Brian Scanlan and Qualitative Research

Brian Scanlan reverted to the cartoon to describe his article--Lincoln, Lynham, and Guba's "Paradigmatic Controversies, Contradictions, and Emerging Confluences, Revisited".  This is Chapter 6 in the Sage Handbook of Qualitative Inquiry.

As you will note, Scanlan's sly humor is evident here!  

Introduction to cartoon

Each of us approaches research with a unique set of beliefs and values that we most likely acquired through personal and professional experience, and education. These beliefs and values might influence how we interpret observations and reach conclusions based on these observations. As a result, each of us wears a paradigm or invisible costume during the research process. The following cartoon illustrates how people who wear certain costumes might respond when they receive a piece of candy, which serves as a metaphor for data.  

Aubrey Rocheleau and Qualitative Research

Aubrey Rocheleau's clear crisp diagram on Flyvbjerg's article on the Case Study reminded me much of her classmate Amy Gerarde.  Both went simple to go complex.

Here is Aubrey's description of what she was doing with Flyvbjerg's article:

Flyvbjerg begins his article by pointing out the differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods, highlighting the claim of quantitative researchers that results from qualitative studies (particularly those obtained from case studies) are not as noteworthy as those obtained by quantitative methods. The bulk of his article deals with identifying and correcting five “misconceptions” that quantitative researchers have of the case study method. In my diagram, I interpreted Flyvbjerg’s five misconceptions as ways that case study is a useful method of research. The two elements on the left (provides specific knowledge and helps the researcher learn about phenomena) are both ways that case study helps informs the practice of the researcher using the method and helps the researcher grow in his or her knowledge of the topic. The elements on the top and upper right corner (creates opportunities for falsification and tests hypothesis) are both ways that case study assists with theory development. The final element (can encourage readers to develop their own conclusion) demonstrates the open-ended nature of case study and how they can be used to stimulate further thinking on the part of the reader. Flyvbjerg concludes his article by noting that both quantitative and qualitative methods of research are useful; together they provide both breadth and depth about a topic.

And here is her visual:

 I thought Rocheleau's "Let me turn this on its head" was an inspired way to work out understanding of the article.  As she explained to us in class, as a beginner, she needed to figure out what it was before she could shift to what it was not. 

Nancy Nickerson and Qualitative Research

Nancy Nickerson provided a unique one-pager in the form of a poem. 

Here is her written introduction Antjie Krog's article in the Denzin and Lincoln Handbook of Qualitative Research:

Qualitative Research Methods  07.704

Nancy Nickerson

            Antjie Krog is a South African poet and a contributing author  in Denzin and Lincoln’s The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Penning the chapter “In the Name of Human Rights, she defends the voice of the oppressed constituencies, necessitating their  being heard according to their own genres and terms. The researcher must adapt to the footprints of the people, merging the knowledge with the subjectivity of human relationships and social structures so that we can all hear their voices.

            The discourse between academic researchers and indigenous peoples must be respectful of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. Specifically,

            Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression: this right includes freedom to hold     opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any       media and regardless of frontiers( www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/)

            Krog cites three examples of researchers working in countries with divided histories and cultures. She describes a bushman shaman narrating a story to a philogoist in Xam. Because the researcher did not live with the people he was studying, he missed the bushman’s intricate decoding and contextual signs and symbols used. A second example cited a professor with proliferic writing during an academic year but with none of them peer reviewed. Crucial observations need a theory and valuable experience needed a discipline. The last example involved a professor who had had a paper rejected despite peer reviews. He had not found a link in theory that connected his knowledge with the literature. All three examples spoke of the need of the deep and resounding spoken work within the sentences of the academic discourse. It is only when the writer speaks from within and out of the world he knows intimately that the real voices are heard.

Krog, A. (2011). In the Name of Human Rights. In N. K. Lincoln, The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 381-385). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.

Based on this description you can see why, NOTHING but a poem would do to share Nickerson's conceptualization of the reading experience.

 

Jay Lang and Qualitative Research

Jay Lang elected to discuss the chapter on Grounded Theory from The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research.  Here is his written and visual introduction to the chapter.

Lang's image is simple and startling--an upside down house suggesting the inductive approach to inquiry.  It made us stop, take note, and consider the notion of induction from a new vantage point. 

Kim Gustenhoven and Qualitative Research

Another contrast was offered by Kim Gustenhaven.  Here is her description of the reading on which she reported:

Tedlock, B. (2011).Braiding narrative ethnography with memoir and creative nonfiction.  In N.

            Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research (4^th ed., pp.

331-339).  Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.

            The graphic illustration’s purpose was to visually describe Barbara Tedlock’s writing in Braiding narrative ethnography with memoir and creative nonfiction (2011). The picture portrays the “Tree of Life” as a central theme.  The tree has branches and roots which explain Narrative Ethnography and the different styles of thought and consciousness which developed throughout the 20^th and 21^st Centuries.  I choose the “Tree of Life” because I wanted to demonstrate the interconnection of people, and cultures which is part of the tradition of ethnography.  Surrounding the tree are colorful shapes which represent cells.  I chose plant cells because they are the basic component of plant life.  Surrounding each cell are the explanations of each style of ethnography which is described in the text.    

Elegant with a strong aesthetic sense, she relied upon her drawing skills to depict her ideas about the chapter.  Like others in the class, her disciplinary focus provided imagery and conceptual material that wove itself into the abstracting or note taking task. 

Amy Gerarde and Qualitative Research

Amy Gerarde, also a doctoral student in the qualitative research course, reported on Chapter 7 from the Sage Handbook on Qualitative Research, Virginia Olesen's, very complete discussion of feminism and qualitative research.  As you can see, Gerarde's style, viewpoint, visual perspective differs considerably from the Brooks and Brown example.  Spare and simple with little distracting color, Gerarde focuses in with a laser beam. 

I urged students to use the visual method that would best fit their needs--photo collage, hand printing, drawing--all was acceptable. 

Marion Brown and Qualitative Research

Marion Brown, also a doctoral student, in the UMass Lowell Graduate School of Education, took a very different visual direction.  The article she reported on was Chapter 15 in The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research--Controversies in Mixed Methods Research. 

Here are her instructions for reading her visual:

Now...here is the actual visual itself:

Suffice it to say that Marion tends to be bursting with ideas!  She is absolutely and totally passionate about the issues and needs of Second Language learners.  She sees her academic tasks through this lens.