A critical analysis of interpretive research studies in cooperative education and internships

Much research in co-op has utilized a quantitative or experimental approach within a positivist paradigm. Here we present a critical analysis of interpretive/qualitative studies in terms of output, diversity, quality, along with an overview of the topics investigated. Our analysis suggests that interpretive work is a substantial part of co-op research output, and that is spans a wide range of programs, disciplines and geographical locations. Similar themes to those investigated by a quantitative approach are investigated by interpretive researchers, but there is emphasis in interpretive work on understanding more details of co-op issues in relation to the educational context

Visitors' Interpretive Strategies at Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Making Meaning in Art Museums is one of two research projects on the theme of art museums and interpretive communities. The first was published as Making Meaning 1:Visitors' Interpretive Strategies at Wolverhampton Art Gallery (RCMG 2001). Making Meaning in Art Museums 2 is the second of two research projects on the theme of art museums and interpretive communities. The Long Gallery at the Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery was selected as the research site for this second study. Both studies have explored the ways in which visitors talked about their experience of a visit to the art museum-both what they said about the paintings and the whole of the visit.The research questions on which this project is based are: What interpretive strategies and repertories are deployed by art museum visitors? Can distinct interpretive communities be identified? What are the implications for the communication policies within art museums? This research is an ethnographic study, using qualitative methods.This research project was funded through a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Boar

The interpretive approach as a research tool : inside the REDCo project

This contribution shows how the author’s interpretive approach to religious education was used as a theoretical and pedagogical stimulus and an empirical research tool by researchers in the European Commission Framework 6 REDCo (Religion, Education, Dialogue, Conflict) Project. The origins and development of the interpretive approach, from its roots in the ethnographic study of children from religious backgrounds, are summarised, and an account is given about how its key concepts were used to frame a checklist of questions for REDCo researchers dealing with both empirical research methodology and pedagogy. Examples and case studies are presented illustrating how the approach was used by REDCo researchers as a methodological tool for empirical research, a pedagogical tool or stimulus to pedagogical clarification and a tool for meta-analysis and theory development

Reflections on the Use of Grounded Theory in Interpretive Information Systems Research

In Information Systems research there are a growing number of studies that must necessarily draw upon the contexts, experiences and narratives of practitioners. This calls for research approaches that are qualitative and may also be interpretive. These may include case studies or action research projects. For some researchers, particularly those with limited experience of interpretive qualitative research, there may be a lack of confidence when faced with the prospect of collecting and analysing the data from studies of this kind. In this paper we reflect on the lessons learned from using Grounded Theory in an interpretive case study based piece of research. The paper discusses the lessons and provides guidance for the use of the method in interpretive studies

Researching from Within: Moral and Ethical Issues and Dilemmas

With the proliferation of taught research degrees over the last few years, the number of people undertaking research within their own institution is rising. This article examines the ethical and moral dilemmas confronting such ‘insider’ researchers. Although all research has implications for those involved, in this paper we argue that undertaking interpretive insider research within your own institution or organisation makes these implications even more acute. By reviewing the literature in this area and drawing on the authors’ experiences of undertaking two separate interpretive studies at institutions where they were members of staff, the article discusses key issues of gaining access, anonymity, researcher bias and power. Although undertaking insider research can be problematic, it is argued that researchers should be able to enter the setting with confidence, as long as the appropriate ethical boundaries are established at the outset and constantly re-visited throughout the process

Reactions to reading “Remaining consistent with method? An analysis of grounded theory research in accounting”: A comment on Gurd

Purpose: The present paper is a comment on Gurd's paper published in QRAM on the use of grounded theory in interpretive accounting research. Methodology: Like Gurd, we conducted a bibliographic study on prior pieces of research claiming the use of grounded theory. Findings: We found a large diversity of ways of doing grounded theory. There are as many ways as articles. Consistent with the spirit of grounded theory, the field suggested the research questions, methods and verifiability criteria. From the same sample as Gurd, we arrived at different conclusions. Research limitations: In our research, we did not verify the consistency of claims with grounded theory. We took for granted that they had understood and made operational the suggestions of the founders of the method. Practical implications: The four canons of grounded theory can be considered as reference marks rather than as the rules of the method. Accordingly, the researcher is free to develop his own techniques and procedures. Originality/Value of the paper: This paper stimulates debates on grounded theory based research. On the other hand, it conveys the richness and the variety of interpretive research. Two similar studies, using similar samples and methods arrive at different (divergent) conclusions.grounded theory, interpretive research

What future for interpretive work in Film and Media Studies?

Beginning with the commonplace that acts of interpreting individual films and other media works are central to media studies, this article argues that if such accounts are to be presented as interesting, or as the principal evidence for theoretical positions, then more serious engagement with mechanisms involved in meaning production is needed than is common in the field. The author traces interpretive approaches in media studies from various forms of textual determinism (e.g. approaches associated with ‘Screen theory’) through to reader-response criticism, appeals to interpretive communities, and New Audience Studies. Core issues in ascribing meaning to texts are outlined, in belated celebration of the detailed critique of film interpretation in David Bordwell’s often overlooked 'Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema' (1989). Proposing ways in which greater interpretive reflexiveness can be developed, the article concludes by discussing difficulties with the idea of ‘exemplary readings’: readings which are simultaneously exceptional or outstanding and yet at the same time examples of interpretive processes which are interesting precisely because they are assumed to be followed by any average or ordinary reader

Interpretive and Critical Phenomenological Crime Studies: A Model Design

The critical and interpretive phenomenological approach is underutilized in the study of crime. This commentary describes this approach, guided by the question, “Why are interpretive phenomenological methods appropriate for qualitative research in criminology?” Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to describe a model of the interpretive phenomenological approach, illustrating its effectiveness in qualitative studies of criminology. The discussion illustrates the components of interpretive phenomenology approach and procedures of data analysis. These methods provide experiential data that highlight the effects of incarceration of juveniles as adults. Data can influence policymakers to reconsider criminal penalties for juveniles and toward enactment of more deterrent legislation

Moral wrongs, disadvantages, and disability: a critique of critical disability studies

Critical disability studies (CDS) has emerged as an approach to the study of disability over the last decade or so and has sought to present a challenge to the predominantly materialist line found in the more conventional disability studies approaches. In much the same way that the original development of the social model resulted in a necessary correction to the overly individualized accounts of disability that prevailed in much of the interpretive accounts which then dominated medical sociology, so too has CDS challenged the materialist line of disability studies. In this paper we review the ideas behind this development and analyse and critique some of its key ideas. The paper starts with a brief overview of the main theorists and approaches contained within CDS and then moves on to normative issues; namely, to the ethical and political applicability of CDS

What future for interpretive work in Film and Media Studies?

Beginning with the commonplace that acts of interpreting individual films and other media works are central to media studies, this article argues that if such accounts are to be presented as interesting, or as the principal evidence for theoretical positions, then more serious engagement with mechanisms involved in meaning production is needed than is common in the field. The author traces interpretive approaches in media studies from various forms of textual determinism (e.g. approaches associated with ‘Screen theory’) through to reader-response criticism, appeals to interpretive communities, and New Audience Studies. Core issues in ascribing meaning to texts are outlined, in belated celebration of the detailed critique of film interpretation in David Bordwell’s often overlooked 'Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema' (1989). Proposing ways in which greater interpretive reflexiveness can be developed, the article concludes by discussing difficulties with the idea of ‘exemplary readings’: readings which are simultaneously exceptional or outstanding and yet at the same time examples of interpretive processes which are interesting precisely because they are assumed to be followed by any average or ordinary reader