Qualitative Coding Research Articles

ChatGPT in language education: Centering learner voices

Within educational linguistics and applied language studies, the debut of ChatGPT has spurred significant scholarship analyzing its potential benefits and consequences in language teaching and learning. However, limited empirical research on factors influencing language learners’ use or non-use of ChatGPT exists. From an ecological theoretical perspective, an understanding of this (non)usage is nevertheless essential: a nuanced understanding of if, how, and why language learners use these tools is necessary to craft meaningful approaches to ChatGPT and other similar generative AI tools in the language classroom. To address this gap, the current article reports on an online survey of 173 learners of non-English languages at a large public university in the United States. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and iterative qualitative coding (e.g., thematic analysis). Analysis revealed a large majority of participants (74%) elected not to use ChatGPT in their language learning. The article subsequently explores the factors that influenced this non-use, namely policies; concerns about ethics both inside and outside the language classroom (e.g., concerns about cheating, intellectual theft, and questions of fairness); beliefs about tool limitations; considerations of the potential negative impacts on language learning; and reflections on education more broadly. We discuss the implications of these findings in relation to the role of digital literacies in language education; the production of knowledge in education; and the meaning of language study, including actionable items in the language classroom.

How Motivations Inform the Experiences of French and American Child Welfare Employees in a Fractured Foster Care System

Both the French and American child welfare systems struggle with employee turnover. To address this issue, more research is needed on child welfare employees’ motivations to start and continue working in the child welfare system, as well as the factors that cause them to leave the field. This qualitative study examined the following research question: What are the differences and/or similarities between child welfare employee motivations in France and the United States? The research design analyzed twelve American child welfare employee interviews through thematic and open qualitative coding methods and twelve French videos about child welfare employees’ career motivations and experiences, through a content analysis. The findings for this study are that French and American child welfare employees express similar motivations for beginning and continuing to work in the child welfare system, such as building relationships with children and families. However, their inhibitors to motivation vary, based on the cultural and structural contexts of their respective child welfare systems. Understanding child welfare employees’ motivations in both countries will offer human resource policy implications to guide employers in retaining and supporting high-quality employees.

Yo! Chisme Is Good! Latina/x Girls’ Cultivando Confianza in an After-School Program

Background or Context: Middle-school Girls of Color experience complex systems of relationships, structures, and situations in and out of school spaces. Their experiences, however, are often at the margins or excluded from middle school curricula and after-school programming. In this article, we focus on how young women engage with chisme to liberate themselves from social and academic pressures placed upon them. Purpose and Research Questions: Our study seeks to center and explore the ways of knowing and being of Latina/x middle school girls with particular attention to the role of chisme. We draw on Chicana/Latina feminist perspectives to address the following research questions: (1) How do middle school Latina/x girls define chisme? (2) How and why was chisme enacted or leveraged to co-create a trusting space in an after-school program for middle school Latina/x girls? Research Design: We employed a practitioner research inquiry design to explore chisme as a literacy practice of Latina/x middle-school girls in an after-school program. The after-school program, Latina/x Girlhood Narratives, was implemented in a middle school in a mid-sized, urban city in the Midwest region of the United States. Analytically, we engaged in video data analysis and qualitative coding analysis to examine the data. Results and Conclusions: Three main findings emerged from the study: (1) shared understandings: chismes, rumors, and snitching; (2) todo or la mitad del chisme: a process and product of confianza; and (3) from chismes to liberatory literacy practices of desahogamiento. Our study demonstrates how chisme, in particular, not only was vital to building and deepening confianza, but also allowed access to the girls’ ideas for activities and pedagogies. The field of education must continue to work to make visible the ways in which Latina/x girls engage with themselves and the world in order to sustain better relationships with and for them, and to build pathways for Latina/x girls to see themselves as successful in schools and in society.

The displaced relationship between original and translated literature: a polysystem view of Nobel Literature Prize norms

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the Nobel Literature Prize award speeches from 2000 to 2023 from the perspective of polysystem studies and the framework of translational norms. Using a combination of corpus-based methods and qualitative coding analysis, it compares, describes, and interprets the discourse features and underlying norms of these speeches. It was found that the awarding institution emphasizes literary works that explore the marginalized or peripheral aspects of society, although its evaluations of original and translated literature exhibit subtle differences. The institution tends to favor niche authors from the Western original literary system, underscoring their works’ universal appeal while highlighting translated works that conform to Western literary conventions. Such a focus suggests that the Westernization of world literature helps reinforce the dominance of the Western literary paradigm. Furthermore, the current analysis indicates that translated literature included in the Nobel system often retains marginal status as perceived by the awarding body, serving primarily as a vehicle for introducing non-Western voices while still centering Western perspectives. The role of translations, while crucial in bridging diverse literary characteristics, is often overlooked, as evidenced by award speeches. They implicitly maintain the centrality of Western perspectives when presenting literature from non-Western contexts.

Identifying Emergency Physicians’ Strategies for Mitigating Workload Transfers during End of Shift Patient Handoffs – A Qualitative Analysis

In hospital emergency departments (EDs), emergency physicians (EPs) regularly handoff patients to one another at shift changes. While previous studies have focused on standardizing communication practices during handoffs, these efforts do not address how handoffs contribute to transfers of excess workload for EPs, nor the strategies utilized by EPs to mitigate such workload transfers. Forty-four observations were conducted at a large referral hospital and Level 1 trauma center. Observations of EPs’ workstations were conducted during 4-hour intervals centered on end of shift patient handoffs. Following observations, interviews were conducted with 12 attending EPs pertaining to the structuring of information during handoffs, strategies used to prepare for handoffs, interpersonal and environmental considerations that may affect handoffs, and any workflow adaptations that occur due to such considerations. Interview data were analyzed using qualitative coding and subsequent thematic analysis. Findings from this study revealed four thematic categories: traditional sign-out workflows, importance of the state of patient disposition, adaptive strategies for mitigating workload transfers, and EP motivations and obligations regarding sign-outs. Ultimately, the adaptive workflows and mitigation strategies utilized by EPs during end of shift patient handoffs demonstrate their ability to adapt and effectively reduce the amount of cognitive workload transferred during handoffs.

Describing the Ephemeral: Facilitating Rich Search Experiences with Performing Arts Video Collections

ABSTRACTDigital video collections of dance, theatre, and other performances can provide unprecedented access to these ephemeral art forms. Making these collections searchable requires understanding of users' needs, necessitating collaboration among subject matter, metadata, and information behavior experts. Focusing on the example of Circus Oz, a prominent Australian circus company, this paper describes an exploratory, user‐centered process that draws on qualitative thematic coding techniques to create descriptive metadata schema. This iterative process illustrates the extensive labor involved, and the combination of expertise required, to create schema that extend beyond technical and basic categories to support rich search and discovery of cultural data collections.

Visual framing during crisis: a 10-year systematic review

PurposeThis paper presents a 10-year systematic review of research on the visual framing of crises to identify the priorities, theories applied and trends in the scholarship of visual framing during crises. The gaps are analyzed to provide evidence-based recommendations for advancing future research.Design/methodology/approachA total of 269 articles published in 156 peer-reviewed communication journals between January 2014 to December 2023 were reviewed. Data were analyzed using open and axial qualitative coding. A codebook was developed for the quantitative coding and data were analyzed in SPSS descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to answer the research questions.FindingsThe proportion of visual framing of crises has remained the same in the last 10 years – there is significantly more research on the visual framing of non-crises. Overall, research on the visual framing of crises is largely exploratory/descriptive and could benefit from a research agenda that is more theory driven. Additionally, there is a skewed focus for research on North America compared to other regions, and for political communication and climate compared to other themes. Environmental sciences and engineering are the most widely investigated journal fields, while disaster is the most common typology studied when looking at the visual framing of crises.Research limitations/implicationsThe systematic literature review has some limitations – most particularly that the sample was drawn from a single publisher, which may not be exhaustive enough to represent the full population of articles in the field of visual communication. However, it is a systematic review of the publications that are officially aligned with three of the major communication organizations – the International Communication Association, National Communication Association and World Communication Association. However, future research considering the inclusion of an additional publishers, like Emerald, would further enrich scholarship in visual framing during crises. Second, manual coding of the articles could present potential differences in analysis and interpretation by other researchers. Despite the limitations, the study also provides some important insights into the present and future of the visual framing of crises.Practical implicationsAddressing gaps in the internationalization of visual crisis communication would expand studies for visual framing among underrepresented communities such as populations with low reading literacy, gender minorities and displaced communities and inform visual framing strategies for government and relevant institutions as primary information disseminators during crises.Social implicationsAddressing the gaps identified in this systematic literature review on the visual framing of crises is important for extending theory in this relatively nascent field and guiding crisis visual framing strategies to mitigate uncertainty and panic, threats to stakeholder relationships, social vulnerabilities and the visual framing of stakeholder-centric crisis responses.Originality/valueBased on available literature, this is the first systematic literature review investigating the use of all types of visuals used during all crisis typologies, reflecting the ubiquity of crises and the increased focus on the use of visuals in crisis communication in the last decade.

A Patient-Centered Perspective on Changes in Personal Characteristics After Deep Brain Stimulation

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) results in improvements in motor function and quality of life in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), which might impact a patient's perception of valued personal characteristics. Prior studies investigating whether DBS causes unwanted changes to oneself or one's personality have methodological limitations that should be addressed. To determine whether DBS is associated with changes in characteristics that patients with PD identify as personally meaningful. This cohort study assessed changes in visual analog scale (VAS) ratings reflecting the extent to which patients with PD manifested individually identified personal characteristics before and 6 and 12 months after DBS at a large academic medical center from February 21, 2018, to December 9, 2021. The VAS findings were tailored to reflect the top 3 individually identified personal characteristics the patient most feared losing. The VASs were scored from 0 to 10, with 0 representing the least and 10 the most extreme manifestation of the trait. Change scores were examined at the individual level. Content analysis was used to code the qualitative data. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed from January 12, 2019 (initial qualitative coding), to December 15, 2023. Deep brain stimulation. The primary outcome variable was the mean VAS score for the top 3 personal characteristics. The secondary outcome was the incidence of meaningful changes on the patients' top 3 characteristics at the individual level. Fifty-two of 54 dyads of patients with PD and their care partners (96.3%) were recruited from a consecutive series approved for DBS (36 patients [69.2%] were male and 45 care partners [86.5%] were female; mean [SD] age of patients, 61.98 [8.55] years). Two patients and 1 care partner were lost to follow-up. Increases in the mean VAS score (indicative of greater manifestation of [ie, positive changes in] specific characteristics) were apparent following DBS for ratings of both the patients (Wald χ2 = 16.104; P < .001) and care partners (Wald χ2 = 6.746; P < .001) over time. The slopes of the changes for both the patient and care partners were correlated, indicating agreement in observed changes over time. The individual level analyses indicated that scores for most patients and care partners remained the same or increased. In this cohort study, participants reported greater (more positive) manifestations of individually identified, valued characteristics after DBS. These findings may be relevant to informing decision-making for patients with advanced PD who are considering DBS.

Sources of moral distress among obstetrician-gynecologists after Dobbs: A qualitative, multi-state study

Since the US Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, 18 states have enacted functional bans on abortion, yet little is known about how these laws contribute to workplace stress and its sequelae among clinicians. The purpose of this study was to characterize sources of moral distress—which occurs when a clinician knows the right course of clinical action but is barred from taking that action by external constraints—among obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) in states with abortion bans. We conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 54 OB-GYNs practicing in 13 of 14 states where abortion was illegal as of March 2023. Using a qualitative descriptive coding approach, we identified four types of clinical situations leading to moral distress: delaying treatment for patients with obstetric complications, conflict with other clinicians, denying care they would have provided locally prior to Dobbs, and restrictions on clinical counseling. These situations provoked feelings of anger, frustration, helplessness, and emotional exhaustion. Participants attributed moral distress to the cumulative toll of routinely being unable to provide evidence-based healthcare, in addition to the acute burden of managing obstetric emergencies in legal gray areas, which was relatively rarer. The findings demonstrate a previously unreported source of moral distress: the everyday chipping away of professional integrity that occurs when OB-GYNs cannot care for patients in the way that patients need. Next steps include developing institutional-level policies and programs to support clinicians and enable them to practice ethical medicine in abortion-restrictive policy environments.

Leveraging Large Language Models for Automating Inductive Qualitative Coding: A Comparative Study of Prompt Engineering Techniques

This study explores the potential of Large Language Models (LLMs), like those from the GPT family, to automate inductive qualitative coding—a process of assigning codes to text excerpts and organizing them into categories, traditionally done manually in social science and software engineering research. Our primary question is: Can LLMs effectively automate inductive qualitative coding? To investigate this, we compared different prompt engineering techniques, including Zero-shot, Few-shot, and Chain-of-Thought (CoT) learning, in coding interview transcripts. While LLMs cannot fully replace human coders, they can aid the process with a human-in-the-loop approach. Few-shot learning showed consistent performance with moderate amounts data, while CoT proved most effective in reducing partial hallucinations. Initially aimed at full automation, our study pivoted to testing prompt strategies after realizing that a human-in-the-loop process would offer better accuracy and flexibility, given the challenges of context and token limits in LLMs. These findings suggest that tailored LLM with adequate prompting techniques can help assist researchers when performing qualitative analysis.

Health Care Workers’ Trust in Leadership: Why It Matters and How Leaders Can Build It

Rebuilding patient trust in the US health care system has received considerable attention recently, but there has been little focus on health care workers' (HCWs) trust in the leaders of health care delivery organizations. This study explores (1) the professional impact on HCWs of trusting the leaders of the organizations where they work and (2) the leadership actions that build HCWs' trust. The authors examined these questions using a survey that was crowdsourced to 353 HCWs through social media posts and e-mails from national health organizations. For each open-ended question, qualitative codes were identified, iteratively finalized, and applied to each response. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the closed-ended questions and examine how often each qualitative code was raised. One in five (20.2%) HCWs trusted leadership "very much," more than a third (36.9%) trusted "somewhat," and 42.9% had lower levels of trust. Almost all (97.7%) reported that the degree of trust they had in their organization's leadership affected them professionally. Among HCWs who trusted their organization's leadership, the most common impact was feeling professional satisfaction, followed by providing higher-quality work. HCWs described three main ways health care organization leaders earned their trust: communicating effectively (being transparent and soliciting HCWs' input), treating HCWs well (with respect and kindness and providing good compensation), and prioritizing patient care. The findings suggest health care organizations would benefit from leaders seeking to earn HCWs' trust. With trust in leadership, HCWs report higher work quality and greater professional satisfaction.

“Never Met Them in Person, But We Help Each Other”: Black Women’s Experiences in Online Undergraduate Engineering Programs

In this empirical analysis, we provide a qualitative investigation of online learning among Black women engineering majors at one institution. Two research questions guide this analysis: (1) How do Black women describe their online program learning experiences? and (2) how do participants describe their interactions with other students and faculty in their online programs? We used an exploratory, qualitative case study research design to collect data for this project and we were guided by Harasim’s online collaborative learning framework. After conducting multiple rounds of qualitative coding, authors arrived at four major themes in response to these research questions. These themes were that participants: (1) experienced isolation, (2) witnessed varying impacts of COVID-19, (3) observed benefits and limitations of flexibility of online programs, and (4) engaged in virtual connection-building. We conclude our piece by discussing implications for faculty development and course designers. Key words: Black women, COVID-19, engineering, flexibility, online learning

Model of competency development of professional group leaders (PGL) in higher vocational colleges in Fujian province

This study aims to take Chinese higher vocational colleges professional group leaders as the research subjects to analyze the components of their key competencies, develop the competency model of professional group leaders (PGL), and analyze the main factors influencing the model. It provides a powerful help for improving the scientific level of the construction and management of the teaching staff in higher vocational colleges and filling the gap in the research on the quality and ability of Chinese professional group leaders. A mixed research method is deployed in this study. Data are collected with the help of a self-administrated questionnaire and a semi-structured interview based on grounded theory. Data analysis involves structural equation modeling using AMOS, complemented by qualitative coding in NVivo. It concludes that the competency development model of professional group leaders comprises two main dimensions: explicit competencies and implicit competencies. Explicit competencies include cross-border adaptability (CBA), resource integration ability (RIA), innovation and development practice ability (IDPA), management leadership ability (MLA), and interdisciplinary scientific research ability (ISRA). Implicit competencies include personality attitude (PA), and intrinsic motivation (IM). The study fills a significant gap in the literature by providing a detailed model of competency for professional group leaders in the context of higher vocational education, offering a practical framework for improving the training and management of teaching staff and promoting the development of professional groups effective in vocational colleges.

A resilient disaster recovery model for Puerto Rico: a qualitative case study

ABSTRACT Environmental disruptions cause various damages to cities and communities. Many Puerto Ricans have endured catastrophes, suffered the loss of friends and family, resided in temporary shelters, and have been uncertain when they could return home. Thus, this study aims to understand the factors that help Puerto Rican communities better respond to and recover from shocks. Through a multiple-case-study design, the study analyses four Puerto Rican communities to identify the indicators that most significantly contribute to resilient disaster recovery. Data is collected via in-person interviews and analysed via qualitative inductive coding. The study results emphasise the role of internal – social cohesion, community engagement, and local leadership – and external factors – political vulnerability, available resources, social participation in preparation planning, and sustainable development – in resilient disaster recovery. This research deepens our comprehension of the critical factors that shape resilient disaster recovery efforts within Puerto Rican communities. It also aids communities in enhancing their preparedness, coping mechanisms, and adaptation strategies and offers guidance for urban planners and policymakers to concentrate on the internal and external factors that bolster the adaptive capabilities and resilience of communities in Puerto Rico.

Strengthening transformative capacities for urban sustainability: a case study of waste reform in Battambang, Cambodia

Battambang has been identified as an exemplar for sustainability city development in Cambodia due to its success with the introduction of new programs and planning initiatives, which have led to recognition of its clean and green city status by the Cambodian Government and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Limited research has been done to date to investigate how Battambang has achieved these results, compared with other rapidly urbanising cities of Cambodia and Southeast Asia. Through the lens of urban sustainability transformations, our research identifies the capacity strengths and gaps of Battambang city in preparing for and initiating the city’s urban transformation of its waste sector, applying the transformative capacities framework of Wolfram (Cities 51:121-130, 2016). Through qualitative coding of semi-structured interviews and document analysis we found that (a) particular transformative capacities provided building blocks for the development of other capacities, (b) award and recognition processes can play a role in developing transformative capacities, and (c) that the city’s culture of innovation and relatively stable population and political-economy contributed to strengthening its capacities. This research contributes knowledge for policy and practice on urban transformative capacity strengthening, as it supports a phased ‘building blocks’ approach in resource-constrained contexts.

Video watching and hands-on experiments to learn science: what can each uniquely contribute?

An experimental group and control group pretest and posttest design was used to conduct qualitative coding and quantitative analysis on two classes in grade 5. The aim was to investigate whether science education videos can be used in place of simulation experiments. The results showed that (1) in terms of scientific knowledge, the difference between science videos and hands-on experiments was not significant; (2) in terms of modeling capability, the hands-on class had better results regarding the perception and application of materials; and (3) more precise experiments had better effects on health behavior, but there was no significant difference between imprecise experiments and science videos. In the absence of laboratory equipment, science videos could therefore be an alternative solution.

Qualitative Data Coding of User Experience With an Urban Air Mobility Fleet Manager Interface

The NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate created the High Density Vertiplex (HDV) project to integrate and evaluate a prototype Urban Air Mobility (UAM) ecosystem. Part of the HDV testing environment included a prototype operator user interface called the Fleet Manager Interface (FMI). In 2023, HDV conducted flight testing with the FMI during which a user experience (UX) study was performed to assess the quality of UX and elicit design recommendations. As a result, a large database of open-ended, qualitative responses was generated and then coded using a new qualitative data coding technique called Directive String Coding. The key themes that arose from the coded responses showed that the UX was pleasant, system notifications should be more salient, and information across multiple screens should be integrated into a central display. As the Fleet Manger operational role is still being defined, it is vital to increase our understanding of the tools and capabilities needed for such a role. The results from HDV work will eventually feed into standards for vertiport operations that will enable safe and scalable UAM operations in the United States.

Databases for STEM success: lessons learned

The ability to work with data to extract valuable information is a useful skill set, especially in STEM disciplines that produce large amounts of scientific data. This paper reports on the pedagogy and experience of incorporating fundamental database concepts into a STEM Success course, which included a hands-on project. Students worked in groups to design a database for existing tabular data available on the Web and then derived the data to populate the database using SQL queries. This paper reflects on the experience both from a pedagogical perspective as well as a student perspective, including qualitative code analysis of student feedback and survey results regarding attitudes of confidence using, interest in, and usefulness of databases.

More than red tape: exploring complexity in medical device regulatory affairs.

This study investigates the complexity of regulatory affairs in the medical device industry, a critical factor influencing market access and patient care. Through qualitative research, we sought expert insights to understand the factors contributing to this complexity. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 28 professionals from medical device companies, specializing in various aspects of regulatory affairs. These interviews were analyzed using a mix of qualitative coding and natural language processing (NLP) techniques. The findings reveal key sources of complexity within the regulatory landscape, divided into five domains: (1) regulatory language complexity, (2) intricacies within the regulatory process, (3) global-level complexities, (4) database-related considerations, and (5) product-level issues. The participants highlighted the need for strategies to streamline regulatory compliance, enhance interactions between regulatory bodies and industry players, and develop adaptable frameworks for rapid technological advancements. Emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and increased transparency, the study concludes that these elements are vital for establishing coherent and effective regulatory procedures in the medical device sector.

NEXUS BETWEEN BIBLICAL STUDIES PROGRAM AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT OF STREET FAMILIES IN SELECTED FAITH BASED ORGANIZATION’S REHABILITATION PROGRAMS IN ELDORET TOWN, KENYA

Despite numerous efforts, the number of street families in Kenya continues to increase over time. This threat that has existed since independent has proven to be difficult to overcome. However, faith-based organizations now recognize their biblical mandate for reaching out in love to the needy as a panacea to this threat. Therefore, this study explored the nexus between biblical studies programs and the spiritual development of street families drawn from the rehabilitation programs in selected Faith Based Organizations in Eldoret Town, Kenya. The study was underpinned by the Divine Command Theory, and adopted a descriptive mixed methods research design that triangulated data collection by infusing a mix of techniques, including questionnaire, interviews and field observations. The study targeted 52 FBO directors, 687 street families, 180 chaplains, and the chairman of the North Rift Child Care and Protection Association (NRCCPA). In retrospect, a sample of 246 individuals comprising of 12 FBO directors, 48 chaplains, 185 street families and the chairman NRCCPA was constituted. Validation and reliability of the study instruments was facilitated through a pilot study conducted in the nearby town of Kapsabet in Nandi County. Consistent with the mixed methods approach, data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative data analysis was facilitated through frequencies/proportions and Chi-square tests of association. Conversely, qualitative codes were used to extract recurring themes from the qualitative nuances. The descriptive analysis results together with field observations and interview responses revealed that bible study programs continue to be a significant component of FBOs' efforts to rehabilitate street families in Eldoret town. The Pearson chi-square test, the likelihood ratio test, and the linear-by-linear test results confirmed that the nexus between these bible study programs and spiritual development among street families is positive and statistically significant. The study concludes that proactive employment of Bible study programs in FBOs in Eldoret town to rehabilitate street families has a direct impact on the spiritual growth of these families. Therefore, all FBO’s should also adopt policy guidelines that embrace bible studies programs.