Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with 187 individuals including family members of children with a disability, individuals with a disability, family of children without a disability, service providers, and administrators. Ten domains of family quality of life were identified and described in terms of subdomains, indicators, and…

A qualitative study of the citing motivations of 12 agricultural economists (faculty and doctoral students) identifies several factors they considered in making citing decisions: the contributions of the document to their research; the criteria they apply to the documents; and metalevel documentation concerns. (Author/AEF)

Discusses a qualitative study focused on specific success strategies gathered in interviews with women superintendents. Interpretations that cut across the narratives are expressed through the metaphoric framework provided by Carlos Castaneda's principles of power that govern the "riddle of the heart," or caring ethic. Successful women…

Presents a qualitative study of imagination in lower socioeconomic African American young adolescents. Reveals that the youth had few environmental factors enhancing their imaginative ability and spent little time in imaginative activity. Shows that, after a psycho-educational intervention to enhance imagery skills, there was significant change in…

Examines the lessons that a novice qualitative researcher learned from interviewing a 13-year-old black female about AIDS education. The data indicates what can be missed when adolescents are surveyed and not "talked to." Reciprocity, responsibility, and teaching in research are key. In this project, role reversals predominated, and the…

Evaluates the preservice music teacher preparation program at a large Big Ten university through the perceptions of beginning teachers, their mentors, and administrators. Gathers data using interviews, focus groups, journals, and classroom observations. Identifies the most and least valuable parts of the program. Provides suggestions for the…

Interviews 16 school board chairs in North Carolina to determine their attitudes toward state education reform legislation. Discusses two themes emerging from the interviews: Downsizing the state bureaucracy translates into autonomy and accountability at the local level, but paradoxically boards now lack the organizational buffering previously…

Presents the results of a study that explored the management of subject-verb agreement in second -to seventh-grade children studying the French language. Examined whether agreement with imperfect tense may have a lesser cost than agreement with the present. Finds that imperfect tense is acquired more rapidly than present tense. (CMK)

Presents the results of a study that trained ten and eleven year old children to improve their argumentative abilities. Explores whether didactic sequence with oral exercises and co-operative oral debate affected the children. Explains that the children were required to produce three argumentative texts before and after each training phase. (CMK)

Discusses a variety of topics and their implications for library and information science professionals and their education. Highlights include the nature of science; contingency theories; the assumptions of sociology; the approach of symbolic interaction; recent scholarship on organizations; and the advantages of qualitative research methods.…

Two evaluation studies using qualitative methods are described to illustrate the appropriateness of such methods for certain research questions. Ways to enhance reliability and validity are also discussed in the descriptions of the evaluations of 16 emergency medical services and 13 local health departments. (SLD)

Delineates factors influencing preservice secondary teachers' resistance to content area reading. Discusses and highlights excerpts from multiple data sources to illustrate factors influencing resistance, including constraints found in the teaching workplace and perceived models or the teacher's role in the classroom. (RS)

This article defines qualitative research, provides an illustration of its application, and suggests references that further explain and discuss this research technique. In addition, the strengths and limitations of qualitative research are appraised, particularly as they are illuminated by comparisons with the conventional model of inquiry in…

This article provides a brief overview of critical qualitative research. This type of research seeks to empower those being researched and declares that all research is value-based, not value-free. A brief description of the limited amount of critical research conducted in sport and physical education is given. (IAH)

The use of qualitative evaluation methods is explored as a means of overcoming constraints and complexities of evaluation of development programs. A case study demonstrating the application of qualitative analysis to monitoring and evaluation of the Basic Minimum Needs program in Thailand is presented. (SLD)