This article adds to our understanding of cross-national field research in developing countries and presents a number of implications for social science researchers
A Neophyte’s Journey through Qualitative Analysis Using Morse’s Cognitive Processes of Analysis
No full textAbstract: In the early stages of her master’s thesis the author became increasingly concerned about how she would analyze the data for her planned critical interpretive study. She felt that she needed clear direction about the process of qualitative analysis but found the “how to” of theory development within qualitative data analysis poorly described and vague. A book chapter by qualitative researcher Janice Morse (1994) provided guidance. In it Morse outlined four cognitive and essentially sequential processes, which the author adapted to guide the analysis of data for her study
Discovering Voice: A Participatory Action Research Study with Nurses in Uganda
No full textIn this article the authors present findings from a qualitative research study carried out with Ugandan nurses from September 2003 until June 2004. They highlight the process and philosophical basis of participatory action research (PAR) by reflecting on the challenges, opportunities, outcomes, and ethical issues encountered during the conduct of the research. In this study PAR fostered a climate in which nurses could engage in collective reflection on their practice, make sense of their experiences, and thereby change their understanding of their work
My story, my life, my identity
No full textIn this article, the author looks at the use of the methods of life stories or biographical interviewing in research on personal and social identity. She presents the rationale behind the use of the method and its basic procedures and then moves on to a discussion of the concept of identity. To demonstrate the relevance of this method for the study of identity construction, she presents examples from three life story interviews with Jewish Israeli young adults, all born in the mid 1970s. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of using life stories for understanding an individual’s sense of identity
Hermeneutic Phenomenology and Phenomenology: A Comparison of Historical and Methodological Considerations
No full textHermeneutic phenomenology and phenomenology have become increasingly popular as research methodologies, yet confusion still exists about the unique aspects of these two methodologies. This article provides a discussion of the essential similarities and differences between hermeneutic phenomenology and phenomenology from historical and methodological perspectives. Consideration is given to the philosophical bases, assumptions, focus of research and research outcomes that differentiate these approaches
Doing autoethnography
No full textThe author has argued elsewhere that individual identity is sufficiently worthy of research and more than just a deviant case. The representation of an individual’s story that contains one of society’s taboos appears to require legitimation of not only the text but also the method by which it is conveyed. This is particularly important if memory and its distortions appear to be critical features of the process. Using the four approaches described in this article, namely the snapshot, metaphor, the journey and artifacts, in combination, the author seeks to demonstrate the disjunctions that characterize people’s lives. In seeking to portray a new narrative to add to the received wisdom on teenage pregnancy, it is hoped that this multifaceted approach will demonstrate that although memories are fragmentary, elusive, and sometimes “altered” by experience, the timing and sequencing of them is more powerfully presented in this juxtaposition of themes than if they were presented sequentially