A qualitatively driven approach to multimethod and mixed methods research

This chapter discusses the meaning of qualitatively -driven inquiry and what this is in the context of mixed and multi methods research. It distinguishes between qualitatively-driven mixed and multi methods approaches and considers why methods may be mixed using a qualitatively-driven approach. The chapter identifies some reasons for using qualitatively-driven mixed and multi method approaches and defines templates for their application. The chapter provides several research examples throughout to illustrate the insight gained with these approaches. It concludes with in-depth discussions of the value of these approaches and considers their contribution more widely to the field of mixed-methods researc

Mixed-methods research: What’s in it for economists?

Empirical studies in economics traditionally use a limited range of methods, usually based on particular types of regression analysis. Increasingly, sophisticated regression techniques require the availability of appropriate data sets, often longitudinal and typically collected at a national level. This raises challenges for researchers seeking to investigate issues requiring data that are not typically included in regular large-scale data. It also raises questions of the adequacy of relying mainly or solely on regression analysis for investigating key issues of economic theory and policy. One way of addressing these issues is to employ a mixed-methods research framework to investigate important research questions. In this article, we provide an example of applying a mixed-methods design to investigate the employment decisions of mature age women working in the aged care sector. We outline the use of a coherent and robust framework to allow the integrated collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. Drawing on particular examples from our analysis, we show how a mixed-methods approach facilitates richer insights, more finely grained understandings of causal relationships and identification of emergent issues. We conclude that mixed-methods research has the capacity to provide surprises and generate new insights through detailed exploratory data analysis

How Unpopular Policies are Made: Examples from South Africa, Singapore, and Bangladesh

In this article we contribute to the emerging knowledge on migration policy?making in two ways. Firstly, we address the relative lack of research on the gendered nature of migration policy?making. Secondly we contribute to understanding migration policymaking in postcolonial contexts. Based on case studies from Bangladesh, South Africa, and Singapore, we trace the drivers of policy change in these contexts and how the gendered vulnerability of the intended beneficiaries impacted the policy process. We found that there were four main drivers of migration policy?making in each of the countries. They were: the role?players in the policy change process, the debates that shaped the policy change, the research involved, and the political context in which the policy change took place. While our research drew on existing policy frameworks, it also showed that policy development is shaped by complex socio?political conditions.DFIDMigrating out of Povert

Punk is just a state of mind: Exploring what punk means to older punk women

What does punk mean to older punk women? And how are such understandings interwoven with experiences of ageing and gender? The complexity in defining punk has been noted and it has been suggested that this complexity in part results from punk’s dislike of being labelled/categorised. Drawing upon interviews with 22 self-identifying older punk women, this article considers how they conceived punk as ‘a state of mind’, exploring the four shared punk values seen to comprise this: DIY, subversion, political consciousness and community. An unpacking of these values in terms of what they might ‘look like’ and how they are put into action by the women highlights the considerable roles ageing and gender play

Developing effective practice learning for tomorrow's social workers

This paper considers some of the changes in social work education in the UK, particularly focusing on practice learning in England. The changes and developments are briefly identified and examined in the context of what we know about practice learning. The paper presents some findings from a small scale qualitative study of key stakeholders involved in practice learning and education in social work and their perceptions of these anticipated changes, which are revisited at implementation. The implications for practice learning are discussed

Anglican clergy husbands securing middle-class gendered privilege through religion

Traditionally, clergy wives have been obliged to assist the Church in an unpaid capacity; such work has been feminised, associated with the assumed competencies of women (Denton 1962; Finch 1980, 1983; Murphy-Geiss 2011). Clergy husbands are a relatively recent phenomenon in the Church of England, emerging when women started to be ordained as deacons in 1987 and priests in 1994. Based on interviews with men whose wives were ordained as priests in the Church of England, this article will explore the dynamics of class and gender privilege. Most clergy husbands were middle class, defined through educational, occupational and cultural markers (Bourdieu 1984). The narratives highlighted how gender and class privilege was maintained and extended through the clergy spouse role. The interweaving dynamics of class and gender privilege secured preferential outcomes for participants; outcomes that were less evidenced in relation to working-class spouses. Using Bourdieu’s (1984) concepts of habitus, field and capital and Verter’s (2003) conceptualisation of spiritual capital, this article will highlight the complex ways in which gender and class advantage is perpetuated and sustained, using the Anglican parish as the analytical context, thereby emphasising the role religion plays in consolidating privilege

Materiality in information environments: Objects, spaces, and bodies in three outpatient hemodialysis facilities

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152032/1/asi24277.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152032/2/asi24277_am.pd

Engaging service users and carers in health and social care education: : challenges and opportunities in the Chinese Community

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Social Work Education on 25 June 2010, available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2010.491542.Service users' and carers' involvement in health and social care education has become a mainstream activity in Britain. However, members from black and minority ethnic communities (BME) remain under-represented in this area of participation. In this article, we will take the readers across the globe to explore the difficulties and opportunities of engaging such an under-represented group, the Chinese community. The journey will begin in Britain where barriers to engagement of service users and carers from the Chinese community will be discussed. We will then travel to Hong Kong, a cosmopolitan city, where successful engagement in work with Chinese service users and carers will be explored. Throughout the journey, we will highlight the importance of the consideration of cultural factors, particularly Confucian beliefs such as social harmony and collectivism, when working with Chinese people. We will also fully explore the issue of ‘trust’ as a culturally laden concept in Chinese societies and its significance for successful engagement in work with Chinese service users and carers in different parts of the world.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Equipoise across the patient population: Optimising recruitment to a randomised controlled trial

© 2016 The Author(s). Background: This paper proposes a novel perspective on the value of qualitative research for improving trial design and optimising recruitment. We report findings from a qualitative study set within the OPEN trial, a surgical randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing two interventions for recurrent bulbar urethral stricture, a common cause of urinary problems in men. Methods: Interviews were conducted with men meeting trial eligibility criteria (n = 19) to explore reasons for accepting or declining participation and with operating urologists (n = 15) to explore trial acceptability. Results: Patients expressed various preferences and understood these in the context of relative severity and tolerability of their symptoms. Accounts suggest a common trajectory of worsening symptoms with a particular window within which either treatment arm would be considered acceptable. Interviews with clinician recruiters found that uncertainty varied between general and specialist sites, which reflect clinicians' relative exposure to different proportions of the patient population. Conclusion: Recruitment post referral, at specialist sites, was challenging due to patient (and clinician) expectations. Trial design, particularly where there are fixed points for recruitment along the care pathway, can enable or constrain the possibilities for effective accrual depending on how it aligns with the optimum point of patient equipoise. Qualitative recruitment investigations, often focussed on information provision and patient engagement, may also look to better understand the target patient population in order to optimise the point at which patients are approached. Trial registration: ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN98009168. Registered on 29 November 2012

Investigation of chemistry graduate teaching assistants’ teacher knowledge and teacher identity

Graduate students play an integral role in undergraduate chemistry education at doctoral granting institutions where they routinely serve as instructors of laboratories and supplementary discussion sessions. Simultaneously, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) balance major research and academic responsibilities. Although GTAs have substantial instructional facetime with large numbers of undergraduate students, little is known about their conceptions of teaching or their identities as teachers. To investigate the knowledge that GTAs have regarding teaching in this unique context, their teaching identities, and how these developed, we conducted 22 interviews with graduate students from several universities at various levels in their graduate school career using a modified Teacher Beliefs Interview. Interviews were analyzed for two overarching teacher learning constructs: teacher knowledge and teacher identity. We characterized chemistry GTAs’ teacher knowledge and identity and determined major influencing factors. We found that chemistry GTAs often identified as a tutor or lab manager, which hindered their self‐investment in developing as teachers. The results presented herein contribute to an understanding of GTAs’ teacher knowledge, teacher identity, and their teaching context, from which training can be designed to best support GTA development.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155950/1/tea21618_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155950/2/tea21618.pd