In this digital age the use of video in social science research has become commonplace. As sophistication has increased along with usability, as spiralling staff costs push out direct observation, ...the researchers training today are grasping video as a means of coming to terms with the continued pressure to produce accessible research. However, the 'fit' of technology with research is far from simple.
Ideally placed to offer guidance to developing researchers, this new text draws together the theoretical, methodological and practical issues of effectively using video across the social sciences. This book concentrates on how researchers can benefit from the use of video in their own research, whether it is:
Video as representation
Video as an aid to reflection
Video that generates participation
Video, voice and articulation, or
Video that acts as a provocation.
In turn each of these five central functions is discussed in relation to different stages of the research process, consisting of:
Research design
Fieldwork and data collection
Analysis of data and findings
Dissemination.
As a practical research tool this book shows how, why and when video should be used, representing an invaluable guide for postgraduate and doctoral students conducting research in the social sciences, as well as any researchers, academics or professionals interested in developing technologically informed research.
The term big data is currently a buzzword in social science, however its precise meaning is ambiguous. In this paper we focus on administrative data which is a distinctive form of big data. Exciting ...new opportunities for social science research will be afforded by new administrative data resources, but these are currently under appreciated by the research community. The central aim of this paper is to discuss the challenges associated with administrative data. We emphasise that it is critical for researchers to carefully consider how administrative data has been produced. We conclude that administrative datasets have the potential to contribute to the development of high-quality and impactful social science research, and should not be overlooked in the emerging field of big data.
•The meaning of big data is ambiguous.•There are many types of big data which offer distinct research opportunities.•Administrative social science data are particularly valuable.•The use of administrative data will place increased burden on the researcher.•The quality and accuracy of administrative data needs to be carefully evaluated.
A robust literature has shown that surveillance disproportionately targets poor people of color through the criminal justice and welfare systems. However, little empirical research traces the ...mechanisms through which surveillance reproduces inequality in other domains, such as subsidized housing, where private actors including property owners and landlords do the work of surveilling tenants. In this article, I apply the theoretical lens of surveillance to the case of subsidized housing to explore the symbolic and material consequences of being monitored at home. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 67 low-income Black mothers in the Sunnyside neighborhood in Houston, Texas, I argue that the scrutiny mothers face in and around their homes reproduces inequality through two key mechanisms. First, surveillance creates a home environment devoid of privacy, that mothers liken to being in prison. Mothers interpret this scrutiny as an effort to control and contain them because of their race, reinforcing racialized notions of presumptive Black criminality. Second, surveillance heightens the material risk for mothers of being caught breaking rules, which paves the way for eventual eviction and exacerbates poverty. Although mothers develop strategies to counter and at times resist disciplinary monitoring, these efforts come with drawbacks that can make surviving poverty harder. Taken together, these findings suggest that being surveilled at home not only diminishes low-income Black mothers’ status in society, but also pushes them into deeper economic precarity. This research extends our understanding of the reach of surveillance into the lives of the poor even in spaces considered to be private.
IMPORTANCE: Evidence-based guidance is limited on how clinicians should screen for social risk factors and which interventions related to these risk factors improve health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To ...describe research on screening and interventions for social risk factors to inform US Preventive Services Task Force considerations of the implications for its portfolio of recommendations. DATA SOURCES: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid MEDLINE, Sociological Abstracts, and Social Services Abstracts (through 2018); Social Interventions Research and Evaluation Network evidence library (January 2019 through May 2021); surveillance through May 21, 2021; interviews with 17 key informants. STUDY SELECTION: Individual-level and health care system–level interventions with a link to the health care system that addressed at least 1 of 7 social risk domains: housing instability, food insecurity, transportation difficulties, utility needs, interpersonal safety, education, and financial strain. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: One investigator abstracted data from studies and a second investigator evaluated data abstractions for completeness and accuracy; key informant interviews were recorded, transcribed, summarized, and integrated with evidence from the literature; narrative synthesis with supporting tables and figures. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Validity of multidomain social risk screening tools; all outcomes reported for social risk–related interventions; challenges or unintended consequences of screening and interventions. RESULTS: Many multidomain social risk screening tools have been developed, but they vary widely in their assessment of social risk and few have been validated. This technical brief identified 106 social risk intervention studies (N = 5 978 596). Of the interventions studied, 73 (69%; n = 127 598) addressed multiple social risk domains. The most frequently addressed domains were food insecurity (67/106 studies 63%, n = 141 797), financial strain (52/106 studies 49%, n = 111 962), and housing instability (63/106 studies 59%, n = 5 881 222). Food insecurity, housing instability, and transportation difficulties were identified by key informants as the most important social risk factors to identify in health care. Thirty-eight studies (36%, n = 5 850 669) used an observational design with no comparator, and 19 studies (18%, n = 15 205) were randomized clinical trials. Health care utilization measures were the most commonly reported outcomes in the 68 studies with a comparator (38 studies 56%, n = 111 102). The literature and key informants described many perceived or potential challenges to implementation of social risk screening and interventions in health care. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Many interventions to address food insecurity, financial strain, and housing instability have been studied, but more randomized clinical trials that report health outcomes from social risk screening and intervention are needed to guide widespread implementation in health care.
Turking in the time of COVID Arechar, Antonio A.; Rand, David G.
Behavior research methods,
12/2021, Letnik:
53, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
On March 16, 2020, the US Government introduced strict social distancing protocols for the United States in an effort to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This had an immediate major effect ...on the job market, with millions of Americans forced to find alternative ways to make a living from home. As online labor markets like Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) play a major role in social science research, concerns have been raised that the pandemic may be reducing the diversity of subjects participating in experiments. Here, we investigate this possibility empirically. Specifically, we look at 15,539 responses gathered in 23 studies run on MTurk between February and July 2020, examining the distribution of gender, age, ethnicity, political preference, and analytic cognitive style. We find notable changes on some of the measures following the imposition of nationwide social distancing: participants are more likely to be less reflective (as measured by the Cognitive Reflection Test), and somewhat less likely to be white, Democrats (traditionally over-represented on MTurk), and experienced with MTurk. Most of these differences are explained by an influx of new participants into the MTurk subject pool who are more diverse and representative – but also less attentive – than previous MTurkers.
Critical realism (CR) is a useful philosophical framework for social science; however, little guidance is available on which precise methods - including methods of data collection, coding, and ...analysis - are best suited to applied CR research. This article provides a concrete example of applied qualitative research using CR as a philosophical and methodological framework. Drawing examples from a study of Canadian farm women's experiences with agricultural policy, I suggest a flexible deductive process of coding and data analysis that is consistent with CR ontology and epistemology. The paper follows the typical stages of qualitative research while demonstrating the application of methods informed by CR at each stage. Important considerations CR ontology and epistemology raise, such as the use of existing theory and critical engagement with participants' knowledge and experience, are discussed throughout. Ultimately, I identify two key causal mechanisms shaping the lives of farm women and suggest a future direction for feminist political economy theory to more effectively analyze women's work in agricultural contexts.
PDF
