“Tensions That I’m Having to Navigate”: Reflections on Qualitative Approaches From Behavior Analyst Researchers

Behavior analysts in research and clinical practice are interested in an ever-expanding array of topics. They are compelled to explore the social validity of the interventions they propose and the findings they generate. As the field moves in these important directions, qualitative methods are becoming increasingly relevant. Representing a departure from small-n design favored by behavior analysts, qualitative approaches provide analysts a unique set of tools to answer questions that prioritize voice, experience, and understandings in context. Despite recognition of the value of qualitative approaches in other disciplines, application of qualitative methods in behavior analysis remains limited. One likely explanation is that behavior analysts are not yet fluent in applying qualitative approaches within their clinical and research investigations. To address this issue, exploration of qualitative research approaches in behavior analytic literature is needed, alongside practical advice for analysts who are interested in using qualitative methods. This article briefly outlines qualitative literature which pertains to behavior analysts wanting to incorporate qualitative methods into their inquiries. Attention is primarily drawn to the need for coherence in designing and implementing a robust qualitative study that aligns with the behavior analyst’s aims and perspective on knowing. A set of guiding questions are provided to orient behavior analysts to considerations in qualitative research and outline how analysts can conceptualize a strong qualitative study. This article aims to support increased application of qualitative methods by behavior analysts, where these methods best address the function of the behavior analytic investigation.

Applied behavior analysis is a quantitative field. We calculate frequency of responses per minute, percentage of incorrect and correct responses, percentage of agreement across raters on a regular basis. The safety in numbers can be comfortable—they are clear and objective. However, numbers do not provide the whole picture of a person’s experience. Qualitative approaches provide valuable insights into the lived experience of people. Yet, undertaking qualitative approaches can be scary for those of us in a quantitative field. The subjective data and findings can be extremely challenging to navigate. There is also the matter of feeling like an imposter or a fraud. In this personal narrative inquiry, I tell my story of embracing qualitative approaches as a behavior analyst, the challenges and the surprising discoveries of the depths this data could help us reach. The relevance of qualitative approaches lies in understanding how various qualitative methods and approaches can enhance our understanding of lived experience. Some points about qualitative research are drawn out for context, and my personal experience is explored to show the journey, joys, and challenges of discovering and embracing qualitative research as a behavior analyst.

Standards for Cultural Competence in Behavior Analysis Practice are based on the need interpreted by the Multicultural Alliance for Behavior Analysis, which believes that socially responsible Behavior Analysts, and those in study of Behavior Analysis, have the ethical responsibility to be culturally competent clinicians. material that follows is the first attempt by the profession to delineate standards for culturally competent behavior analysis practice. There are currently 12,118 certificants from 57 different counties registered with the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) (BACB, personal communication, March 7, 2013). In addition, the United States Census bureau projects there will be significant increases in racial and ethnic diversity over the next four decades, in part due to international migration (Guarneri & Ortman, 2009). Paralleling this growth, Behavior analysts will be called to serve an increasingly heterogeneous population. Ensuring that this diverse population obtains the level of care necessary, delivered in a culturally sensitive fashion, will be a challenge behavior analysts and health systems, and policy makers (Branch & Fraser, 2000) Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) has a diversity policy, in which they support diversity. It states: The Association for Behavior Analysis International seeks to be an organization comprised of people of different ages, races, nationalities, ethnic groups, sexual orientations, genders, classes, religions, abilities, and educational levels. ABAI opposes unfair (Diversity Policy, 2012). Similarly, the BACB, has outlined Guidelines for responsible conduct which includes: 1.02 Competence (a) Behavior analysts provide services, teach, and conduct research only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, or appropriate professional experience. (b) Behavior analysts provide services, teach, or conduct research in new areas or involving new techniques only after first undertaking appropriate study, training, supervision, and/or consultation from persons who are competent in those areas or techniques. 1.05 Professional and Scientific Relationships (b) When behavior analysts provide assessment, evaluation, treatment, counseling, supervision, teaching, consultation, research, or other behavior analytic services to an individual, a group, or an organization, they use language that is fully understandable to the recipient of those services. They provide appropriate information prior to service delivery about the nature of such services and appropriate information later about results and conclusions. (c) Where differences of age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, or socioeconomic status significantly affect behavior analysts' work concerning particular individuals or groups, behavior analysts obtain the training, experience, consultation, or supervision necessary to ensure the competence of their services, or they make appropriate referrals. (d) In their work-related activities, behavior analysts do not engage in discrimination against individuals or groups based on age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, or any basis proscribed by law. (e) Behavior analysts do not knowingly engage in behavior that is harassing or demeaning to persons with whom they interact in their work based on factors such as those persons' age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, or socioeconomic status, in accordance with law. Standards for Cultural Competence in Behavior Analysts aims to provide a framework for Behavior Analysts to work within a heterogeneous population (see appendix a) * Definition: Culture In Beyond Freedom and Dignity, Skinner offered a simple behaviorist definition of culture: social environment is what is called culture. …

Part I: Background for Ethics in Behavior Analysis. How We Got Here. Core Ethical Principles. What Makes Behavior Analysis Unique? Most Frequent Ethical Problems. Everyday Ethical Challenges for Average Citizens and Behavior Analysts. Part II: Understanding and Following the Behavior Analyst Certification Board Guidelines for Responsible Conduct. Responsible Conduct of a Behavior Analyst (Guideline 1). The Behavior Analyst's Responsibility to Clients (Guideline 2). Assessing Behavior (Guideline 3). The Behavior Analyst and the Individual Behavior Change Program (Guideline 4). The Behavior Analyst as Teacher or Supervisor (Guideline 5). The Behavior Analyst and the Workplace (Guideline 6). The Behavior Analyst's Ethical Responsibility to the Field of Behavior Analysis (Guideline 7). The Behavior Analyst's Ethical Responsibility to Colleagues (Guideline 8). The Behavior Analyst's Ethical Responsibility to Society (Guideline 9). The Behavior Analyst and Research (Guideline 10). Part III: Professional Skills for Ethical Behavior Analysts. Conducting a Risk-benefit Analysis. Delivering the Ethics Message Effectively. Avoiding the Slippery Slope of Ethical Problems by Using a Declaration of Professional Services. Part IV: Tips, Guidelines, Index, and Scenarios for Students. A Dozen Practical Tips for Ethical Conduct on Your First Job. Appendix A: Behavior Analyst Certification Board Guidelines. Appendix B: Index for Behavior Analyst Certification Board Guidelines for Responsible Conduct. Appendix C: 50 Ethics Scenarios for Behavior Analysts. Appendix D: Suggested Further Reading.

Applied behavior analysts are developing and supplanting existing children's services in many states. While many elements may determine success and failure with a particular child, some practices will greatly enhance success with clients. Four tactics are considered here: (a) shared basic knowledge of behavior analytic principles (b) application of the correct behavior analytic model of child development (c) a functionalist perspective that allows for individualization of treatment; and (d) consumer profiling. The Importance of Shared Basic Knowledge of Behavior Analytic Principles Behavior analysis services are greatly in demand for work with children in school, home, and community settings. Behavior analysts work as members of a team. Typically, they design programs that are then implemented by other people. In a school setting, the behavior analysts may be working with teachers and teaching assistants. In home situations, they will be working with families and staff to implement programs. Usually the behavior analysts do not work directly with the children (or do so infrequently for assessment purposes). Instead, they function as consultants working with staff and family implement the programs. For consistent and effective implementation of programs, it is essential that the individuals involved understand what they are doing and why. Therefore, it is imperative that the behavior analysts be able to communicate effectively about behavioral principles to people working directly with the child. Those implementing the plans must be able to identify the function(s) of the (problem) behaviors for the individual child and which factors in the environment are causing and/or maintaining the behaviors. It is not enough, for example, for a parent to follow a recipe for a token system, time out, or an incidental teaching protocol. Just as rote learning without understanding in children rarely generalizes to effective learning, so too individuals working to change problem behaviors will not be effective in doing so without understanding the principles involved. For example, using time-out when problem behavior is maintained by escape from an aversive task would likely function as a reinforcer and thus would fail to decrease problem behavior. Furthermore, motivation to follow through on all aspects of a plan, (particularly aspects which may be boring for the helper or be met with resistance from the child), often depends on understanding why these procedures are important. The premise here is that when all involved have the same basic knowledge of behavioral principles, it is easier to plan together, implement, and reassess treatment plans as a team. In order to take the role of team leader and educator of other team members, as described above, the behavior analyst should possess certain basic competencies. Shook and Favell (1996) list basic competencies which behavior analysts should be expected to demonstrate. This list was compiled through a national survey conducted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation as a means of updating the Florida Behavior Analysis Certification Examination. Two hundred fifty-six individuals from 35 states participated in this survey. All were certified behavior analysts in Florida or Oklahoma or full members of the Association for Behavior Analysis. The results were compiled into a list of 108 competencies (divided into 12 content areas) which were judged by the respondents to be important skills in behavior analysis. These competencies, (see Shook and Favell, 1996, or Shook, Hartsfield, and Hemingway, 1995, for the complete list), include skills relating to conducting a behavioral assessment using various methods to collect assessment information, summarizing and interpreting this information and designing treatment programs based on these. In addition, credentialed behavior analysts must be able to identify the characteristics of behavior analysis (and distinguish between behaviorism, the experimental analysis of behavior and applied behavior analysis) and identify legal and ethical considerations (e. …

The value that qualitative research brings to the occupational therapy body of evidence is widely accepted. Including evidence relating to individuals’ lived experiences through qualitative studies parallels occupational therapy's practice focus and theoretical underpinnings of the person in context. Engaging with consumers of occupational therapy services, for example, ensures that our practices, clinical and academic, remain current and reflective of the experience of people we work with. Qualitative research, where participants provided rich and in-depth description of their personal experience, is thus akin to client centred practice which is our modus operandi (World Federation of Occupational Therapists, 2016). Qualitative research can be considered a natural extension of occupational therapy practice experience and expertise. After all, occupational therapists who are guided by a person-centred approach, will inevitably explore and consider their client's unique values and experiences in order to understand the context and meanings underlying occupational participation. We are comfortable interacting with clients and, consequently, occupational therapists should have prerequisite skills necessary for meaningful data collection with research participants using qualitative approaches. There is, however, a difference as the primary purpose of interaction is different – one aims to assist the other to enquire. Different techniques are used in these interactions reflecting the different methodological traditions from which they emerge. Clinicians know that ‘one size does not fit all’ in therapy. We thus interpret findings of reliable, standardised and valid assessments in the context of unique occupational performance needs, goals, roles and environments of the client, in order to collaboratively develop and intervention plan with our client. So it is with qualitative research data and methodology. The information collected will only ‘make sense’ if the assessment/enquiry methods used are rigorous, take account of the unique context and experiences of people involved, and ‘make sense’ from a range of perspectives. How do we know if qualitative research methodologies are rigorous? Can something that is so unique even incorporate attributes comparable across study questions and contexts? Just as therapy uses guidelines and methodological research to enhance the consistency and quality of practice processes, what tools can qualitative researchers in occupational therapy use to develop and implement robust research questions and procedures? Do we apply the same level of precision used to generate qualitative evidence in practice to the data collection, analysis and interpretation that we do in qualitative research? Is there a risk that qualitative findings from research is less rigorous than what we would use in practice? Are we taking the appropriate measures to ensure qualitative research produce findings that will have the potential to advance occupational therapy practice, research, and education? When it comes to the ‘quality’ of qualitative research, evidence suggests that ‘sample size’ is both a matter of contention and a meaningful guide to issues that need consideration. In the first instance, while sample size has been identified as a factor in study design, and it can be difficult to determine with precision, the size of the sample should be guided by ‘data saturation’ rather than sampling of people per se (Creswell, 2013). At the same time, the concept of data saturation has been challenged as a means to determine the quality of qualitative studies (O'Reiley & Parker, 2013). Other authors have proposed sample size can be determined on the number of participants rather than ‘data’, depending on the qualitative methodologies. For example, phenomenological studies may use between five and 20 participants (Creswell, 2013; Green & Thorogood, 2014) while three to 15 participants is acceptable in studies using interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers & Larkin, 2009). Still further, some qualitative researchers avoid suggestion of any particular approach, instead providing resources to researchers to help align their study design, procedures and sample size as best as possible with the question they are seeking to answer (for example, the Rosalind Franklin-Qualitative Research Appraisal Instrument and the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research.) These resources have been developed precisely to help qualitative researchers design, conduct, and report comprehensive research that is credible, dependable and transferable to other contexts. The Australian Occupational Therapy Journal through its Editorial Board and Reviewers, stays abreast of discussions and developments in qualitative methodologies and approaches. Authors need to remember that, the journal will publish ‘papers that have a sound theoretical basis, methodological rigour with sufficient scope and scale to make important new contributions to the occupational therapy body of knowledge’ (Wiley & Sons, 2018). It will maintain its commitment to ‘disseminate scholarship and evidence to substantiate, influence and shape policy and occupational therapy practice locally and globally’ (Wiley & Sons). To achieve this commitment, authors of qualitative research studies must provide strong justification to support their methodological choices and clearly describe data collection, analysis and interpretation steps that will demonstrate trustworthiness of findings and design rigour.

Guest editorial: What's common with qualitative nursing research these days?

The use of qualitative research in dairy science has increased considerably in recent years, providing the opportunity to inform research and practice. This review aims to enhance the accessibility of qualitative research among a range of audiences and specifically: (1) provide an overview of what qualitative research is and the value it can bring to scientific inquiries in the dairy context, (2) illustrate the emergence of qualitative dairy science research in the past 15 to 20 years, (3) outline the role of the researcher and key philosophical assumptions underlying qualitative research, (4) describe qualitative research approaches and methods used in dairy science research, and (5) highlight key aspects of qualitative inquiry used to ensure research trustworthiness. Qualitative approaches in dairy science enable researchers to understand myriad topics including stakeholder relationships, decision-making, and behaviors regarding dairy cattle management, animal welfare, and disease prevention and control measures. Approaches that were used often for qualitative data collection were individual interviews and focus groups, and variations of thematic analysis were common analytical frameworks. To assess public values, attitudes, and perceptions, mixed methods questionnaires that combined quantitative data with qualitative data from open-ended questions were used regularly. Although still used infrequently, action research and participatory approaches have the potential to bridge the research-implementation gap by facilitating group-based learning and on-farm changes. Some publications described the philosophical assumptions inherent to qualitative research, and many authors included reflexivity and positionality statements. Although a comprehensive description of strategies to meet trustworthiness criteria for qualitative research was uncommon, many publications mentioned certain aspects of trustworthiness, such as member checking, researcher triangulation, and the recording of reflexive notes. Qualitative research has been used to deepen our understanding of phenomena relevant to the dairy sector and has opened the door for a broad array of new opportunities. In addition to having merit on its own, qualitative research can guide, inform, and expand on quantitative research, and an understanding of the core pillars of qualitative research can foster interdisciplinary collaborations.

The Science of Consequences: How They Affect Genes, Change the Brain, and Impact Our World

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and research summary of peer-delivered Corrective Reading instruction. Emphasis is placed on a program entitled, Project PALS (Peer-Assisted Learning System) conducted in Washington State. It has been shown that Project PALS can improve the reading performance of high school students who have difficulty reading, including students at risk for school failure and those identified to receive education services. Finally, areas of future research are discussed. ********** Educational reform is at the forefront of national debates. The public is concerned about low achieving public schools; federal and state governments are taking action to instill changes in our schools so that academic success by all children can be realized. Statewide academic testing at various grade levels is being conducted nationwide for accountability and assessment purposes. Educators continue to search for school reform models and procedures that can make a difference in the education of our youth. Behavior analysis in education is a missing voice in current school reform and policy literatures. Parents and education consumer groups need to be convinced of the utility of behavior analysis in education to education reform for EVERY learner, and beyond special learners. John Stone's work (see http://cpaa.asu.edu/cpaa/v4n8.html and http://www.education-consumers.com) is one good source. There are several reasons why behavior analysts are in a prime position to have a great deal of impact on this school reform movement. First, behavior analysts routinely take the kinds of data the public and funding agencies want. Behavior analysts collect both summative and formative data. In fact, one of the attributes that distinguishes behavior analysts from others is their demand for and collection of data. Second, behavior analysts are trained to make data-based decisions. If the kinds of outcomes we expect are not being demonstrated, changes will be made. However, these changes will be made based on data rather than on testimonials or opinions. Third, behavior analysts have the technology to make meaningful changes in school settings. Effective instructional techniques stem from or are consistent with a behavioral framework. These procedures include, but are not limited to, Direct Instruction, Precision Teaching, Personalized System of Instruction, and Programmed Instruction (West & Hamerlynck, 1992) as well as Class-Wide Peer Tutoring, Strategic Instruction, and Cooperative Learning (Meese, 2001). Finally, behavior analysts have expertise in other areas of learning (e.g., functional living skills) that can be adapted to the teaching of academic skills. For example, peer- delivered instruction has a long and rich research base (Fulk & King, 2001; Lindsley & Johnson, 1997; Maheady, Sacca, & Harper, 1988; Meese, 2001). Therefore, taken together, behavior analysts are in a position to make a meaningful and significant impact in our public schools. This paper will address a serious academic problem in the U.S.; specifically, the reading deficits of our middle school and high school students will be examined. Instructional programs and techniques (i.e., Direct Instruction and peer-mediated strategies) that have been applied to this problem will be discussed. Finally, areas of future research will be presented. Project Follow-Through was the largest educational experiment in history, yet the databased results vindicating Direct Instruction and Behavior Analysis models were ignored and (allegedly) covered up. See Lindsley (1984, 1992) as well as http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adiep/ft/151toc.htm for further information. Overview of Reading Problems Over the years whole groups of high school students have experienced leaming failures, particularly in the area of reading, not necessarily because of cognitive deficits but because of poor instruction. …

The View From Here

is an ordinary language term that appears to have value to the culture. is often determined by the admission of behavior. Creative behavior is a term that can be deconstructed by behavior analysts leading to training procedures to increase this behavior. Behavior analysis is a theory of context akin to evolutionary theory. In this type of theorizing the question is not if the context can be arranged to lead to greater amount of behavior but how to arrange the context to select for such behaviors. This paper attempts to serve as a preliminary essay on the selection of creativity, the production of novel products and forms of behavior through contingency co-adduction and derived stimulus relations, and the arrangement of the context to set the occasion for exploratory behavior that some would term curiosity. Special emphasis is placed on such use in incentive programs to increase creativity. Keywords: Creativity, verbal behavior, novelty Introduction In the operational analysis of psychological terms, Skinner (1948) discussed the importance of taking ordinary language phenomena and attempting to determine the contexts in which they occur. Skinner did not clearly lay out the determinants for whether an ordinary language phenomenon is significant for behavior analyst to explore specifically; however a general read of the work suggests a two prong test. Prong one--the term would need to be meaningful in the sense that properties or functions ascribed to the behavioral event would produce conditions that define the event. In addition, prong two the fruitfulness by specifying the functions and defining conditions, we can predict new events or control (increasing or decreasing the occurrence of such events according to cultural values). Creativity appears to be an ordinary language term that would meet this two-pronged test, for it is a term that has important social interest, particularly in the school system and for employers and it appears that behavior analyst's can do work to specify contexts to increase its occurrence. As Skinner (1974) pointed out, definitional issues have always plagued the study of creativity. Many would like to drive creativity into the organism and speak of a creative mind; however, the concept of the creative mind has always been plagued with problems including issues of mind-body dualism (Skinner, 1974). Behavior analysis represents an alternative tradition. Broadly viewed, the problems facing behavior analyst's studying creativity are the same as behavior analyst's interested in food and water seeking activities or for that matter any class of behavior. In essence, the problem is one of understanding behavioral variability. In coping with the problem, the behavior analyst is confronted with the task of specifying functional relationships that may exist between the behavior being observed, the relevant conditions and factors that affect the behavior, and biological constraints the behavior. In sort the questions become how do we define creativity? What factors make the person act creative? Behavior analysis takes a unique focus in the study of creativity as opposed to psychology because they are interested in developing a theory of context (Hayes & Hayes, 1992; Morris, 1988; Zuriff, 1980, 1985). This theory focuses on answering why questions as to orderliness and the workings of the phenomenon in reference to these environmental / contextual conditions. Context is not just setting specific but also the on going action in time (Morris, 2003). In behavior analysis, the context is broken down over scales of analysis that roughly correlate with different reference points. Thus, in the tradition of behavior analysis all behavior is: the joint product of (i) contingencies of survival responsible for natural selection and (ii) contingencies of reinforcement responsible for the repertoires of individuals, including (iii) the special contingencies maintained by an evolved social environment (Skinner, 1981 p. …

This paper details the ongoing actions behavior analysts should be prepared to take to ensure that behavior analyst licensure laws protect the public and behavior analysts. Behavior analysts will want to be aware of these processes to engage with government officials in an informed way relative to any possible changes to the relevant laws and regulations. Although behavior analysts have increasingly become knowledgeable about the processes to pass licensure legislation, they can be unaware of the significant impact that rules for implementing a licensure law can have on their work and the public. Additionally, legislative actions can change or eliminate licensure laws after implementing the original law. Behavior analysts and their collaborating public (i.e., citizens committed to behavior analysis licensure legislation) can be caught off guard if unexpected rules or regulations for implementing licensing laws are proposed and adopted. Years later, behavior analysts may be further surprised by sunset laws that can result in the automatic termination or substantial revision of licensure laws. Although sunset laws may be relevant in many states, those in which most politicians oppose regulation are most at risk for termination of licensure laws despite the initial years of effort and collaboration needed to enact the law. We offer an analysis of these processes and how they impact the public and behavior analysts concerning the practice of behavior analysis. Further, we suggest that behavior analysts address factors relevant to behavior analyst licensure once established.

Geographers study physical environments, human behavior that changes physical environments, and resulting regionally distinct landscapes. As such, geography faces the challenge of being both a physical and human science, a challenge resulting in an uncertain disciplinary identity. Within human geography there is a significant but erratic history of objectivist analyses, including work in cultural geography and behavioral geography. However, most contemporary human geography rejects objectivist analyses, favoring instead subjectivist ideas related to developments in such areas as cultural studies. There important links between human geography and psychology, especially concerning environmental and cognitive approaches, but behavior analysis has been either ignored or misunderstood. ********** It is not unusual for behavior analysts to bemoan the fact their work is sometimes inadequately or unfairly represented by other psychologists, especially in the context of the introductory textbook (Jensen & Burgess, 1997). Writing as a human geographer, I might add that behavior analysis has received minimal attention within the academic discipline of human geography and even such minimal attention has typically misrepresented this approach to the study of human behavior. Behavior analysts might not be surprised to hear about the lack of interest and characteristic misrepresentation of their work within human geography. However, they might be surprised to hear that human geographers have regularly claimed human behavior as core human geographic subject matter. Thus, human geography has a long tradition of studying and behavior interactions (Kitchin, Blades, & Golledge, 1997, p. 555), being with of human behavior to the same degree, though not necessarily in the same way, that the other social sciences are (Ginsburg, 1970, p. 293). According to the Dictionary of Human Geography, the discipline is concerned with the spatial differentiation and organization of human activity and its interrelationships with the physical environment (Johnston, Gregory, Pratt, & Watts, 2000, p. 353). If such is the case, behavior analysts might wonder: Why is it we do not know more about this discipline and why has it not made effective use of the concepts and principles of behavior analysis? Human geographers might respond by noting that their discipline has displayed much uncertainty about subject matter and approaches, accompanied by an almost alarming tendency to abandon established approaches at the expense of newer approaches. Behavior analysts might have different responses to these questions that focus on some of the limitations of their work (Hayes, 2001). purpose of this paper is to seek to uncover past and present links between human geography and behavior analysis. paper is organized into three sections. First, the history and goals of geography summarized. This history introduces the complexity of geography as both a physical (physical geography) and a human (human geography) discipline, a complexity that behavior analysts and other psychologists will readily appreciate. Second, the characteristically tentative and flawed links between human geography and behavior analysis outlined, with emphasis on the subdisciplines of cultural and behavioral geography and on the current preference for subjectivist rather than objectivist approaches. Third, there is a concluding discussion anticipating the contents of a proposed second paper focusing on the challenges of and prospects for conducting behavior analytic studies in human geography. INTRODUCING HUMAN GEOGRAPHY TO BEHAVIOR ANALYSTS The discipline of geography is difficult to define in a few phrases. Unlike many other scholarly fields, it is not characterized by a discrete subject matter or method or even philosophy (Gaile & Willmott, 1989, p. …

During the past 6 years (1989-1994), the Journal of Marriage and the Family has published 527 articles. Only 10 or 1.9% were qualitative, either entirely (4) or partly (1), or in a combination of qualitative and quantitative data (5). Four other articles were based on qualitative data, but the results were entirely quantified. These four articles would raise the total of qualitative papers to 15 or 2.8%. These statistics are rather startling, especially when considering that there is a large theoretical literature pertaining to qualitative research, numerous articles and texts on its methods, a rapidly growing body of empirical research with the family field as one of its major beneficiaries (Gilgun, Daly, & Handel, 1992; Rosenblatt & Fischer, 1993), and a well-organized network on qualitative family research, with a newsletter of the same name. JMF, however, is not unique in terms of rarely publishing qualitative articles (see LaRossa & Wolf, 1985; Nye, 1988, on family research). Editorial boards of high-profile journals in family studies, psychology, and sociology are composed of well-published scholars, only a minority of whom are experienced qualitative researchers. The result is that a majority of the qualitative articles submitted have to be evaluated by scholars who have little expertise in qualitative research, or by qualitative researchers who have no expertise in the substantive area of a submitted article or who subscribe to a different epistemology. In contrast, quantitative papers can generally be matched with reviewers who not only understand the methods, but are also knowledgeable in the substantive area covered. It thus becomes important to discuss some of the problems inherent in evaluating qualitative research. Consequently, the focus of this article is practical and not theoretical. We address naturalistic qualitative research in terms of methods. In addition, because qualitative research has become extremely varied, we have limited the purview of this article to epistemologies that involve the observation, interview, or written participation of family members, rather than the analysis or deconstruction of texts, for instance. The statistics presented earlier clearly indicate that JMF is a quantitative journal, with a readership primarily composed of quantitative researchers. We have, therefore, written this article for scholars who are quantitatively oriented: Our vocabulary and material covered reflect this focus. Because several qualitative approaches are included within the vast umbrella of naturalistic fieldwork, we also hope to reach qualitative researchers who are very specialized within one particular epistemology or qualitative approach. In order to retain a certain practical focus, we could not discuss postmodernist approaches. Moreover, because most of us are sociologically trained, the bulk of the literature reviewed falls within this discipline. We use a quantitative/qualitative dichotomy only for heuristic purposes. At a historical juncture where traditional, theoretical, and empirical alignments should at least cohabit and new configurations are appearing (Alexander & Colomy, 1990, p. 56), one can only hope for an improved understanding between advocates of both sets of approaches and a decrease in the either/or dichotomous thinking that devalues the efforts of any one approach to knowledge generation. This hope also extends to adherents of the several distinct qualitative epistemologies. In a first section, we present general information on qualitative research in terms of its goals and procedures. This is followed by a discussion of linkages between epistemologies and methods in qualitative research; our own diverse orientations are outlined at the end of this discussion. In a third section, we broach more specific aspects of the evaluation process. Then we examine frequently encountered problems in the evaluation process, focusing on problems unwittingly created both by reviewers and authors. …