The Use of Aorist Forms in Imperfect Contexts: Evidence from a Survey-Based Study

Semantics is the field of linguistic concerned with the study of meaning in language. The aims of the research are to analyze the forms and meanings of the stative verbs in progressive tense in corpora. The data of this research were obtained from Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and British National Corpus (BNC). The data of the corpora used descriptive qualitative. The result of the research shows that the stative verbs are found and used in progressive tense. The stative verbs appeared in all types of progressive tense except future perfect progressive. The use of the stative verbs in progressive tense took place due to overgeneralization in the use of the native speakers’ form of American and British English. The stative verbs in progressive tense used to express temporariness, emotiveness, comprehension and mixed categories of meaning; temporariness and emotiveness, temporariness and tentativeness. Temporariness meaning almost appeared in all types of progressive. Stative verbs in progressive tense indirectly stated temporariness in stative sense of meaning, is contrary to the rules of English grammar.

Within the research process, the analysis of the data emerges as one of the most important steps. In qualitative research, the analysis of data is a difficult task for even the most experienced researchers and often brings up many doubts about the way to implement it. It is therefore necessary to have material that facilitates the analysis process. Even though there are numerous manuals that focus on the analysis of qualitative data, researchers often can be confused with the large number of names that this type of analysis receives (e.g. Thematic Analysis, Content Analysis) or with the various qualitative methods (e.g. Phenomenology, Grounded Theory) that are available. Each of these qualitative approaches presents a particular language to detail the research process, which makes it difficult to recognize common aspects shared by these methods. Recently, the American Psychological Association has emphasized the need to identify, within the various qualitative methods and procedures, shared standards for reporting this type of work. In agreement with the above, several qualitative researchers have pointed out that beyond the aforementioned diversity it is possible to identify a basic core with regard to qualitative analysis, without having to match the different perspectives of the qualitative method, such as Grounded Theory, Ethnography ore Phenomenology. Focusing on this communality will facilitate a simpler and clearer approach to the data analysis process. The analysis process mainly involves 1) data condensation, and 2) presentation of results. Following this line, the present manuscript aims to: (a) develop what the basic core of data analysis consists of, (b) show the necessary steps to carry out this analysis process, (c) review specific techniques for the detection of categories, (d) present examples using the Atlas.ti software, and (e) show the possible ways of presenting the results. Researchers have realized the importance of having methodological works that facilitate the analysis of qualitative data, and allow answering the question: What does qualitative analysis look like in practice?. The development of this type of work pretends on the one hand to facilitate the understanding of the process of qualitative data analysis and, on the other hand, serve to shape better and in a more standard way which was the data analysis procedure applied in the respective investigations. This material should be taken as a first step in the understanding of the process, and it should not be understood that the qualitative analysis is reduced only to what is developed in this article. For example, in the first level grouping step or first coding cycle, the researcher can make use of 25 different types or forms of coding (e.g., live coding). Even so, the development of works such as the present manuscript is intended to facilitate the understanding and reporting the process of qualitative data analysis. Beyond the name with which the researcher calls the analysis procedure carried out, it is relevant to report in his works the basic steps (i.e. Identification, First and Second Level of Categorization), and the specific techniques used to detect categories or topics (e.g. repetition or similarities). Likewise, it is advisable to follow the guidelines recently published by the APA for the publication of qualitative research. We hope that this material will be useful especially for new researchers who need an introductory text to carry out the qualitative data analysis.

BackgroundBig qualitative data analysis is an emerging discipline in qualitative health research and has been used with online posts, open-ended survey responses, and patient health records. Traditional methods of qualitative...

Arabic lacks a specific form for progressive tenses and instead uses the imperfective form ‘jafʕal’ to express habitual and progressive aspects. Arabic also uses an active participle form (AP) to express progressiveness. This paper addresses the effect of transitivity, futurity, and aspectuality on the translation of English present progressive (PP) into Arabic verbal and active participle counterparts. To investigate which of the two forms is used to translate English PP into Arabic, data were collected from 100 students who were studying an elective ‘translation’ course at Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT). The researchers built a questionnaire of 38 English sentences each of which has two main translations: one that uses the imperfective form ‘ja-fʕal’ and another that has an (AP) form, mainly ‘fa:ʕil’ or ‘mu-fʕil’. The participants were asked to rate the acceptability of each sentence on a scale of 0-2. The findings reveal that transitivity and the future reading of the progressive verb affect the translatability of the progressive tenses as imperfective or (AP) form. Transitive verbs are more likely to be translated as imperfective verbs than transitive APs because (AP) does not have as strong verbal properties as lexical verbs. On the other hand, translocative verbs accept (AP) translations fairly enough to refer to future. The findings also reveal that the aspectuality of the verb affects its translation in one of the two main forms mentioned above. (AP) translations of English (PP) become more acceptable when the root of the verb indicates state-of-affair actions, achievements or accomplishments.

This paper investigates a peculiar use of the Czech imperfective aspect in sequences of events, which does not occur in Russian and other eastern Slavic languages. It was first described by Ivančev, who suggested that imperfective verbs here have an ingressive meaning. Other authors (Křížková, Galton, Stunova) in con­trast stressed that an action was described as if we were in the middle of it. Dickey coined the expression “Contextually-Conditioned Imperfective Past” (CCIP) and described the phenomenon in more detail. He also shows the connection between this phenomenon and the existence of ingressive verbs with the prefix za- in the eastern Slavic languages. This paper is based on data from the Czech National Corpus, which show that two uses of the CCIP have to be distinguished: With activity verbs the imperfective aspect is used in its normal processual meaning, whereas in the case of events the imperfective aspect has the meaning of “retardation”, which is especially characteristic of motion verbs.

This article discusses the place of qualitative network analysis in the strategy of mixing methods in the social sciences. We conducted a systematic review of the literature that allowed us to demonstrate examples of the use of qualitative network analysis in empirical research. There are four ways of analyzing qualitative data in network mixed studies: qualitative analysis of qualitative data, quantitative analysis of qualitative data, quantitative and qualitative analysis of qualitative data and quantitative and qualitative analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. Currently, there is a lack of a single definition of the methodology of qualitative network analysis and consensus on its implementation in practice. The main possibilities of qualitative network analysis are discussed in the article. At the level of the research object, qualitative network analysis studies the personal networks of individuals’ relationships, and also make easier an access to hard-to-reach groups of respondents. At the level of the subject of research, qualitative network analysis allows us to study the deep meanings of relationships in the network and the contexts of interaction, to describe and understand networks from the inside and outside, to focus on the activities of actors and their strategies for building a network, as well as to identify the temporality of relationships in the network. The article discusses a position that questions the existence of qualitative network analysis as an independent methodology.

Plain English summaryService users should be involved in every part of the research process, including analysis of qualitative research data such as interviews and focus groups. To enhance their participation, confidence and contributions, training and support for both the ‘professional’ researcher and lay member of public is essential. Historically this has taken a number of forms from short 1 day training sessions through to training spread out over several months. There currently is limited guidance on the quantity and content of such training sessions for Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Partners. This paper discusses and explores the content and delivery of qualitative analysis training held over two sessions of 3 h duration to members of a University PPI group. The training was designed by experienced qualitative researchers and PPI partners based on available literature and research expertise. Training included the theory of qualitative research methods, and practical qualitative analysis coding skills. These skills were developed through the use of ‘mock’ interviews which participants practiced coding in supportive group sessions. Their feedback on the training is provided. One of the PPI partners subsequently went onto code data with a researcher working on a funded research study, and has reflected on both the training sessions and the subsequent analysis of the data. These reflections have been supplemented by reflections of the researcher who worked alongside the PPI partner, revealing that the process challenged perspectives and helped them view data through a service users eyes. A positive working relationship was central to this.BackgroundService users should be involved in every part of the research process to ensure that interventions are fit for those whom they are intended to help. Involving service users in analysing qualitative data such as focus groups and interviews has been recognised as particularly valuable. Older people have frequently been less involved in these initiatives. A wide range of training programmes have been proposed but there is currently limited guidance on the quantity and content of training sessions to support training Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Partners. This paper discuses and explores the content and delivery of qualitative data analysis training to members of a University PPI Group.BodyExisting literature on PPI in qualitative data analysis was reviewed by the research team and an outline programme was designed. This comprised of two three hour sessions held at an easily accessible venue familiar to members of the PPI group. The course included theories behind qualitative research methodology and methods, what is coding and how to code independently and as part of a research team using Thematic Analysis. A mock research question was generated and two mock interviews were completed, audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. This provided participants with real life experience of coding data. The session was positively reviewed and said to be interesting, enjoyable and provided a good overview of qualitative analysis. One of the PPI partners subsequently went onto code data with a researcher working on a funded research study, and has reflected on both the training sessions and the subsequent analysis of the data. These reflections have been supplemented by reflections of the researcher who worked alongside the PPI, revealing that the process challenged perspectives and helped them view data through a service users eyes. A positive working relationship was central to this.ConclusionsFeedback suggests that the training enabled PPI partners to become active members of the research team in qualitative data analysis. There is a need for further research into the optimal amount of training needed by PPI’s to participate as partners in qualitative analysis.

As is well known, the epistemic reading of modal verbs typically arises with imperfective complements. It is argued that this is related to a more general connection between imperfective aspect and subjectivity: imperfective forms express simultaneity of a situation with an independently provided point of reference. This may be a point of perspective, an epistemic evaluation time, or the point of speech itself. Data from Russian, however, suggest that this particular link between imperfective aspect and epistemic modality is restricted to imperfective aspect of the Germanic, and Romance, kind.

The differentiation of contemporary approaches to qualitative data analysis can seem daunting even for experienced social science researchers. Especially when they move forward in the data analysis process from general analytical strategies used in qualitative research to more specific approaches for different types of qualitative data, including interviews, text, audio, images, videos, and so-called virtual data, by discovering the domain ontology of the qualitative research field, we see that there are more than twice as many different classes of data analysis methods as qualitative research methods. This article critically reflects on qualitative research and the qualitative computer data analysis process, emphasising its significance in harnessing digital opportunities and shaping collaborative work. Using our extensive analytical and research project experience, the last research results, and a literature review, we try to show the impact of new technologies and digital possibilities on our thinking. We also try to do the qualitative data analysis. The essence of this procedure is a dialectical interplay between the new world of digital technology and the classic methodology. The use of digital possibilities in qualitative research practices shapes the researcher’s identity and their analytical and research workshop. Moreover, it teaches collaborative thinking and teamwork and fosters the development of new analytical, digital, and Information Technology (IT) skills. Imagining contemporary qualitative research and data analysis in the humanities and social sciences is difficult. Opening to modern technologies in computer-based qualitative data analysis shapes our interpretation frameworks and changes the optics and perception of research problems.


 This study aimed at explicating the use of tense and aspect in the academic writing of Arab L2 learners of English. The scope was restricted to two absolute tenses (simple present and simple past), perfective and imperfective aspects, and verb-form errors arising from the deletion or addition of the third person singular-s besides the omission of copula and auxiliary verbs. The study was conducted on the basis of a comparative, quantitative analysis of the target forms between a learner corpus and a similar-sized native one. In pursuing and achieving the stated objectives, it also concentrated on the types and sources of the tense, aspect and verb form errors in learners’ performance. In addition to the significant disparity between the two corpora in terms of the frequency count and percentage of most of the target forms, the findings confirmed learners’ tendency to use more verbs than native speakers. Results also showed that learners’ use of the preterit (simple past), and perfective and imperfective aspects were largely constrained by their L1 grammar and semantic interpretation of verbs (independent of the target language norm). Moreover, the findings revealed some common inconsistent erroneous forms attributed to the omission or addition of the third person singular-s and the omission of copula and auxiliary verbs. Several main factors were identified as potentially responsible for learners’ errors, that is, inconsistency inherent in L2 rules, learners’ limited exposure to (authentic) L2, overgeneralization, redundancy reduction, and language transfer. The findings suggest the need to introduce appropriate pedagogical methods to best present the target language rules.

A realist approach has gained popularity in evaluation research, particularly in understanding causal explanations of how a program works (or not), the circumstances, and the observed outcomes. In qualitative inquiry, the approach has contributed to better theoretically based explanations regarding causal interactions. The aim of this study was to discuss how we conducted a realist-informed data analysis to explore the causal interactions within qualitative data. We demonstrated a four-step realist approach of retroductive theorizing in qualitative data analysis using a concrete example from our empirical research rooted in the critical realism philosophical stance. These steps include (a) category identification, (b) elaboration of context-mechanism-outcome configuration, (c) demi-regularities identification, and (d) generative mechanism refinement. The four-step qualitative realist data analysis underpins the causal interactions of important factors and reveals the underlying mechanisms. The steps produce comprehensive causal explanations that can be used by related parties-especially when making complex decisions that may affect wide communities. The core process of realist data analysis is retroductive theorizing. The four-step qualitative realist data analysis facilitates this theorizing by allowing the researcher to identify (a) patterns, (b) fluctuation of patterns, (c) mechanisms from collected data, and (d) to confirm proposed mechanisms.

The application of qualitative techniques is increasing and acceptable among the researchers. However, majority of the researchers and postgraduate students did not consider the importance of giving detailed procedures in qualitative data analysis for better understanding of the qualitative results. There is a need to uncover step by step approach in qualitative analysis for better application of qualitative techniques. This article presented a detailed step-by-step approach for qualitative analysis with the aid of a pragmatic illustration. The analytic process presented employed the example of qualitative data transcribed into narrative data to develop basic themes. The employment of Domain Analysis and Thematic Network analysis in the example given helped basic themes to converge to higher order themes. The article submitted that this approach in qualitative analysis will aid thorough understanding of qualitative data interpretation. This is extremely thoughtful approach for the systematic presentation of qualitative analysis.

The aim of the paper is to explain how poetry reading can be used to teach interpretive analysis of qualitative data. A number of studies were located in the nursing literature that focused on using poetry to help students develop empathy for patients, to teach students to reflect on their own practice, and to assist them in developing self-understanding. No studies were found that described the use of poetry reading as a way of teaching the skill of interpretive analysis. There are, however, a number of parallels between the principles of poetry reading and qualitative analysis that suggest that this method of teaching would be successful. International papers published on PubMed, Medline, and CINAHL were reviewed to identify challenges facing educators and ways of teaching the process of qualitative data analysis using poetry reading. Using poetry reading to teach skills of qualitative data analysis helps motivate students, cultivates a reflective mindset, and develops the skill of working as a member of an interpretive group. Framing interpretive work as being like reading poetry helps students pick up more quickly on the art that is a major component of the work. This approach also helps students learn the importance of cultural and contextual particulars as they begin analyzing qualitative data. Using poetry reading to introduce students to the complex skill of qualitative data analysis is an effective pedagogical strategy.

This research was a qualitative research using structural linguistic method. The findings showed that the conjugation of the perfect verbs (ma>dhi) into imperfect verbs (mudha>ri’) can reveal the concept of semantic time and aspect. It was found that the conjugation of verb from perfect (ma>dhi) to imperfect (mudha>ri’) expresses semantical concept of tense and aspect. Perfect verb expresses past tense, present tense, future tense, and perfective aspect, while imperfect verb expresses present tense, future tense, and imperfective aspect. The other constituents which had a role in expressing tense and aspect were auxiliary verb of kana, the particles of qad, sawfa, lan, and sa- prefix. The auxiliary verb of kana had a role to express past tense in the case of equational sentence or if it precedes imperfect verb, while if it precedes perfect verb, it expresses perfective aspect. The particle of qad expresses perfective aspect if it precedes perfect verb (ma>dhi), while the particle of sawfa, lan, and sa- prefix express future tense. In addition, to clarify the tense in Arabic adverb of time standing beside the verb also was used.

Return on time investment: Research resources