Explores the nature of educational research, replying to Knapp's comments on the role of qualitative research. Suggests that the "true" experiment is very hard to conduct in educational research and discusses what validity means in the educational research context. (SLD)

Interviews with parents of child-cancer survivors about the late consequences of the disease were utilized in a qualitative research study. Results indicate that parents experienced changes of a definite and long-lasting nature as a result of the child's survival; feelings of loss and preservation of problems prevailed. (Author/MKA)

Discussion of criteria for evaluating qualitative reports of early intervention research identifies four important criteria: (1) where the investigators are coming from; (2) what they did; (3) how they arrived at their findings; and (4) what the study means. A checklist of key indicators of quality in reports of qualitative research is attached.…

A qualitative study of 20 midlife faculty at one Canadian university suggests that while this can be a time of stagnation, it can also be the time of a "second call" to commit to working in higher education. Identifies themes of this second call, including care, community, creativity, and consciousness. (DB)

Discusses the need for research on human performance technology (HPT) among practitioners, not just academics. Describes quantitative and qualitative research methodologies for HPT research and considers the HPT practitioner as action researcher. Contains 11 references. (LRW)

In this qualitative study, Caucasian women and African American women told the story of their identity development across a lifetime. The Difference Model (U. Oleyamade & P. Rosser, 1980) was used to analyze the interviews separately for each cultural group. Explains the pattern of development for each group and explores comparisons between…

Demonstrates how nonacademic interviewing talents can inform how qualitative researchers perform and produce interviews, outlining key concepts and practices for better qualitative interviewing from journalists and other researchers and examining four elements of interview practice (background information, interview analysis, protocol creation and…

This qualitative inquiry examined the value of collecting and analyzing preservice teachers' pre- and postsemester metaphors about teaching by comparing the orientational content of the metaphors to preservice teachers' expressed beliefs and practices. Results show the usefulness of metaphors as a source of information about teachers' professional…

Argues that focus groups provide users with valuable qualitative data not readily obtained with any other data-collection technique. Describes the focus-group process, including participant selection, moderator role, phases of the process, and advantages and disadvantages. Suggests ways that business communication instructors can incorporate the…

Presents an heuristic approach to qualitative educational research. Practical theories of research are viewed as personal. They need to be examined to gain a better understanding of the research self and to understand the perspective of others. Exercises designed to generate this understanding are thus a prerequisite for research. (MMU)

Synthesis of 14 qualitative studies on caring among nursing faculty and students yielded 5 metaphors for reciprocal connecting that reflected "presencing" (i.e., empathy), sharing, support, competence, and uplifting aspects of caring. Ways to create a caring learning environment and teach students to care identified. (Contains 27…

Reports part of a qualitative research study that used participatory action research and grounded action research to show how facilitators of virtual teams build and maintain online relationships. Focuses on how virtual team facilitators use Internet-based and conventional electronic communication channels to build personal relationships with team…

Asserts that qualitative research will gain acceptance when it takes a significant step toward solving a major problem in the discipline. Provides a tentative outline of an approach to metaphysical problems involving radical empiricism and phenomenolgy. Delineates some necessary cognitive shifts involving dialectical and abductive reasoning…

Formulates the idea of the "interpretive zone" as a way to describe the space in which collaborative interpretation of research unfolds. Because of the importance of teamwork to qualitative research, the interpretive zone becomes a critical location for future methodological inquiry and examination of the dynamics of group research. (SLD)

Assesses whether and how qualitative methods are being taught in communication curricula. Finds general agreement about the units, specific topics, and activities that should be covered. Suggests that instruction at the graduate level is healthy, but it receives less attention at the undergraduate level than either quantitative methods or…