In this volume, researchers, practitioners, participants, and scholars address the proliferation of methodologies, ethical and disciplinary concerns, and issues of equity and diversity such research raises from a wide variety of viewpoints. "Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research" also presents a broad assortment of articles by authors…

A study involving interviews with 50 academic leaders revealed that college fund raising is a team effort; the institution's president is typically the central player; presidents should focus fund-raising attention on major gifts and administrative leadership; academic quality and institutional prestige are critical factors; and fund raising is…

Interviewed young adults with Asperger Syndrome and their parents to examine the experience of growing up with the syndrome. Found that many were excluded educationally or socially, and although they "looked and talked normally," they never seemed to "fit in." Findings suggest need for greater knowledge of Asperger Syndrome among preschool…

A study examined the experiences of Mexican immigrant women holding a vocational certificate from a technical school in Mexico. Interviews with eight Mexican women living in San Francisco and rural Idaho indicated that vocational education did not ensure success as measured by common social science indicators. However, the informants were highly…

Examined how the scrutiny under which male teachers of kindergarten through third grade must work affects their teaching practices. Found that very few men enter the field as a way to become an administrator. Men are more likely to accept promotions to escape the scrutiny associated with daily teaching, and men often develop compensatory behaviors…

Traditional, textual descriptions of qualitative findings do not adequately reflect the complexity of human behavior. Artful portrayals provide multiple ways of looking at research material and lead to new insights. The use of found poetry in research is described, as well as a course that introduces graduate students to various artful portrayals…

A media unit for inner city high school students examined the relationship between youth and advertising by using drama as the medium through which learning and research occurred. Data were presented through scripted dramatic scenes. How the interpretation and generation of data were embedded in the process of writing these scripts is explained.…

In the course of examining the holistic and embodied expressions of self-conceptualization among six women academics from working- and poverty-class backgrounds, artful "happenings" became a generative tool for inquiry and analysis and provided interpretive directions. The author's approach to arts-based inquiry and the value of such an approach…

Summarizes the literature explaining focus group interview techniques and provides ideas on how they can be used for needs assessment and program evaluation in libraries and information centers. Discussion includes focus group session objectives, the level of moderator involvement, various methodologies, data analysis, and reporting in qualitative…

Argues that personal experience and social life are inherently meaningful and that qualitative research designs can contribute to theory-building in counseling and psychotherapy. To illustrate the use of qualitative research designs and methods of analysis, a study of family members' views of family therapy is described. (RJM)

Examines participation of minority representatives on local school-change teams in Kentucky and their feelings about the experience. Their reasons for dropping out indicate that minority parents do not feel accepted by the decision-making group (often because of perceptions of racism and classism) and lack the confidence to participate fully in…

Examined are the type of physics applications that students are interested in learning more about in school. Gender differences within that choice are explored. Interview methodology and the results of the interviews are discussed. (CW)

Discusses epistemological issues involved in the use of qualitative methods to assess classroom-based microcomputer programs, specifically Apple Computer's "Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow." Six models of qualitative data design and use are examined: anecdotal, structured observations, case study, multisite case study, ethnography, and…

Presents a descriptive study of the influence of the learner's cultural schemata on instruction. Finds that students interpret new information in the light of cultural knowledge already possessed. Implications are that instructional designs that ignore the influence of background knowledge take a naive approach to the development of a…

Thirty-nine adult computer novices in Denmark were interviewed and observed to determine the nature of their global understanding of information technology. Three assessment types, three coping strategies, and four categorical frameworks for understanding were identified. A new methodology for testing the validity of qualitative analyses is…