Identifying Validity in Qualitative Research: A Literature Review

This paper explores multiple articles relating to qualitative research. Qualitative research has seen several transformation that aim to support contributions for this research development. As research, using a qualitative methodology rises to prevalence, this paper explores industry and academia use of this methodology. The paper review research based in the field of healthcare and social work. After analysis, the review of literature shows that a majority qualitative research are within the field healthcare (Johnson, 1999). The research conducted embraces a diverse collection of approaches to inquiry intended to generate knowledge actually grounded in human experience. The literature review also addressed “rigor” as a standard for valid research, and the impending presumption for flexibility as called for by pundits against qualitative research paradigm. It was argued that this call for rigidity could threaten the innovativeness and hence the meaning and quality of a qualitative research. The author then review and describe the concept of validity to a qualitative research paradigm and how it is applied as discussed by Creswell (2013). Creswell discusses five approach, narrative, Phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography and case study, which we will review through the paper

Commuting in small towns in rural areas: the case of St Andrews.

Since many rural commuters depend on the private car due to lack of convenient public transport, car reduction policies designed for large cities with ample public transport may be unsuitable for smaller towns. In particular, pricing policies designed to encourage public transport use may be less effective, as commuters with no convenient substitute to driving will be unable to switch. This paper develops multinomial and mixed logit models of commuters’ mode choice using data from a survey of commuters in the University of St Andrews. We find that the direct elasticities of the car mode are comparable to estimates reported in studies of commuting in larger urban areas, while the demand for public transport is considerably more elastic. The value of in-vehicle time is found to be about half of the UK average, reflecting that the roads in the St Andrews area are relatively uncongested.Mode choice, Rural commuting, Discrete choice models

Value of work: bargaining, job-satisfaction, and taxation in a simple GE model

Job-satisfaction as a component of workers' utility has been strangely neglected, with work usually regarded as reducing utility and the benefits of leisure. This is contradicted by many empirical studies showing that unemployment is a major cause of unhappiness, even when income is controlled for. Here we develop a simple model where job-satisfaction is non-contractible but can be included in extended collective bargaining when workers participate in management, but employment is still chosen to maximise profit. Including taxation to fund unemployment benefits and public goods, we show that switching from traditional bargaining over wages to extended (but still second-best) bargaining can generate a Pareto welfare improvement

Are two tax rates better than one?

Should two-band income taxes be progressive given a general income distribution? We provide a negative answer under utilitarian and max-min welfare functions. While this result clarifies some ambiguities in the literature, it does not rule out progressive taxes in general. If we maximize total or weighted utility of the poor, as often intended by the society, progressive taxes can be justified, especially when the 'rich' are very rich. Under these objectives we obtain necessary conditions for progressive taxes, which only depend on aggregate features of income distributions. The validity of these conditions is examined using plausible income distributions

Tax reform and redistribution for a better recovery

A regressive tax system and welfare cuts under ideological austerity have generated growing poverty and inequality in the UK and US. Failures in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting deep recession have the greatest impact on the poorest and most vulnerable, exacerbating poverty and inequality. In contrast to this depressing history, we show in detail that a better recovery in the UK requires a radical tax reform and a universal basic income, combined with a green new deal for full employment and a low-carbon economy, employee self-determination and economic democracy to eliminate exploitation and establish social justice.PostprintPeer reviewe

Economic democracy: we must restructure the economy, not return it to its pre-COVID-19 state

Felix FitzRoy and David Spencer highlight some fundamental problems of UK economic policy, as exposed and exacerbated by the lockdown. They write that, alongside the temporary emergency measures adopted, there is an urgent need for wider reforms, based on the goal of promoting economic democracy

So Far so Good: Age, Happiness, and Relative Income

In a simple 2-period model of relative income under uncertainty, higher comparison income for the younger cohort can signal higher or lower expected lifetime relative income, and hence either increase or decrease well-being. With data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the British Household Panel Survey, we first confirm the standard negative effects of comparison income on life satisfaction with all age groups, and many controls. However when we split the West German sample by age we find a positive significant effect of comparison income in the under 45s, and the usual negative effect only in the over 45 group. With the same split in UK and East German data, comparison income loses significance, which is consistent with the model prediction for the younger group. Our results provide first evidence that the standard aggregation with only a quadratic control for age can obscure major differences in the effects of relative income.Subjective life-satisfaction, comparison income, reference groups, age, welfare

Education, income and happiness: Panel evidence for the UK

Using panel data from the BHPS and its Understanding Society extension, we study life satisfaction (LS) and income over nearly two decades, for samples split by education, and age, to our knowledge for the first time. The highly educated went from lowest to highest LS, though their average income was always higher. In spite of rapid income growth up to 2008/2009, the less educated showed no rise in LS, while highly educated LS rose after the crash despite declining real income. In panel LS regressions with individual fixed effects, none of the income variables was significant for the highly educated

Employee participation, job quality, and inequality

PurposeThe purpose is to review the effects of employee participation (EP) in decision-making, ownership and profit on job quality, worker well-being and productivity, and derive policy recommendations from the findings.Design/methodology/approachThe authors summarise results of “declining labour power”, plus theoretical arguments and empirical evidence for the benefits of EP for job quality, satisfaction and productivity.FindingsWorker well-being and job satisfaction are ignored unless they contribute directly to profitability. EP is needed to remedy this situation when employers have market power and unions are weak. The result can be a rise in both productivity and well-being.Research limitations/implicationsThe chief issue here is that there are data limitations, particularly on the well-being effects of participation.Practical implicationsLots of encouraging examples in many countries need legislative help to multiply.Social implicationsIt is quite possible that there could be major implications for welfare and employment.Originality/valueThe authors make the case for public sector subsidies for employee buyouts and new cooperative start-ups, as well as legislation for works councils and profit sharing