This paper reports on the mathematical modelling of four classes of 4th-grade children as they worked on a modelling problem involving the selection of an Australian swimming team for the 2004 Olympics. The problem was implemented during the second year of the children's participation in a 3-year longitudinal program of modelling experiences…

Recent theory and research on motivation has shifted in its focus from a study of more general characteristics of individuals such as personal motivational goals, to an examination of the motivation of individuals within specific domains or contexts. This change in focus has led to a broadening of the methodologies used to examine motivation. Many…

Seen from within the discipline of qualitative methods, the move to experimental forms of representation of research is an effort to represent live experience more richly and to connect social science research more closely to literary, poetic, and performance forms that address communities and indigenous discursive structures outside of academe.…

Interviewing has been a recognized mainstay of ethnographic fieldwork for more than 100 years. Coupled with participant observation, it was taken to be the complete corpus of anthropological and sociological inquiry activity. Although the repertoire of fieldwork inquirers has grown, interviewing remains a primary data collection technique,…

This paper presents some insights about the rigors of ethnographic fieldwork gained in the conduct of an ethnographic study of the Muscogee people of Oklahoma (called "Creek" by European settlers). The difficulties and issues discussed include: (1) gaining entry; (2) selection of key informants; (3) ways informants tested the investigator; (4)…

Algebra and calculus students have difficulties to express themselves in a statement of mathematical symbols and to comment on written mathematical statements to end with equivalent mathematical symbols statement. In this study, the reasons behind the meaning students load to the mathematical symbols and written mathematical statements was…

This paper explores how facets of the concept "rigor" might be applied to questions about the validity and reliability of research independently of the research modes. The focus of the critical lens could then be on how to assess the contribution of various forms of research rather than on the "paradigm wars" and arguments…

A literature review, the experiences of the authors, and the results of the Project To Improve and Reward Teaching (PIRT) at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, are used to derive suggestions for change in academic departments. A qualitative study of change in eight PIRT departments has provided data to support the suggestions. Assessing the…

At the heart of the debate over validity in qualitative research are ontological, epistemological, methodological, and axiological questions that are themselves blurred in a postmodern/poststructuralist matrix. This paper explores some of the foundations and criteria for establishing, representing, and evaluating the truth, rigor, and accuracy of…

The chapters of this volume traces the changes in the discipline of qualitative inquiry over the last five decades. The collection serves as a textbook for training scholars in the history and trajectory of qualitative research. The chapters of part 1, The Revolution of Representation: Feminist and Race/Ethnic Studies Discourses, are: (1) Situated…

The purpose of a phenomenological study was to understand what impact heteronormativity has on a lesbian teacher's perception of her instructional style, content, and context of curriculum taught. Through taped interviews with nine lesbian educators teaching in the K-12 programs in Florida's Dade, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties, this study…

This paper presents a conceptual model of assessment that defines six sequential, iterative steps: purpose identification; outcomes identification; measurement and evaluation design; data collection; analysis and evaluation; and decision making/action. The conceptual model of assessment closely parallels systematic scientific inquiry, especially…

This book is a broad-spectrum guide, suitable for all courses in basic research. It guides the student from problem selection to completed research report with practical suggestions based on a solid theoretical framework and learning procedure. As a do-it-yourself guide, it is useful for students who are left to their own resources in executing…

Summarizes the historical roots and the ontological, epistemological, and methodological assumptions underlying phenomenology as a research orientation. Describes phenomenology as a reaction against and an alternative to dominant positivist, behaviorist, and quantitative research, and also as having links to several older, concomitant research…

Expert community health nurses (n=28) described crucial clinical situations. Content analysis revealed that decision making was both rational and intuitive. Eight themes were identified: decision-making focus, type, purpose, decision-maker characteristics, sequencing of events, data collection methods, facilitators/barriers, and decision-making…