Describes a study of student understanding of science and scientists using illustrations to promote discussion. The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative techniques and involved 121 Malaysian students in elementary and high school. Results reveal that stereotypical views of science and scientists are evident. However, students often…

Autobiography is the imaginative construction of one's life story and the creative expression of lifelong transformative learning. Its use in studying adult transformation raises political and ethical questions and concerns about qualitative methods; it demonstrates the usefulness of conversation as a research process. (SK)

Describes qualitative and ethnographic investigation based on structured interviews and observation of 14 college students from chemically dependent, dysfunctional, and sexually abusive families. Sexual abuse was found to be endemic in this subculture. Suggests counseling strategy to assist moving students through role development and toward…

Ethnographic interviews offer the academic decision maker an alternative lens with which to gather information, develop hypotheses, and implement plans. Specific procedures must be followed to use the technique properly, and other research methods should accompany the ethnographic interview for increased validity. (MSE)

Using two studies, this paper argues that the controlled study of how specific variables affect others and the study of the same when embedded in complex educational environments should be based on two sets of assumptions underlying two paradigms, analytic and systemic, that differ as do quantitative and qualitative approaches. (RLC)

Discusses N. L. Gage's 1989 American Educational Research Association meeting address concerning the future of educational research and paradigm disputes. Reviews of research paradigms and qualitative versus quantitative controversies do not suggest that paradigm confrontation will soon end. Progress occurs in social science research methodology…

In a study of the relationship between moral reasoning and teenage drug use, problems arose in an attempt to reduce qualitative data to a quantitative format: (1) making analytic sense of singular and universal responses; (2) the mistaken logical inference that each pattern of judgment should have behavioral indicators; and (3) construction and…

Article examines interpretive inquiry, which views research as a practical, moral activity similar to other inquiry. It discusses interpretive inquiry goals and procedures, how to do interpretive inquiry, and how to distinguish good from bad research. (SM)

Examines what two school-based qualitative research projects on staff relationships and whole school curriculum development have discovered about (British) primary school leadership and development. Findings suggest the importance of a collaborative culture and facilitative leadership styles. Reflections on leadership complexity, instrumental and…

Qualitative research methods were used to examine practices at an elementary school providing inclusive schooling for students with and without disabilities. Findings indicated that systems change occurred slowly, intentionally, and with a collaborative process of decision making which stressed development of policies, conditions, and supports…

Describes the first author's graduate work and dissertation which fell in a crack in time, that period where her institution moved from nearly an exclusive use of quantitative approaches to an awareness and acceptance of both qualitative and quantitative strategies. Discusses implications for graduate students and faculty. (RS)

Examples of qualitative investigations of traditionally hard-to-measure college and university characteristics using multiple investigators are rare, despite their potential for in-depth understanding and broad comparisons of institutional contexts. A team approach to qualitative multisite research was found useful and effective in a 9-researcher…

Investigates the writing experience of 40 eleventh graders and examines the social and pedagogical circumstances contributing to their limited concentration and motivation. Finds that emotion disrupts sustained and thoughtful attention to writing. Demonstrates the psychological toll of limited concentration, negative self-view, and limited…

Describes how an (industrial) organization's control system evolved in response to a managerial change from hierarchical, bureaucratic control to concertive control via self-management teams. The organization's members developed a system of value-based normative rules that controlled their actions more powerfully and completely than did the former…

Agrees with many of the points expressed in Herbert Zimiles's criticism of quantitative research in this issue, but argues that the shortcomings identified by Zimiles are present in many qualitative studies as well. Both quantitative and qualitative research need to follow high standards of research design and execution. (MDM)