Analysis In Social Research Research Articles

Correction: Conflicting ‘mother-scientist’ roles. An innovative application of basket analysis in social research

Correction: Conflicting ‘mother-scientist’ roles. An innovative application of basket analysis in social research

Advantages of a Free Software Culture for Qualitative Researchers in the Social Sciences

This paper aims to show the characteristics of free software and its implications for qualitative analysis in social research, especially in the case of new researchers and researchers with limited financial resources, as happens in third-world countries. First, the elements of qualitative research are described and understood as an approach linked to the interpretation and meanings that are given to the world. Secondly, the functions and handling of the RQDA software are explained. The main feature of RQDA is the fact that it is a free and open-source cross-platform tool, which allows project administration for data management purposes. The results show that even with the limitations that this type of tool may have, they offer a series of advantages that make their use possible and desirable to develop quality social research. Regarding the conclusions section, a reflection is offered on the use of technology based on free software for social research purposes, which must consider the pros and cons during its implementation. Concepts such as that of open access, or free culture, incorporate various forms of attending to historical problems suffered by science and education.

Conflicting 'mother-scientist' roles. An innovative application of basket analysis in social research.

The article discusses the issue of career and motherhood of female scientists, which is part of a broader thematic area known as Work-Life Balance. The theoretical part refers to the social role theory and the mutual influence of work and career on family and motherhood. The situation of women scientists is presented, for whom fulfilling the role of a mother is an important, although natural barrier on the road to a scientific career. Previous analyses present in the literature revealed that for the vast majority of mothers-scientists, motherhood is a factor that significantly delays their plans related to the development of a scientific career. The paper presents the results of empirical research conducted on the basis of classical academic methodology. Then, based on the data obtained from 334 mothers-scientists, an innovative, multidisciplinary experiment using data mining solutions was conducted, to answer the research question: Is the basket analysis tool able to find possible correlations between the factors characterising the respondents, and the types and dimensions of conflict occurring between scientific career and motherhood they experience? The paper shows that, according to the study results, most respondents declare they indeed experience the conflict between the roles of a mother and a scientist. The most frequently declared dimension of the conflict is the time-related one, then subsequently the emotional dimension, and lastly the financial dimension; many scientists declare they experience more than one dimension of conflict. Lastly, the basket analysis tool objectively confirmed the occurrence of correlations between the factors characterising the respondents and the types and dimensions of conflict occurring between scientific career and motherhood.

A Role for Ethical Analysis in Social Research on Agrifood and Environmental Standards

Lawrence Busch claims that though some philosophers may recognize the ethical import of standards, they do not endeavor to understand how people justify standards in social reality. The argument in this paper is that the Michigan State University (MSU) School of Agrifood Governance and Technoscience should actually be understood as fleshing out a more important role for ethicists. This argument is explored through an analysis of the MSU School’s research on standards, a re-assessment of J.O. Urmson’s On Grading, and a review of major ethical theories, from utilitarianism to discourse ethics. The conclusion is that though standards may be used and justified within social networks and worlds, there will always be points where their determination and application require discussion by stakeholders and other publics. It is at these points in which the reasons offered in support of various standards should be subject to debate and skepticism, and the role of ethics as an activity is crucial in conjunction with social scientific research.

Causality in the Social Sciences: a structural modelling framework

There is no unified theory of causality in the sciences and in philosophy. In this paper, we focus on a particular framework, called structural causal modelling (SCM), as one possible perspective in quantitative social science research. We explain how this methodology provides a fruitful basis for causal analysis in social research, for hypothesising, modelling, and testing explanatory mechanisms. This framework is not based on a system of equations, but on an analysis of multivariate distributions. In particular, the modelling stage is essentially distribution-free. Adopting an SCM approach means endorsing a particular view on modelling in general (the hypothetico-deductive methodology), and a specific stance on exogeneity (namely as a condition of separability of inference), on the one hand, and in interpreting marginal–conditional decompositions (namely as mechanisms), on the other hand.

Against the corrosive language of Corpspeak in the contemporary university

Many universities today are businesses, embracing the priorities and values of any other consumerist enterprise. There is an argument that, insofar as the phenomenon of marketisation is a function of what (Michaels, F. [2011]. Monoculture: How one story is changing everything. Red Clover Press) terms a global economic ‘monoculture’, these developments are inevitable. Nevertheless, this article argues against such rhetoric that embraces the neoliberal principle of unrestrained growth and that has public universities adopting a business model, applying managerialist approaches, measuring and – most importantly in the context of this article – expressing worth and purpose in corporate terms, as these prioritise commerce over the cultivation of creative and critical thought essential to healthy social functioning. It argues for an educational environment that enables multiple ways of seeing, thinking and living to flourish. The particular focus is on the deleterious effects of corporatising language within universities. I reflect upon how this language is used to express notions of value and to shape identity. In (Fairclough, N. [2004]. Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. London: Routledge) phrasing, texts ‘have causal effects upon, and contribute to changes in, people … actions, social relations, and the material world’; thus, I examine language-based conceptual inadequacies, misrepresentations, and what Bourdieu terms ‘unconscious inclusions’ – within many contemporary universities. I then consider what style of language, what other attitudes and approaches, actually support the university as a learning place with a specific cultural role, rather than presenting it as another ‘multi-output organisation’.

Illegitimate Online Newspaper Representations of the Chaplaincy Program

Illegitimate Online Newspaper Representations of the Chaplaincy Program

The use of factor analysis in sociology: The example of value orientation analysis

The widespread use of factor analysis in social research requires a detailed review of epistemological and methodological aspects of its use. This is the only way to overcome ?usual manner? of understanding factor analysis as a statistical method. In methodological terms, it is necessary to provide not only theoretical definition of the basic concepts and theoretical assumptions related to use of factor analysis, but also adequate operational definition. The importance of these theoretical prerequisites is being shown through two types of factor analysis: exploratory vs. confirmatory factor analysis. In addion, this paper gives particular attention to fulfill the basic epistemological principles. In this paper an example of the use of confirmatory factor analysis will be given. This will be done by carrying out a confirmatory factor analysis on data from a study in the field of value orientation. This type of factor analysis is used with the intention of revealing and understanding latent constructs. In the context of value orientation analysis, the concepts of authoritarian collectivism and patriarchalism will ilustrate the concept of latent dimensions.

Comment on Nick Crossley/4

xThe article by Nick Crossley is a brilliant exposition of both advantages and difficulties of using network analysis in social research. It is hard not to agree with him in his account about what a quantitative approach is, what social network analysis (SNA) does well and what are the advantages of incorporating qualitative methods in the research design. Through three case examples based on his previous research, the author points out the fallacies of using a single approach (SNA alone in this case) and how qualitative methods are needed for getting a more reliable understanding of the social world under study.

What can secondary data analysis tell us about school exclusions in England?

Secondary data analysis as a methodological approach is not without its critics. Indeed, three main objections to the use of secondary data analysis in social research stand out: first that because of the socially constructed nature of social data, the act of reducing it to a simple numeric form cannot fully encapsulate its complexity. Secondly, that such data is full of errors, and finally that official data in particular, is not value neutral but is controlled by those in power. This paper considers each of these objections through a secondary analysis of permanent exclusion data for all schools in England. We conclude that while existing data on permanent exclusions is not without limitations; as a methodological technique the secondary analysis of such data is an important tool for helping researchers understand the inequalities that persist in education.

NORMAN FAIRCLOUGH, Analyzing discourse: Textual analysis for social research

Norman Fairclough, Analyzing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. London: Routledge, 2003. Pp. vii + 270. Hb 31.95.This latest book by Norman Fairclough is an extension of his earlier work on critical discourse analysis (CDA) (e.g., Fairclough 1989, 1995, 2001). Relying on systemic functional linguistics (SFL) as his linguistic theoretical standpoint on one hand, and on social theoretical themes presented by critical theorists like Bourdieu and Habermas on the other, the author attempts to present a detailed framework of linguistic analysis that links the “micro” analysis of texts to the “macro” analysis of social relations (p. 16). In his introductory chapter, Fairclough specifies two types of audience for the book who may find this framework relevant to their own research: students and researchers in social sciences and humanities with little or no knowledge of language analysis, and those specializing in language studies.

The Risk Society and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Critical Social Research Analysis Concerning the Development and Social Impact of the ADHD Diagnosis

This article reports the findings of a research study that used a critical social research methodology to review the increase in use of the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conceptualized the phenomenon within a theoretical framework based upon Beck's (1992, 1999) periodization of social change, the Risk Society. The study was qualitative in nature. Data were drawn from a wide range of sources including legitimating hearings, reports and studies, texts and seminal documents, field observations in schools and classrooms, and electronic discussion/bulletin board, and in-depth interviews with parents and teachers. The analysis used a critical framework to locate specific instances of claim and counter-claim and to set the historical context for understanding the "modern biological" method of intervention with children considered by parents and teachers as having ADHD. The findings of the study are structured in the context of risks. Further research will inform whether the risks become threats. Through exposure of silences, myths, contradictions and power relationships that create risks surrounding the ADHD phenomenon, it is hoped that discourse concerning the hegemonic medical model of ADHD in research and in the wider community will be further critically examined.

Book Review: Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research

Book Review: Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research

Multilevel analysis in social research: An application of a cross-classified model

Multilevel analysis in social research: An application of a cross-classified model

Multilevel analysis in social research: An application of a cross-classified model

The multilevel approach can be a fruitful methodological framework in which to formulate the micro-macro relationships existing between individuals and their contexts. Usually, place of residence is taken as proxy for context. But individuals can be classified at the same level in more than one way. For example, not only may place of residence be relevant, but birthplace, household or working relations may also be taken into account. Contextual effects can be better identified if multiple classifications are simultaneously considered. in this sense, data do not have a purely hierarchical structure but a cross-classified one, and become very important to establish whether the resulting structure affects the covariance structure of data. In this paper, some critical issues arising from application of multilevel modelling are discussed, and multilevel cross-classified models are proposed as more flexible tools to study contextual effects. A multilevel cross-classified model is specified to evaluate simultaneously the effects of women's place of birth and women's current place of residence on the choice of bearing a second child by Italian women in the mid-1990s.

Comparative Hypothesis Assessment and Quasi Triangulation as Process Knowledge Assessment Strategies in Social Work Practice

Despite a debate lasting some decades, there has been little or no clear resolution about the way knowledge may be related to practice. To a considerable degree this is because of an assumption that knowledge is ‘knowledge as product’: given knowledge, researched and applied to practice. In recent years, the concept of ‘knowledge as process’ has emerged, focusing on knowledge of rigorous ways to think about practice situations. This has generated a focus on hypothesis generation, testing and falsification, as well as lessons to be learned from rigorous methods of qualitative analysis in social research. Rigorous social workers, it has been suggested, would behave like ‘practical qualitative researchers of the individual instant’. However, there is little empirical research on the matter. This paper evaluates process knowledge forms used by social workers. It presents findings that social workers vary considerably in the extent to which they develop hypotheses about the whole case, or aspects of it, in the depth with which they analyse cases, and the systematic way they pursue an information gathering strategy. The paper concludes that there is clear evidence of social workers behaving as practical qualitative researchers, but the rigour with which they do so varies, with fundamental implications for the training process, and the extent to which rigorous strategies, along the lines of research methodology, should be taught.

Physical Culture, Physical Education and Relational Analysis1

ABSTRACT This paper argues for the recovery of a notion of physical culture that can serve the purposes of relational analysis in social research. The recovery of the notion is undertaken through a brief etymology of the term, and through an historical overview of shifts in physical culture during the twentieth century. The recovered notion is described as one dimension of corporeal discourse, concerned with meaning‐making in and around the body centred on sport, physical recreation and exercise as three institutionalized, codified forms of physical activity. Various uses are described of this definition of physical culture within a program of relational research centred on school physical education. The paper concludes with a comment on some of the work that remains to be done in preparing the notion of physical culture for operationalization in relational social research in the physical activity field. [1] David Kirk was formerly at the Department of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queenland, Brisbane 4072, Australia.

What's Crucial in Evaluation Research: A Reply to Bennett

Beware researchers proclaiming an innocence in respect of methodological principles. Every nut, bolt and washer in a laboratory instrument is the carrier of epistemological assumptions. Every aspect of design, data collection and analysis in social research bears a commitment to a particular model of social explanation. This paper examines Bennett's reconstruction of his own research, detects some wishful thinking and seeks to extract from the debate further clarification on what is crucial in evaluation research.

Cohort Analysis in Social Research: Beyond the Identification Problem.

1. Introduction: Beyond the Identification Problem.- 2. The Cohort as a Concept in the Study of Social Change.- 3. Specification and Implementation of Age, Period and Cohort Models.- 4. Age, Period, and Cohort Effects in Demography: A Review.- 5. Using Longitudinal Data to Estimate Age, Period and Cohort Effects in Earnings Equations.- 6. Age-Period-Cohort Analysis and the Study of Deaths from Pulmonary Tuberculosis.- 7. Analysis of Age, Period, and Cohort Effects in Marital Fertility.- 8. Dynamic Modeling of Cohort Change: The Case of Political Partisanship.- 9. Generations, Cohorts, and Conformity.- 10. Simultaneous Analysis of Longitudinal Data from Several Cohorts.- 11. Statistics and the Scientific Method.- 12. Reply to Freedman.- 13. Comments on and Reactions to Freedman, Statistics and the Scientific Method.- 14. A Rejoinder to Fienberg's Comments.- Author Index.

Book Reviews

Book Reviews