Qualitative research in psychology

"The first 'Workshop Qualitative Research in Psychology' took place in Blaubeuren, Germany from October 20-22, 2000. The meeting was organized by the Center for Qualitative Psychology of the University of Tübingen, Germany. The purpose of the meeting was to begin a network of qualitative psychologists. Thirty-two participants got to know each other, presented and discussed their research, discussed potential further developments within the field of qualitative psychology, and inspired each other with plans for the future. There were psychologists from Germany, Spain, Latvia, Finland, and the United States, most of whom were working as researchers within university contexts. The workshop took place at the retreat house of the University of Tübingen in a small village called Blaubeuren. A comfortable place with beautiful landscape, welcoming staff at the house and delicious food created a friendly atmosphere for the meeting from the start. The meeting started with an evening opening session in which all participants briefly introduced themselves and their interests in qualitative psychology. In order to communicate with each other, all of the participants spoke English. The introductions helped people to seek each other out afterwards in more informal conversations during the following two days." (author's abstract). Contents: Group I: Examples of Applications of Qualitative Methods, Part I - Discussion (summarized by Leo Gürtler) (17-20); Irmentraud Ertel: Categorizing the Content of Everyday Family Communication: What Do Families Talk About in Everyday Life? (21-31); Michaela Gläser-Zikuda: Emotions and Learning Strategies at School – Opportunities of Qualitative Content Analysis (32-50); Leo Gürtler: The role of subjective theories on love (51-65); Inge M. Lutz: Deciding which Kinds of Data to Collect in an Evaluative Study and Selecting a Setting for Data Collection and Analysis (66-76); Thomas Irion: Dynamics of a qualitative research design. An interactive approach to interactive reception (78-89); Ilze Plaude and Josef Held: Cross-cultural youth research as an international and interdisciplinary cooperation project: "International Learning" (90-98). Group II: Examples of Applications of Qualitative Methods, Part II - Discussion (summarized by Mechthild Kiegelmann) (99-101); Silke-Birgitta Gahleitner: Ways of combining qualitative and quantitative procedures exemplified in a study on the gender-specifics of coping with sexual violence (102-116); Mechthild Kiegelmann: Qualitative Research With a Genuine Psychological Approach: The Method of Voice Analysis (117-134); Tamara Beauboeuf: Toward a method of ideological becoming (135-142); Carlos Kölbl: Methods which are accommodated to their research object: On the adequate investigation of historical consciousness at youth age (143-149); Stephan Marks: Research Project 'History and Memory' (Geschichte und Erinnerung) (150-154); Antonio Medina Rivilla, M. Concepción Domínguez Garrido, Ramón Pérez Pérez, Tiberio Feliz Murias: Research Organization and Word Analysis from Discussion Groups about In-Practice Training (155-173); Antonio Medina Rivilla, M. Concepción Domínguez Garrido, Ramón Pérez Pérez, Tiberio Feliz Murias: Coding, Inquiring, and Analysis of Data from Discussion Groups about In-Practice Training (174-201). Group III: Specific Methodological Questions - Discussion (summarized by Günter L. Huber) (201-205); Günter L. Huber: The Analysis of Qualitative Data as Process of Classification (206-216); Gerhard Kleining, Thomas Burkart: Group-Based Dialogic Introspection and its Use in Qualitative Media Research (217-239); Julia Nentwich: The Process of Understanding in Qualitative Social Research (241-245); Bernd Reinhoffer: Forming Categories in Qualitative Data Analysis. The Teaching Research Project "Teachers' Attitude and Practice concerning Elementary Science in Primary School" (246-261); Hannu Soini: The Contribution of Qualitative Approaches to Learning Research: A Critical Incident Technique as a Research Method for Studying Student Learning (262-273); Leo Gürtler, Josef Held, Günter L. Huber, Mechthild Kiegelmann: Contributions of Qualitative Approaches to Psychological Inquiry (274-282)

From idea to implementation : planning and andministration of online learning

The implementation of online learning requires know-how, skills and the assimilation of new work methods. This publication provides guidelines for teacher training and introduces Laurea’s model for the planning and administration of online learning. This publication is intended as a handbook for anyone who wishes to carry out online eLearning projects. Laurea uses Discendum Optima as its online learning platform, but the process described here can well be applied to other technical solutions

Design and evaluation of two blended learning approaches: Lessons learned

In this paper, we share two blended learning approaches used at the National Institute of Education in Singapore. We have been using these two approaches in the last twelve years in many courses ranging from the diploma to graduate programs. For the first blended learning approach, we integrated one asynchronous communication tool with face to face tutorials, classroom discussions, and a reflection session. For the second blended learning approach, we integrated two asynchronous tools with face to face tutorials in a course. We discuss the theoretical foundation of the two blended learning approaches. In addition, we share insights from these two blended learning approaches, based on the students' data (online postings, questionnaires, reflection logs, and interviews), as well as our own reflections. Finally, we describe and discuss several important lessons learned that could inform the design of future instructional strategies in implementing blended learning in university teaching and learning settings.published_or_final_versio

CALL-ing the learner into focus: Towards a learner-centred model for CALL

With the extension of the presence of computers in learning environments to include computer-mediated communications (CMC), such as electronic mail or the Internet, we must now devise models for computer-enhanced pedagogy to encompass these new interlocutors (Chapelle, 1994). In devising such models, it is important that we keep in mind the theories and findings from mainstream second language pedagogy. The presence of new technology and new means of using it entail the development of new models. However, the introduction of multimedia and communication capabilities to computers in language learning does not necessarily imply that a whole new set of pedagogical models needs to be devised. Rather, we should look to findings in more ‘traditional’ areas such as classroom interaction, task and instructional design, self-directed learning, and the use of audio and video in language learning to ground our models of ‘good practice’ in the areas of multimedia and CMC in language learning. In the model and examples presented here, the framework for the allocation of control to learners is provided in software by structuring and presenting the available language learning resources in a manner that is easy for learners to navigate, while at the same time providing the information necessary for making informed decisions about their learning paths. Sociocultural pedagogy provides the framework and the rationale for incorporating learning styles and strategies into the conceptualisation of both task and instructional desig

Making Representations Matter: Understanding Practitioner Experience in Participatory Sensemaking

Appropriating new technologies in order to foster collaboration and participatory engagement is a focus for many fields, but there is relatively little research on the experience of practitioners who do so. The role of technology-use mediators is to help make such technologies amenable and of value to the people who interact with them and each other. When the nature of the technology is to provide textual and visual representations of ideas and discussions, issues of form and shaping arise, along with questions of professional ethics. This thesis examines such participatory representational practice, specifically how practitioners make participatory visual representations (pictures, diagrams, knowledge maps) coherent, engaging and useful for groups tackling complex societal and organizational challenges. This thesis develops and applies a method to analyze, characterize, and compare instances of participatory representational practice in such a way as to highlight experiential aspects such as aesthetics, narrative, improvisation, sensemaking, and ethics. It extends taxonomies of such practices found in related research, and contributes to a critique of functionalist or techno-rationalist approaches to studying professional practice. It studies how fourteen practitioners using a visual hypermedia tool engaged participants with the hypermedia representations, and the ways they made the representations matter to the participants. It focuses on the sensemaking challenges that the practitioners encountered in their sessions, and on the ways that the form they gave the visual representations (aesthetics) related to the service they were trying to provide to their participants. Qualitative research methods such as grounded theory are employed to analyze video recordings of the participatory representational sessions. Analytical tools were developed to provide a multi-perspective view on each session. Conceptual and normative frameworks for understanding the practitioner experience in participatory representational practice in context, especially in terms of aesthetics, ethics, narrative, sensemaking, and improvisation, are proposed. The thesis places these concerns in context of other kinds of facilitative and mediation practices as well as research on reflective practice, aesthetic experience, critical HCI, and participatory design

Qualitative Research in Psychology

Qualitative Research Nexus is a series in psychology that provides a forum for discussion, presentation, and enhancement of qualitative research. The aim of the series is to create a forum for otherwise "scattered" authors in the field of qualitative psychology. This volume one of Qualitative Research Nexus, titled "Qualitative Research in Psychology" documents the papers and discussions from the first workshop of the Center for Qualitative Psychology, which took place from October, 20 - 22, 2000 in Blaubeuren, Germany. In this initial convention, participants introduced their work and their approaches to qualitative psychology. A special focus was on the psychological contributions to the wider area of qualitative research for social sciences

SEPEC conference proceedings: Hypermedia and Information Reconstruction. Aerospace applications and research directions. Addendum

The papers presented at the conference on hypermedia and information reconstruction are compiled. The following subject areas are covered: hypertext, typographic man, and the notion of literacy; a knowledge base browser using hypermedia; Ai GERM - a logic programming front end for GERM; and HEAVENS system for software artifacts

Bridging between Research and Practice

This book presents a fresh approach to bridging the perceived gap between academic and classroom cultures. It describes a unique form of research partnership whereby Cambridge University academics and school teachers together grappled with and reformulated theory—through in-depth case studies analysing practice using interactive whiteboards in five subject areas. The inquiry exploited the collaborators’ complementary professional knowledge bases. Teachers’ voices are particularly audible in co-authored case study chapters. Outcomes included deeper insights into concepts of sociocultural learning theory and classroom dialogue, more analytical mindsets, sustained new practices and ways of working collegially.; Readership: The book will interest academic and teacher researchers, initial teacher educators, professional development leaders, mentors, plus practitioners interested in using interactive whiteboards and dialogic teaching. It explores widening approaches to collegial development to reach educators working in other contexts (with and without technology). This could involve intermediate theory building or shortcutting by sharing and adapting the outcomes—springboarding teachers’ further critique and professional learning

Examining the Effects of Selected Computer-Based Scaffolds on Preservice Teachers\u27 Levels of Reflection as Evidenced in their Online Journal Writing

This study used explanatory mixed methods to examine the effects of two computer-based reflection writing scaffolds, question prompts and writing process display, on preservice teachers’ levels of reflection in their online reflective journal writing. The scaffolds were embedded in a system simulating the Professional Accountability Support System Using a Portal Approach (PASS-PORT). The outcome measure was the level of reflection achieved in participants’ writing. The researcher collected data at the College of Education of a major southern university in the United States. Participants were undergraduate students enrolled in a technology integration course in fall 2007. Sixty-five preservice teachers participated in quantitative phase of the study; sixteen out of the 65 preservice teachers were purposefully selected to participate in qualitative phase of the study. The majority of the preservice teachers were white females between the ages of 20-29 in their junior year. During the quantitative phase of the study, participants in control group and two treatment groups were randomly and evenly assigned to one of three different Web pages associated with their treatment conditions. The participants reflected on a critical incident that happened during their practical teaching. Two raters, blind to the participants’ treatment conditions, coded the highest level of reflection achieved in their writing samples using the reflection rubric developed by Ward and McCotter (2004). The researcher employed ANOVA to assess the group differences in the highest level of reflection reached and in the length of the reflective writing in the number of words. The alpha level was set at .05 for all analyses. During the qualitative phase, the researcher conducted open-ended interviews with the participants as a follow-up to their reflection writing. The participants’ reflection writings and interviews served as data sources. Miles and Huberman\u27s (1994) data analysis procedures guided the qualitative data analysis. The quantitative results indicated that computer-based scaffolds significantly enhanced preservice teachers’ levels of reflection in their online journal writing. Preservice teachers who used the scaffolds wrote longer reflection than those in the control group. Correlation analysis revealed that there was a positive relationship between the level of reflection and the length of journal writing. Three overarching factors emerged from the qualitative data analysis that explained how and why the computer-based scaffolds enhanced their reflective journal writing. The factors included (a) the specific requirements conveyed in the scaffolds; (b) the structure of the scaffolds; and (c) the use of the critical incidents to anchor reflective journal writing. How to improve preservice teachers’ critical reflection capability and skills remains an actively debated topic. Recent years have witnessed an emergence of research and development in Web-based educational systems to help prepare highly qualified teacher candidates. However, the articulative/reflective attribute of meaningful learning does not seem to be evident in most of these systems. Although there is considerable research on the potential for embedding scaffolds in technology-enhanced learning environments, mechanisms intended to facilitate reflective practice in such environments also seems to be lacking. In order to help fill this gap, it is hoped that the analyses and results of the current study can be used as a building block for research on how to leverage the affordances of computer-based scaffolds to enhance preservice teachers’ reflective practice in technology-enhanced educational systems