The purpose of this study was to investigate how older adults are learning on their own. Education has the power to be an agent of change, both individually and socially. Similarly, this research isolated how learning can impact the older person's life. Of particular interest was a more detailed description of this personal learning by employing a…

Qualitative research is a type of research process that is widely used to give people a voice while researching a particular subject matter. In using this research process, one must understand how important it is to develop research questions within the qualitative research process. The purpose of this article is to aid researchers in the…

This book, an attempt to present a balanced view of qualitative methodology and research, is structured around classic texts by methodological pioneers. It examines these key premises in these texts. Chapters are: (1) "Strangeness and Familiarity"; (2) "From Over-Rapport to Intimacy and Autoethnography"; (3) "Whose Side Are We On?"; (4)…

The discipline of teacher education and technology is poised to leave poor research behind and to remove the false wall between qualitative and quantitative methods of describing, predicting, and controlling education. The arguments used by Dewey early in the century against the dualisms of his day are still powerful and have a bearing on the…

The current literature focuses on arguments about strategies to prevent drinking-related behaviors among college students, but inadequate attention is being paid to the words used to conceptualize student drinking behavior. This paper makes the case that students thinking needs to be taken into account if they are to personalize messages about…

Novices often struggle to learn qualitative data analysis, and benefit from intensive assistance. For teaching analysis more efficiently in the classroom setting, the workshop described in this paper explained and demonstrated an inductive, experiential method. The method introduces grounded theory analysis and helps students to identify,…

The increased use of qualitative research methods has spurred interest in developing formal standards for assessing its validity. These standards, however, fall short if they do not include public disclosure of methods as a criterion. The researcher must be accountable in documenting the actions associated with establishing internal validity…

An exploratory study was conducted which assessed behaviors that characterize social competence in the 2nd and 5th grades. A contextual approach was used to gather information from 2nd and 5th grade children and their parents and teachers regarding the behaviors they perceived to be important for getting along well with peers. Data were gathered…

This paper studied how individual qualitative researchers perceive that their research procedures and perspectives have been influenced by the adoption of computer assisted qualitative data software. The study focused on Nud*Ist software (non-numerical Unstructured Data; Indexing, Searching, and Theorizing). The seven participants ranged from new…

This document presents the proceedings of five seminars and a symposium focusing on qualitative research. These events took place at the University of Northern Colorado during the 1998-99 academic year. The seminar series considered current and emerging qualitative research paradigms. The symposium, held after the series of seminars, concentrated…

Argues that interrater reliability, traditionally used in phenomenographic research, is unreliable for establishing the reliability of research results; it does not take into account the researcher's procedures for achieving fidelity to the individuals' conceptions investigated, and use of interrater reliability based on objectivist epistemology…

Reviews the history and nature of action research as an approach for dealing with classroom practice problems. Discusses differences between formal and action research. (SK)

Presents a study aimed at using qualitative research models to examine the nature and etiology of statistics anxiety among graduate students (N=21) from various non-statistical disciplines. Suggests that statistics anxiety occurs when an individual experiences anxiety as a result of encountering statistics in any form at any level. Contains 32…

Compares qualitative and quantitative research in terms of features, researcher role, design, data collection strategies, data analysis, and judgment. Offers advice about selecting a method. (SK)

Quantitative methods such as logical positivism often view nondominant groups as deviant and purport to be objective. Qualitative methods such as ethnography help educational gerontologists understand diverse elderly populations and allow elders to participate in the process of defining reality and producing knowledge. (SK)