Purpose
Qualitative researchers have been criticised for not justifying sample size decisions in their research. This short paper addresses the issue of which sample sizes are appropriate and valid ...within different approaches to qualitative research.
Design/methodology/approach
The sparse literature on sample sizes in qualitative research is reviewed and discussed. This examination is informed by the personal experience of the author in terms of assessing, as an editor, reviewer comments as they relate to sample size in qualitative research. Also, the discussion is informed by the author’s own experience of undertaking commercial and academic qualitative research over the last 31 years.
Findings
In qualitative research, the determination of sample size is contextual and partially dependent upon the scientific paradigm under which investigation is taking place. For example, qualitative research which is oriented towards positivism, will require larger samples than in-depth qualitative research does, so that a representative picture of the whole population under review can be gained. Nonetheless, the paper also concludes that sample sizes involving one single case can be highly informative and meaningful as demonstrated in examples from management and medical research. Unique examples of research using a single sample or case but involving new areas or findings that are potentially highly relevant, can be worthy of publication. Theoretical saturation can also be useful as a guide in designing qualitative research, with practical research illustrating that samples of 12 may be cases where data saturation occurs among a relatively homogeneous population.
Practical implications
Sample sizes as low as one can be justified. Researchers and reviewers may find the discussion in this paper to be a useful guide to determining and critiquing sample size in qualitative research.
Originality/value
Sample size in qualitative research is always mentioned by reviewers of qualitative papers but discussion tends to be simplistic and relatively uninformed. The current paper draws attention to how sample sizes, at both ends of the size continuum, can be justified by researchers. This will also aid reviewers in their making of comments about the appropriateness of sample sizes in qualitative research.
Within qualitative research in-person interviews have the reputation for being the highest standard of interviewer-participant encounter. However, there are other approaches to interviewing such as ...telephone and e-mail, which may be appropriate for a variety of reasons such as cost, time and privacy. Although there has been much discussion of the relative values of different interview methods, little research has been conducted to assess what differentiates them using quantifiable measures. None of this research has addressed the video call, which is the interview mode most like the in-person interview. This study uses quantifiable measures generated by the interview to explore the relative value of in-person and video call interview modes.
Interview data gathered by a qualitative research study exploring the views of people with IBS about hypnotherapy for their condition were used. In-person and video call interviews using the same topic guide were compared on measures of length (time and word count), proportion of time the interviewer was dominant, the number of topics generated (codes) and the number of individual statements on which those topics were based.
Both interview methods produced a similar number of words and a similar number of topics (codes) were discussed, however the number of statements upon which the variety of topics was based was notably larger for the in-person interviews.
These findings suggest that in in-person study interviews were marginally superior to video calls in that interviewees said more, although this was on a similar range of topics. However, the difference is sufficiently modest that time and budget constraints may justify the use of some video call interviews within a qualitative research study.
Abstract Qualitative research is increasingly part of the methodological repertoire of scholars who study families. In this article, we examine contemporary trends, tensions, and possibilities for ...the interdisciplinary enterprise of qualitative research on and about families. We situate our collaborative approach as critical family scholars who pursue social justice work. We then examine four trends that have recently emerged or evolved in qualitative family research. First, we address methodological innovations associated with the pervasive emergence of online technologies and their possibilities for enhanced sample selection, data collection, and data analysis. Second, we address the potential for qualitative methodological orthodoxy to become rigidly embedded as a result of relying on a formulaic approach and instead we advocate for a continued commitment to analytic flexibility, which has characterized qualitative family research since its inception. Third, we emphasize the interlocking relationship between qualitative family research and the process of theorizing. Fourth, we highlight the potential of reflexivity—not simply in positionality statements, but throughout the qualitative knowledge production process. We conclude with guidance for scholars, reviewers, editors, and readers in utilizing and assessing excellent qualitative family research—research that embodies one or more of these trends of innovation, flexibility, theoretically driven, and reflexivity.
A bstract Objective This study identifies five common, cultural beliefs that women perceive as encouraging motherhood in the United States and examines how they impact the parenthood decision‐making ...and experiences of currently childless women. Background Research shows how cultural ideas about “good” motherhood impact women's lives. We know less about the role of cultural beliefs that encourage motherhood despite its well‐known hardships, nor how currently childless women navigate these beliefs. Method This study uses 107 interviews with American women ages 35–50 who for varied reasons have not (yet) had children. It identifies five prominent beliefs about motherhood and examines how currently childless women consider and respond to them. Results Two beliefs—that motherhood provides fulfillment and that children ensure future security—functioned more as “myths” and were often rejected by interviewees. Three beliefs—that women are “wired” to want children; women are nurturing; and motherhood bestows a unique form of joy —functioned as essentialist “mystiques,” remaining unquestioned or only slightly revised by interviewees. Further, all beliefs, but particularly the “mystiques,” complicated many women's parenthood decision‐making processes and experiences of childlessness. Conclusion To understand how the institution of motherhood impacts women who have not (yet) had children, it is crucial to account for the role of cultural beliefs that support its appeal. This study highlights the heterogeneous ways that cultural beliefs that encourage motherhood impact women's parenthood decision‐making and their experiences of childlessness. It emphasizes, in particular, the durability and universality of essentialist ideas (mystiques) about motherhood.
Abstract
Objective
The article examines how maternal gatekeeping practices evolve in the post‐separation trajectory and identifies the main relational and contextual factors shaping these processes ...over time.
Background
Studies of maternal gatekeeping have only recently begun to include post‐separation families based on cross‐sectional research designs. This article is theoretically grounded in a life‐course and human agency framework, and it both offers a novel understanding of maternal gatekeeping as a dynamic process and examines its relational embeddedness.
Methods
The data stem from the prospective qualitative study “The multiple paths of lone parenthood,” which has been ongoing in Switzerland for over a decade and includes four waves of semistructured interviews with mothers who have experienced lone parenthood (
N
= 88 interviews).
Results
Most mothers reported
active facilitation
practices at the beginning of their trajectory, encouraging the father–child relationship. Subsequently, shifts toward
hands‐off
or
active gate‐closing
practices took place over time along with the evolution of relational circumstances, such as the father's involvement or children's autonomy, or by an accumulation of negative experiences.
Conclusion
The relationship with the nonresident father creates ongoing moral dilemmas for mothers over the post‐separation trajectory. Indeed, these mothers must navigate social norms that emphasize the importance of ensuring father–child contact while safeguarding the child's well‐being and ensuring that the father complies with visitation arrangements and alimony.
Implications
Professional support and legal regulations should consider the moral dilemmas experienced by mothers by establishing measures to relieve separated mothers of the need to take the initiative to obtain the father's compliance with their obligations.
Replication in Social Science Freese, Jeremy; Peterson, David
Annual review of sociology,
07/2017, Volume:
43, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Across the medical and social sciences, new discussions about replication have led to transformations in research practice. Sociologists, however, have been largely absent from these discussions. The ...goals of this review are to introduce sociologists to these developments, synthesize insights from science studies about replication in general, and detail the specific issues regarding replication that occur in sociology. The first half of the article argues that a sociologically sophisticated understanding of replication must address both the ways that replication rules and conventions evolved within an epistemic culture and how those cultures are shaped by specific research challenges. The second half outlines the four main dimensions of replicability in quantitative sociology-verifiability, robustness, repeatability, and generalizability-and discusses the specific ambiguities of interpretation that can arise in each. We conclude by advocating some commonsense changes to promote replication while acknowledging the epistemic diversity of our field.
Our social interactions are driven by complex biopsychic processes that are complicated by the fact that humans are individuals and at the same time members of one or more social systems, such as ...schools. This book contributes to explaining the social mechanisms influencing students' "need to belong" fulfilment at school. The theoretical framework is informed by human needs understood as cognitive mechanisms of neural processes that regulate human behaviour and bio-values. The fieldwork was conducted in two secondary schools in Austria and Australia. Based on the findings, the transformative three-step approach suggests a course of action for student belonging. (DIPF/Verlag)
Advances in communication technologies offer new opportunities for the conduct of qualitative research. Among these, Zoom—an innovative videoconferencing platform—has a number of unique features that ...enhance its potential appeal to qualitative and mixed-methods researchers. Although studies have explored the use of information and communication technologies for conducting research, few have explored both researcher and participant perspectives on the use of web and videoconferencing platforms. Further, data are lacking on the benefits and challenges of using Zoom as a data collection method. In this study, we explore the feasibility and acceptability of using Zoom to collect qualitative interview data within a health research context in order to better understand its suitability for qualitative and mixed-methods researchers. We asked 16 practice nurses who participated in online qualitative interviews about their experiences of using Zoom and concurrently recorded researcher observations. Although several participants experienced technical difficulties, most described their interview experience as highly satisfactory and generally rated Zoom above alternative interviewing mediums such as face-to-face, telephone, and other videoconferencing services, platforms, and products. Findings suggest the viability of Zoom as a tool for collection of qualitative data because of its relative ease of use, cost-effectiveness, data management features, and security options. Further research exploring the utility of Zoom is recommended in order to critically assess and advance innovations in online methods.
The way that we as researchers view and interpret our social worlds is impacted by where, when, and how we are socially located and in what society. The position from which we see the world around us ...impacts our research interests, how we approach the research and participants, the questions we ask, and how we interpret the data. In this article, we argue that it is not a straightforward or easy task to conceptualize and practice positionality. We have developed a Social Identity Map that researchers can use to explicitly identify and reflect on their social identity to address the difficulty that many novice critical qualitative researchers experience when trying to conceptualize their social identities and positionality. The Social Identity Map is not meant to be used as a rigid tool but rather as a flexible starting point to guide researchers to reflect and be reflexive about their social location. The map involves three tiers: the identification of social identities (Tier 1), how these positions impact our life (Tier 2), and details that may be tied to the particularities of our social identity (Tier 3). With the use of this map as a guide, we aim for researchers to be able to better identify and understand their social locations and how they may pose challenges and aspects of ease within the qualitative research process. Being explicit about our social identities allows us (as researchers) to produce reflexive research and give our readers the tools to recognize how we produced the data. Being reflexive about our social identities, particularly in comparison to the social position of our participants, helps us better understand the power relations imbued in our research, further providing an opportunity to be reflexive about how to address this in a responsible and respectful way.
Abstract Objective This study examined family dynamics that are common in families experiencing elder family financial exploitation (EFFE) using an innovative analytical protocol, qualitative ...genogram analysis. Background EFFE is a form of elder abuse that affects many older adults and their families. Individual factors associated with EFFE have been examined, but what is missing is a greater focus on the complex family dynamics that contribute to this violation of older family members. Method Using qualitative genogram analysis (QGA), a three‐step analytical protocol using family systems theory as a foundation, this study identified key relationship patterns commonly found in families where exploitation had occurred. Family genograms generated from 20 interviewees representing 20 families that reportedly experienced EFFE were used to identify common family dynamic themes. Results Using QGA, we identified four relational dynamic themes across families: distance and closeness, triangulation, power and dominance, and partner influence. Conclusion These themes illustrate that families experiencing EFFE have several similar relational dynamics, which may have contributed to creating contexts that made older family members more vulnerable to financial exploitation. Implications The findings of this study provide important indicators for practitioners (e.g., family therapists, family life educators, family attorneys) and policymakers in supporting older family members in making better financial decisions later in life.
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