Teaching computer-assisted qualitative data analysis to a large cohort of undergraduate students

Qualitative research is increasingly being conducted with the support of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS), yet limited research has been conducted on integrating the teaching of CAQDAS packages within qualitative methods university courses. Existing research typically focuses on teaching NVivo to small groups of postgraduate (primarily doctoral) students and mostly take the form of reflections of the trainers. In 2011, we implemented the teaching and use of a CAQDAS package, NVivo, within a large third-year undergraduate psychology research methods unit. Sixty-seven students participated in an online survey evaluating the use of NVivo in the unit. In this paper, we present quantitative and qualitative findings related to students' perceptions of the resources provided, their confidence in using NVivo, their satisfaction with the teaching and their intentions to use CAQDAS in the future. Student evaluations were generally positive, but highlighted the need for both increased class time and greater access to the CAQDAS program outside of class time to enhance opportunities for learning

Attitudes toward sport psychology consulting of adult athletes from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany

The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes about sport psychology consulting of athletes living in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany. The Sport Psychology Attitudes - Revised form (SPA-R; Martin, Kellmann, Lavallee, & Page, 2002) was administered to 404 athletes from the United States, 147 athletes from the United Kingdom, and 260 athletes from Germany. A 2 (Gender) x 3 (Nationality: American, British and German) x 2 (Type of Sport: physical contact and physical non-contact) MANCOVA was conducted with past sport psychology conducting experience as a covariant and attitudes about sport psychology as dependent variables. Follow-up univariate and discriminant function analyses were then performed to identify the attitiudes that maximized differences related to gender, nationality, and type of sport. Results revealed that attitudes about sport psychology services might be influenced by gender, nationality, and type of sport. Sport psychology practitioners must be sensitive to how personal characteristics and past experiences influence athletes' expectations and attitudes toward sport psychology consulting to improve the services they offer

The Use of Unusual Psychological Theories in Psychobiography: A Case Study and Discussion

This chapter argues for the use of ‘unusual’ theories in psychobiographical research through the presentation of a case study using such a theory. Historically, psychobiographical research has predominantly made use of the work of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic theorists and developmental theorists, while more recent psychobiographical approaches have preferred more modern, empirically based. However, over reliance on a few theories within psychobiographical research creates the possibility for narrow explanations of complex lives. Given the proliferation of theoretical modes in psychology the current use of theory barely scratches the surface of available explanatory paradigms. This chapter argues for the value of casting the explanatory net wider, and for the inclusion of more psychological theories in psychobiographical work. Using a psychobiographical case study, the chapter illustrates how a ‘forgotten’ psychological theory (script theory, based on the work of Tomkins) can serve as an extremely useful explanatory paradigm for a complex religious figure. The case study focuses on Gordon Hinckley (b. 1910, d. 2008), the fifteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly referred to as the Mormon Church), who remains a prominent figure in contemporary Mormonism and played a key role in the rapid growth and increasingly positive public profile of the Religion throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Using Tomkins’ script theory in conjunction with a psychobiographical method and the analysis of data gathered from published speeches, this study explores Hinckley’s personality structure and identifies three core psychological scripts

Psychologists’ dilemmas in career counselling practice

In this study, we explored main dilemmas psychologists face in career counselling in two main professional settings: employment and education. Participants included 24 experienced Portuguese psychologists, working in employment (n = 14) and educational (n = 10) settings. We used consensual qualitative research to conduct and analyse semi-structured interviews. Results revealed dilemmas’ in five domains: neutrality, assessment, dual loyalty, role boundaries, and confidentiality, with the typical dilemma in the domain of neutrality. Differences between groups were found in the domains of dual loyalty and role boundaries.Dans cette étude, nous avons exploré les principaux dilemmes rencontrés par les psychologues dans le conseil en orientation dans deux milieux professionnels centraux: le placement et l’éducation. Parmi les participants figuraient 24 psychologues portugais expérimentés travaillant dans des contextes de placement (n = 14) et d’éducation (n = 10). Nous avons utilisé la recherche qualitative consensuelle pour mener et analyser les entretiens semi-structurés. Les re´sultats ont révé lé des dilemmes dans cinq domaines: la neutralité, l’évaluation, la double loyauté, les limites du rôle, et la confidentialité, avec le dilemme typique dans le domaine de la neutralité. Les différences entre les groupes ont été identifiees dans les domaines de la double loyauté et les limites du rôle.In dieser Studie untersuchten wir die hauptsä chlichen Dilemmata, mit denen Psychologen in der Berufsberatung in zwei wesentlichen professionellen Einrichtungen konfrontiert sind: Beruf und Bildung. Zu den Teilnehmern geho ¨rten 24 erfahrene portugiesische Psychologen, die in Einrichtungen von Beruf (n = 14) und Bildung (n = 10) arbeiteten. Wir verwendeten einvernehmliche qualitative Forschung um semi-strukturierte Interviews durchzufu¨hren und zu analysieren. Die Ergebnisse zeigten Dilemmata in fünf Bereichen: Neutralität, Beurteilung, doppelte Loyalität, Rollengrenzen und Vertraulichkeit, mit dem typischen Dilemma in der Domäne der Neutralität. Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen wurden in den Bereichen der doppelten Loyalität und Rollengrenzen gefunden

Using Qualitative Evidence in Decision Making for Health and Social Interventions: An Approach to Assess Confidence in Findings from Qualitative Evidence Syntheses (GRADE-CERQual)

Published onlineJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tThis is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.Simon Lewin and colleagues present a methodology for increasing transparency and confidence in qualitative research synthesis.This work was supported by funding from the Department of Reproductive Health and Research, WHO (www.who.int/reproductivehealth/about_us/en/) and Norad (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation: www.norad.no) to the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services. Additional funding for several of the pilot reviews was provided by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (www.who.int/alliance-hpsr/en/). We also received funding for elements of this work through the Cochrane supported "Methodological Investigation of Cochrane reviews of Complex Interventions" (MICCI) project (www.cochrane.org). SL is supported by funding from the South African Medical Research Council (www.mrc.ac.za). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, preparation of the manuscript or the decision to publish

Toward a Unified Framework of Perceived Negative Leader Behaviors Insights from French and British Educational Sectors

In this paper, we challenge the commonly held assumption that actors in the education sector are largely ethical, and that there is therefore little need to scrutinize leader behaviors in this sector. We also overcome past scholars’ tendencies to either focus selectively on positive leader behaviors, or to stay content with categorizing leader behaviors into effective and ineffective (if at all they do focus on negative leader behaviors). Using data (Critical Incidents) from three case studies previously conducted in eight British and French academic establishments, we show that not only do negative leader behaviors abound in the education sector, but they can also be differentiated into three types: (1) behaviors emanating from leaders’ lack of functional skills i.e., ineffective behaviors, (2) behaviors emanating from leaders’ insouciance toward harming the organization and its members i.e., dysfunctional behaviors, and (3) behaviors emanating from leaders’ lack of honesty, integrity, ethicality, and transparency i.e., unauthentic behaviors. We enrich current understanding on ineffective, dysfunctional, and unauthentic leader behaviors, and offer a unified (yet differentiated) framework of negative leader behaviors in the academic sector. Since each type of negative behavior emanates from different motivational drivers, different measures are required to curb them. These are also discussed. A comparison of our findings with those from leadership studies in other sectors reveals that negative leader behaviors in the education sector are quite similar to those in other sectors