Gaining Access to Economically Marginalized Rural Populations: Lessons Learned from Nonprobability Sampling*

Poverty is a significant problem in rural America. Gaining access to economically marginalized rural populations in order to recruit individuals to participate in a research study, however, is often a challenge. This article compares three different nonprobability sampling techniques that have been used to recruit rural, low-income mothers—purposive sampling, respondent-driven sampling, and mixed purposive sampling. We review the relative advantages and drawbacks of the three methods in terms of access to the targeted population, methods of recruitment, size of the sample pool, randomness of the sample, generalizability of results, and researchers' control over the process.     

What's in a Name? Distinguishing Between Routine Disclosure and Self‐Disclosure

A lack of specificity between two types of disclosure has emerged in research on adolescents’ relationship and communication with their parents. Researchers are obscuring the distinctions between self‐disclosure and routine disclosure (i.e., disclosure of their whereabouts and activities to parents). In this article, we describe where the problems have arisen and then outline the conceptual differences between the two. Illustrations of how the two types of disclosure overlap or co‐occur are provided to demonstrate how fruitful areas for future research can emerge from attending to the distinctions between these two constructs.     

Incorporating Substance Use Content Into Social Work Curricula: Opioid Overdose as a Micro,Mezzo, and Macro Problem

Problematic substance use has tremendous implications for the health and wellbeing of communities around the world. Social workers at the frontlines are likely to encounter clients with substance use disorders in the wide array of settings where they are employed. However, few undergraduate and graduate social work programs internationally require students to take coursework in substance use or have substance use specializations. In the short-term, incorporating substance use-related content into existing courses and institutional structures may be more viable for social work programs to educate students about substance-related issues rather than developing entire courses or concentrations. The rates of opioid overdose death are increasing internationally and it is a multifaceted public health problem which would provide students with an opportunity to explore a wide variety of micro, mezzo, and macro practice and policy issues related to substance use. This paper specifically suggests a number of strategies which could be used in practice and policy courses throughout the curriculum. Incorporating overdose-related content into existing courses could be a promising means to still provide students with some knowledge and skills to work with substance-using populations.     

Targeting Social Assistance in a Transition Economy: The Mahallas in Uzbekistan

Falling output and living standards have pushed countries in transition from the socialist system to reconsider how best to target public resources on those in need. This paper investigates the workings of a new social assistance benefit in Uzbekistan, the largest of the former Soviet Central Asian republics, administered by community organizations, the Mahallas. Household survey data are used to assess the scheme's success in targeting on the most vulnerable households, using a variety of indicators including income, durable goods ownership, agricultural assets, employment status, and anthropometric status of children.     

Understanding how globalisation and restructuring affect women's lives: implications for comparative policy analysis

Globalisation and neo–liberal restructuring have transformed social policy and social services in many countries over the past two decades. Among the various impacts on different societies, one commonality is that many of the costs of restructuring are being picked up by women. In the last decade, feminist scholars have developed a critique of the effects of restructuring on the public and private lives of women, effects which are conspicuously absent from many discussions of restructuring. This article presents several conceptual ingredients for a framework that can facilitate a comparative understanding of restructuring and its effects on women at both global and local levels. Canada and China are used to illustrate the utility of such an approach to comparative policy analysis. The article contributes to a growing body of feminist literature on changing regimes of citizenship. It adds to the scholarship on comparative policy analysis by developing a research approach that is grounded in the experiences of women and is attentive to global and local politics. We argue that understanding just how restructuring affects different groups of women is essential for developing analyses that can cross national boundaries and challenge policies that reproduce conditions that oppress women.