Symposium: What is Qualitative about Qualitative Research?

Qualitative Sociology -     

If the Map is not the Territory,Then What is This?

This paper discusses the influence of figuration in the constitutive discourse of the family therapy movement. In particular it focuses closely on the figurative use of Russell's Theory of Logical Types. A deconstructive reading of the movement's theoretical grounding in this family of figuration is undertaken, based on Wittgenstein's response to the Theory of Types. The essay concludes with some implications for how practice is understood.     

Substantive Meanings of Missing Data in Family Research: Does “Don't Know” Matter?

In this article we analyze “don't know” responses from three sources of longitudinal data: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 14,528), the National Survey of Families and Households (n = 5,488), and the National Health Interview Survey Second Longitudinal Study of Aging (n = 1,131). We asked whether these responses are meaningful in family research, and, if so, how evaluating these responses can contribute to the development of theory, the discovery of novel findings, and identification of sensible methods for analyzing these nebulous responses. We found that “don't know” responses to questions about family members predicted less educational attainment, poor marital quality, and earlier mortality. Results suggest that this response category may have substantive meanings rather than indicating neutral responses or being missing data.     

What Affects the Happiness of Adopted Children in South Korea? Does the Adoption Matter to Their Happiness?

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal - Since the ultimate goal of adoption is to provide children a happy life in a stable family environment, our major concern is children’s happiness...     

Why is the Divorce Rate Declining in Indonesia?

This article examines trends in marital dissolution in Indonesia. Analysis considers the impact of educational expansion, delayed marriage, urbanization, increasing employment before marriage, legislative change, and increased free choice in marriage on the decline in marital disruption. Trends such as delayed marriage and educational expansion account for about one third of the decline in marital dissolution. Moreover, factors associated with marital disruption are shifting in importance. In particular, age at marriage and marital duration are becoming less reliable predictors of marital stability, whereas education is becoming more important. We conclude that the shifting forces governing marital formation and dissolution in Indonesia have modified the linkages between the conjugal couple, broader kinship systems, and modes of economic support such that traditional patterns sustaining high levels of marital instability are no longer in effect.     

What is Important to Young Children Who Have Cancer While in Hospital?

This paper reports on a participatory research project exploring children’s experiences and views of cancer care services. It focusses on findings from interviews conducted with 10 children aged four and five years old. Play and puppets were used to help children express their views. The themes elicited reveal important aspects of hospital care for young children, such as having ‘lots of toys’ available and that ‘mummy and daddy are near’. The use of play and puppets as a data‐collection method is discussed, along with the implications of findings for the care and support of young children who have cancer.     

Intimate Partner Violence during Pregnancy: What Does the Research Tell Us?

This article represents an interdisciplinary review of the current literature on intimate partner violence during pregnancy. Within the field of research, questions have been raised about whether or not women are at heightened risk for experiencing violence during pregnancy. We examined studies in both Western and non‐Western contexts to examine this question and consider prevalence rates, causal factors, and the consequences for victims and their fetuses. We found that even with variations in methodology, the literature indicates that violence against women during pregnancy is a serious and complex problem. Women's experiences of violence vary greatly, and while pregnancy may serve as a protective period for some women, for others, pregnancy has been found to increase the violence or even lead to changes in types of violence. However, most studies emphasize physical violence, while frequently neglecting women's experiences of sexual violence. We call for researchers in a variety of fields to continue their critical work into this pressing issue, with particular attention to broadening the type of violence addressed and to expanding the focus to the post‐partum period, improving the racial/ethnic diversity of samples, increasing the number of longitudinal studies, and recognizing variations between developed and developing nations.     

The Adoption and Use of the Hirschman–Herfindahl Index in Nonprofit Research: Does Revenue Diversification Measurement Matter?

Since its introduction by Tuckman and Chang (Nonprofit Volunt Sector Q 20(4):445–460, 1991), the Hirschman–Herfindahl Index (HHI) has been widely adopted into the nonprofit literature as a precise measure of revenue concentration. This widespread adoption has been characterized by diverse composition, with the HHI’s calculation being largely determined by the nature of the available data and the degree to which it contained disaggregated measures of revenue. Using the NCCS 990 Digitized Data, we perform an acid test on whether different HHI measures yield significantly different results. Four measures of revenue concentration—an aggregated measure based on three revenue streams, an aggregated measure separating government grants from other contributions, a more nuanced measure based on seven revenue streams, and a fully disaggregated measure based on thirteen revenue streams—are used to predict two dominant nonprofit financial health dimensions: financial volatility and financial capacity. Overall, our results show that aggregation in HHI measurement matters; aggregation often downplays relationships by influencing the significance levels and magnitudes of estimates in a non-trivial way.     

How Much Does the Distance in Distance Education Matter? Our Students Speak

Distance learning programs in social work education have been growing exponentially throughout the United States. This study interviewed Master of Social Work (MSW) students enrolled in two synchronous distance-learning courses that employed a blended pedagogy, and evaluates their insights about the learning experience. For these two courses, material was presented via video conferencing and supplemented with online media at two campuses at a large school of social work. In order to give students a voice about their experiences, data were collected using semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Common themes included: autonomy, emotional connectedness, technological challenges, and knowledge acquisition. Both the strengths and challenges related to distance learning are discussed.     

If the PRS Experience in Latin America is a Disappointment,What is the Alternative?

This is a reflection inspired by Geske Dijkstra's article ‘The PRSP Approach and the Illusion of Improved Aid Effectiveness: Lessons from Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua’ (Development Policy Review 23 (4), July 2005) which questions the usefulness of the PRS approach in Latin America, building to a considerable degree on studies carried out in the three countries by the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), which Sida financed. ¹ 1 The reports are produced annually and available at http://www.iss.nl/prsp .
     

Does the Organizer Matter in Volunteer Involvement? A Cross-Sectoral Comparison of Eldercare Volunteers in Beijing

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - While rich literature examines the relationship between volunteers and volunteer organizations, cross-sectoral difference...     

Why do larger families reduce parental investments in child quality, but not child quality per se?

Becker’s Quantity–Quality model (Becker in Demographic and economic change in developed countries, Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp 209–240, 1960; Becker and Lewis in J Polit Econ 81(2): S279–S288, 1973; Becker and Tomes in J Polit Econ 84(4): S143–S162, 1976) suggests a trade-off between family size and parental investments in children. To date, only Cáceras-Delpiano (J Hum Resour 41(4): 738–754, 2006) tests this theory by considering private school enrolment. This study extends this work by using a unique data set containing a broader range of parental investments that are arguably linked to parental intentions for producing higher quality children, such as overall and non-sectarian private school enrolment, the number of computers in the home per child, and saving for the child’s education. Both studies find that fertility reduces parental investments. However, the literature generally finds that fertility has no impact on child outcomes. The study offers three potential explanations for this ‘puzzle’.     

Does the Reason Matter? Variations in Childlessness Concerns Among U.S. Women

Does the reason why women have no children matter with regard to level of childlessness concerns? Reasons include biomedical barriers, situational barriers, delaying motherhood, and choosing to be childfree. The concept of “childlessness concerns” captures the idea that holidays and family gatherings are difficult because of not having children or feeling left out or sad that others have children. Life course and identity theories guided the structural equation model analyses of a representative sample of 1,180 U.S. women without children from the National Survey of Fertility Barriers. The results indicated that women with the least control over pregnancy, those with biomedical barriers, had the highest childlessness concerns. As hypothesized, the association between reasons and childlessness concerns was mediated by the identity‐relevant measure, importance of motherhood. Contrary to the authors' hypothesis, the association was not mediated by social messages to have children. Thus, it is primarily involuntarily childless women who have high childlessness concerns.     

What Does a “Thank you” Cost? Informal Exchange and the Case of “Brift” in Contemporary Russia

Qualitative Sociology - The following article addresses the complex nature of informal exchange in contemporary Russia. I borrow the term “brift” from Abel Polese in order to analyze a...     

Does Prior Banking Experience Matter? Differences of the Banked and Unbanked in Individual Development Accounts

Using data from the 4-year American Dream Demonstration, this study compares saving performance and program participation of banked (n = 1,538) and unbanked participants (n = 466) enrolled in 14 IDA programs. The study shows banked participants had $2.74 higher average monthly net deposit (p < 0.05); 5% higher deposit frequency (p < 0.001); and 42% less odds of drop out than unbanked participants (p < 0.001). Moreover, program characteristics such as financial education, monthly saving targets, peer group meetings, and direct deposit are important predictors of program performances. Individual characteristics such as race/ethnicity, home ownership, and income are significantly associated with program performance.