What is Qualitative in Qualitative Research

Qualitative Sociology - What is qualitative research? If we look for a precise definition of qualitative research, and specifically for one that addresses its distinctive feature of being...     

Reflexivity and Qualitative Family Research:

The author uses her experiences with death and bereavement to select her research problem and to become a sensitive collaborator and listener with others who had the same experience of the loss of a loved one. From deep listening and opening of her heart to colleagues she began the integration of personal, empirical, theoretical, practical and spiritual knowledge into her research. A reconceptualization of maternal bereavement occurred. It is an open, fluid, dialectical process of change.     

都市女性恋爱暴力的质性研究

本文借用曾流行于亚洲的韩国电影《我的野蛮女友》的影像为引题,探讨了中国都市年轻人的暴力经验,尤其是女性在恋爱中的暴力行为所投射出来的社会文化图景。本文是一项建立在三次焦点小组、42位年轻人(其中13位男性,29位女性)的深度半结构式访问之上的质性研究。从第三波女性主义对于暴力研究的立场出发,本文显示了中国多层次的社会性别、爱情、性的话语怎样给年轻人提供自由表达的空间,去理解女性恋爱暴力的文化"合理性"。而年轻人,是怎样通过所经历的恋爱暴力塑造自己的社会性别,其叙述又是如何展示两性恋爱形态的变迁。在此基础上,进一步探索了在青年的亚文化话语空间中,"野蛮女友,温柔男友"的现代都市恋爱新模式的出现,以及中国都市青年的女性气质和男性气质的文化建构。     

Qualitative Research: Valuable or Irrelevant?

This paper evaluates qualitative research methods in relation to the emancipatory research model. It identifies the main reasons why researchers opt for qualitative research, describes the principal data collection techniques used by them, and discusses some of the problems associated with these procedures. Drawing on insights gained from doing qualitative research in day centres for disabled young adults, I argue that these methodologies are fundamental to the emancipatory research paradigm; but their relevance can only be determined by researchers' willingness to challenge the institutions which control disability research production.     

Considerations for Culturally Sensitive Research With Transgender Adults: A Qualitative Analysis

Transgender (trans) individuals have historically been left out of research, and previous work has often conflated gender identity with sexual orientation. Furthermore, language used in psychology measures is often heteronormative and uses binary gendered language (e.g., “him”/“her”). The aim of the current study was to provide empirically derived guidance on conducting culturally sensitive research with transgender participants using qualitative data. We recruited trans individuals, ages 18 to 44, to participate in an anonymous, qualitative, national online survey as part of a quantitative study on the relationships among minority stress, sexual behavior, and mental health. The qualitative portion included four open-ended feedback questions. We identified four overarching themes regarding experiences with our survey: (a) emotional reaction; (b) insight gained; (c) being outside the box; and (d) value of the work. Research with trans adults should be more inclusive of diverse gender identities, sexual identities, and sexual behaviors. Steps in this direction may include soliciting feedback from community members regarding survey language and response options, allowing participants to contextualize their responses using open-ended questions, and clarifying language to distinguish between sexual behavior and sexual identity. A list of seven preliminary guidelines was proposed to aid scientists in conducting culturally sensitive research with trans individuals.     

Teenagers’ Internet Use and Family Rules: A Research Note

The Internet poses challenges to parents who want their children to take advantage of online resources but also want to protect their children from questionable content. Using data from 749 dyads of American parents and their teenage children with Internet access, this study finds that the majority of parents report regulating their teenage children's Internet use, but parents report more monitoring (61%) than teens report (38%). Multivariate regression analyses indicate fathers, younger parents, parents who use the Internet with their children, and parents with younger teens engage in a higher level of parental monitoring. This study provides a first look at parental monitoring of children's Internet use and points to the need to study family rules from both parents’ and children's perspectives.     

Unsettling Definitions of Qualitative Research

Qualitative Sociology - Most qualitative research relies on the researcher’s close engagement with the data that they collect and analyze. While acknowledging this pattern, this article...     

Process of Intergenerational Ambivalence: A Qualitative Inquiry

The phenomena of intergenerational ambivalence are often explained in terms of autonomy versus dependency, conflicting norms between generation regarding role expectation in intergenerational relations, and there has been a tendency to believe these factors lead to intergenerational ambivalence. This article intends to explain the family interaction processes that leads to the ambivalence type of relationships. A purposive sample of 185 respondents from 48 families was randomly selected from urban and rural area. The sample comprised father, son, mother-in-law, and daughter-in-law within the joint family. Data were collected through a narrative method and analyzed with a structure model analysis. The data reveal that in the process of interaction, generations have similarities in functional process (physical, economic, and emotional support) but have differences in normative (fulfillment of familial obligation, role, and responsibility) and consensual processes (differences in values and attitude). These differences can lead to negative subjective experiences in terms of stress and strain. Thus, to avoid such situations, participants often used emotion-focused coping approaches also maintaining ambivalence with respect to their intergenerational relationships.     

Qualitative Health Research with Children

The authors of this article identify and discuss some of the practical and ethical issues of qualitative research with children. The problems are illustrated through a research study about children's experience of asthma, and the way in which they perceive and interpret their condition. It is shown that social research with children has inherent difficulties relating to access, ethical and developmental issues. Researchers do not only have to gain parental permission but also want the child to enter the research voluntarily. Because of the children's stage of development and the asymmetrical relationship between researcher and informants, adequate safeguards and awareness of these problems are essential.     

大学生社会性发展迟滞的质性研究

社会性发展迟滞的大学生在认知方面表现出辩证思维不够成熟、对社会问题的关注内容简单化、人际认识自我中心化、对自我缺乏思考与规划倾向;在情感方面表现出对社会矛盾性,对他人不懂得关心、感恩,对自己表现出低自尊的特点;在行为方面表现出独立性差、生活自理能力不足,社会适应困难、不敢担当、自我控制能力弱等特点。过度保护、纵容的家庭教养方式以及社会媒体的不良舆论导向、道德滑坡、学校教育的缺陷等,在大学生的社会性发展迟滞中起了重要影响。为了促进大学生的社会性良好发展,必须借助全社会的力量,从社会的文化观念、社会大环境、学校、家庭等多方面入手进行教育和引导。     

What is Qualitative in Research

Qualitative Sociology - In this text we respond and elaborate on the four comments addressing our original article. In that piece we define qualitative research as an “iterative process in...     

Missionary Kid Career Development: A Consensual Qualitative Research Investigation Through a Social Cognitive Lens

Repatriated, young adult children of international missionaries (missionary kids [MKs]) face unique challenges in education and career development. The authors conducted a consensual qualitative research investigation, grounded in social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986 ), as it informs social cognitive career theory, of career planning and decision making with 11 repatriated MKs. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 23 years (58% female, 67% Caucasian) and had repatriated to the United States between the ages of 14 and 19 years, spending between 4 and 19 years abroad. The authors' interpretation of the study findings led to a context‐specific revision of Bandura's ( 1986 ) Triadic Reciprocality Model. That is, regarding career development, faith intersects environmental variables, personal attributes, and overt behaviors in unexpected and multidimensional ways. Recommendations for researchers and practitioners include (a) attending to issues of sociocultural adaptation, (b) continuing to offer empirically supported (standard) career services to MKs, (c) using contextual and developmental approaches, and (d) inquiring about faith and calling.     

Trans* Partner Relationships: A Qualitative Exploration

ABSTRACT

The study of romantic partner relationships among trans* individuals is critical to providing a more complete understanding of their unique challenges and experiences. There is a paucity of research in this area, despite its significance in the lives of trans* individuals. The current study sought to examine the nature of partner relationships for people who identify as trans* by looking at the common experiences that they might share. A sample of 38 trans* participants completed a one-hour, semi-structured interview that qualitatively investigated their experiences in partner relationships. The results indicate five important themes: (1) The Oppressive Gender Binary System, (2) Coming Out and Disclosure Decision, (3) Emotional and Physical Sexuality Concerns, (4) Healthy Relationships Are Work, and (5) Living an Authentic Life. Implications for future research and how to better support the trans* community are discussed.     

A Dynamic Model of Work Satisfaction: Qualitative Approaches

Traditional work satisfaction research iscriticized for its personalistic approach inconceptualization and measurement. Its results aredoubted because of the artificially high proportions ofsatisfied. In order to overcome some of theseshortcomings, the extended model of different forms ofwork satisfaction originally proposed by Bruggemann(1974) is validated. Six forms of work satisfaction(progressive, stabilized, resigned satisfaction;constructive, fixated, resigned dissatisfaction) arederived from the constellation of four constituentvariables: comparison of the actual work situation andpersonal aspirations, global satisfaction, changes inlevel of aspiration, controllability at work. Resultsfrom semistructured interviews, a free Q-sort, and aquestionnaire for differentiating forms of worksatisfaction for 46 nurses provide support for the model.Various methods proved useful in accessing particularaspects of the underlying cognitive and evaluativeprocesses in the formation of different forms of work satisfaction. Implications for personnelmanagement and studies in organizational behavior(performance, intervention strategies) arediscussed.     

Sexual Activity During Menstruation: A Qualitative Study

This study utilized a grounded theory method to analyze qualitative narratives about sexuality and menstruation from 108 young women (ages 18–23; M = 19.8, SD = 1.07) and 12 young men (ages 18–24; M = 20.4, SD = 1.46). Five patterns were found: Sixteen women identified themselves as virgins and had not faced the issue of negotiating sex during menstruation. Among the 92 women who said they were sexually active, 37 women said they would never have intercourse during menstruation, eight women said they tried it once but never would again, and seven women said they rarely would and only under certain conditions. The largest group, 40 women, said they do have menstrual sex. Compared to the other groups, more of the women who do have sex during menstruation were in committed relationships, and none espoused a discourse of disgust. Considering the 12 men, three were virgins. Among the nine sexually experienced men, seven said they did have sex with a menstruating partner. Young adults who were comfortable with menstrual sex saw it as just another part of a committed intimate relationship.