The reanalysis of data to answer the original research question with better statistical techniques or to answer new questions with old data is not uncommon in quantitative studies. Meta analysis and research syntheses have increased with the increase in research using similar statistical analyses, refinements of analytical techniques, and the…

The fervent debate over the last 100 years about quantitative and qualitative research paradigms has resulted in a great divide between quantitative and qualitative researchers, who often view themselves as in competition with each other. This polarization has promoted "uni-researchers," researchers who restrict themselves exclusively to either…

The American Psychological Association Task Force recommended that researchers always report and interpret effect sizes for quantitative data. However, no such recommendation was made for qualitative data. The first objective of this paper is to provide a rationale for reporting and interpreting effect sizes in qualitative research. Arguments are…

This study discusses research on the religious and spiritual lives of U.S. youth, noting methodological issues and challenges that differ from those encountered when studying adults or when not exploring religious factors in the lives of youth. The first section presents a general introduction to key issues in studying youth and religion (research…

Drawing on diverse perspectives, this paper examines six lenses on settings that offer a more complex picture of their role in lived experience than is often available in traditional analyses and reports of qualitative educational research. In this discussion, "settings" is defined as a bounded environment in which particular situations,…

A research program on postpartum depression is used to illustrate the use of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The direction of a research program is thus not limited by the type of methods in which a researcher has expertise. (SK)

Classroom teachers are uniquely positioned to contribute to the body of research related to their area of expertise. Qualitative methods that may be used in the classroom include ethnography, naturalistic inquiry, observation, questioning, and scenarios. (JOW)

Reviews some themes and methods within qualitative research and makes the case for self-ethnography as an approach to study universities and other settings with which the researcher is highly familiar. Outlines advantages and disadvantages of this approach. (SLD)

Challenges theory's secure place in qualitative inquiry on three counts. Argues (1) the search for theory in such inquiry originates in a crypto-functionalism; (2) theory's supposed importance for policy formulation cannot in itself justify it; and (3) arguments about its successful use are belied by examining discussion about theory in those…

A researcher's life experiences cannot help but influence the research process. Including elements of one's social biography in research reports helps readers identify how a researcher's history and biases shaped the study. (SK)

The value of qualitative research is often tempered by inappropriate use of methods and findings. Ways to enhance its utility include improving practice and critique, conducting secondary data analyses and qualitative metasyntheses, and finding valid, innovative ways to re-present findings. (SK)

Highlights the important contributions of responsive evaluation's orientation to local issues and qualitative methods, but rejects responsive evaluation's relativity in favor of deliberation as a vehicle for adjudicating among competing evaluative claims. The great strength of responsive evaluation is that it helped break the intellectual…

Summarizes key issues in qualitative research: definitional debates, conceptions of truth and validity, selection of methods, recognition that research is not value free, and criteria for judging legitimacy. (SK)

This reader was designed to support the Open University Masters in Social Sciences program and as such includes an appendix of useful questions based on the texts used to stimulate seminar discussion. It offers insights into ethnographic research techniques and serves as a tool through which some limitations of conventional quantitative research…

This article distinguishes between "using qualitative methods" and "doing qualitative research." It highlights the qualitative approaches of the authors of five articles in this issue and considers the challenges of this type of qualitative research manuscript for the editorial process. (DB)