Family Theory and Research in Great Britain

This paper argues that the development of family research and theory in Great Britain has been strengthened by the fluidity of boundaries between various disciplines and methodolo- gies employed in the explanation of family life. Indeed, changes in the definition of family have been at the heart of the diversity and fluidity characteristic of the study of family. Studies of economic issues, gender and class distinctions, and family processes have involved vari- ous perspectives in research and theory building. Future directions for research suggest the need to explore linkages between British scholars and the wider community of family scholars, topics related to family morality or obligation, further development of qualitative and quantitative methods in family research, and continued exchanges between scholars and policy makers.     

A content analysis of research in family therapy journals

In order to assess trends in family therapy research, empirical articles (N = 195) from three family therapy journals over a 5-year period were coded for several variables: authorship, external funding, methodology, sample, purpose, cost effectiveness, use of therapeutic model, and topic. Results indicated that a large pecentage of research in these journals focused on nonclinical issues and used nonclinical samples. Authors were affiliated with a wide variety of disciplines and reported low levels of external funding for their research. While a majority of the studies used quantitative methods, there appeared to be a growing number of studies using qualitative methods. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of research reviews over the past two decades.     

Qualitative research in family therapy: publication trends from 1980 to 1999

In the early 1990s, scholars from a variety of disciplines encouraged greater inclusion of qualitative research methodology in the mental health field. Moon, Dillon, and Sprenkle (1990) hoped their paper “Family therapy and qualitative research” would serve as a stimulus for further development of qualitative research in the field of family therapy. Ten years later, entering the new millennium, has the field been influenced by recommendations for an increase in use of qualitative methodology in family therapy? A content analysis was conducted on articles published in the marriage and family therapy literature from 1980 to 1999. Of the numerous articles examined in four journals, 131 articles were published using qualitative research methodology. Findings support the contention that qualitative research is increasing, but still accounts for a small number of research articles published in marriage and family therapy journals.     

The components of family policy education

The study of family policy in the United States began relatively recently. The academic community increasingly has shown interest in this new policy arena. Much of the conceptual writing on family policy emerged from disciplines such as family studies, social work, political science, economics, and sociology. These academic units have recently modified their course curricula to include more family policy content. These family policy education efforts are discussed in this article. Specific suggestions are made concerning the development and content of family policy education, broader educational training for those who want to pursue a career in family policy, and future goals and directions for family policy education. She received her Ph. D. in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests are in the family and health policy arenas, with particular focus on ethnically diverse populations. Her most recent research is on homeless children and mothers. She received her Ph.D. in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota. Her teaching and research interests are workplace and family issues and family policy and impact analysis.     

Service user research in social work and disability studies in the United Kingdom

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the involvement of service users in research as well as in research studies that are led by service users. Although this interest in service users’ roles in research has been evident in both social work and disability studies, the two research disciplines have remained remarkably separate in the United Kingdom. This paper examines the epistemological underpinnings of social work research and disability studies research and explores the tensions, possibilities and power dynamics of collaboration between the two research disciplines in the United Kingdom. It concludes by outlining possibilities for social model approaches to social work research.     

Themes and Trends of Journal of Family and Economic Issues: A Review of Twenty Years (1988–2007)

This review article examines the progress and impact of the Journal of Family and Economic Issues (JFEI) between 1988–2007. Over the past 20 years, JFEI has become a major journal publishing articles on the relationship between families and economic systems. JFEI contributed to both the economic and family studies disciplines by publishing articles that explore the interface of these two disciplines. Between 1988 and 2007, JFEI published articles on a variety of themes not often found in other economic or family studies journals such as family resource management, consumer attitudes and behaviors, and economic issues and family relationships. Other unique characteristics of JFEI include many collaborative multidisciplinary studies and many studies analyzing international or cross-cultural samples.     

Historical Perspectives on Family Studies

This article explores the relationship of historical research to contemporary family studies. Family history was influenced greatly by fields such as sociology and anthropology, leading it to make several contributions to those fields in turn. The continuing collaboration of these disciplines can significantly enrich current family research, practice, and policy making. History's specific contribution lies in its attention to context. Although historical research confirms sociologic and ethnographic findings on the diversity of family forms, for example, it also reveals that all families are not created equal. The advantage of any particular type of family at any particular time is constructed out of contingent and historically variable social relationships. Historical research allows researchers to deepen their analysis of family diversity and family change by challenging widespread assumptions about what is and what is not truly new in family life. Such research complicates generalizations about the impact of family change and raises several methodological cautions about what can be compared and controlled for in analyzing family variations and outcomes.     

日本的中东研究——以《日本中东学会年报》为例

本文主要以《日本中东学会年报》为例,介绍了日本中东研究的概况。日本对中东的研究相当深入,研究方法呈现多样化,且国际化和多学科的特点值得我们借鉴,但其与现实政治保持距离的做法值得商榷。     

Using student subjects in experimental research: a challenge to the practice of using students as a proxy for taxpayers

The tax discipline has accepted the practice adopted in the economics and psychology disciplines of using student subjects for experimental research purposes. However, in other social science disciplines (e.g. accounting, management or consumer research), experimental research that uses students as a substitute for another group has been widely criticised as having little external validity. In this research, data are compiled from journal articles over a 20?year period to investigate the extent to which tax experiments use student subjects and the potential implications from this practice. Three research questions are addressed. First, do tax studies using student subjects justify or explain the use of student subjects? Second, are policy recommendations or other extrapolations to the tax-paying population made from the student subject results? Third, is any acknowledgement made of the potential limitations of using student subjects? The findings indicate that approximately half of the tax experiments investigated used student subjects. Of these, approximately 80% provided no justification for their chosen subject sample. A similar proportion did not acknowledge any limitations from the use of a student sample. Around half of the papers using student subjects extrapolated their findings to the general tax-paying population or provided tax policy recommendations. In addition, the research indicates that the tax discipline has not had the same level of robust debate on the use of student subjects in experimental research as that seen in other disciplines. This potentially limits the external validity and utility of many of the tax research experiments undertaken to date.     

Perspectives of research on aging in India

Any social action plan, scheme, or program for welfare or intervention can be formulated only on the basis of data generated by research findings. Empirical data forms the backbone of the formulation of policy. This paper outlines the summary of the Indian research effort in the area of aging. An examination of the research trends shows both strengths and weaknesses. The generation of large and varied pieces of data across disciplines is a strength, while the absence of methodological rigor, integration of research effort, and the building of theory are the lacunae. The needs of the elderly, elder-care issues, State vs. family care, elder abuse, interventional and action plan research are some areas that need accentuation. Documentation of data, creation of databases, and a national body for overseeing research are requirements that cannot be delayed any longer.     

Towards a Society for All Ages

Summary

Any social action plan, scheme, or program for welfare or intervention can be formulated only on the basis of data generated by research findings. Empirical data forms the backbone of the formulation of policy. This paper outlines the summary of the Indian research effort in the area of aging. An examination of the research trends shows both strengths and weaknesses. The generation of large and varied pieces of data across disciplines is a strength, while the absence of methodological rigor, integration of research effort, and the building of theory are the lacunae. The needs of the elderly, elder-care issues, State vs. family care, elder abuse, interventional and action plan research are some areas that need accentuation. Documentation of data, creation of databases, and a national body for overseeing research are requirements that cannot be delayed any longer.     

Research in progress

This paper aims to reintroduce the Research in Progress section to the journal and to call for suitable contributions. The recent literature on research production and utilisation in social work is briefly reviewed. Summaries of research in progress, or longer contributions will be accepted from research workers, research students, social work teachers, practice teachers, academics in related disciplines, and from social work practitioners and managers.     

The Work and Family Researchers Network: an organizational and intellectual agenda

This essay outlines the organizational form and programmatic goals of the Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN). This international membership organization aspires to bring together researchers and scholars from a range of academic disciplines as well as policy makers and practitioners. A brief sketch of the structure of the WFRN emphasizes its marriage of virtual and face-to-face communities. A sketch of the intellectual domain of work and family research maps this field with respect to basic social science and applied concerns. I suggest that the preoccupations of this field of inquiry are not marginal but rather occupy intellectually central space in several disciplines. Moreover, the policy questions of interest to work and family researchers are numerous and noteworthy, as they pertain to different stages of the life course and individuals facing a wide array of work and family interactions. Work and family research is interdisciplinary, based on the extensive cross-disciplinary citation patterns that are already well established in this area. WFRN can nonetheless play a role in facilitating communication and fostering collaborations. The essay ends with a brief note about opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.     

Researching social work: Doctoral work in the UK

This paper discusses some current issues in relation to doctoral studies in social work in the UK. It draws on recent research and other sources to illustrate that our knowledge about the scope and scale of such doctoral work is limited. However, developments within the discipline and the wider policy and institutional context of professional education suggest that research (in general) has an increasing profile. This trend, together with debates about focus and research approaches in social work, has implications for the possible extension of opportunities for doctoral studies. It is further suggested that 'professional doctorate' programmes or 'PhD by publication' routes may be more suited to the needs of doctoral students in social work, given different career paths relative to students in some other disciplines.     

Immigrants,Immigration, and Sociology: Reflecting on the State of the Discipline*

The growth of the field of immigration in multiple directions and across disciplines and areas presents an opportune juncture to pause and reflect on the central role sociology has played in the study of immigrants and immigration, as well as to assess the contributions that immigration research has made to sociology. This essay discusses three subfields in sociology in which the sociological study of immigrants has contributed to bring new light to long‐standing questions: family, religion, and ethnic and racial studies. At the same time, it brings up areas – culture and arts, social movements and civic engagement, and citizenship, belonging and the state – in which immigration scholars in sociology could establish a more vibrant intellectual dialog with those subfields. Far from exhausting the discussion, these comments are intended to offer potential avenues for further research and discussion.     

FAMILY THERAPY OUTCOME RESEARCH: POTENTIAL PITFALLS AND PROSPECTS*

This paper raises and attempts to resolve some significant and controversial issues in the design of family therapy outcome studies. First, the issue of clinical relevance is addressed. Much of psychotherapy research has little relevance for practicing clinicians; this paper discusses some partial explanations and proposes some changes in the way data are reported that would have a salutary effect. Second, inter-model comparative outcome studies are critiqued. Third, the necessary preconditions for internally valid outcome studies are delineated, along with conditions in which randomization and the use of control groups can be abandoned. Fourth, there is a discussion of a research strategy which examines the generalizability of treatment effects found in research settings to conditions which come closer to resembling clinical practice. Fifth, questions regarding the selection of therapists for family therapy outcome research are addressed, including the issue of optimal level of therapist experience, and the question of whether or not “therapists” should be treated as a randomized factor in the overall design. Finally, there is a brief discussion of outcome criteria, with a fairly clear-cut and straightforward recommendation for determining whether or not a family therapy has had a desirable effect.     

Household technology: Implications for research and policy

If we are to have a fuller understanding of the social and economic context of the family, it is necessary to explore its technological environment. However, few scholars have examined the relationship between household technology and the functioning of the family. This article looks at which academic disciplines address household technology, what have been their findings, and why there is generally a paucity of research in this area. This article concludes with a discussion of the need for more research in household technology and the implications that this research may have for other family inquiry and for policy formation.Cathleen Zick, University of Utah, Richard Widdows, Purdue University, and Joan Ash, Central Washington University, provided helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.His research interests include household technology, consumer policy, and consumer protection.     

Photography and field contacts

This paper is a definition of photo elicitation and a history of its development in anthropology and sociology. The view of photo elicitation in these disciplines, where the greatest number of photo elicitation studies have taken place, organizes photo elicitation studies by topic and by form. The paper also presents practical considerations from a frequent photo elicitation researcher and concludes that photo elicitation enlarges the possibilities of conventional empirical research. In addition, the paper argues that photo elicitation also produces a different kind of information. Photo elicitation evokes information, feelings, and memories that are due to the photograph's particular form of representation.