Mixed Methods Longitudinal Research

Längsschnittforschung ist vielversprechend für die Erforschung von Stabilität und Wandel. Qualitative und quantitative Längsschnittforschung können im Rahmen eines Mixed-Methods-Designs kombiniert werden, um komplementäre, validere und nuanciertere Erkenntnisse zu erzielen. Aber Längsschnittforschung ist anspruchsvoller als Querschnittforschung, und die Kombination qualitativer und quantitativer Strategien in der Mixed-Methods-Längsschnittforschung (MMLR) vervielfacht diese Herausforderungen. Ich beginne diesen Beitrag damit, qualitative und quantitative Längsschnittforschung mit den jeweiligen Stärken und Herausforderungen zu konzeptualisieren. Dann skizziere ich Designoptionen und Implikationen für MMLR. Dabei beziehe ich mich auf traditionelle Designoptionen in Mixed Methods und Längsschnittforschung, z.B. Zeit und Zeitlichkeit, Priorität, Zweck, Stichprobenziehung, Datenerhebung, Auswertung, Interpretation und Präsentation. In MMLR haben diese Designdimensionen einen erweiterten Zeithorizont, weil sie in jeder Welle getroffen oder revidiert werden müssen/können. So möchte ich mit diesem Beitrag die Konzeptualisierung eines vielversprechende,n aber oft vernachlässigten Forschungsgebiets bereichern.Longitudinal research holds great promise for researching change and continuity. Qualitative and quantitative longitudinal research can be combined within a mixed methods framework, which enables gaining complementary insights that are more nuanced and more valid. However, longitudinal research generally entails more practical challenges than cross-sectional research. Further, combining qualitative and quantitative strategies in mixed methods longitudinal research (MMLR) multiplies these challenges. In this publication, I start by conceptualizing qualitative and quantitative longitudinal research and highlighting their respective strengths and challenges. I subsequently outline design options and implications of mixed methods longitudinal projects. Hereby, I distinguish traditional dimensions of mixed methods and longitudinal research designs, such as time and timing, priority, purpose, sampling, data collection, analysis and interpretation, and reporting. In MMLR these dimensions have an extended time dimension because these design decisions have to be made or revisited in each wave. With this contribution, I aim to advance conceptual thinking in an area of research that is certainly underdeveloped, but has great potential

How do farmers research and learn? The example of organic farmers’ experiments and innovations: A research concept

Experimenting, adapting and innovating are central features of farmers’ activities all over the world. Farmers hold valuable knowledge about their environment, they actively do experiments, and have their own research traditions. The development of organic farming systems is continually evolving through the experiments and innovations of organic farmers. So far, there has been little attempt to study the nature, characteristics, and factors associated with the experimental processes of farmers in a systematic, comprehensive way. A current research project investigates learning processes of organic farmers in Austria, Cuba and Israel through researching the multifaceted experiments they conduct and the innovations they obtain as possible results. This paper presents the research concept of the project

Gruppendiskussionen mit Kindern: methodische und methodologische Besonderheiten

'Kinder sind keine kleinen Erwachsenen. Aber welche Konsequenzen hat das für die Untersuchung der kindlichen Lebenswelt? Welche methodischen Besonderheiten ergeben sich, wenn Gruppendiskussionen bei Kindern eingesetzt werden? Mit dieser Frage beschäftigt sich die im Folgenden dargestellte Studie. Im Mittelpunkt stehen kognitive, soziale und verbale Fähigkeiten von Kindern in Gruppendiskussionssituationen, deren Auswirkungen auf die Methode sowie die damit verbundenen Vor- und Nachteile. Um sich der Fragestellung anzunähern, wurden Gruppendiskussionen mit Kindern und Jugendlichen aus der ersten, dritten, fünften, siebten und neunten Klasse zu vergleichbaren Themen und Frageformen durchgeführt. Zentrale Untersuchungsvariable war das differenzielle Alter von sechs bis fünfzehn Jahren. Bei der anschließenden Analyse in Bezug auf Gruppen-, Verlaufs- und Teilnehmerspezifika wurden nicht nur qualitative, sondern auch quantitative Aspekte berücksichtigt, um ein möglichst ganzheitliches Bild der Altersstufen und ihrer Fähigkeiten zu erlangen. Dadurch wurden die unterschiedlichen Fähigkeiten und Bedürfnisse deutlich, so dass Rückschlüsse auf die Herangehensweise an und die Möglichkeiten bei Gruppendiskussionen mit Kindern gezogen werden konnten.' (Autorenreferat)'Children are not little adults. But what are the consequences for studies dealing with the world of children? What specifics develop regarding the method of focus groups when they are carried out with children? That's the key question of the study described below. Cognitive, social and verbal abilities of children in focus group situations, the consequences for the method as well as the resulting advantages and disadvantages are the centre of this article. To answer the questions focus groups with children and adolescent of the first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth grade dealing with comparable topics and ways of asking questions were carried out. The central variable deals with six to fifteen year-olds. The following analysis from - group, course and participant specifics - ought to develop an entire picture of the focus groups not only considering qualitative but also quantitative aspects. In the end the different abilities and needs were obvious so that conclusions could be drawn regarding the carrying out and the possibilities of focus groups with children.' (author's abstract)

Bäuerliche Experimente in Kuba und ihre Bedeutung für eine nachhaltige Landwirtschaft

This paper aims to examine farmers’ perception on the contribution of farmers’ experiments to sustainable agriculture. Field research was conducted in Cuba and comprised semi-structured interviews with 72 farmers. Most Cuban farmers experimented with locally available resources. According to the farmers’ perception, resources, topics and methods were ecologically compatible and involved little risks. Through experimenting the respondents felt, that they increased the production and the degree of self-sufficiency. Farmers ensured that experiments contributed to improve the local farming system and thereby supported the sustainable development of agriculture

Bäuerliche Experimente in Österreich – Beurteilung von Video als möglicher Auslöser der Experimentiertätigkeit von Biobäuerinnen und Biobauern

Farmers’ experiments are an integral element of agricultural practice, contribute to the development of local knowledge and form the precondition for local innovations. This study addresses organic farmers’ experiments in Austria, and specifically video as tool for capturing and sharing lessons learned from farmers’ experimentation, as well as the potential of video to trigger farmers’ experiments. For 85 % of the surveyed organic farmers (n=34) farmers’ experiments were considered to have high relevance in the course of their farming activities. The elaborated videos stimulated 71 % of the farmers to conduct experiments. The videos were successfully applicable in adult and student agricultural education. After watching them, 12 of 16 students (75 %) came up with ideas for experiments they would like to try at their parents’ farms

Experimente von Biobäuerinnen und Biobauern in Österreich

Farmers’ experiments can be defined as the activity of trying or introducing something totally or partially new at the farm, including evaluation of the success or failure. In this research, topics, motives, methods and evaluation strategies of farmers’ experiments are investigated. Personal interviews were conducted with 73 organic farmers (47 semi-structured interviews, 26 structured questionnaire interviews). Organic farmers in Austria were found to experiment in a broad range of topics. To evaluate the experiments, all farmers conducted observation, and most of them also comparisons. Farmers experiment to find own creative solutions for their specific conditions and emerging problems. It is advisable to support farmers in their experimentation activities, provide room for experimentation within regulatory frameworks and to make active use of the outcomes of farmers’ experiments for the development of local agricultural systems

Integration of digital technologies in families with children aged 5-10 years

Most European children today are living in media-rich households with access to a variety of different devices. Yet, there is a great variance in how families use technologies and integrate them within their everyday lives and routines

Explaining the resurgent popularity of the wild: motivations for wild plant gathering in the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal, Austria

Background: Wild plant gathering becomes again a popular and fashionable activity in Europe after gathering practices have been increasingly abandoned over the last decades. Recent ethnobotanical research documented a diversity of gathering practices from people of diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds who gather in urban and rural areas. Few efforts were though made to study the motivations for gathering wild plants and to understand the resurgent popularity of wild plant gathering. This paper addresses the following research questions: (1) which motivations activate wild plant gatherers? (2) which motivation-types of gatherers exist in the Grosses Walsertal? (3) how do the motivations for gathering relate to the socio-demographic background of gatherers? Methods: Field research was conducted in the Grosses Walsertal, Austria in the years 2008 and 2009 in two field research periods. Thirty-six local farmers were first interviewed with semi-structured interviews. The motivations identified in these interviews were then included in a structured questionnaire, which was used to interview 353 residents of the valley. Pupils of local schools participated in the data collection as interviewers. Principal Component Analysis was used to categorize the motivations and to identify motivation-types of wild plant gatherers. Generalized Linear Models were calculated to identify relations between motivations and the socio-demographic background of gatherers. Results: The respondents listed 13 different motivations for gathering wild plants and four motivations for not gathering. These 17 motivations were grouped in five motivation-types of wild plant gatherers, which are in decreasing importance: product quality, fun, tradition, not-gathering, income. Women, older respondents and homegardeners gather wild plants more often for fun; older respondents gather more often for maintaining traditions; non-homegardeners more frequently mention motivations for not gathering. Conclusions: The resurgent popularity of wild plant gathering comes along with an internalization of motivations: the main motivations for wild plant gathering changed from the external extrinsic motivation of gathering because of necessity towards the internalized extrinsic motivation of gathering for the highly esteemed product quality and the intrinsic motivation of gathering for the pleasure of the activity itself. This internalization of motivations supports the persistence of wild plant gathering, a positive self-perception of gatherers and good quality of engagement with wild plant gathering.(VLID)90709

Focus Groups With Children: Practicalities and Methodological Insights

Die Einschätzung von Erwachsenen kann wichtig für die Erforschung von Interessen und Bedürfnissen von Kindern sein, aber auch Kinder sollten selbst als kompetente Informant:innen gesehen werden. Sozialwissenschaftliche Forschungsmethoden wurden üblicherweise für die Anwendung mit Erwachsenen entwickelt. Die somit implizierten Vorannahmen können aber mit Kindern als Forschungssubjekten problematisch sein. In der Forschung mit Kindern werden besondere Herausforderungen an Forschende und das Forschungsdesign gestellt, weil Kinder andere Bedürfnisse und Fähigkeiten als Erwachsene haben. Obwohl Kinder zunehmend Teil von Forschungsprojekten sind, wurden methodische und methodologische Überlegungen zu deren Inklusion bislang selten expliziert. In einer Studie zu digitalen Technologien im Leben von Kindern, gefördert von der Europäischen Kommission, haben wir Gruppendiskussionen mit Kindern im Vorschul- (5-6 Jahre) und Grundschulalter (8-10 Jahre) durchgeführt. Im vorliegenden Beitrag beschreiben wir unsere ursprünglichen methodischen Überlegungen und reflektieren unsere Erfahrungen, um allgemeine Empfehlungen für Gruppendiskussionen mit Kindern abzuleiten. Wir fokussieren auf das Setting, die formale Struktur des Leitfadens, das Modertor:innenverhalten, die Gruppendynamik, Altersunterschiede, Fähigkeiten der Kinder sowie ethische Implikationen. Abschließend fassen wir Herausforderungen und Potenziale von Gruppendiskussionen mit jungen Kindern zusammen.The assessments of adults are important in the study of the interests and needs of children, but children themselves should also be viewed as competent informants. Social research methodologies have typically been developed for use with adults, and children might challenge underlying assumptions. Particular demands are placed on research design and researchers when researching children, owing to their different needs and abilities. Although children are involved in a growing number of research projects, methodological considerations around their inclusion have been rarely explicated. In a European study on digital devices in the lives of children, we planned and conducted focus groups with preschool (5-6 years of age) and primary school children (8-10 years of age). In this contribution, we share our initial rationales and methodologically reflect on our experiences in order to derive recommendations for conducting focus groups with young children. We concentrate on the setting, formal structure of the schedule, moderator behavior, group dynamic and age differences, skills, and ethical implications. We conclude by outlining strengths and weaknesses of employing focus groups with young children