Methodological Alternatives Research Articles

Randomized trials: When scientific rigor meets field reality

Results from prospective randomized trial results are required to provide practice-changing level-1 evidence. However, if such a trial is not feasible, we should not accept that consequently practice could not change. We discuss hereby a pragmatically approach based on methodological alternatives.

Creative Research Methods and Civilian Agency in Civil Wars: Crafting the Past Through Memory Workshops in Colombia

ABSTRACT This article explores the potentialities of memory workshops for studying civilian agency in violent settings. Drawing from field research with campesino communities in Colombia, it provides a description of the workshops’ implementation process, including creative tools such as memory web creation, collective drawing of timelines and exploration of emotional biographies. Through these activities, campesinos reflected on the embodied and discursive relations within their communities, evoking experiences and practices of wartime. The article highlights the limitations of conventional research methods and proposes memory workshops as a methodological alternative that foregrounds the co-production of data, facilitating the emergence of localised knowledge and self-authorship.

On the coherence of the Rawlsian non-minimalist methodological approach

ABSTRACT This essay examines the coherence of a Rawlsian non-minimalist approach to pursuing justice. Kim Angell argues that Rawlsian non-minimalism suffers from two ‘incoherence defects’. This paper argues, pace Angell, that non-minimalist principles can be both realizable and stable. First, Angell’s argument that political normalization necessarily leads to changes in the feasibility set, rendering principles unrealizable, begs the question. Second, the paper argues against Angell’s claim that habituation of principles necessarily leads to changes in the feasibility set. Whether habituation induces a change to the feasibility set is contingent. This insight undermines the argument that non-minimalist principles of justice are inherently unstable. Since neither incoherence defect is successful, non-minimalism remains a viable methodological alternative.

The Amazon urban weft: a methodological proposal for recognizing a territory of possibilities

In the Amazon, urbanized areas, stretching beyond the cities, constitute a complex urban network, with exchanges of economic and sociocultural capital, mediated by the management of socio-biodiversity. Despite holding the potential for an open future, this territory is generally rendered invisible by the instruments and methods used to understand and represent urbanization in the Amazon. Based on a reinterpretation and analysis of the original classes of the situations of the census tracts, combined with environmental data, this article proposes a methodological alternative that seeks to represent the complex and extensive Amazonian urban weft, considering the state of Pará as the spatial focus and three of the state’s distinct integration regions as the study area. The results have demonstrated that the proposed methodology was able to spatially delineate this weft – much larger than the municipal seats – and highlight areas where the urbanization-nature relationship is still preserved and has more chances to evolve.

Methodological solutions for researching the variation of partitives in languages with rich nominal morphology

Abstract This article examines methodologies for studying variation in partitives. It focuses on the challenges for languages with rich nominal morphology. Translation questionnaires have been widely and efficiently applied for discovering variation in Germanic and Romance partitives. We set up a mini questionnaire and provide its answers for Estonian to test the method. The current research situation of the Estonian morphological partitive case variation allows us to spot some inadequacies of this research instrument. We show the complexity of partitive variation across linguistic modules and discuss how the works presented in this volume as well as other related recent research may provide ancillary instruments to mitigate the shortcomings of a translation questionnaire. We close the discussion with some methodological alternatives open to morphologically complex languages in their typical research situations, applied to Beserman pseudo partitives and Ukrainian partitive genitives, and some synergies in recently applied methods.

Methods of wind energy harnessing: A state-of-the-art and bibliometric analysis

Wind energy is one of the most promising alternatives for obtaining a sustainable electricity generation model with low greenhouse gas emissions. The maturity of this technology, coupled with its low investment costs and good performance, makes it highly interesting for countries to develop projects within this field. However, its high operation intermittency caused by the natural behavior of wind requires preliminary research on the technical conditions (Installation, Capacity, Environmental, Legal, Administrative, Logistics) of the geographical area wherein the wind energy project is planned. This paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art research studies on the potential of wind energy within a territory. This review describes current methodological alternatives for assessing wind energy generation projects and potential energy studies in different geographical areas globally. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis is included, examining the scientific research trends in the field of wind energy in addition to the different technologies and innovations that have contributed to the viability of a greater wind energy generation project. Finally, the study discusses the technical restriction criteria faced by any such project. This paper also seeks to become a point of reference for future reviews and decision-making in wind projects.

Development and validation of meta-measurement instruments: A methodological approach

A valid and reliable nursing assessment is essential for identifying required care and ensuring patient safety. The convenience of conducting a comprehensive assessment of the patient has led to a significant increase in assessment tools that may slow down the process. Nevertheless, the possibility of consolidating various instruments that measure common or similar constructs into a meta-instrument is considered an alternative that could enhance assessment efficiency.A meta-instrument can be defined as a measurement tool that consolidates other instruments based on measuring related constructs and sharing dimensions or items, aiming to achieve a more parsimonious measurement. Literature on such assessment tools is scarce, and there are numerous options for their construction and initial validation. Additionally, it is advisable to confirm their psychometric properties and ensure that they maintain, at the very least, the same diagnostic capacity as the original instruments.This article presents a proposal for the phases to follow in constructing meta-instruments, along with various methodological alternatives that can be employed based on the characteristics of the original instruments and the purpose of creating the meta-instrument. Furthermore, special attention is given to the checklists that should be used to study the psychometric properties and diagnostic capacity of the meta-instruments. Finally, future lines of research and challenges in the development of nursing assessment meta-instruments are discussed.

Lesson Study, a methodology to reconstruct knowledge

Education is constantly looking for methodological alternatives to improve the teaching-learning process with the aim of improving the training of future generations of citizens. Among these alternatives is the Lesson Study methodology. The aim of this essay is to analyse the importance of the Lesson Study methodology in the practical reconstruction of the teacher's knowledge of the teaching-learning process; for this purpose, a literature review was carried out based on the analytical-synthetic, hermeneutic and historical-logical methods and documentary analysis. Among the main findings we can mention that this methodology is a process of improvement of educational practice and the process of pedagogical research, focused on student learning, since it contributes to the understanding of the teaching-learning process and seeks the positive modification of the way in which teaching is carried out, which has an impact on the quality of student learning. One of its benefits is the practical reconstruction of the teacher's knowledge of the teaching-learning process as a consequence of a regular and systematic cooperative and critical study of teaching practice

Discounted Cash Flow Analysis and Prudential Value DCFA Formula

According to IVS 2023 the terminal value of a DCFA can be calculated in respect of the three fundamental appraisal approach: market, income and cost. Specifically, “Where the asset is expected to continue beyond the explicit forecast period, valuers must estimate the value of the asset at the end of that period. The terminal value is then discounted back to the valuation date, normally using the same discount rate as applied to the forecast cash flow” (IVS 105 Valuation Approaches and Methods, para 50.20). Although academic and professional normally refer to direct capitalization to calculate the exit value (scrap value, going out value) different approaches are possible. In particular it is possible to calculate the exit value using the market approach. The present work starts from an original model of Discounted Cash Flow Analysis proposed by Simonotti (2006) to propose possible alternative to the original formula. The model proposed, as defined for the paper “Prudential Value DCFA Formula (PVF)” provides methodological alternatives to the original model in order to apply the method in different property market conditions allowing the appraiser to represent even property market in recovery or falling market phase, or prudential assessment of worth and opinion of value. In particular the proposed model replace the compound growth of the property value included in the traditional Simonotti’s model, with a linear growth or even a combination of both. The paper emphasize how property valuation standards can not be considered as immutable but they may be considered in constant evolution. In delivering an opinion of value for mortgage lending purposes the approach of professional academician and real estate analyst need to be able to respond to change of external conditions, in consideration of the sustainability of the cash flows in the long term, for the entire duration of the loan (and therefore for the purpose of identifying the long-term sustainable value of the asset). The approach is functional, inter alia, for the purpose of identifying the “prudential value” as defined by the innovative banking regulation (Basel 3) according to the definition of loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for loan origination and monitoring.

The impact of collaborative ePortfolios on academic learning in a university setting

This study is focused on promoting self-reflection and self-regulation of learning through the use of digital tools to improve the academic performance of university students. Specifically, the main objective is to evaluate the impact of the use of collaborative ePortfolios on facilitating the comprehension of the concepts being studied. During the 2021/2022 academic term, a voluntary survey was administered to 60 students in the Adaptation Course of the Primary Education Degree Program. Through a structural equation analysis, a theoretical model was analyzed in which the intensity of participation in the ePortfolio appears as a mediating variable between the different independent variables and the improvement in academic learning. The results of the study confirm this mediating function for some variables, while at the same time they show a direct positive relationship between the intensity of participation in the ePortfolio and comprehension of the course concepts. The findings of this study can have important implications for the promotion of digital tools, such as ePortfolios, to improve learning in the university context. In addition, the work offers methodological alternatives to the recurring problem of analyzing complex relationships (both direct and indirect effects) with small samples.

The use of alternative methodologies as a strategy in teaching Geography

Considering the constant changes in the teaching of Geography, with the objective of directly impacting basic education through methodologies that facilitate the teaching-learning process, the interest in this theme arises. In this context, the exploration of methodological alternatives for teaching-learning has become essential. Resources such as music, information and communication technologies (ICTs), literature and cartoons were addressed, with an emphasis on the latter, through a bibliographical review. These methods were presented as tools that revolutionized the teaching of geography, facilitating the transmission of content combined with geographical themes. The idea is to awaken in educators the interest in methodologies that align with their reality and didactic, overcoming paradigms associated with traditional geography. This aims to lead students to a more critical, subjective and contextualized approach within the school geography.

Listen, Tell, Show: Recreation and the Black and Decolonial Storytelling in Sport and Physical Culture Research

Stories are always grounded in personal, collective, and ancestral experiences and come in a variety of visual, performance, textile, and text-based forms. Physical culture participation and politics can be better understood by engaging with the stories of people facing ongoing colonial and epistemic injustices, intersectional oppressions, as well as structural and cultural racism. In contrast to dominant trends in the cultural politics of sport, this article offers an ontological, epistemological, and methodological alternative. Following Black and decolonial scholars, we must honor non-Western storytelling modalities to listen to, tell, show, and center many experiences to resist Western colonial culture's binary structures and hierarchies, introduce alternate theorizations, and inject other ways of knowing and being into the sport and physical cultures and into physical cultural studies. This article highlights several areas of Black and decolonial studies that will be essential to efforts at transformative justice in sport and sports scholarship: interdisciplinarity, the bios–mythoi relationship, counter-storytelling, and creation stories.

Biodiesel Production Processes with Yeast: A Sustainable Approach

In recent years, renewable sources of energy have been sought due to the environmental impacts associated with fossil fuels, such as greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. A promising alternative is biodiesel, particularly when obtained using yeast, as they offer certain advantages over other microorganisms due to their resilience to grow in various conditions, short reproduction times, and lower susceptibility to bacterial infections because they thrive at lower pH levels and have the ability to utilize a wide variety of substrates. Furthermore, biodiesel produced with yeast is composed of methyl ester fatty acids (FAME), providing it with good quality and performance in internal combustion engines, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional diesel. The production of biodiesel using yeast involves six general stages, which offer various methodological alternatives with different degrees of sustainability. The objective of this review is to assess the sustainability degree of various methodologies employed in each of the stages of yeast-based biodiesel production through environmental and economic sustainability indicators.

GUIDELINES FOR QUALITY COVERAGE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION ISSUES

The aim of this article is twofold: first, to elucidate the importance and value of conducting a literature review, and second, to provide practical guidance and suggestions for effectively planning and executing such a review. To provide an overview of the findings from previous studies, a systematic approach to scientific research was employed. The material for this systematic review consists of publications that provide practical guidance on the writing of review articles. The purpose of a literature review is to synthesize existing scholarly works on a specific topic or research question, contextualizing them within the current state of knowledge on that topic. It is not uncommon for literature reviews to fall short of the standards expected of scientific research. In such cases, they may be regarded as mere summaries of previous work in a given field. To circumvent such a scenario, it is advised that a determination be made at the outset of the project regarding the type of review to be conducted. It is recommended that a classification system be employed which divides literature reviews into three categories: systematic review, semi-systematic review, and integrative review. The efficacy of each type of literature review depends on the objective being pursued. In the context of a literature review, a number of methods may be employed to facilitate a comprehensive analysis. Given the plethora of methodological alternatives at their disposal, researchers may encounter the challenge of selecting an appropriate method. The most commonly utilized methodological approaches in this field are bibliometric analysis, content analysis, critical analysis, meta-analysis, multiple correspondence analysis, and homogeneity analysis through alternating least squares. A researcher undertaking a literature review is confronted with a range of potential challenges, including the existence of a vast number of sources, which makes it challenging to identify pertinent materials; a lack of expertise in literature search techniques, which can impede the ability of a novice researcher to fully comprehend a specific phenomenon when searching a single database; and a lack of expertise in formulating a precise and coherent research question or purpose for the review, which may result in the absence of a structured plan for data analysis, ultimately limiting the depth of analysis in the literature review to a mere descriptive summary. To ensure a comprehensive and rigorous study, researchers must select an optimal methodological approach for their literature review, one that aligns with their research question and the available resources at their disposal.

Magic of feminist bridging

Are feminist coalitions magical enough to survive and endure while questioning and shaking the colonial/racist foundations of Swedish academic knowledge production and the overall Swedish society? Can feminist bridging and collective writing remain a magical process even when grappling with difficult experiences and memories of othering and racialisation? This is a creatively and collectively written article on feminist coalition building, and its importance in thinking, articulating and deconstructing race, racialization and racist structures. More than two years ago, seven interdisciplinary gender studies scholars of mixed ethnic and racial origins, came together to explore our differently situated experiences of disidentifying with Swedish academia and society in a collective we call Loving Coalitions. Against the background of Swedish exceptionalism, historical amnesia of Sweden’s colonial past and present, and the deafening silence on Swedish whiteness and racism, we are sharing our poems, letters, texts and testimonies of racist interactions in Swedish academia and society. While doing so, we discuss how moving away from conventional ways of doing research and experimenting with creative methodological alternatives, such as automatic writing, epistolary formats, poems, fiction, collective memory-work, allow us to acknowledge and embrace our different life backgrounds and academic trajectories as a mode of knowledge production. We hope and believe that our experiences, refl ections and ways to resist racism and Othering in Sweden and Swedish academia through alternative coalition building, based on mutual care and love, can be relevant in a Danish context as well.

Optimization of a Simple Analytical Workflow to Characterize the Phenolic Fraction from Grape Pomace

The recovery of polyphenols from grape pomace (GP) supports the promotion of sustainable bioeconomy. Accordingly, the development of pre-treatment and extraction techniques using low-solvent amounts and energy-efficient processes is highly desirable. In this work, a comprehensive strategy to maximize phenol extraction from two Umbrian red wine cultivars, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, was proposed. Focus was paid to sample pre- (fresh, air-, oven- and freeze-dried pomace) and post-extraction (chemical- and enzymatic-hydrolysis) treatments. An experimental design was applied to optimize phenol recovery by ultrasound-assisted extraction: the variables water content in ethanol (20–80% v/v) and time (10–30 min) highlighted a critical influence on the total phenol content (TPC) selected as the response. β-glucuronidase hydrolysis provided the highest TPC and in vitro total antioxidant capacity also improving phenol identification and quantification via HPLC–DAD (particularly evident for freeze-dried Merlot and Cabernet GP, which gave a total phenolic content measured by HPLC equal to 1904.08 mg/g and 2064.64 mg/g, respectively). LC-HRMS/MS analysis allowed identity confirmation of the major phenols, and cytotoxicity assay highlighted the safety of the selected β-glucuronidase extracts towards Caco2 cell line. Ultimately, in the present work, we have addressed the importance of the recovery of bioactive compounds from grape pomace by proposing a comprehensive analytical strategy in which different methodological alternatives have been evaluated to preserve these compounds, in a frame of sustainability on a larger industrial scale.

The use of methods in teaching History: a mixed exploratory study at the Ciego de Ávila University, Cuba

The development of scientific thinking is an imperative for university students. In the specific case of careers whose social responsibility is the education of future generations, it constitutes a fundamental need due to its projection in the teaching-learning processes. The objective of the research was to analyze the relationship between scientific research methods with the methods of teaching History for the development of scientific thinking. It was based on a mixed embedded design, with a sequential strategy and descriptive scope. The results suggest the need to delve deeper into the didactic design of History teaching, particularly with regard to the logical relationship between investigative and didactic methods that contribute to the development of scientific thinking. It was concluded that, despite there being an educational model for professional training oriented towards achieving learning results to develop scientific thinking, investigative-didactic methodological alternatives are required, since its effective implementation in the classroom has presented limitations due to that university professors must have methodological preparation focused on students as required by contemporary pedagogical models.

Environmental education and methodological tools in transversal mathematics teaching in a public school – Belford Roxo, RJ

The article addresses relevant environmental issues with the aim of developing methodological alternatives using environmental education as an aid to teaching and learning the subject of mathematics. To address the concepts of environmental education, four experiments were used, developed and applied in an educational project carried out in a basic education school unit of the government of the State of Rio de Janeiro, located in the Municipality of Belford Roxo. In experiment I, multidisciplinary activities were developed on the conscious consumption of electrical energy, which resulted in suggestions at personal, residential and school levels; In experiment II, after research and discussions about healthy eating, it was possible to highlight the students' food preferences; In experiment III, awareness of the final destination and reuse of waste tires was worked on; And, in experiment IV, the conscious use of water was evaluated, where the evolution of social responsibility was observed.

Evaluation of soil moisture estimation techniques based on Sentinel-1 observations over wheat fields

Soil moisture (SM) is a key variable in agriculture and its monitoring is essential. SM determines the amount of water available to plants, having a direct impact on the development of crops, on the forecasting of crop yields and on the surveillance of food security. Microwave remote sensing offers a great potential for estimating SM because it is sensitive to the dielectric characteristics of observed surface that depend on surface soil moisture. The objective of this study is the evaluation of three change detection methodologies for SM estimation over wheat at the agricultural field scale based on Sentinel-1 time series: Short Term Change Detection (STCD), TU Wien Change Detection (TUWCD) and Multitemporal Bayesian Change Detection (MTBCD). Different methodological alternatives were proposed for the implementation of these techniques at the agricultural field scale. Soil moisture measurements from eight experimental wheat fields were used for validating the methodologies. All available Sentinel-1 acquisitions were processed and the eventual benefit of correcting for vegetation effects in backscatter time series was evaluated. The results were rather variable, with some experimental fields achieving successful performance metrics (ubRMSE ∼ 0.05 m3/m3) and some others rather poor ones (ubRMSE > 0.12 m3/m3). Evaluating median performance metrics, it was observed that both TUWCD and MTBCD methods obtained better results when run with vegetation corrected backscatter time series (ubRMSE ∼0.07 m3/m3) whereas STCD produced similar results with and without vegetation correction (ubRMSE ∼0.08 m3/m3). The soil moisture content had an influence on the accuracy of the different methodologies, with higher errors observed for drier conditions and rain-fed fields, in comparison to wetter conditions and irrigated fields. Taking into account the spatial scale of this case study, results were considered promising for the future application of these techniques in irrigation management.

Alternativa metodológica para desarrollar la comprensión auditiva en inglés en estudiantes de medicina

Mastery of a foreign language is a necessity in contemporary society. The objective of this work was to design a methodological alternative that contributes to the development of listening comprehension in A2-level students at the Julio Trigo López Facultyof Medical Sciences, University of Medical Sciences of Havana. A descriptive study was conducted, applying both theoretical and empirical methods. Empirical investigations included an entrance test and a survey of the participants. The sample consisted ofa total of 153 fourth-year medical students. The proposal helped improve their listening skills. After the placement exam, which showed a 59.8% result, instruments were used to understand psychological, pedagogical, and didactic aspects, which were vital in the design of the proposal. Conclusions: Although the research cannot show its final results as it is still in the implementation phase, it can be said that the methodological alternative promoted the use of effective strategies to achieve the proposed objective. In the long term, these strategies will validate the proposal and provide a solution to the identified problem