Interpretation Of Interview Data Research Articles

Becoming and being an older adult: A mixed methods study of the lived experience of aging

PurposeThis phenomenological inquiry explored what it is like to become and to be old. The principal aims of this study were to first characterize participants' lived experience of becoming and being an older person, then to determine the extent to which they were aging in a conscious way that evidenced aspects of gerotranscendence, and finally, to contextualize participants' responses within existing research on the phenomenon. Design and methodsIn a concurrent embedded mixed-methods design using an interpretive inquiry strategy, 17 men and women living independently in their communities responded to questions about their experience of aging and completed measures of gerotranscendence and adjustment to aging and their psychosocial correlates. A structural analysis of the verbatim transcripts of the interviews employed a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. The quantitative measures informed further interpretations of interview data. ResultsMost participants exemplified aging well with strengths and positive experiences across multiple domains; others evidenced optimal aging as physical challenges began to appear.Seven themes emerged from the structural analysis of the interview transcripts: Accepting/making accommodations for the inexorable physical changes; Being old versus feeling old; Being seen as old; Changing—and growing—psychologically and emotionally; Experiencing time as long and as short; Maintaining meaningful interpersonal relationships; and Speaking and living freely, and authentically. Discussion and implicationsConvergences and divergences between the themes identified in this study and prior literature on the phenomenology of aging are discussed. Findings from this and similar studies have implications both for older adults and for those who care for and about them. If an older person is motivated to adapt in positive ways, then the potential to continue developing and growing into very old age is enhanced. On the macro level, an increased understanding of and appreciation for the breadth of older adults' experience of their eighth, ninth, and tenth decades of life should inform the development of policies, programs, and services to enhance their day-to-day lives.

Noticing and attending to relational process: a dialogical analysis of MSW student competency development in relational therapy

ABSTRACT We explored Masters of Social Work (MSW) student discourses of learning experiences related to Noticing and Attending to Relational Process (NARP) in a course devoted to clinical practice with families and couples. Within two to three weeks after completing recorded peer role-play assignments and receiving audio-recorded feedback from the instructor, five randomly selected students participated in an unstructured interpersonal process recall (IPR) interview. The instructor/first author queried students about specific role-play moments and reactions to instructor-produced, audio-recorded feedback regarding NARP competencies. We used dialogical analysis to identify discourses and rhetorical features of interview data. Five primary themes emerged. Based on our Bahktinian interpretation of interview data with students, our findings also demonstrated multi-voiced discourses, indicating students’ internal struggle to make sense of NARP and respond to instructor feedback. Educators and practitioners can more intentionally attune themselves to these discourses, potentially opening avenues for stronger social work service provision.

The multifaceted nature of participation motivation in elite Canadian women rugby union players

This study examined the nature of participation motivation for starting and continuing to play rugby among elite Canadian women rugby union players. A snowball technique was used to generate a sample of 10 international elite-level Canadian women rugby players who took part in open-ended, semi-structured interviews. An inductive thematic qualitative approach was used in the data analysis and reversal theory was used in the interpretation of interview data. The qualitative research methods provided detailed information about participation motivation. Players’ rugby experiences were generally positive. Four major participation motivation themes comprised of seven sub-themes were identified. These were: Getting started with rugby; Physical aspects (physicality and aggression; physical challenge); Achievement and success (learning a new sport; sport suitable for my body type); and On- and off-field player interaction (teammates/team environment; friendship and rugby community; being non-conformist).

Lifeway alibis: The biographical bases for unruly bricolage

The function of marketplace ideology to provide a framework that guides individuals’ conduct as consumers is well recognized, though less is known about how individuals address, resist or reconcile themselves to such ideology. Drawing upon ‘lifeway alibis’, assembled from a life course reading of de Certeauean tactics, this article deepens our understanding of how the ideology of nutritionism is renegotiated in the context of dietary health to better accommodate individuals’ life events, circumstances and timing in lives. Based on the interpretations of interview data, we argue that biographical matrices must be observed as principal facilitators for critical reflexivity beyond antagonistic and politico-collective motivations. Here, we consider critically reflexive behaviour – or unruly bricolage – to be organized around dynamic life experiences and circumstances rather than statically against marketplace ideology itself. This outlook prompts us to recognize biography as a catalyst for circumventing certain ideological mandates while the overall ideology remains perpetuated throughout circumvention.

Carbon emission risks and management accounting: Australian evidence

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to apply regulatory mix theory as a framework for investigating the use of management accounting techniques by Australian large listed companies in constraining their carbon emissions.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews are conducted with senior managers involved with managing their companies’ carbon emission risks. Analysis of the interview data is undertaken with a view to provision of insight to the impact of the regulatory framework imposed to deal with carbon emissions.FindingsThe findings reveal that regulation impacting companies’ economic interests rather than requiring mere disclosure compliance is much more likely to be behind focusing top management and board attention and use of management accounting techniques to set targets, measure performance and incentivise emission mitigation. However, there remains much scope for increased use of accounting professionals and accounting techniques in working towards a carbon-constrained economy.Research limitations/implicationsThe usual limitations associated with interpretation of interview data are applicable.Practical implicationsUnder-use of management accounting techniques is likely to be associated with less than optimal constraint of carbon emissions.Social implicationsCarbon emissions are accepted as being involved in harmful climate change. To the extent effective techniques are under-utilised in constraining emissions, harmful consequences for society are likely to be heightened unnecessarily.Originality/valueThe topic and data collected are original and provide valuable insights into the dynamics of management accounting technique use in managing carbon emissions.

Guidelines for Qualitative Research Being Published in Sex Roles

As I wrote in 2008 (Frieze 2008), and is still the case, agrowing number of papers submitted to and ultimatelypublished in Sex Roles involve the analysis of qualitativedata. As is also true for quantitative data analysis, eachjournal editor makes decisions about what types ofmethods and reporting are acceptable within this largermethodology. Since we receive many questions aboutqualitativepapers(butrarelyareaskedaboutquantitativedatapresentations),theseguidelinesforqualitativeresearchreportsare being published now and will appear on the journalwebsite so that our requirements are readily available topotential authors.The first questions we ask in evaluating a manuscriptsubmitted for publication considerationthat reports on qualita-tive data is what data were collected and how the data werecoded. We ask whether the data collection and analysis weredone in a scientific way. As in any scientific paper, it isessentialthatsufficientinformationbeprovidedsothatanotherresearcherwouldbeabletofindsimilarinformationandwouldalsointerpretthesamedatainthesamewayastheauthorofthepaper being evaluated. Interpretation of interview data is ahighly subjective process. In order to validate the analysis ofthe data, ideally, someone other than the author should becategorizing the responses. Confirmation biases of findingwhat one expects to find are well known. If it is impossibleto have the researcher’s data categorized entirely by someoneelse, at least some of the categorization should be verifiedby someone else who is not aware of the predictions orassumptions of the original researcher.To further elaborate on the specific requirements for thisjournal,weaskthattheresearcherprovidealistingofallissuescodedinthedata,withpossiblecodesforeachoftheseissues.Eachofthesepossiblecodingcategoriesshouldbedefinedinaway that would allow another researcher to code similar datausing these same categories. These definitions should be pro-vided in a table, so they can be readily seen by the reader.Secondly,it isrequiredthattheresearcherexplainclearlyhowthe assignment of coding categories was validated. Ideally,there should be a report of inter-coder reliability, with kappavalues for each code. The identity of each coder and exactlywhat data were coded by each person should be provided. Ifthis is not possible, and someone other than the author hasdone the coding, it would be possible to establish validity byprovidingasummaryofthecodesandtheresultsofthecodinganalysis to each of the original study participants to see if theconclusionsdrawnreflect whatheorshesaidintheinterview.If this alternative method of validation is used, a full report ofhow people were contacted, exactly what they said, and thenumber of people responding needs to be provided. Similarguidelines need to be followed if the researcher is codingpictures, printed text, or some other form of qualitative data.Ifdataarecodedusingacomputerizedprocedure,validationof the final counts is not needed. However, we do need thecomplete list of search terms used to classify each codingcategory. Data should also be presented about exactly howthe programs were set up and whether additional terms wereadded in the coding process.If the data are handled in an acceptable way, we thenmove to other aspects of the paper in deciding whetheror not we can accept the paper for publication. Sex Rolesdoes not publish completely exploratory studies. Thus,we require that the researcher have some idea of whattypes of issues he or she hopes to examine in the data.Formal hypotheses are welcomed, but not required forqualitative data analysis. Research questions, expressed interms of particular coding categories, should be clearlyexpressedintheIntroductionsectionofthepaper.Theoryandpreviously published research about why these particular

Negotiation Ethics Across Cultures: An Examination of the Influence of Law and Codes of Ethics

Foreign companies negotiating in China need to tread a wavy and often blurry line that separates building relationships from paying or accepting bribes. The recent arrest and ongoing detention of commercial negotiators on bribe charges in China highlights this challenge. The arrest also highlights the lack of robust theoretical explanations about cultural differences in negotiation ethics in countries where the law is changing and arbitrarily enforced. In this paper I seek to extend our understanding of ethical decision making in negotiation by presenting an exploratory cross-cultural study that investigates if there are differences in how negotiators think about laws in China and how they view corporate codes of ethics. The two cultures investigated are Australia and China. From my interpretation of interview data, I propose hypotheses for future testing. I discuss the managerial implications of my findings that a) neither Australia nor Chinese negotiators are concerned about Chinese laws and b) that there are cultural differences in how negotiators view codes of ethics.

Negotiating with the Chinese: EANTs and all

AbstractThe Chinese negotiation style remains enigmatic for many foreign negotiators. This article is written for foreign negotiators going to China and explores how Chinese negotiators think about ethically ambiguous negotiation tactics (EANTs), focusing on how the relationship with the other party influences the appropriateness of such tactics. Two studies are presented: an interpretation of interview data followed by a survey that shows Chinese negotiators rate EANTs as significantly less appropriate when they have a relationship with the other party. Advice for negotiators going to China is provided. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Negotiating with the Chinese: Their Views on Tactics and Relationships

The Chinese negotiation style is enigmatic for many foreign negotiators. Of particular concern is the use of unscrupulous tactics by the Chinese. This paper explores how Chinese negotiators think about ethically ambiguous negotiation tactics focusing on how the relationship with the other party influences perceived appropriateness of such tactics. Two studies are presented: an interpretation of interview data, followed by a study measuring differences in ratings of appropriateness of ethically ambiguous negotiation tactics according to the closeness of a relationship with the other party. The implications of the finding that Chinese negotiators rate tactics as significantly less appropriate when they have a relationship with the other party is discussed.

Interviewing Elderly Residents in Assisted Living

The interpretation of interview data requires an understanding of its context. In this study, the context was Assisted Living (AL). Twenty-one interviews were conducted with elderly residents of 4 Midwestern Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs). Institutional fear and loneliness associated with ALF living framed residents’ interpretation of and responses to the interview questions. Residents feared transfer to a nursing home, and they experienced the loneliness of being cut off from their homes and put into the care of busy staff members. Their framing of and responses to questions (both qualitative and quantitative) reflected this context, and included the invocation of impairments, the reluctance to criticize staff, and the refusal to complain about the ALF or their present situation.

What is heterosexual coercion? Interpreting narratives from young people in Mexico City

Freedom from sexual coercion is frequently cited as essential for good sexual health. Sexual experiences cannot usually be observed directly, and interpretation of interview data is therefore crucial in our understanding of sexual behaviour. This paper explores the ways in which narratives can be used to understand sexual experiences, using coercion as a specific example. The narratives examined are from interviews with young people in low-income areas of Mexico City. This study demonstrates that sexual coercion is impossible to define objectively. In addition, the concept of coercion is focused too much on women, excluding men's negative sexual experiences, and can include events that the 'victims' do not see as coercive. Coercion is a highly subjective and fluid concept, limiting its value as a defining element of sexual health. An alternative way of conceptualising coercive experiences is suggested.

Phenomenology and Contemporary Clinical Practice: Introduction to Special Issue

AbstractThis special issue reconsiders the contributions that phenomenology can make to the development and practice of a clinical science of psychology. In it, we suggest that earlier attempts to apply phenomenological principles were influenced heavily by psychoanalysis, with few, if any, alternative versions of a "depth" psychology available on which to draw in reframing the nature of psychopathology and its treatment. We suggest that this lingering presence of psychoanalysis runs counter to the founding principles of phenomenological method and offer a few examples of a constructive alternative grounded in Husserl's transcendental phenomenology. Borrowing from Mohanty, we offer this approach as a respectful—as opposed to suspicious—phenomenology, and begin to outline ways in which a transcendentally-grounded psychology reconceptualizes both clinical research and practice, from the initial intake interview and interpretation of interview data to the aims and strategies of psychological interventions.

Decision making in psychiatric emergencies: A phenomenological analysis of gatekeeping

Repeated examination of the patient-evaluative process in emergency room settings over the past 20 years has yielded diffuse and contradictory findings, leaving the decision whether to hospitalize the indigent person with a psychiatric emergency a poorly understood process. In this study of crisis stabilization unit workers' interviewing and decision making, we examined four categories of factors as influences in the treatment decision: organizational factors, community expectations, family influence, and interviewer subjectivity. Factors most important in shaping interviewers' interpretation of interview data and their goals in the interview situation were community expectations that the CSU worker would (1) diagnose and predict levels of dangerousness and (2) deny admission in any cases where outpatient care would serve. The CSU consisted of social workers with 2 to 14 years' experience, whose motivation for occupying the minimally paid position of gatekeeper was determined to be the unusual degree of authority attached to the role.