Schools are increasingly recognized as a critical venue for the provision of comprehensive behavioral and mental health services for students. Unfortunately, difficulties associated with operating programs in schools often prevent evidence-based practices from being implemented and sustained as intended. In this study, the experiences of school…

Although frontline supervisors are responsible for on-site management, supervision, and training of direct support professionals, research on the nature, content, and skills of the frontline supervisor role is rare. In this paper we describe results of 12 job analysis and three validation focus groups constituted to describe core competencies for…

American universities have made efforts in the past to create a more diverse student population, and this diversity has been linked to strategic benefits for both students and society. However, little research has examined students' perspectives on these issues. In an attempt to address this issue, this paper reports an exploratory research using…

Two prominent trends are simultaneously occurring in our society today: the aging of our population and an increased reliance on computers. Through a federal grant, Iowa Legal Aid provides computers in 85 rural senior citizen centers across Iowa to foster increased knowledge about program services for the elderly and to enhance their social…

Cocaine is a major problem in the rural South, but knowledge is limited regarding the impact on African American populations. Purpose: This study of 18-39-year-old black drug users assessed perceptions of contributing factors to drug use and possible interventions. The study design was qualitative-descriptive, utilizing 4 focus groups with 5 rural…

During the coming years the number of older adults will increase dramatically, which will require a corresponding increase in the number of social workers who have accurate knowledge of this population. This article reports the impact focus groups with older adults and with service providers who work with older adults and their families have on…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study that examines how a national reform introduced in England in the field of adult literacy, language, and numeracy is affecting teachers. The paper focuses on the use of a mixed methodology to explore teachers' attitudes to the reform and how these change over time. The quantitative strand includes the…

This paper takes a critically reflective look at field research done in the early career of an academic and in so doing uncovers the dilemmas of a novice researcher that are rarely acknowledged in texts that address qualitative methods. It addresses issues of power in research associations surrounding different paradigms and the ways in which the…

This paper specifically reports on a comprehensive evaluation of competency based assessment within the mining industry in Queensland, Australia. However, it also addresses a broader problem associated with competency-based assessment already identified in the literature. The qualitative component of the study involved 83 people, nineteen mine…

Items covering both core and culture-specific facets of depression were generated based on literature review and clinical experience. They were modified following focus group discussions with depressed adolescents and adolescents in the community. The newly constructed Asian Adolescent Depression Scale (AADS) was administered to a clinical and a…

College and university personnel have reported that learning communities increase retention and student learning. Maureen Franklin, vice president for academic affairs, realized the value that learning communities could have in academic life at Doane College (Crete, Nebraska), and in April 2003, she provided funds for two faculty members and one…

This paper reports on a field-based study of online help systems at the University of Maryland. After collecting data by means of interview, observation and focus group, analysis is grounded on the contextual data, thus shedding light on particular organizational and human behavioral issues on online help systems. The objectives of this research…

The purpose of this article is to discuss an approach to analyzing the interactive effects of multiple reform efforts within a school or school district. The approach resulted from an intensive study of reform in one district in a state characterized by a strong accountability system. First, the authors present a brief history of educational…

In contrast to boys' bullying behavior which is often overt and easily visible, girls' aggression is usually indirect and covert. Less research has been conducted on the types of bullying that girls usually engage in. Using focus groups composed of teenaged girls, Dr. Owens and colleagues examine the nature of teenage girls' indirect aggression.

Health educators use several different data collection techniques involving qualitative and quantitative methods. One common qualitative data collection technique is the focus group. Although a focus group, when utilized appropriately, can yield useful information, too often in health education practice it is misunderstood and thus misused. The…