The Reported Influence of Research Participation on Premarital Relationships

We examined the reported influence of participation in research on individuals in premarital relationships. Data were from a larger longitudinal study of 60 dating couples. We designed a questionnaire to evaluate the effects of participation. Responses to open‐ended questions revealed 3 major sources of influence: attention to relationship evaluation, effects on relationship activities, and indirect or no influence. Closed‐ended items yielded 2 dimensions: relationship‐defining influence and relationship‐evaluating influence. Relationship‐evaluating influence was greater the more respondents participated in the study. The higher were respondents' scores on relationship‐evaluating influence, the more their relationship satisfaction increased over the year long study. We conclude that the effects of participating in the research are primarily educational and enriching in nature, rather than therapeutic as suggested in previous research ( Rubin & Mitchell, 1976 ).     

Erratum

This study explores research methodology courses and their potential impact on the doctoral process in one university in Spain. Specifically, it analyses the role and usefulness of research methodologies courses for students as they prepare for their dissertation work. Data were collected using semi‐structured interviews with 11 students. Syllabi from five different doctoral programmes and 54 educational research projects conducted by students were also analysed. Contrary to prior research, our results indicate that students are motivated and interested in methodological matters. These courses are a valuable component to the doctoral programme providing general orientation to inquiry and aiding students in becoming educational researchers. Furthermore, we found that methodological pluralism was adopted and used by students in their research projects when this same pluralism was covered in their coursework. Implications for teaching research methodology courses are included.     

Cultural transmission,educational attainment and social mobility

This paper examines the relationship between cultural socialisation, educational attainment and intergenerational social mobility. Picking up on debates about the transmission of cultural capital and social advantage, we use data from the Taking Part Survey of England to analyse how far socialisation into cultural activities and encouragement play a role in educational attainment, intergenerational mobility and in the reproduction of class. This survey has unprecedented data on whether respondents had been taken to museums/art galleries, theatre/dance/classical music performances, sites of historic interest, and libraries when they were growing up. This is buttressed by information on how much parents or other adults encouraged the respondents to read books or to be creatively active in different domains of the arts, literature and music. Using these rich measures of childhood socialisation, we can show that part of the effect of parental class on educational attainment is due to the transmission of this kind of cultural capital. Moreover, this transmission also has a direct effect on the level of educational attainment. In a similar fashion, respondents who have experienced a higher intensity of cultural socialisation are more likely to be upwardly mobile, and likewise, cultural transmission has a positive effect on the prevention of downward mobility among service class children. These results are discussed in the light of current issues in British mobility research and its treatment of cultural aspects of class and mobility.     

Educational Psychology in India: Its Present Status and Future Concerns

This study examined the status of educational psychology in the general curricula of psychology and education at various academic levels in India. It also focused on the published research in this area during the last 15 years. Analysis reveals that educational psychology in India is struggling for a respectable place in the psychology curricula. Despite the fact that it has been included as a foundation course in education curricula, the course of study is characterized by an arbitrary selection of topics and stereotypic, inappropriate, outdated contents. Fewer research studies are conducted in educational psychology than in some other branches of psychology in India. A lack of in-depth analysis of the research problems and of collaborative efforts, a failure to keep up with recent international research and theorizing, an excessive use of the questionnaire method with easily available respondents, and instrument-dependent research are some of the characteristics of educational psychology research in India. To make educational psychology more responsive to the changing social needs, suggestions are made regarding changing the orientation and emphasis in the teaching of the discipline, and altering research priorities within the framework of the country's historical and sociocultural contexts.     

Intra‐ and Inter‐generational Perspectives on Youth Participation in Sweden: A Study with Young People as Research Partners

In this study, intra‐ and inter‐generational perspectives on youth participation are combined and compared. Young people were invited to participate as research partners in an interactive research circle and conducted a survey about participation with other young people as respondents. The discussion concerns how an interactive methodology contributes to the understanding of the concept of participation. It is suggested that political definitions of participation be amended to include having a sense of being recognised in a communicative context, taking responsibility and share with other people one's experiences. This is based on the perspectives of young people.     

Gender and migration: geographical mobility and the wife's sacrifice

Although it has become almost axiomatic in much contemporary sociology that geographical mobility for husband's career reasons is disruptive of wives' labour market careers, there have been few systematical empirical inquiries into the issue. This study reports findings from a survey of in-migrants in Aberdeen in 1986. Considerations relating to male partner's occupational career were the main factor accounting for the in-migration of married women, but single women were more likely to come for educational or employment reasons. Levels of grievance among in-migrant partnered women about the consequences of this move for their employment were low but there was some evidence that women in-migrant for such reasons saw the move as less helpful careerwise than other in-migrant women. More, however, saw the move as helpful or making no difference, rather than being a hindrance. Many respondents were able to find what they regarded as suitable new employment and others saw themselves at the time of the move primarily as mothers or housewives. The research findings lend support for the view that migrant wives' roles are orientated primarily around their husband's occupational concerns but this need not be detrimental to their own labour market activity since their skills, aptitudes and resources facilitate their adaptation to the new situation.     

What ‘works’ when retracing sample members in a qualitative longitudinal study?

Attrition represents a significant obstacle to overcome in any longitudinal research project. It is, perhaps, most keenly felt when the data collected are from a qualitative study, since, unlike quantitative longitudinal research, weighting factors cannot be applied to ‘correct’ for any biases in the achieved sample and even a small number of ‘lost’ respondents can equate to a large percentage of the original sample. It is perhaps because of qualitative longitudinal research’s (QLR) reliance on, generally speaking, smaller samples that few have been able to shed much light on which re-contacting procedures are associated with achieving higher rates of retention. In this article, using data from a fifth sweep of a larger but particularly challenging cohort of 199 former probationers, we explore the strategies which helped us maintain high levels of retention in a QLR study. The article contains many practical suggestions which others planning or undertaking similar studies may find useful.     

Q methodology in social work research

This article examines Q methodology as an empirical method for use in social work research. Q methodology applies statistical analysis to the qualitative study of human subjectivity such as attitudes, beliefs, feelings and opinions. Q methodology is effective for obtaining data from small samples, and it offers respondents a concise and valid way of expressing their viewpoints with minimal researcher interference. The article provides an overview of Q methodology and presents an actual example of a small‐scale Q study to facilitate a better understanding of the method. We conclude that Q methodology is especially suitable in social work research with respondents who may have difficulties in expressing themselves when more conventional research methods are used. Q methodology is an efficient tool in research involving the exploration and comparison of different points of view.     

Research on unions: Some subjects in need of scholars

Research in industrial relations, as in other disciplines, frequently is narrow in scope and follows well-trodden paths. Although this approach has produced valuable insights into some areas, it has contributed to a lack of research in areas that are increasingly important. Accordingly, after a brief review of industrial relations research over the past decade, we suggest a number of overlooked or largely neglected topics that offer considerable research potential. We thank A1 Achtner for helpful research assistance.     

Post-graduate educational requirements and entry into the CPA profession

Forty-one states require educational requirements for CPA licensure to include 30 credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree. This study, using state-level panel data of CPA examination pass rates, examines two hypothesized effects of this requirement: one, it improves the quality of new CPAs, and two, it restricts entry into the profession reducing the supply of potential CPAs. Empirical findings reveal that raising minimum educational requirements increases the success rate of first-time CPA exam takers, leading to improved entrant quality. However, increased success rates are associated with significant declines in the number of exam takers and, hence, reduced supply. This research is based on a chapter in the author’s dissertation. I thank Bernt Bratsberg for his guidence in conducing this research. Additionally, I thank Don Ballante and Antoinette James Criss for helpful comments on drafts of this paper. Any errors are mine.     

The ethics of deception in social research: A case study

Using data from a study on courtship through personal advertisements, I argue that Kai Erikson's classic case against disguised observation is flawed. Certain kinds of deception are necessary to gather certain data in certain settings. I placed bogus ads in a personal column to obtain and analyze responses. The data would have remained inaccessible—indeed, many of the responses would not have existed in the first place—without some measure of deception. While deception was used, no risk whatsoever was posed to respondents. I further argue that several of Erikson's criteria of risk do not separate ethical from empirical questions; informants use very different criteria in evaluating the risk of harm to them posed by social research that sociologists use. The question of exploitation is more complex, since it has to be weighed against how much of an effort my respondents made and hence, what it is exactly that I took from them. A “panel of judges” decided that most of my male (but not my female) respondents would not have gotten dates with my hypothetical ad placers, and that the research method I used was not especially unethical.     

ON BALANCE AND SYNERGY: FAMILY THERAPY AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REVISITED

Our respondents have provided though-provoking counterpoints to our original paper (Moon, Dillon, & Sprenkle, 1990). Our response is one of synthesis. First, we describe a continuum of social science inquiry paradigms as a framework for exploring the assumptions underlying our respective positions. Second, we address the key issues raised by our respondents. Third, we encourage balance in our research efforts and continuing dialogue. Finally we restate our basic thesis-that qualitative research methodology has the potential to advance the science and practice of family therapy.     

The role of child and parent savings in promoting expectations for university education among middle school students in Ghana: A propensity score analysis

The volume of research on high educational expectations among young people is increasing. Yet, there are still research gaps in what we know about the key predictors of young people's educational expectations, especially in the Sub-Saharan African context. This study aims to complement existing research on asset effects by testing two related propositions about how child and parent savings relate independently to children's expectations for university education. We use propensity score analysis with data from a random sample of junior high school students in Ghana. Findings reveal that parent savings are positively associated with higher probability of children having higher educational expectation. We also find that parents' savings have stronger effect on children's educational expectations compared to children's savings. We discuss implications for early exposure of young people to savings opportunities and its potential to ensure educational progression and optimum psychological and economic benefits to students.     

In search of the mechanisms conducive to class differentials in educational choice: a mixed method research

This paper inquires into the mechanisms conducive to social class differentials in educational choice in Flanders (the Northern, Dutch‐speaking part of Belgium) using both quantitative data gathered from parents (N = 1339) and qualitative data gathered during two focus groups with pupils (N = 16). Unlike most of the previous studies, this study takes into consideration all three theoretical perspectives that have driven research on class differentials in educational choice so far, namely cultural reproduction theory, rational action theory and the notion of social capital. Logistic regression analysis shows that self‐selection does also occur in Flanders and that the effect of parental SES cannot be explained by a specific measure of cultural capital centred on knowledge of the educational system, nor by measures of social capital. What emerges most clearly from this study is that pupils' perception of their choice process is powerfully framed by deep‐rooted conceptions about the educational alternatives available to them. Furthermore, children's choices seem to be delimited by parents' opinions of which educational alternatives were acceptable, and which ones not. Our study calls for future research to take the wider context of decision‐making processes more explicitly into account.     

Wie ehrlich berichten männliche Jugendliche über ihr delinquentes Verhalten?

Survey-based studies on the prevalence and causes of deviant behaviour very much depend on the honesty of respondents. However, the validity of self-reports is rarely investigated. We report on a external validation of self-reported delinquency of male juveniles based on two survey samples — face-to-face interviews in households (N=309), and paper and pencil interviews in school (N=337) — which have been done in 1999 and 2000 in Freiburg and are used for record checks of self-reported police contacts both on the individual and aggregate level. Individual-level record checks reveal that a majority of respondents has honestly reported contacts with the police, while there are a considerable number of both ‘false negative’ and ‘false positive’ answers which come predominately from respondents with low educational and social status and of migration background. As these groups show high non-response rates as well, the correlation between delinquency and socio-economic status is likely to be underestimated. The school survey, on the other hand, yields higher and more realistic prevalence rates. However, comparisons between the two survey modes hint at differential effects of social desirability which question the validity of self-reports by respondents with high educational status. Survey results on self-reported delinquency should generally be interpreted with great caution, and more research on the mode effects of class room interviews are deemed necessary.     

Social Survey Research1 in Japanese Sociology

Abstract: In this paper, we look at the history of social survey development in Japanese sociology. First, the history of social research in Japan before World War II is explored. Second, the introduction of survey research to Japan during the American occupation after World War II is examined, and third, the present state and roles of social survey research in Japanese sociology is discussed. Social research was introduced as an administrative tool for the government. Sociology and social research were developed under British empiricism and American pragmatism, but Japanese academia has been based on a metaphysical approach. Social research introduced as a practical tool long had difficulty in being accepted by Japanese academia. For this reason, most sociologists in universities did not use social survey research for practical purposes, but pursued qualitative methodologies for analyzing data to gain academic prestige even after Social Stratification and Mobility (SSM) and Sabro Yasuda's research projects spread social survey methods in the field of Japanese sociology. Such academics did not think that findings acquired through qualitative case studies had to be confirmed through quantitative data to serve a practical purpose, nor did they believe that quantitative data could be better understood when examined along side qualitative data. Social survey methods have been opposed by those who have favored case‐study analysis methods in Japanese sociology. Needless to say, this opposition is fruitless. I propose that professional sociologists in Japanese universities should use social survey research for practical problems more frequently. This is the best way to establish sociology and social research as a science in Japanese society.     

Educational Attainments of Immigrant Offspring: Success or Segmented Assimilation?1

In this article, I study the educational attainments of the adult offspring of immigrants, analyzing data from the 1996 panel of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID). Fielded annually since 1993 by Statistics Canada, respondents are asked for the first time in 1996 to report the birthplaces of their parents, making it possible to define and study not only the foreign‐born population (the first generation), but also the second generation (Canadian born to foreign‐born parents) and the third‐plus generation (Canadian born to Canadian‐born parents). The survey also asked respondents to indicate if they are members of a visible minority group, thus permitting a limited assessment of whether or not color conditions educational achievements of immigrant offspring. I find that “1.5” and second generation adults, age 20–64 have more years of schooling and higher percentages completing high school compared with the third‐plus generation. Contrary to the segmented “underclass” assimilation model found in the United States, adult visible minority immigrant offspring in Canada exceed the educational attainments of other not‐visible‐minority groups. Although the analysis is hampered by small sample numbers, the results point to country differences in historical and contemporary race relations, and call for additional national and cross‐national research.     

An empirical assessment of writing and research proficiency in HBCU social work students

ABSTRACT

Lack of proficiency in writing and research among social work students has increasingly concerned social work educators and practitioners. Given the significance of written communication with clients and emphasis on evidence-based practice in the field of social work, it is critical to assess students’ competence in both writing and research. However, deficit-based approaches to assessing writing and research competence have disadvantaged students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This pilot study aims to assess writing and research proficiency of HBCU master’s of social work (MSW) students through empirical analysis of their capstone papers and surveys from educators to provide implications for developing a writing and research manual for social work programs at HBCUs. Ten capstone papers were randomly selected and qualitatively analyzed; nine faculty and one field supervisor completed the survey, and their respondents were analyzed using cross-case analysis. Analyses of the capstone papers identified two themes for writing and research domains, respectively: (1) weakness in developing statements and lack of knowledge of writing style and (2) plagiarism and lack of understanding of research structure. Moreover, analyses of the surveys revealed four themes regarding assessment of writing and research skills among students struggling with basic writing mechanics, indicating that HBCU MSW students may have potential and capacity for learning, as evidenced by their ideas and critical thinking skills. These findings suggest both teaching- and research-oriented programs could employ the proposed writing and research assessment manual, as well as a writing and research lab/center for improving writing and research skills among their students.     

TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN CENTRAL-EASTERN EUROPE:A case study of a computer literacy project in Slovenia

Based on in-depth interviews and a political economy analysis, this paper offers an evaluation of a Computer Literacy Project in Slovenia that was created as a part of a larger technological development project in the region. The article is divided into three main parts. The first part offers some critical arguments on the notions of development and technology. The second part contains an analysis of why the Computer Literacy Project received much support from the educational authorities in Slovenia - and it is argued that this is because it falls in line with general political and economic principles promoted by the dominant neo-liberal vision in the Central-Eastern European region. In the third part, a case study of the Computer Literacy Project in Slovenia is assessed. We attempt to unveil the discourses of the Computer Literacy teachers that were geared towards creating a specific vision of a Slovene future: a vision that continues to promise economic progress, and democracy through technology and the rise of the Internet. This section explores how their discourses stem from mainstream perspectives of development and technology. We attempt to unravel the paradoxes within the disourses, while showing how this vision sidesteps a morecritical analysis of the Internet's potential. Entrenched in a technological-deterministic perspective, the study respondents recognize that education and the democratic public sphere can be guaranteed by virtue of a technology access alone. We suggest that education policy-makers everywhere should carefully review their computer literacy policies, and we argue for a course on Information Literacy that would provide an alternative educational experience.     

Cost-utility analysis in educational needs assessment

Educational needs assessments (hereafter NAs) are inattentive to cost considerations and are frequently dominated by elite stakeholder groups. In this article I make a case for adopting a cost–utility approach, illustrating the argument with data generated in a NA of central library services in a Canadian school district. Using survey data from eight stakeholder groups, I found that (1) NAs based on the service preferences of a single stakeholder group can be misleading; (2) service preferences can be integrated into a single set of priorities, even when there are disagreements, by using the stakeholder group as the unit of analysis and assigning weights that privilege input from knowledgeable respondents; and (3) that the ranking of service operations produced by user preferences was not significantly correlated with the ranking produced by integrating preferences with costs. Cost–utility analysis would be more helpful if the utilities represented rigorously determined benefits of the services assessed, as well as stakeholder perceptions of the value of these benefits. Cost–utility analysis in NA will not reach its potential until cost considerations are routinely included in educational program evaluations.