Alternative Research Methods Research Articles

A Methodological Conundrum: Comparing Schools in Scotland and England

This article considers a conundrum in research methodology; the fact that, in the main, you have to use a social science-based research methodology if you want to look at what goes on in a classroom. This article proposes an alternative arts-based research method instead based on the work of Eisner, and before him Dewey, where one can use the more traditional critical, close reading techniques that are usually associated with a degree in English. We look at a case study English lesson to illustrate and explore how this may be done.

Methodology of problematization with the maguerez’s arch: an alternative method for teaching, research and study in dentistry

Objective: evaluate the application of the problematization methodology(PM) (Arch Maguerez), as an alternative teaching-learning method in formation post-graduation students. Material and Methods: 25 post-graduate students of the program in Restorative Dentistry at the School of Dentistry of ICT-Office of Science and Technology of São José dos Campos, São Paulo State University – UNESP, who were part of the discipline of Applied Teaching Higher Education , developed activities that characterized the problematization methodology (PM) and the traditional teaching methodology in force. By means of a questionnaire it was possible to assess the perception the students had of the activities made. Results: It was observed that problematization methodology (PM) was a valid alternative teaching-learning method for formation of new professors, in the opinion of students. Conclusion: problematization methodology (PM) can be applied as a complementary tool in the construction of the future professors’ knowledge, in addition to being a strategy for research and study.

The ethics of animal research: a survey of pediatric health care workers.

IntroductionPediatric health care workers (HCW) often perform, promote, and advocate use of public funds for animal research (AR). We aim to determine whether HCW consider common arguments (and counterarguments) in support (or not) of AR convincing.DesignAfter development and validation, an e-mail survey was sent to all pediatricians and pediatric intensive care unit nurses and respiratory therapists (RTs) affiliated with a Canadian University. We presented questions about demographics, support for AR, and common arguments (with their counterarguments) to justify the moral permissibility (or not) of AR. Responses are reported using standard tabulations. Responses of pediatricians and nurses/RTs were compared using Chi-square, with P < .05 considered significant.ResultsResponse rate was 53/115(46%) (pediatricians), and 73/120(61%) (nurses/RTs). Pediatricians and nurses/RTs are supportive of AR. Most considered ‘benefits arguments’ sufficient to justify AR; however, most acknowledged that counterarguments suggesting alternative research methods may be available, or that it is unclear why the same ‘benefits arguments’ do not apply to using humans in research, significantly weakened ‘benefits arguments’. Almost all were not convinced of the moral permissibility of AR by ‘characteristics of non-human-animals arguments’, including that non-human-animals may not be sentient, or are simply property. Most were not convinced of the moral permissibility of AR by ‘human exceptionalism’ arguments, including that humans have more advanced mental abilities, are of a special ‘kind’, can enter into social contracts, or face a ‘lifeboat situation’. Counterarguments explained much of this, including that not all humans have these more advanced abilities [the argument from species overlap], and that the notion of ‘kind’ is arbitrary [e.g., why are we not of the kind ‘sentient animal’ or ‘subject-of-a-life’]. Pediatrician and nurse/RT responses were similar.ConclusionsMost respondents were not convinced of the moral permissibility of AR when given common arguments and counterarguments from the literature. HCW should seriously consider arguments on both sides of the AR debate.

Neuromarketing: I Put Myself into a fMRI Scanner and Realized that I love Louis Vuitton Ads

In recent years, long-standing science, advanced technology, and complex management have come to a common ground that researchers and marketers are able to map science to marketing. Today, constant changes in consumer behavior and how they interact with the company in the world full of sophisticated technologies, alternative research methods are needed, fMRI could or could not be the right answer, but it is definitely a promising alternative research method. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrative overview of neuromarketing using brain imaging techniques, particularly, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This paper is also an attempt to investigate its potential implications for market research, based on the author's experiences as a subject study in high-end brands advertisings. The discussion of neuromarketing, focusing on fMRI, as the application within the scope of managerial practice is provided by means of a literature review for to discussion as well as the investigation of existing problems and exploring the future challenges. A personal experience in fMRI as a study subject in high-end brands advertisings is also presented. Because this is an emerging field of marketing research and still controversial, the rising ethical issues are a challenge. Yet, fMRI offers a new cutting edge method that is able to shed light on subconscious processes which has a potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of advertising messages. This paper is written based on marketing literature and from the author's experience as a subject study and an apprentice in the fMRI company.

Knockout tissue models: Targeted gene disruption in three dimensions

The use of animal studies in scientific research is increasing, mostly attributed to the rising requirement for genetically modified animals. In 2012, 4.11 million animal procedures were conducted within the UK, the majority of which involved genetically modified animals; a first since records began. Although animal models bring clear scientific insight, they have their limitations and alternative research methods are actively sought. The development of new targeted gene disruption technologies, such as transcription activatorlike effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), combined with innovative 3D human cell culture methods can provide an attractive in vitro alternative.

Revisiting Weber's charismatic leadership: learning from the past and looking to the future

Purpose – Weber emphasized the informal structure, followers' power, and time in charismatic leadership; yet the extant literature either overlooks or underplays the significance of each of these facets. The aim of this paper is to revisit Weber's conceptualizations of charisma and illuminate these facets, thus creating new avenues for the contemporary charismatic leadership research. Design/methodology/approach – The focus of this research is on analysis of Weber's conceptualization of charisma. The analysis of selected quotes is grounded within contemporary discourse in order to illustrate how three overlooked facets may propel future research on charismatic leadership. Findings – By revisiting Weber's seminal work, the paper illustrates several historical findings and identifies research opportunities that are yet to be addressed by contemporary study in charismatic leadership. In doing so, the paper generates a set of propositions as an impetus for future exploration. Research limitations/implications – To address the three proposed questions, researchers should focus their attention on the exploration of charisma outside of the formal bureaucracy, the dynamic power relations between leaders and followers, and the temporally bound nature of charisma. Given the nature of these questions, researchers may also consider alternative research methods such as in-depth case studies and narratives in order to more fully capture the dynamic and unpredictable nature of charisma in complex contexts. Originality/value – Contemporary research largely overlooks or underplays the issues of time, the informal structure, and followers in the study of charisma. Through analysis of Weber's writings, this paper brings to the forefront these issues, and thus provide rich opportunities for future research on charismatic leadership.

Auditor workload compression and busy season portfolio changes: US evidence

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of auditor workload compression on the likelihood of changes to the busy season client portfolio of an audit firm. We find evidence of a positive association between workload compression and the likelihood of changes to the constituents of the busy season client portfolio of a local office. We also find evidence of a positive association between auditor-client misalignment and the likelihood of such changes. The results for our auditor risk proxies are consistent with prior studies, in support that auditors with greater levels of risk in their portfolios are more likely to engage in busy season client turnover. By using alternative research methods and considering previously overlooked variables, this study sheds new light on the factors influencing the portfolio management decisions of auditors.

In Search of Alternative Research Methods in Marketing: Insights from Layder’s Adaptive Theory Methodology

This paper argues that Layder’s adaptive theory methodology can overcome two main methodological issues affecting academic marketing research—namely, (1) paradigm dilemmas caused by the mixed methods approach and (2) apparent imbalance between agency (individual subjectivity) and structure (social structure). A review of research methods used in marketing reveals that quantitative methods continue to dominate. Marketing phenomena tend to arise in the social world through a circular process whereby individual behaviours create social structures that in turn influence individual behaviours. Both the structure and agency perspectives need to be studied in a single research project to fully understand a marketing phenomenon. Adaptive theory, as a sound alternative to positivistic research approach, can achieve a balance between agency and structure perspectives that underpin marketing phenomena. &#x0D; &#x0D; Keywords: Academic Marketing Research Methodology, Adaptive Theory, Agency–Structure Issue&#x0D; &#x0D; To cite this document: Chandana Rathnasiri Hewege and Liyanage Chamila Roshani Perera, "In Search of Alternative Research Methods in Marketing: Insights from Layder’s Adaptive Theory Methodology", Contemporary Management Research, Vol.9, No.3, pp.343-360, 2013.&#x0D; &#x0D; Permanent link to this document:&#x0D; http://dx.doi.org/10.7903/cmr.9978

Highly sensitive determination of trace copper in food by adsorptive stripping voltammetry in the presence of 1,10-phenanthroline

A highly sensitive, rapid, simple and selective adsorptive stripping assay for the determination of trace copper(II) is proposed. The methodology is based on the adsorptive accumulation of copper(II)–1,10-phenanthroline complexes onto a glassy carbon electrode, followed by oxidation of the adsorbed species by voltammetric scanning using square-wave voltammetry. The influences of experimental variables on the sensitivity of the proposed method, such as the effects of pH, ligand concentration, accumulation time, accumulation potential and interferences, were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the proposed method showed linearity from 0.1ngmL−1 to 50ngmL−1. The 3 S/N detection limits were 0.0185ngmL−1, and the relative standard deviations (n=10) were 0.09–4.71% for intra-day and 0.05–7.14% for inter-day analyses, respectively. The application of the proposed method to the direct analysis of food samples yielded results that agreed with those obtained from including inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP–OES) assays according to a paired t-test. The results are a step toward the development of an alternative and reliable analytical method for food research, which requires the direct determination of copper.

Research on Interpretation Process of Bridging Reference in English Discourse with Think Aloud Protocol

Bridging reference (BR) refers to the relationship between a linguistic expression and its intended referent not explicitly mentioned in previous context. It has been studied for more than three decades with various approaches. However, limitation exists in those approaches except the relevance theory (RT) which suggests that each affecting factor is necessary for the cognitive effects and processing effort required to reach an acceptable overall interpretation. BR interpretation process has seldom been explored and only some questionnaires were adopted in earlier studies. This thesis tentatively approaches BR interpretation process by adopting the think aloud protocol (TAP). In addition, retrospective interview is used to complement TAP. Results from this research indicate that contextual assumptions with cause-effect relation are more accessible in BR interpretation. Contrary to findings from previous researches, contextual assumptions with contrast relation are not considered in this experiment. Encyclopedic information is not always used to test the acceptability of bridging referents. Subjects make choices in order of accessibility of contextual assumptions even though the referent is inconsistent with one’s general knowledge. It supports RT in that one stops inferring once a cognitive effect is achieved. Sometimes one’s activated general knowledge plays a decisive role in BR interpretation. Moreover, encyclopedic information, temporal sequence and syntactic position are taken into consideration in some cases. The constraint of discourse connectives on BR interpretation is proved again in this experiment. It also proves that backward inference is the only comprehension strategy employed by the subjects. The discussion of BR is within the framework of relevance theory. The exploration of BR within RT again verifies the explanatory power of this theory. Moreover, many factors affecting BR interpretation have been studied, but how does each of them work on interpreting BR remains unclear to us. The present study will not only focus on crucial factors affecting BR interpretation but also include other important factors in the analysis. The results from this experiment confirm the validity of TAP in examining BR on the one hand, and suggest alternative research method for later empirical studies of BR on the other hand. It reveals English majors’ cognition process of interpreting BR in English discourse in particular, and their cognition model in second language acquisition (SLA) in general. Analyzing TAP data within RT again validates the great explanatory power of this theory.

Rapid Appraisal of User Stakeholders for Forest Recreation Area Planning: The Little Molas Case

Public forest recreation area planning is often confronted by conflicting stakeholder views of what actions are most appropriate for improving outdoor recreation areas. Contemporary users of an outdoor recreation area are often inadequately represented in these planning decisions, due to the high cost and time required for user surveys that have traditionally been used to represent these stakeholders. A case example of the application of an alternative research method termed rapid appraisal (RA) is described. Data collected using rapid appraisal was used to help resolve disagreements on future planning and development options for the Little Molas Recreation Area (LMRA). The entire RA process was completed in one month’s time, with results which provided a reliable stakeholder supplement to working group recommendations to the Forest Service for their proposed LMRA redevelopment plan.

Giving Voice and Taking Pictures: Participatory Documentary and Visual Research

This paper compares the increasing use of photography and other media arts within social research with participatory approaches to socially engaged documentary and art based photographic practice. Discussion draws on the author's own experience as a photographer and filmmaker who has undertaken participatory documentation and research work in a range of different settings. This includes a recent project undertaken as part of a research programme commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which saw the author working alongside social scientists who were utilising a range of alternative and visual research methods. In conclusion, it is suggested that convergence and crossover between these different, but increasingly related, practices is deserving of further study. A number of key issues are identified including: the detail of authorship; the influence of participant consent and related ethical concerns relating to engagement and outputs; the role and visibility of the facilitator; and the status of participatory art works as artefacts.

Social network analysis in accounting information systems research

This paper introduces social network analysis as an alternative research method for conducting accounting information systems related research. With advances in information and communication technologies, transaction data are being recorded in electronic form, resulting in a variety of research opportunities to examine dyadic interactions. A network consists of a set of nodes connected by ties. Social network research focuses on how outcomes are influenced not just by the attributes of the nodes (e.g. individuals), but also by the ties connecting nodes to each other. The nodes are typically conceptualized as actors, such as individuals, teams, or organizations. A unique network structure is created to reflect each different type of tie, such as trust, advice, collocation, or organizational affiliation. Social network analysis can be used for research examining individual, dyadic or network levels of analyses, and is a powerful tool for conducting multi-method research. Given the vast amounts of trace electronic data collected via accounting information systems, this paper reviews how social network analysis not only opens new research avenues for accounting information systems researchers, but identifies opportunities for the field of accounting information systems to inform social network research by identifying new network structures and dynamics leveraging transactional data.

Evaluating Research Methods on Travel Blogs

The increase of online diaries, or blogs, has not only affected communication channels, but also the way tourism destinations are being promoted and consumed. To date, few studies have focused on the content of travel blogs as a rich source of destination marketing information. A review of the current research on travel blogs revealed that the two most popular research methods used to analyze the content of online diaries are content analysis and narrative analysis. This paper provides a discussion of the strengths, weaknesses and implications of using content analysis and narrative analysis on travel blogs. After a presentation of alternative research methods on travel blogs, the authors present industry and methodological implications related to the nature of online diaries.

Cellometer Vision as an alternative to flow cytometry for cell cycle analysis, mitochondrial potential, and immunophenotyping

Cell phenotyping and cell cycle analysis are two commonly used assays in both clinical diagnosis and biomedical research. Cell phenotyping by identifying different biomarkers is essential for the diagnosis of hematologic malignancy, sub-classifying diseases, monitoring response to treatment, predicting prognosis, detecting rare cell populations and residual malignant cells. Cell cycle analysis distinguishes cells in different phases of cell cycle and is often used to determine the cellular response to drugs and biological stimulations. These assays have been traditionally carried out by sensitive fluorescence detection methods such as flow cytometry and laser scanning cytometry for fluorescence-based cell population analysis. However, these instruments remain relatively expensive, large in size, and require a considerable amount of maintenance, which may not be feasible for smaller research groups that do not have access to these equipments or field clinics that require quick diagnostic results on site. Recently, a small portable imaging cytometry system (Cellometer Vision) has been developed by Nexcelom Bioscience LLC (Lawrence, MA) for automated cell concentration and viability measurement using bright-field and fluorescent imaging methods. Here we report new applications of the Cellometer imaging cytometry for fluorescence-based cell population analysis and compared them with conventional flow cytometry. Cell population analysis assays such as immunophenotyping, cell cycle, and mitochondrial membrane potential detection methods have not yet been reported for the Cellometer Vision system. Using this imaging cytometry method for fluorescence-based assays that are typically done by flow cytometry offers a quick, simple, and inexpensive alternative method for biomedical research, which may be beneficial for smaller research laboratories and clinics.

Everyday serendipity as described in social media

Serendipity has received much attention from library and information science, psychology, and computer science. Yet not much is known about serendipity in the context of everyday information behavior. In general, a key challenge in the study of serendipity is obtaining accounts of serendipitous experiences that provide insight into the phenomenon. The exploratory research reported here approaches this problem by examining naturally occurring descriptions of serendipity as found on blogs. The paper shows how these data can be collected, stored, and analyzed. We also discuss strengths of the proposed approach in comparison to the use of descriptions elicited in controlled settings for the purposes of research. Through a grounded theory approach, we develop a model of serendipity that can inform the design of information systems. The paper contributes to the LIS field by discussing an alternative data collection method for serendipity research, outlining a tentative conceptual model of serendipity, and showing the utility of this model for the analysis of everyday accounts of serendipity found on blogs.

Sobre convergência e a prática metodológica do interacionismo interpretativo na pesquisa acadêmica de marketing

Muitos fenômenos de marketing e do comportamento do consumidor não são observáveis dentro de uma perspectiva hipotético-dedutiva, e permanecem sem investigação, seja por falta de interesse da comunidade acadêmica, seja devido às carências metodológicas. Neste artigo realizamos uma discussão metodológica, na qual apresentamos nossa experiência com a utilização do Interacionismo Interpretativo em pesquisa acadêmica de marketing e suas consequências metodológicas práticas. Apresentamos as posições ontológica e epistemológica da pesquisa e mostramos como utilizamos o método do Interacionismo Interpretativo. Esta opção demonstrou ser adequada à forma de investigação, organização e operação propostas na tese. Mesmo sendo necessárias algumas adaptações, o Interacionismo Interpretativo ofereceu uma solução aplicada aos problemas de análise dos volumosos dados resultantes da abordagem qualitativa. Ao retratar essa experiência na condução de uma pesquisa de marketing de caráter interpretativo, esperamos oferecer maior compreensão a respeito desta orientação e incentivar mais pesquisadores a adotarem opções semelhantes.

Integrating new technology in established organizations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify and examine the various mechanisms that can be used to integrate new technology into existing products, and to determine some of the conditions under which specific integration mechanisms are most appropriate.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopted an exploratory theory‐building approach based on analysis of data from 12 case studies, each representing companies with varying levels of: technological maturity of the organization and technological advancement of their products. Informants were managers and engineers who had responsibility for, or a significant role in, the integration of software and hardware. At least three interviews were conducted in each company and all interviews were of at least two hours duration. In total, 41 interviews were conducted. The different approaches used for technology integration were examined and subsequently mapped using the twin dimensions outlined above.FindingsCross‐case pattern analysis indicates that for technologically mature organizations, mechanisms based on processes are most appropriate, while for less mature organizations an approach based on structural mechanisms may be more suitable. Similarly, in cases involving high levels of technology advancement in the products, integration mechanisms based on processes and culture are preferable, whereas for low technology products the mechanisms are clustered around resource‐based approaches.Research limitations/implicationsMultiple cases do not permit as much depth as the classic single case study and tend to yield “modest” rather than “grand” theoretical development. The use of scaling to convert qualitative data into quantitative data, and the identification of patterns in cross‐case analysis are both based on interpretive judgements. Future research should examine the proposed model and its constructs in different settings and using alternative research methods. There is also an opportunity to explore the relationships between the integration mechanisms and the outcomes of integration projects, and finally, it would be useful to extend the work to service settings and to integration of process technology.Practical implicationsThe findings provide guidance to managers in selecting alternative approaches to managing the process of technology integration in different contexts. Examples are given of practices associated with each integration mechanism, together with some of the tensions and challenges which arise during implementation.Originality/valueThe paper provides clear guidance on the approaches that can be used for technology integration for product development. It classifies these according to the level of maturity and experience in the organization and the level of advancement of the product offered by the technology.

Community Action Research

Community action research is an alternative research method that uses the community as the unit of analysis. This approach forges research alliances with relevant stakeholders in the community to explore and develop solutions to local problems. The authors explain this broad research approach and explore the principles that guide this methodology. In particular, the focus of this article is on the complexities and dilemmas of conducting community action research. The authors use the findings from a field study to illustrate these issues.

THE FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF YOUNG LOW-MASS STARS WITHIN HALOS WITH HIGH CONCENTRATION OF DARK MATTER PARTICLES

The formation and evolution of low-mass stars within dense halos of dark matter (DM) leads to evolution scenarios quite different from the classical stellar evolution. As a result of our detailed numerical work, we describe these new scenarios for a range of DM densities on the host halo, a range of scattering cross sections of the DM particles considered, and for stellar masses from 0.7 to 3 M_{\odot}. For the first time, we also computed the evolution of young low-mass stars in their Hayashi track in the pre-main sequence phase and found that, for high DM densities, these stars stop their gravitational collapse before reaching the main sequence, in agreement with similar studies on first stars. Such stars remain indefinitely in an equilibrium state with lower effective temperatures (|\Delta T_eff| > 10^3 K for a star of one solar mass), the annihilation of captured DM particles in their core being the only source of energy. In the case of lower DM densities, these proto-stars continue their collapse and progress through the main sequence burning hydrogen at a lower rate. A star of 1 M_{\odot} will spend a time greater than the current age of the universe consuming all the hydrogen in its core if it evolves in a halo with DM density \rho_{\chi}=10^9 GeV cm^-3. We also show the strong dependence of the effective temperature and luminosity of these stars on the characteristics of the DM particles and how this can be used as an alternative method for DM research.