Online Qualitative Research Resources

Compiled by Susan Hawes, PhD and Katherine Evarts Rice, PsyD for the Clinical Psychology Department, Antioch University New England.

Dr. Hawes created this site initially to provide graduate students information on qualitative research that they could access easily and at no cost. It is organized thematically, beginning with a page on “mega sites,” which are pages that cover the topic broadly. The other organizing themes are: bibliographies, creating manuscripts, associations and institutions, journals publishing qualitative research, methodology (and methods), other social science links, and software for qualitative analyses.

MegaSites

• The Qualitative Research Clearinghouse: Resources for Methods, Analysis, and the Future

  This site at Central Michigan University is a recent discovery for me. The coverage for teaching is excellent. Its pages include Types of Qualitative Methods, Lists of References, Articles, Links to Web Resources, Funding Sources, Analysis and N7 Manual, and Teaching Resources.

• Wikipedia on Qualitative Research Methods

  As ever, a work in progress. Nonetheless, the site is well worth exploring, particularly the (variably productive) links to methodologies, methods, and theory.

• Electronic Resources for Information on Research Methods and Qualitative Research Methods

  A great deal of information is provided at both of these sites. Explore!

• Qualitative Research

  Martin Ryder maintains this useful page. It provides “links to resources that explain the art of qualitative educational research: critiques, literature reviews, research design methodologies and other articles. The resource is intended as an aid to educational practitioners as informed consumers of published research and as active contributors to the body of knowledge that informs emerging practices involving information and learning technologies (ILT). By no means an exhaustive index, this resource offers a glimpse into the range of qualitative research models and methodologies that can be found in contexts of ILT.” Ryder also seems to favor critical and transformative positions. My students should appreciate his page of links to definitions of philosophical terms.

• Social Sciences Virtual Library

  This document keeps track of online information as part of The World-Wide Web Virtual Library. Sites are inspected and evaluated for their adequacy as information sources before they are linked from here.

• Qualitative Research Resources on the Internet

  Compiled by Ron Chenail at the site of The Qualitative Report (an online journal of qualitative research), this list is dedicated to providing researchers, clinicians, teachers, and students with on-line access to a collection of qualitative research sites and materials available through the World Wide Web. Papers, dissertations, and syllabi are just some of the useful materials that can be found in the Resources section.

• Qualitative Research in Information Systems

  This site aims to provide qualitative researchers in IS – and those wanting to know how to do qualitative research – with useful information on the conduct, evaluation and publication of qualitative research. Even if you are not an IS researcher, the information provided is excellent, so check it out and browse.

• Resources for Program Evaluation and Social Research Methods

  Gene Shackman maintains this site. He wrote: “The focus is on “how-to” do evaluation research and the methods used: surveys, focus groups, sampling, interviews, and other methods. Most of these links are to resources that can be read over the web. A few, like the GAO books, are for books that can be sent away for, for free (if you live in the US), as well as read over the web.” Honestly, I wish I had known about this site this fall when I was introducing our graduate students to evaluation research. This site is overflowing with valuable resources!

• QualPage

  This site has many resources about qualitative research and is regularly updated. I like to think of QualPage as a dynamic artifact of a knowledge-building community. Creator, Judy Norris (now retired) wrote: “Through the miracle of the Internet we are enjoying unprecedented access to each other’s scholarship and expertise.” The site is now maintained by Juidith Preissle.

• Intute: Education and Research Methods

  Is “brought to you by a national team of subject specialists from universities across the UK. We find and review the very best web resources to help you with your studies and research.” Their page on qualitative methodologies has much rich information for anyone interested in the topic.

• Qualitative Research Resources by Don Ratcliff

  This page includes notes for a five part seminar on Qualitative Research: Part 1-Introduction; Part 2-Sampling and Selection; Part 3-Researcher Roles; Part 4-Data Collection; and Part 5-Data Analysis. It also includes a Complete Text of Book Video and Audio Media in Qualitative Research, and the interesting, Qualitative Research Resources.

• The Qualitative Methods Workbook

  “E-text” prepared for the college course, Qualitative Research Methods (PSY 405) at Shippensburg University. While the contents are copyrighted, they may be downloaded and hard copied for educational and personal uses without permission, as long as the source is noted.

• Electronic Resources for Information on Research Methods and on Qualitative Research Methods
• A great deal of information is provided at these sites. Explore!

• Qualidata: ESDS Economic & Social Data Service

  ESDS Qualidata is a specialist service of the ESDS that provides access and support for a range of social science qualitative datasets, promoting and facilitating increased and more effective use of data in research, learning, and teaching.

 

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Bibliographies & Other Lists

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• Journals that Publish Qualitative Research

  A list posted on the Nova Southeastern University Site

• Recent Books on Action Research and Related Topics

  This is a resource file which supports the regular public program areol (action research and evaluation online) offered twice a year beginning in mid-February and mid-July. For details email Bob Dick [email protected] or [email protected]

• Ethnographic Writing (annotated bibliography)

  Published by the Social Research Update Site.

• Social Sciences Electronic Journals

  Listing of electronic social science journals by The Virtual Library (VL), the oldest catalog of the web started by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of HTML and the web itself. Unlike commercial catalogs, it is run by a loose confederation of volunteers who compile pages of key links for particular areas in which they are expert; even though it isn’t the biggest index of the web, the VL pages are widely recognized as being amongst the highest-quality guides to particular sections.

• Qualitative Research in Information Systems

  Aims to provide qualitative researchers in IS and those wanting to know how to do qualitative research with useful information on the conduct, evaluation, and publication of qualitative research.

 

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Creating Qualitative Manuscripts

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• The Proposal in Qualitative Research

  By Anthony W. Heath

• Presenting Qualitative Data

  by Ronald J. Chenai

• Qualitative Data Analysis: Common Phases, Strategic Differences

  Baptiste, Ian (2001, September). Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 2(3). Available at http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs/fqs-eng.htm

• Abstract:

  This paper lays out an analytic framework to help rookie qualitative researchers recognize and appreciate common features of qualitative data analysis (QDA) while giving due consideration to strategic differences resulting from differences in expertise, context, and philosophy. The paper does not identify or illustrate specific QDA strategies. Rather, it raises questions the responsible analyst might consider at each phase of the process. I argue that all QDA (regardless of methodological or disciplinary orientation) comprise four interrelated phases: defining the analysis, classifying data, making connections between data, and conveying the message(s). This paper discusses the first three phases.

• Psychology with Style

  A Hypertext Writing Guide 1/17/2000 – Version 3.1 (Revision History) M. Plonsky, PhD University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.

 

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Institutions & Associations

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• International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, Alberta, Canada

  The International Institute for Qualitative Methodology is a multidisciplinary institute at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Institute’s goals are: (1) Leadership Provide leadership to address the issues in qualitative inquiry and to facilitate the development of qualitative methods; (2) Excellence Promote excellence in qualitative research through education and research; (3) Collaboration Provide a forum for collaboration among international experts in the field of qualitative inquiry; (4) Research Conduct qualitative research.

• The Association for Qualitative Research Website

  An international association for those with an interest in Qualitative Research. AQR is an international organization which aims to further the practice and study of qualitative research. The objectives of the Association are:

  • To improve the theory, practice and use of qualitative research across the disciplines of the human sciences
  • To provide a forum for the discussion of ideas via regional meetings, publications, and annual international conferences
  • To link people who have similar interests in qualitative research
  • To provide education and training in the methodologies of qualitative research
  • To establish and maintain ethics and standards in the practice of qualitative research
  • To recognize in appropriate ways outstanding contributions to the theory and/or practice of qualitative research

• ESRC Qualitative Data Archival Resource Centre (Britain)

  The ESRC Qualitative Data Archival Resource Centre (Qualidata) was set up within the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex in October, 1994, to facilitate and document the archiving of qualitative data arising from research, whilst also drawing the research communities’ attention to its existence and potential. The department has consistently been ranked as one of the few Five Star rated research departments of sociology in the country.

• Intute: Social Sciences

  An online catalog of thousands of high-quality Internet resources relevant to social science education and research.

 

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Online Open Access Journals & Scholarly Paper Collections

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• Action Research Electronic Reader

  “Action research is a tool to change society and generate knowledge, which at its best is emancipating and empowering. The documents in the Action Research Electronic Reader are original contributions brought together with the purpose of supporting and informing students, researchers and change agents in the field. They are grouped under two headings, ‘Discussion’ and ‘Research Reports’, though in the nature of action research, boundaries are not distinct.”

• Action Research International online journal

  Refereed on-line journal of action research has a distinguished international editorial panel and is sponsored by the Institute of Workplace Research Learning and Development (WoRLD) within the Graduate College of Management at Southern Cross University and by Southern Cross University Press. The journal consists of an electronic discussion list to which papers can be submitted for comment and a further list which carries the papers on acceptance. You may submit papers, or you may join the journal as a subscriber.

• Advancing Women In Leadership

  “Advancing Women in Leadership represents the first online professional, refereed journal for women in leadership. The journal publishes manuscripts that report, synthesize, review, or analyze scholarly inquiry that focuses on women’s issues. The Editors invite authors from all professional fields to submit manuscripts regarding women’s professional issues for review for publication in the journal.”

• ALAR Journal

  “There are two issues of the ALAR journal each year…The journal contains project reports, reflections on seminars and conferences, articles related to the theory and practice of action learning, action research and related approaches, and reviews of recent publications. It aims to be highly accessible for both readers, contributors and practitioners. We place journal issues on this website a year after members receive them in hardcopy.”

• Annual Review of Critical Psychology

  “Annual Review of Critical Psychology is available in print as four separate special issues which have been published rather sporadically (not annually). These print versions, issues 1-4, are peer-reviewed international publications (ISSN 1464-0538). From issue number 5, Annual Review of Critical Psychology will be available as a peer-reviewed online open-access journal, published on this site.”

• The Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health

  “The promotion of mental health and prevention of mental illness is a strategic and policy priority in Australia and is reflected in similar directions internationally. AJAMH is a forum for advancing mental health promotion, prevention of mental illness, and early intervention approaches to mental health. It is a peer-reviewed, online, open access journal.”

• Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis Across Disciplines (CADAAD)

  “Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines” is a free but formal, peer-reviewed electronic journal, intended to provide a publishing platform for cross-disciplinary critical discourse research. (CADAAD) is an ongoing project which aims to foster and promote cross-disciplinary communication in critical discourse research. This site is intended as a resource for both students and scholars critically involved with discourse.”

• Cyberpsychology

  “Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace is a web-based, peer-reviewed scholarly journal. The first peer-reviewed issue was published in September 2007. The journal is focused on social science research into cyberspace while bringing psychosocial reflections of the Internet impact on people and society. The journal is interdisciplinary, publishing works written by scholars of psychology, media studies, sociology, political science, and other disciplines. The Cyberpsychology Journal brings out original papers, as well as theoretical studies and research meta-analyses. Proposals for special issues are also welcomed.”

• Discourse Analysis Online

  “DA On-Line is a brand new, international, interactive online journal dedicated to the publication of discourse analysis research. It uses interactive, internet-based media to provide an innovative forum for the presentation of discourse analysis research, to foster online collaboration and dialogue within the DA community and to redesign the conventional journal review process.”

• Dynamical Psychology

  “Dynamical Psychology is a journal for the study of complex mental processes of all kinds. We are concerned with, very broadly speaking, the patterns by which psychological processes unfold through time the emergent, persistent structures which arise as a consequence of this unfolding. We are explicitly open to a variety of perspectives on psychological process, including cognitive, behavioral, nonlinear-science, physics-oriented, sociological, phenomenological, and transpersonal. We are committed to using innovative ideas to understand the mind as a whole, bridging the artificial separations which currently exist between disciplines and subdisciplines. Recognizing that the goal of science is understanding and not merely data, we aim at a side-by-side presentation of theoretical explorations, mathematical analyses, computational experiments, and empirical data.”

• E-Journal of Applied Psychology (E-JAP)

  E-JAP “is a web-based international outlet for original research articles which apply psychological theories to clinical and social issues. E-JAP has two sections. Papers published in the Clinical Section of E-JAP will generally focus on the prevention of psychological disorders, the promotion of psychological health, effective adaptation of adults and children to life problems, and the evaluation of therapeutic interventions in the areas of counseling, clinical, developmental and health psychology. Papers published in the Social Section of E-JAP will generally focus on individuals and groups in social contexts such as family, work, or community settings. Articles may address aspects of interpersonal relationships, group dynamics, organizational health, and political or cultural issues from the perspectives of community, organizational and social psychology. E-JAP will publish original quantitative and qualitative research, case studies and review papers. Contributions may include experimental and survey research, theoretical and methodological reviews, individual case studies, and descriptions of new clinical treatment methods.”

• Forum: Qualitative Social Research – Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung

  FQS is a peer-reviewed multilingual online journal for qualitative research. “Established in 1999, we are re-organizing FQS by setting up broader information and communication resources for qualitative researchers, supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. FQS Issues are published tri-annually. Additionally, selected single contributions and contributions belonging to the rubrics FQS Reviews, FQS Debates, and FQS Conferences are published immediately after they go through the peer review process. All full texts are available for free. Our Newsletter informs you of new publications as soon as they are posted online.”

• The Future of Children

  “The Future of Children is a collaboration of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution. The mission of The Future of Children is to translate the best social science research about children and youth into information that is useful to policymakers, practitioners, grant-makers, advocates, the media, and students of public policy. The project publishes two journals and policy briefs each year and provides various short summaries of our work. Topics range widely — from income policy to family issues to education and health – with children’s policy as the unifying element. The senior editorial team is diverse, representing two institutions and multiple disciplines.”

• Gay and Lesbian Research in Psychology

  “GLIP Review aims to encourage research that challenges the stereotypes and assumptions of pathology that have often inhered to research on lesbians and gay men (amongst others). The aim of the Review is thus to facilitate discussion over the direction of lesbian and gay psychology in Australia and to provide a forum within which academics, practitioners and lay people may publish. The Review is open to a broad range of material and especially welcomes research, commentary, and reviews that critically evaluate the status quo in regards to LGBT issues. The Review also seeks papers that redress the imbalance that has thus far focused on the issues facing white lesbians and gay men, to the exclusion of other sexual, gender and racial minority groups.”

• International Journal of Ageing and Later Life

  “The International Journal of Ageing and Later Life (IJAL) serves an audience interested in social and cultural aspects of aging and later life development. As such, the Journal welcomes contributions that aim at advancing the theoretical and conceptual debate on research on aging and later life. Contributions based on empirical work are also welcome as are methodologically interested discussions of relevance to the study of aging and later life. Being an international journal, IJAL acknowledges the need to understand the cultural diversity and context dependency of aging and later life. IJAL accepts country- or cultural-specific studies that do not necessarily include international comparisons as long as such contributions are interesting and understandable for an international audience.”

• International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Theory

  The International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy (ISSN 1577-7057) is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes empirical and theoretical contributions in any of the areas of Psychology. The journal is open to contributions in Spanish and English, that are selected by a prestigious Editorial Board made up of selected researchers, academics, and professionals.”

• International Journal of Qualitative Methods

  A peer-reviewed journal published quarterly as a web-based journal by the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology at the University of Alberta, Canada, and its international affiliates. It is a multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual journal, free to the public. “Our goals are to heighten the awareness of qualitative research, to advance the development of qualitative methods in varying fields of study, and to help disseminate knowledge to the broadest possible community of academics, students, and professionals who undertake scholarly research. By keeping the journal free of charge, we hope to reach an audience who, for whatever reason, do not read traditional, subscription-based journals.”

• Internet Journal of Mental Health

  “The Internet Journal of Mental Health is a peer-reviewed online journal that accepts submissions with a broadly defined definition of mental health. This includes manuscripts discussing psychiatric disorders, psychological strengths, psychological difficulties, the interaction of physical and mental health, and the psychosocial aspects of both medical and psychiatric disorders. The journal also welcomes manuscript submissions discussing the epidemiology, treatment, rehabilitation, prevention, cultural, and racial/ethnic aspects of the mental health of both individuals and communities. Empirical articles using either quantitative or qualitative methods are both of interest. General, systematic and meta-analytic reviews are all welcomed.”

• Interpersona

  “Interpersona is a peer-reviewed, semiannual (June and December), open access online journal on personal relationships. As an international, interdisciplinary journal, it aims at promoting scholarship in the field of personal relationships based on different methodologies and stemming from several disciplines, including psychology, sociology, communication studies, anthropology, family studies, child development, social work, nursing, and others. Manuscripts examining a wide range of personal relationships, including those between romantic or intimate partners, spouses, parents and children, siblings, and other family relations, classmates, coworkers, neighbors, friends, and professional relations are welcome. In addition to original empirical (qualitative or quantitative) research, theoretical or methodological contributions, integrative reviews, meta-analyses, comparative or historical studies, and critical assessments of the status of the field are welcome as submissions. Interpersona is a totally free access journal and readers may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles without any charge. All content is freely available. All papers are peer-reviewed by members of the editorial board or ad hoc reviewers under the supervision of an editor as quality control.”

• Janus Head

  “Janus Head: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature, Continental Philosophy, Phenomenological Psychology, and the Arts is devoted to maintaining an attitude of respect and openness to the various manifestations of truth in human experience; it strives to foster understanding through meditative thinking, narrative structure, and poetic imagination. Like the Janus head reliefs found over the doorways of old Roman homes, this journal, too, is situated at a threshold. The space within this journal, like the space beyond the Janus head relief, is a space where dwelling can occur, where thinking can take place, and where community can be built. Janus Head is an interdisciplinary journal that places emphasis on the intersections among literature, continental philosophy, phenomenological psychology, and the arts. Our board welcomes the submission of innovative work from authors and artists who have the courage to take risks to create fruitful dialogue among the disciplines of the academy.”

• Journal of Integrated Social Sciences

  “JISS attempts to provide a platform that fills the void of a unified approach in the social sciences. We are launching our peer-reviewed journal with several disciplines in mind that are central to the social sciences: Psychology, Sociology, Political Sciences, and Gender Studies. Our hope is that students and professionals alike will take advantage of this new outlet for their ideas and quality work, to be shared with others, thereby bridging the isolation that often exists between the various social disciplines. We are therefore particularly interested in interdisciplinary and/or holistically oriented projects and invite you to share such investigations with the rest of the scholarly community.”

• Journal of Research Practice

  “Journal of Research Practice (JRP) seeks to develop our understanding of research as a type of practice, so as to extend and enhance that practice in the future. The Journal aims to highlight the dynamics of research practice, as it unfolds in the life of a researcher, in the growth and decline of a field, and in relation to a changing social and institutional environment. The Journal welcomes deliberation on the basic issues and challenges encountered by researchers in any specific domain. The Journal aims to explore why and how different activities, criteria, methods, and languages become part of research practice in any domain. This is expected to trigger interdisciplinary dialogue, mutual learning, facilitate research education, and promote innovations in different fields…The Journal seeks to study the evolving patterns of thinking and practice that underlie open inquiry in any domain. The scope also includes topics such as research training, research design, research utilization, research policy, and innovative forms of research.”

• Methodological Innovations Online

  “Methodological Innovations Online is an international peer-reviewed social research journal. It publishes high-quality papers in research methods and methodology from all social science disciplines. Papers which focus on new methodological approaches, or using traditional methodologies in new ways or methodologies which cross disciplines are especially welcome. The journal publishes both peer-reviewed papers and short discussion pieces. The journal aims to be progressive both in access and the means by which it encourages those near the beginning of their careers to publish. Nevertheless, each issue will contain papers by leading international social science researchers.”

• Phenomenology & Practice

  “Phenomenology & Practice is a human science journal dedicated to the study of the lived experience of a broad range of human practices. These include (but are not limited to) the professional practices of pedagogy, design, counseling, psychology, social work, and health science. Increasingly, researchers and practitioners in these and other fields are adapting interpretive methodologies to address questions related to practice. Phenomenology & Practice is intended to serve as a forum for such research. Correspondingly, ‘phenomenology’ is understood in this context in broad and eclectic terms…’Practice,’ the second word in the journal’s title, has complex and interrelated meanings. In one sense, it refers to professional and other domains: “the explicit and tacit dimensions of the rules, precepts, codes, principles, guides, commitments, affects, and behaviors that one observes or recommends within a domain of action” (OED, 1989). The practice is also understood as the application of theory; in practice, we operationalize methods, techniques, knowledge, skills, and competencies. Additionally, practice can be viewed as having integrity all of its own. Instead of deriving exclusively from theory, it can be characterized as non-cognitive, as residing in the body, in the world, in relations, and in action, rather than being explicitly known or formalized.”

• Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy (PCSP)

  PCSP is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal and database. It provides innovative, quantitative and qualitative knowledge about psychotherapy process and outcome, for both researchers and practitioners. The goals of the PCSP are: (1) To generate a growing database of systematic, rigorous, and peer-reviewed therapy case studies across a variety of theoretical approaches; (2) To pilot-test the special advantages of online, case study journals in applied psychology generally by exemplifying in detail their ability to make large amounts of qualitative and quantitative, peer-reviewed information particularly timely, accessible, searchable, and pragmatically and theoretically valuable; and (3) To act as a vehicle for progress in therapy case-study method through the process of example, critical dialogue, and cross-case analysis.

• PsychNology

  “PsychNology is a quadrimestral, international, peer-reviewed journal on the relationship between humans and technology. The name ‘PsychNology’ emphasizes its multidisciplinary interest in all issues related to the human adoption and development of technologies. Its broad scope allows to host in a sole venue advances and ideas that would otherwise remain confined within separate communities or disciplines.”

• The Qualitative Report

  A peer-reviewer, on-line journal devoted to writing and discussion of and about qualitative, critical, action, and collaborative inquiry and research serves as a forum and sounding board for researchers, scholars, practitioners, and other reflective- minded individuals who are passionate about ideas, methods, and analyses permeating qualitative and critical study. It is edited by Ronald Chenail at Nova Southeastern University. In addition, there is a list of Individual Papers & Collections of Papers, Posters, and Abstracts. The site does not provide the review status of these contents. However, there are some useful articles here for beginning qualitative researchers.

• Qualitative Studies

  Qualitative Studies is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that welcomes contributions from all human and social sciences, which employ or discuss qualitative methods. Its first issue will be in 2010.

• Social Research Update

  Published quarterly by the Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 5XH, England.

• Sociological Research Online

  Publishes high quality applied sociology, focusing on theoretical, empirical and methodological discussions which engage with current political, cultural and intellectual topics and debates.

Journal Lists

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• Directory of Open Access Journals: Psychology

  “The aim of the Directory of Open Access Journals is to increase the visibility and ease of use of open access scientific and scholarly journals thereby promoting their increased usage and impact. The Directory aims to be comprehensive and cover all open access scientific and scholarly journals that use a quality control system to guarantee the content. In short a one stop shop for users to Open Access Journals.” This link is to the list of open access psychology journals.

• Qualitative Research Journals

  This list is from St. Louis University. A compilation of earlier lists, it includes journals that focus on qualitative research as well as journals receptive to publishing qualitative research. The list continues to be modified. When available, links to journal home pages have been incorporated into the list. In some cases, the links lead to the publisher’s site; follow links to specific titles from there.

• Qualitative Journals

  A list provided on The Qualitative Report website.

• Human Studies: A Journal for Philosophy and the Social Sciences

  A journal devoted primarily to advancing the dialogue between philosophy and the human sciences addressing such issues as the logic of inquiry, methodology, epistemology, and foundational issues in the human sciences exemplified by original empirical, theoretical and philosophical investigations. Phenomenological perspectives, broadly defined, are a primary, though not an exclusive focus. Human Studies is attractive to scholars in a variety of fields since it provides a forum for those who address these issues in attempting to bridge the gap between philosophy and the human sciences.

• The Journal of Rural Community Psychology

  A peer-reviewed, scholarly journal in electronic form devoted to sociological, psychological and mental health issues in rural and small community settings.

• Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (ASAP)

  Electronic journal sponsored by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) is an outlet for timely and innovative psychological and related social science scholarship with implications for social action and policy. “We seek to be a forum for publishing new work as well as discussion on alternative approaches to a variety of important and current social problems. By encouraging timely publication of well-written peer-reviewed work, we aim to facilitate communication between social science researchers and policy makers as well as with the public as a whole. Articles will communicate with a broad spectrum of interested individuals as well as with the social science community. Articles will be published electronically as soon as they are accepted for publication. At the end of each year, a print version will be made available to all institutions that subscribe to the Journal of Social Issues. ASAP is not a thematic journal. Submissions in any content area related to the goals of SPSSI will be considered. They will be evaluated in terms of scholarly excellence as well as their relevance to social problems, social action and policy. ASAP has an internationally respected Editorial Board with expertise in both social science research and the application of that research to real world issues.”

 

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Methodology Sites & Related Readings

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Action Research & Participatory Action Research (PAR)

• Action Research at Queen’s University

  This site includes a range of materials from Action Research activities in the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University. Resources available here at Queen’s are followed by Links to other Action Research sites that provide additional perspectives and resources.

• What is Participatory Action Research?”

  By Y. Wadsworth in Action Research International

• Recent books on action research and related topics

  This is a resource file which supports the regular public program areol (action research and evaluation on line) offered twice a year beginning in mid-February and mid-July. For details email Bob Dick [email protected] or [email protected]

• Action Research Resources at Southern Cross U.

  This is the front page of a substantial action research site. The links below will take you to some of the other parts of the site, and some of its associated resources

  • Co-operative Inquiry

    (with John Heron) In R. Harre, J. Smith, & L. Van Langenhove (Eds.), Rethinking Methods in Psychology (pp. 122-142). London: Sage. (1995).From the introduction: Co-operative inquiry is a way of working with other people who have similar concerns and interests to yourself, in order to: Understand your world, make sense of your life and develop new and creative ways of looking at things. Learn how to act to change things you may want to change and find out how to do things better.

  • A Layperson’s Guide to Co-operative Inquiry

    Peter Reason & John Heron

  • Participatory Research & Community Organizing – A working pager

    by Sue Sohng
    Changing economic and political relations, based on the ownership and control of information technologies and communication, raise important questions for community organizing in an increasingly privatized, postindustrial world of a knowledge society: Who produces knowledge and for whose interests? What are the implications of a changing economic and social order for the relatively powerless? Who are the have-nots in the knowledge society, and how do they organize against the new elements of oppression the knowledge society brings? Today’s challenges call for rethinking of knowledge production
    in community organizing. Instead of conceptualizing research as detached discovery and empirical verification of generalizable patterns in community practice, social researchers need to view research as a site of resistance and struggle. Hence, a major focus of this paper is to explore research methodologies by which social researchers and community practitioners can mobilize information and knowledge resources, as one part of their broader strategies for community empowerment. I begin by briefly summarizing the political economy of the new postindustrial society and the role of knowledge elite. This analysis is linked to the emergence of participatory research movements. I argue that the participatory approach to community research offers an epistemology and methodology that addresses people, power and praxis in the post-industrial, information-based society. To illustrate this, I describe how a participatory research project is carried out in community practice, articulating key moments and roles of the researcher and participants. I conclude with the reconfiguration of validity in social work research.

Case Study Research

• Introduction to Case Study Research By Winston Tellis
• Application of a Case Study MethodologyBy Winston Tellis
• Life at the Palace: A Cyberpsychology Case Study by John Suler, PhDThe Palace is a client/server program that creates a highly visual, spatial, and auditory chat environment. It is an excellent example of the current trend toward graphical, interactive domains on the internet, sometimes referred to as habitats, GMUKS (Graphical Multi-user Konversation), or, multimedia chat. Currently, there are many Palace sites located across the internet, varying widely in technical and artistic sophistication as well as graphical themes (e.g., a futuristic Cybertown, a haunted house, Japan, Star Trek, etc.). Some sites are commercial, some private. Some even may be considered art. …My research at the Palace is an ongoing, intensive case study of the psychological
  and social dynamics of this evolving community. What makes the Palace so fascinating is the fact that it is highly visual and spatial. This is a new dimension to social interaction on the internet, and certainly a predictor of the multimedia experiences to come.

Concept Mapping

What is Concept Mapping?

Describes concept mapping briefly & outlines a set of procedures that one could use with the software, The Concept System.

• An introduction to concept mapping for planning and evaluation.

  Trochim, W. (1989). In W. Trochim (Ed.) A Special Issue of Evaluation and Program Planning, 12, 1-16.Abstract: Concept mapping is a type of structured conceptualization which can be used by groups to develop a conceptual framework which can guide evaluation or planning. In the typical case, six steps are involved:

1. Preparation (including a selection of participants and development of focus for the conceptualization)
2. Generation of statements
3. Structuring of statements
4. Representation of Statements in the form of a concept map (using multidimensional
   scaling and cluster analysis)
5. Interpretation of maps
6. Utilization of Maps.

Concept mapping encourages the group to stay on task; results relatively quickly in an interpretable conceptual framework; expresses this framework entirely in the language of the participants; yields a graphic
or pictorial product which simultaneously shows all major ideas and their interrelationships; often improves group or organizational cohesiveness and morale. This paper describes each step in the process, considers major methodological issues and problems, and discusses computer programs which can be used to accomplish the process.

• Concept mapping: Soft science or hard art?

  Trochim, W. (1989). In W. Trochim (Ed.) A Special Issue of Evaluation and Program Planning,
  12, 87-110.Abstract: Is concept Mapping science or art? Can we legitimately claim that concept maps represent reality, or are they primarily suggestive devices which might stimulate new ways to look at our experiences? Here, the scientific side of concept mapping is viewed as soft science and the artistic one as hard art to imply that the process has some qualities of both, but probably does not fall exclusively within either’s domain. In the spirit of hard art, a gallery of final concept maps from twenty projects is presented, partly to illustrate more examples of the process when used in a variety of subject areas and for different purposes, and partly for their aesthetic value alone. In the spirit of soft science, two major issues are considered. First, the evidence for the validity and reliability of concept mapping is introduced, along with some suggestions for further research which might be undertaken to examine those characteristics. Second, the role of concept mapping is discussed, with special emphasis on its use in a pattern matching framework.

• Concept Mapping Resource Guide

  This page is the central resource guide for learning about structured conceptual mapping. It includes links to general introductory materials, research and case studies illustrating the use of the method, and comprehensive information about the Concept System software including how to obtain and license it.

Constructivism & Personal Construct Theory

• Personal Construction Theory & Repertory Grid

  Provides an overview of Personal Construct Theory (originated with George Kelly), a selection of Resources for PCT, Repertory Grid Software & Related Articles, and Other Tools for Repgrid Analysis.

• Radical Constructivism

  The notion radical constructivism (RC) was coined by Ernst von Glasersfeld in 1974 in order to emphasize that from an epistemological perspective any constructivism has to be complete (or radical) in order not to relapse into some kind of fancy realism. The basic tenet of RC is that any kind of knowledge is constructed rather than perceived through senses. As such, RC does not present a metaphysics in the strict sense as it does not make statements about an outside reality. . .

Content Analysis

• The Content Analysis Guide Online

  An accompaniment to The Content Analysis Guidebook by Kimberly A. Neuedorf. Includes a Flowchart for the Typical Process of Content Analysis Research.

• Content Analysis Resources

  This site aims to support researchers interested in quantitative analysis of texts, transcripts, and images.

• Practical Resources for Assessing and Reporting Intercoder Reliability in Content Analysis Research Projects
  By Matthew Lombard, Temple University; Jennifer Snyder-Duch, Carlow College; Cheryl Campanella Bracken, Cleveland State University. This supplemental online resource contains:

• Background information regarding what intercoder reliability is and why it’s important
• A modified version of the guidelines from the article Descriptions of and recommendations regarding
  currently available software tools that researchers can use to calculate the
  different reliability indices
• Information about how to obtain and use the software Further clarification of issues related to
  reliability.

Critical Psychology & Feminist Research

• Guidelines for Doing Critical Psychology Research

  By Prilleltensky & Nelson.

• The Role of Power in Oppression, Liberation and Wellness: Proposal for International Collaboration on Research and Action.

  Prilleltensky, Isaac (2003) Research ProposalBackground: The PhD program in community research and action at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University is seeking to establish an international collaborative research and action project. This initiative builds on the SCRA (Society for Community Research and Action of the American Psychological Association, Division of Community Psychology) task force on Community Action Research Centers. At present, there are three sites identified in this initiative: Chicago, Kansas, and Puerto Rico. The Vanderbilt group is creating a Center that may become the fourth Community Action and Research Center (CARC) in this SCRA initiative. Independent of its status as an SCRA approved CARC center, the group at Vanderbilt wishes to collaborate with colleagues in several countries on a research and action project. The aim of this initiative is to collect data on commonly agreed topics across various settings and countries. At the recent SCRA biennial conference, it was agreed in concert with members of other sites that the role of power in wellness, oppression, and liberation in community settings would be a suitable theme for investigation across sites and countries. This proposal takes the topic of power and introduces a framework for its study across levels of analysis and various domains.

• Critical Psychology in South Africa: Looking Back and Looking Forwards

  By Desmond Painter and Martin Terre Blanche (24 Feb 2004).From the Introduction: In what follows we therefore provide an overview of mainstream and critical psychology trends during and after the apartheid era – attempting throughout to show how local developments articulate with developments elsewhere. We will argue that since 1994, both mainstream and critical forms of psychology have flowered in South Africa. While critical projects increasingly assume legitimate positions in textbooks, undergraduate curricula, post-graduate research and various forms of application and intervention, the growth area of psychology is still in the direction of an American-style, aggressively professional and market-oriented individual therapy industry. In our conclusion, we reflect on some of the challenges and possibilities this academic and professional landscape present to the development of critical psychology in South Africa (and elsewhere).

• Social, Cultural and Critical Psychology

  (SCCP) in the Department of Psychology, Bath University, UK. The Department of Psychology at Bath has developed a distinctive approach to Social Psychology, which is applied, radical in approach and with a strong record of interdisciplinary and international collaboration. Research in the Social, Cultural and Critical Psychology group (SCCP) focuses on identity and discourse in social and cultural contexts, investigating images, beliefs, and decision-making in everyday situations.

• What makes Feminist Research Feminist? The Structure of Feminist Research within the Social Sciences(1997)

• Written, edited and revised by Jennifer BraytonIntroduction: What makes feminist research feminist? Having read through a wide range of feminist research papers as well as feminist essays on methods and methodology, it has become apparent that what makes feminist research uniquely feminist is the motives, concerns, and knowledge brought to the research process. As this paper will illustrate and argue, certain themes seem to consistently arise when authors attempt to define feminist research. While there is no standard agreement over what constitutes feminist research, many authors seem to draw upon certain elements as defining features to feminist research. These features help distinguish feminist research from traditional social sciences research, research that studies women, and research that attends to gender. This essay will act as the starting point into discussing the shape and forms of feminist research.

Discourse Analysis & Semiotics

• Media Semiotics by Daniel Chandler

• Lemke, J. L. Analysing Verbal Data: Principles, Methods & Problems

• Chapter for K Tobin & B Fraser, (Eds). International Handbook of Science Education (Kluwer)Abstract: Increasingly, the data of science education research are verbal data: transcripts of classroom discourse and small group dialogues, talk-aloud protocols from reasoning and problem-solving tasks, students’ written work, textbook passages and test items, curriculum documents. Researchers wish to use data of these kinds to describe patterns of classroom and small-group interaction, development, and change in students’ use of technical language and concepts, and similarities and differences between school and community cultures, school science and professional science, the mandated curriculum and the delivered curriculum. In a short chapter is it not possible to demonstrate actual state-of-the-art techniques of linguistic discourse analysis. My purpose here will be to formulate the issues and choices of which researchers should be aware of adopting and adapting any method of analysis of verbal data for their own work.

• Semiotics and Qualitative Research in Education: The Third Crossroad.

  Shank, Gary (1995, December) The Qualitative Report, Volume 2, Number 3, 2001/01/2Abstract: In this paper, I would like to show how qualitative research in education and semiotics can be brought together for the benefit of each field. Starting with attempts to define both qualitative research and semiotics in ways that can inform both disciplines, I hope to accomplish this task by mapping a series of three crossroads that define the past, present, and hopefully the future of the field.

• Reconciling Theory with Method: From Conversation Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis to Positioning Analysis

  Korobov, Neill (2001, September). Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 2(3).&rldquo;Abstract: Not only is it often challenging to wade through the many different discourse analytic approaches to studying talk-in-interaction, but it is also often challenging to understand how certain methods adequately capture the complexity of the theories that lie behind them. What is needed are methods that are analytically sophisticated enough to empirically demonstrate the complexity of the theories that make fashionable and relevant the analysis in the first place. To illustrate this quandary, I will trade on some of the recent tensions between two of the most popular approaches. Critical Discourse analysis (CDA)
  and Conversation Analysis (CA). More specifically, attention is given to recent methodological attempts to synthesize a middle-ground position between CDA and CA. The focus of my overall argument will be that Positioning Analysis offers a viable analytic way to reconcile the discrepant methodological orientations while trading on the shared theoretical convictions of both CDA and CA.

Ethnomethodology & Conversation Analysis

• Ethno/CA News

  Offers information on Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis. A printed version has been issued at irregular intervals since 1992. This WWW-version is in operation since the Fall of 1996. It is a medium for the exchange of information concerning publications, conferences and other items relevant to Ethnomethodology
  and Conversation Analysis among those who work in the field or have a strong interest in it.

• The International Institute for Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis

  A consortium of persons and institutions in North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom which is dedicated to the advancement of theory and method in ethnomethodological and conversation analytic studies and to the development of research, instructional and other programs as well as conferences, symposia and lectures.

• An Introduction to Conversation Analysis

  Charles Antaki’s Site contains:

  1. Two pages of introduction to the general field of Conversation Analysis (CA), and an overview of who this tutorial is for and what it tries to do
  2. Eight pages of explanation of why, and how, one makes a transcript of an interaction
  3. The demonstration uses audio extracts (or video extracts if you have a fast connection) to give a ‘hands-on’ feel
  4. A page explaining the notation system used by most people in CA
  5. Three short audio and video clips
  6. Three longish pages explaining the kind of analyses that CA offers (and what it doesn’t), illustrated by two worked examples of analysis of the audio / video extracts
  7. A page of references to sources referred to on this site
  8. A page of links to other sites of interest in CA.

• Qualitative Family Research

  Ertel, Irmentraud (2000, June) Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 1(2).Abstract: Qualitative psychological family and communication research is focused on the investigation of everyday communication of families as social unities. Discussions of normal families during everyday routines are videotaped and analyzed differently to answer the question of the development of the family system.

Evaluation

• American Evaluation Association

  The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation.

• Alternative Methods for Collecting Evaluation Data

  This is a collection of papers on methods of collecting evaluation data. The papers are: Using Focus Groups for Evaluation, Using Cost Analysis in Evaluation, The Use of Portfolio Assessment in Evaluation and Using Existing Records in Evaluation. They are published by Evaluation CYFERNet which is the Children, Youth and Families Education, and Research Network. The papers are based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Cooperative Extension Serice, University of Arizona under special project number 1999-01169. The papers are published in full online.

• Resources for Methods in Evaluation and Social Research

  This page lists FREE resources for methods in evaluation and social research. The focus is on how to do evaluation research and the methods used: surveys, focus groups, sampling, interviews, and other methods. Most of these links are to resources that can be read over the web.

• Handbook for Mixed Method Evaluations

  This is a free user-friendly guide to evaluation research using mixed methods. It was published by the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) National Science Foundation in 1997. The Handbook is divided into 4 parts: (I)Introduction to Mixed Method Evaluations (II) Overview of Qualitative Methodsand
  Analytic Techniques; (III) Designing and Reporting Mixed Method Evaluations; and (IV) Supplementary Materials containing an annotated bibliography and glossary.

• Qualitative Research: Telephone Focus Groups, Face-to-Face Focus Groups

  More than fifteen full-length articles are presented here on focus groups. Most of them were written by George Silverman, President of Market Navigation Inc, a firm of marketing consultants.

• W.W. Kellog Evaluation Handbook

  An EXCELLENT handbook for performing program evaluations!

• Taking Stock: A Practical Guide to Evaluating Your Own Programs

  Authors: Bond, Sally L.; Boyd, Sally E.; Rapp, Kathleen A. Date: 1997 A practical guide to program evaluation written for community-based organizations providing information that can put to immediate use to help improve programs. This manual focuses on internal evaluation. The information in this manual should better prepare program staff to design and carry out a program evaluation.

• Outcome Measurement Resource Network

  Welcome to United Way of America’s Outcome Measurement Resource Network. As leaders in results-oriented philanthropy, United Way of America and United Way organizations across the country have championed the adoption of outcome measurement by health and human service programs. The Resource Network offers information, downloadable documents, and links to resources related to the identification and measurement of program- and community-level outcomes.

Grounded Theory

• The Grounded Theory Institute

  The internet home of The Grounded Theory Institute dedicated to the evolving methodology of Dr.Barney G. Glaser, Ph.D

• An Introduction to Grounded Theory

  An excellent introduction to practical application of the methodology by Stephen P. Borgatti, Boston College

• The Creation of Theory: A Recent Application of the Grounded Theory Method

• by Naresh R. PanditFrom the Abstract: This paper outlines a particular approach to building theory that was employed in a recent doctoral research project (Pandit, 1995). Three aspects used in conjunction indicate the project’s novelty: firstly, the systematic and rigorous application of the grounded theory method; secondly, the use of on-line computerised databases as a primary source of data; and, thirdly, the use of a qualitative data analysis software package to aid the process of grounded theory building.

Ethnography

• How to do Ethnographic Research: A Simplified Guide

  From the Public Interest Anthropology web site. The following section was authored by Barbara Hall and is intended to provide general, simplified information about how to conduct and write up the results of ethnographic research. The information that follows falls into three general areas: guidance through the steps necessary to plan and conduct an interesting and appropriate ethnographic term project, even in a class that does not devote much or any time to teaching ethnographic methodology, help in making sense of what is learned through the research, both with regards to the field site in question and to anthropological theory, and assistance in rendering the both research process and what was learned through it accessible to readers through established conventions for writing ethnographic research papers.

• An Urban Ethnography of Latino Street Gangs

  Francine Hallcom: This is an on-going urban ethnography which began as part of a sabbatical leave from California State University Northridge in June of 1996, focusing on Latino street gangs in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Currently, as of October 1999, it has expanded to Albuquerque and Phoenix hoping to find solutions, to share an ever-expanding body of data and literature on Latino street gangs, and to locate successful strategies for prevention and intervention with at-risk youths.

Heuristic Research

• • The qualitative heuristic approach: A methodology for discovery in psychology and the social sciences. Rediscovering the method of introspection as an example

    Kleining, Gehard & Witt, Harald (2000, January). Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 1(1).Abstract: Qualitative heuristics, which were developed at the University of Hamburg, Germany, try to bring back the qualities of systematic exploration and discovery into psychological and sociological research. This contribution discusses the historical background, the four basic rules to optimize the chance for discovery, the research process as dialogue, the testing processes, and as an example the methodology to investigate and reevaluate the classical method of introspection.

Interviewing & Surveys

• Open and Closed Questions

  By Stephen Farrall, Jon Bannister, Jason Ditton, and Elizabeth Gilchrist

• Best Practices for Survey and Public Opinion Research. . . Council members of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) have had significant discussions regarding the status of the Association’s Professional Ethics and Practices, the effectiveness of its enforcement of these standards, and alternative ways in which the conduct and reporting of survey and public opinion research might be improved. Turner and Martin’s (1984) conclusion that existing standards for the conduct and reporting of surveys appear to have a limited impact on survey practice (p. 90) still appears to be valid. One strategy for improving survey practice would be to enforce existing standards more rigorously. This page provides a set of criteria for best practices for survey & public opinion research.
• Focus Groups From the University of Texas at Austin, Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment, Instructional Resources.

• Questionnaire Design & Analysis

  A Workbook by Alison Galloway

Narrative

• Qualitative Research Course of David Boje at New Mexico State University

• The Centre for Narrative Research
  The Centre brings together work on the narrative that is being pursued in a variety of contexts across the social sciences. Such work includes analyses of the structure of social stories and the processes of social storytelling, and explorations of the relationship between narratives and the social world. The Centre supports research on spoken, written and visual narratives. It is committed to interdisciplinarity; it draws psychological, sociological, anthropological and cultural studies research traditions. It supports collaborations between Centre members and associates and provides a forum for researchers in applied and policy settings, as well as for academics. As the only social science institution with a general narrative focus in Britain, it has national significance. It also has a strong international dimension, serving as a meeting point for researchers in the field, particularly from the rest of Europe and the US.

• Narrative Psychology: Internet and Resource Guide

  Edited by Vincent W. Hevern, SJ, PhD. This page focuses upon narrative perspectives in psychology and allied disciplines and provides an interdisciplinary guide to bibliographical and Internet resources concerned with the storied nature of human conduct (Sarbin, 1986) broadly conceived. Narrative in psychology itself has developed particularly notable links with the emergent discipline of cultural psychology (Bruner, 1990).

• The International Society for Dialogical Science (ISDS)Serves as a network of scholars — both researchers and practitioners — whose work focuses upon dialogue and the self. Members come from a diversity of disciplinary backgrounds including psychology, sociology and social anthropology, psychiatry, the humanities including literature, history, philosophy, theology, the arts, and others. Members live and work in more than a dozen countries. ISDS was formally constituted under Dutch law in June 2002 and was established at the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. You can learn more about ISDS by visiting this link.

• The Oral History Society

  The Oral History Society is a national and international organisation dedicated to the collection and preservation of oral history. It encourages people of all ages to tape, video or write down their own and other people’s life stories. It offers practical support and advice about how to get started, what equipment to use, what techniques are best, how to look after tapes, and how to make use of what you have collected.

• Narrating Embodied Aims. Self-transformation in Conversion Narratives: A Psychological Analysis

  Popp-Baier, Ulrike (2001, September). Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 2(3).Abstract: This article presents a case history concerning a young woman’s narrative about being cured from her eating disorder by converting to the Charismatic-Evangelical version of Christianity. The psychological-narrative analysis of the interview relies on the conversion research of Peter STROMBERG (1993) He maintains that converts who relate their conversion story use a type of speech that always comprises referential and constitutive forms of communication: canonic discourse which refers to a certain religious context of meaning, becomes constitutive (i.e. meaningful in a broader sense) by linking canonical language directly with individual experience. This connection enables verbal expression of previously inaccessible or unacceptable desires while deepening the commitment to faith. In this sense the conversion narrative constitutes the narrator’s self-transformation. The case history presented in this article tries to show how the interviewee came to terms with unbearable embodied aims by telling her conversion story
  in the framework of the canonic language of Charismatic-Evangelical Christianity.

Phenomenology

• Phenomenology Online

  This site provides public access to articles, monographs, and other materials discussing and exemplifying phenomenological research. It also provides password-protected access to courses and workshops taught by Dr. Max van Manen. This site has a very helpful map of Phenomenological Inquiry.

• Analyzing Cultural-Psychological Themes in Narrative Statements

  Ratner, Carl (2001, September). Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 2(3).Abstract: This article describes principles and procedures for rigorously analyzing cultural-psychological themes in narratives. The principles and procedures draw upon phenomenology. The point is to summarize the psychological significances that are manifested in the narrative and then illuminate their cultural character. The summary of psychological significances must be faithful to the subjects’ words, yet it also explicates psychological and cultural issues in the statements that subjects are not fully aware of.

Textual Analyses

• Analysing Verbal Data: Principles, Methods, and Problems

  Lemke, J.L., Chapter for K Tobin & B Fraser, (Eds). International Handbook of Science Education (Kluwer)From the Introduction: Increasingly, the data of science education research are verbal data: transcripts of classroom discourse and small group dialogues, talk-aloud protocols from reasoning and problem-solving tasks, students’ written work, textbook passages and test items, curriculum documents. Researchers wish to use data of these kinds to describe patterns of classroom and small-group interaction, development and change in students’ use of technical language and concepts, and similarites and differences between school and community cultures, school science and professional science, the mandated curriculum and the delivered curriculum. In a short chapter is it not possible to demonstrate actual state-of-the-art techniques of linguistic discourse analysis. My purpose here will be to formulate the issues and choices of which researchers should be aware in adopting and adapting any method of analysis of verbal data for their own work.

• Textual Analysis

  Links to FULL TEXT ARTICLES on the following types of textual analysis: Content Analysis, Discourse Analysis, Genre Theory, Ideological Analysis, Intertextuality, Narratology, Rhetorical Analysis, and Semiotics.

 

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Philosophy, History, Culture & Politics in Social Science

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• Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

  Center for Cross-Cultural Research Western Washington University Bellingham, Washington U.S.A.From the Introduction: “Welcome to a unique free textbook and website! Consisting of short chapters relating to many aspects of the interface between psychology and culture, Online Readings in Psychology and Culture is designed to be used by professors to supplement lectures and textbooks in any psychology course, or as the primary readings for courses in psychology and culture.”

• Front-Line Care Providers’ Professional Worlds: The Need for Qualitative Approaches to Cultural Interfaces

  Hong, Gui-Young (2001, September).Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research
  [On-line Journal], 2(3).Abstract: This paper re-conceives the professional worlds of health and mental health care providers from cultural perspectives and argues that individual providers live (professionally) at the interface between multiple personal, professional, and organizational cultures. It also argues that qualitative methods afford services researchers better opportunities to describe the cultures and characterize their interfaces. A conceptual discussion of psychiatric nurses’ professional worlds in the interfaces among nursing and psychiatric medical cultures as well as organizational culture is presented. Qualitative analysis of 25 individual psychiatric nurses’ written comments on their professional work and lives in public sector mental health service agencies are discussed.

• Discerning the Dialogical Self: A Theoretical and Methodological Examination of a Nepali Adolescent’s Narrative

  Skinner, Debra; Valsiner, Jaan & Holland, Dorothy (2001, September). Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 2(3).Abstract: Mikhail BAKHTIN’s ideas of heteroglossia, voice, utterance, and dialogism are important theoretical concepts for investigating relations between social and personal facets of human development, especially the development of identity or self-understandings in cultural worlds. Yet methodological and analytic procedures for discerning voices in individuals’ self-representations are relatively unexplored. In this paper, we discuss how BAKHTIN’s ideas can be used in a type of narrative analysis that focuses on the construction of individual identity and positionality within cultural worlds. We use an empirical example from one Nepali adolescent’s narration of self, collected as part of an extensive ethnographic study in a rural community in Nepal, to illustrate the conjunction of theory and method in discerning how individuals orchestrate the voices from their cultural and social worlds to create distinctive images of self and to envision their (future) social positions. Our examination of this narrative indicates that self processes orchestrate and transform social voices for past, present and future forms of self-understandings and cultural meanings. The primary foci in this paper are the theoretical concepts, methods and analysis that aid the researcher in discerning and understanding these voices and their
  orchestrations.

• Narratives of Possibility: Social Movements, Collective Stories, and the Dilemmas of Practice

  by Joseph King. Paper for Delivery at the New Social Movement and Community Organizing Conference, University of Washington School of Social Work, November 1-3, 1995Abrstract: This paper, uses narrative, with its power to bring meaning to the otherwise random assaults of daily life, as a conceptual entry point into the practices through which people make choices, shape action, and create social movements. Social movements, I will argue, are constituted by the stories people tell to themselves and to one another. They reflect the deepest ways in which people understand who they are and to whom they are connected. Whatever they are, and whatever historical sources of their development, they are constructed from the interweaving of personal and social biographies– from the narratives people rehearse to themselves about the nature of their lives. One unhappy consequence of this for practice, however, is that social movements are not now and were never as subject to direction and control as most of the discourses concerned with them once assumed.

• THE ACTION TURN: Toward a Transformational Social science

  Reason, P., & Torbert, W. R. (2001). Toward a Transformational Science: a further look at the scientific merits of action research. Concepts and Transformations, 6(1), 1-37.Abstract: “This article offers an epistemological basis for action research, in order to increase the validity, the practical significance, and the transformational potential of social science. The article starts by outlining some of the paradigmatic issues which underlie action research, and argues for a “turn to action” which will complement the linguistic turn in the social sciences. Four key dimensions of an action science are discussed: the primacy of the practical, the centrality of participation, the requirement for experiential grounding, and the importance of normative, analogical theory. Three broad strategies for action research are suggested: first-person research/practice addresses the ability of a person to foster an inquiring approach to his or her own life; second-person research/practice engages a face-to-face group in collaborative inquiry; third person research/practice asks how we can establish inquiring communities which reach beyond the immediate group to engage with whole organizations, communities and countries. The article argues that a transformational science needs to integrate first- second- and third-person voices in ways that increase the validity of the knowledge we use in our moment-to-moment living, that increase the effectiveness of our actions in real-time, and that remain open to unexpected transformation when our taken-for-granted assumptions, strategies, and habits are appropriately challenged. Illustrative references to studies that begin to speak to these questions are offered.”

• The Radical Psychology Network

  “Seeks like-minded psychologists and others to help create a society better able to meet human needs and bring about social justice. We want to change society’s unacceptable status quo and bring about a better world. And we want to change the status quo of psychology, too. We challenge psychology’s traditional focus on minor reform, because enhancing human welfare demands fundamental social change instead. Moreover, psychology itself has too often oppressed people rather than liberated them.”

• Psychologists for Social Responsibility

  Mission Statement: “PsySR uses psychological knowledge and skills to promote peace with social justice at the community, national and international levels. Through our Action Committees and Steering Committee we work to:

  • • Apply the growing body of knowledge about conflict resolution and violence prevention.
    • Facilitate positive changes for victims and survivors of personal, community, and civil violence.
    • Advocate for basic human needs – including actions that decrease poverty, ensure ethnic and gender equality, increase work opportunity, promote healthy and sustainable environments, and achieve a wiser balance between human needs and military budgets.
    • Ensure that relevant information from psychology is used in local, national, and international public policy.”

• Psychologists Acting with Conscience Together (PsyACT)

  “Psychologists, counselors, and other concerned citizens around the world act together to address issues that affect individual and community well-being through letters to editors, campus actions, teach-ins, & community activities.” PsyACT is currently working to help organize Local Action Teams. Other resources offered are:

  • • Poverty Action Resources
    • Child Abuse Action Resources
    • Mental Health and Economic Justice Resources
    • Economic Apartheid Action Center
    • Moving Ideas Action Center

• Counselors For Social Justice

  Mission Statement: Counselors for Social Justice is a community of counselors, counselor educators, graduate students, and school and community leaders who seek equity and an end to oppression and injustice affecting clients, students, counselors, families, communities, schools, workplaces, governments, and other social and institutional systems. CSJ is committed to:

  • • Challenging oppressive systems of power and privilege. Implementing social action strategies including the Social Justice Advocacy Competencies through collaborative alliances with other ACA entities, counselor education programs, and N-16 schools and community organizations.
    • Disseminating social justice scholarship about sociopolitical and economic inequities facing counselors and clients/students in schools and communities.
    • Maintaining an active support network online and in person for engaging in social justice activities in schools and communities.
    • Providing lively professional development to enhance counselor, counselor educator, and graduate student competency in social justice advocacy via ACA annual conference programs (Day of Action/Day of Learning), branches, regions, counselor education programs, N-16 schools, and community agencies.
    • Maintaining social justice advocacy resources online.

• Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, & Violence: Peace psychology division of the American Psychological Association Division 48
  Goals of Division 48:

• 1. to encourage psychological research, education, and training on issues concerning peace, nonviolent conflict resolution, reconciliation, and the causes, consequences, and prevention of war and other forms of destructive conflict
  2. to provide an organization that fosters communication among researchers, teachers, and practitioners who are working on peace issues
  3. to apply the knowledge and the methods of psychology in the advancement of peace, non-violent conflict resolution, reconciliation, and the prevention of war and other forms of destructive conflict

• New Social Movement Network

  “From the action project recommended at the windup of the New Social Movement Theory and Practice Conference held at Garfield Community Center in Seattle, WA Nov 1-3, 1995, comes the New Social Movement Network (NSMNet) of which you are invited to become a subscriber. At the conference windup, we considered the problem of poverty as a project and conceptual lens to link with new social movement theory and practice —
  using the network as a medium for dialogue across space. Further, we recommended a broad call for narrative using, as a reference for developing stories of social justice work, Joe Kling’s 1995 paper “Narratives of Possibility: Social Movements, Collective Stories, and the Dilemmas of Practice.” Examples mentioned were case material on how to do new social movement practice, stories of organizing, and using both tales from the field and from the classroom and weaving them to other relevant literature.”

 

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Software

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Qualitative Software

• ATLAS.ti

  “A powerful workbench for the qualitative analysis of large bodies of textual, graphical, audio and video data. It offers a variety of tools for accomplishing the tasks associated with any systematic approach to soft data, (e.g., material which cannot be analyzed by formal, statistical approaches in meaningful ways). In the course of such a qualitative analysis, ATLAS.ti helps you to uncover the complex phenomens hidden in your data in an exploratory way. For coping with the inherent complexity of the tasks and the data, ATLAS.ti offers a powerful and intuitive environment that keeps you focused on the analyzed materials. The main strategic modes of operation can be termed VISE: Visualization, Integration, Serendipity and Exploration.” For $175 you can get an unlimited single STUDENT LICENSE.

• QSR (Mac & PC)

  “New from QSR, N6 is the latest version of the NUD*IST software used for code-based qualitative analysis. It combines efficient management of Non-numerical Unstructured Data with powerful processes of Indexing, Searching, and Theorizing. Designed for researchers making sense of complex data, N5 offers a complete toolkit for rapid coding, thorough exploration and rigorous management and analysis. With a full command language for automating coding and searching, N5 powerfully supports a wide range of methods. Its command files and import procedures make project setup very rapid, linking qualitative and quantitative data.”
  It looks like QSR has focused all its development energies on the flexible & refined QSR NVivo 7 which “combines cutting edge innovation with the best features of QSR’s pragmatic, robust workhorse N6 (formerly NUD*IST) and flexible, fluid analysis tool NVivo 2. The result is a powerful yet user-friendly program that accommodates the widest range of research methods. NVivo 7 allows you to combine subtle analysis with linking, shaping, searching and modelling. Regardless of the type of data or the language it is in, NVivo 7 is also ideal for team projects and research involving multiple methods. If your challenge involves handling very rich text-based information, where deep levels of analysis on both small and large volumes of data are required, then NVivo 7 is your answer.” Available in 12-month student license for $200.

• HyperRESEARCH 2.6(Mac & PC)

  “Available in Macintosh and PC formats, HyperRESEARCH v2.6 enables you to code and retrieve, build theories, and conduct analyses of your data. Now with advanced multimedia capabilities, HyperRESEARCH allows you to work with text, graphics, audio and video sources making it an invaluable research analysis tool. With HyperRESEARCH, jobs that formerly required an entire desk can now be performed at your fingertips in a small fraction of the time. HyperRESEARCH has tools for a variety of analyses, including expert systems capabilities for testing hypotheses. HyperRESEARCH’s ability to work with multiple data types, such as text, graphics, audio, and video sources, provides the flexibility to integrate all of the data necessary to conduct your research. Specifically designed for ease of use, this program has a menu-driven Point & Click interface that allows you to focus your time on the project, not on running the program. HyperRESEARCH eliminates the need for costly workshops and further software instruction. It provides a turnkey solution by employing a built-in help system and several tutorials with step-by-step instructions. The functional simplicity and reliability of the software combined with its powerful advanced features make HyperRESEARCH an excellent tool for qualitative researchers at any level.” Graduate student version is $175.

• The Ethnograph 5.7/5.8 (PC)

  “The Ethnograph v5.7/8 for Windows PCs is a versatile computer program designed to make the analysis of data collected during qualitative research easier, more efficient, and more effective. You can import your text-based qualitative data, typed up in any word processor, straight into the program. The Ethnograph
  helps you search and note segments of interest within your data, mark them with code words and run analyses which can be retrieved for inclusion in reports or for further analysis. First launched in 1985, The Ethnograph was one of the first programs to pioneer computer assisted qualitative data analysis. Since then The Ethnograph has continued to be developed by qualitative data analysts for qualitative data analysts such as social scientists, historians, literary critics, health researchers, business and market analysts, legal researchers and others. The Ethnograph will handle your project data files and documents whether your data comes in the form of interview transcripts, field notes, open-ended survey responses, or other text-based documents.” Student version is $200.

• MAXqda2

  “MAXqda2 is the successor of the well-known software package winMAX . MAXqda supports everyone who performs qualitative data analysis and helps you systematically evaluate and interpret your texts. It is also a powerful tool for developing theories as well as testing theoretical conclusions of your analysis. MAXqda is used in a wide range of academic and non-academic disciplines, for instance Sociology, Political Science, Psychology, Public Health, Anthropology, Education, Marketing, Economics and Urban Planning. MAXqda is distinguished by its high efficiency and stability, its elaborated functionality and excellent user friendliness. The simplicity of MAXqda2 does not imply a lack of sophistication. On the contrary, MAXqda is a demonstration that high technical standard and power can be combined with an easy and in most parts almost intuitive use of the tool. This special strength is particularly based on the following characteristics:

  • • The clear and neat structure of the program
    • The extensive and differentiated functions combined with a unique and highly advanced visualization
      available for the processes of coding, memo-writing and for browsing
    • The seamless integration into the world of MS Office and the MS Internet Explorer, with which the majority of researcher are very familiar

  Student version (download only) is $175.

• MAXdictio

  “MAXdictio, an add-on module to MAXqda, is used for analyzing vocabulary, creating dictionaries and performing quantitative content analysis. What are the benefits of MAXdictio? See our illustrated examples here: analyzing vocabulary, creating dictionaries, using the coder and exporting results MAXqda users have repeatedly asked for a tool that would allow them to make an index of the words used in a text file, and to have access to an additional aid to explore and evaluate text. A dictionary- and content analysis-module, MAXdictio makes it easy to examine the vocabulary used in a text and to find out which words can be found in which text passages or full texts. MAXdictio gives access to a systematic analysis of differences in the vocabulary used by your interviewees’ responses in your texts. Besides the vocabulary functions, the MAXdictio module offers a number of techniques which originate from the area of classical quantitative content analysis. In this way, MAXdictio provides a strong and significant extension of the dimensions of qualitative data analysis. MAXdictio is not a competitive program to perform qualitative data analysis, but wants to use quantitative content analysis techniques to support and enrich qualitative data analysis. In this way, the researchers have a tool at hand, which provides an additional arsenal of methods which is easy to handle. In consequence, MAXdictio is not thought of as a primary program for qualitative data analysis. However, its functionality is absolutely of interest for researchers who have to manage their projects with programs for content analysis.” No student version.

• CDC EZ-Text (PC)

  Software developed for researchers “to create, manage, and analyze semi-structured qualitative databases. Researchers can design a series of data entry templates tailored to their questionnaire. These questionnaires are usually administered during face-to-face interviews with a sample of respondents. A response to a question may be entered into EZ-Text either as a verbatim transcript (e.g., from a tape recording), or a summary generated from the interviewer’s notes. Data from respondents can be typed directly into the templates or copied from word processor documents. Following data entry, investigators can interactively create on-line codebooks, apply codes to specific response passages, develop case studies, conduct database searches to identify text passages that meet user-specified conditions, and export data in a wide array of formats for further analysis with other qualitative or statistical analysis software programs. Project managers can merge data files generated by different interviewers for combined cross-site analyses. The ability to export and import the codebook helps to coordinate the efforts of multiple coders simultaneously working with copies of the same database file.” THIS IS FREEWARE. They also have examples on developing CODING BOOKS and use of the software.

Mapping Software

• Vic’s compendium of software

  Software that “supports knowledge management and information organization in graphical form. Includes mind mappers, concept mappers, outliners, hierarchical organizers, KM support and knowledge browsers, 2D and 3D. The opinions are Vic’s but material in quotes that follows What they say is quoted from the vendors’ web sites. All prices are as at the most recent check (March 06). $ means US dollars, other currencies use the international currency code (EUR, euros; GBP, Pounds Sterling, etc.) The product names used in this web site are for identification purposes only. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.”

• Concept Systems Incorporated

  “Needs Assessment…Project Planning-Organizational Decision-Making!Strategic Change Initiatives… No matter the topic or issue, every organization will be involved in the processes listed above at one time or another. How does the CSI method make these processes better? Three key elements: Concept Mapping, Pattern Matching, and Value Plots (go-zones). The Concept System software reduces the time it takes to develop even the most detailed of projects. Our approach builds consensus and can track and evaluate performance to ensure your project’s goals are met.” This is the primary website and the only one from which you can download The Concept System Version 4 software and obtain information about licensing and training. There are numerous papers, case studies, and a comprehensive Knowledge Base that covers both the group process and software. The site emphasizes applications and examples from corporate and for-profit contexts.

• Decision Explorer
  “Proven tool for managing soft issues – the qualitative information that surrounds complex or uncertain situations. It allows you to capture in detail thoughts and ideas, to explore them, and gain new understanding and insight. The result is a fresh perspective, and time saved through increased productivity, release of creativity and a better focus. Decision Explorer® has been developed by academics at the universities of Bath and Strathclyde and now by Banxia Software, in conjunction with major organizations. This innovative tool now has hundreds of major international users.
• IHMC Cmap Tools
  Empowers users to construct, navigate, share and criticize knowledge models represented as concept maps. It allows users to, among many other features, construct their Cmaps in their personal computer, share them on servers (CmapServers) anywhere on the Internet, link their Cmaps to other Cmaps on servers, automatically create web pages of their concept maps on servers, edit their maps synchronously (at the same time) with other users on the Internet, and search the web for information relevant to a concept map. The CmapTools client is free for use by anybody, whether its use is commercial or non-commercial. In particular, schools and universities are encouraged to download it and install it in as many computers as desired, and students and teachers may make copies of it and install it at home. (Commercial companies that install their own CmapServer do need to get a separate license for a CmapTools client that will talk to the commercial version of the CmapServer).
• Visual Mind“Visual Mind is a powerful tool that will help you in your daily work, whether the purpose is business or personal related. Through a mind-friendly and simple to use interface, you can visualize your thinking, quickly arrange and organize your work, all to benefit you as well as people around you.”
• Compendium
  “Compendium is the semantic hypertext concept mapping tool at the heart of the Compendium methodology. It is the result of over 15 years’ continual research, deployment, and development of a tool to support the real-time mapping of discussions in meetings, collaborative modeling, and the longer-term management of this information as organizational memory… Compendium is a robust system, used for real work, but not a commercial product. Its first free public release, of v.1.2, occurred in January 2003, followed by many other releases. The source code became freely available in 2004.”

 

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