Pub Date : 2023-06-14DOI: 10.1108/qrj-03-2023-0049
Elmond Bandauko, G. Arku
PurposeDoing qualitative research with vulnerable urban populations such as street traders present significant methodological challenges, which many researchers may not be prepared to handle. This paper aims to provide a reflective account of the authors' fieldwork experiences while conducting a study with street traders in Harare, Zimbabwe.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws data from a qualitative case study conducted with street traders in Harare's Central Business District (CBD). In this study, mixed qualitative methods were used including focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews and photovoice.FindingsThe study’s findings suggest that researching street traders is a complex process that requires flexibility, adaptability and creativity of researchers across the following aspects: gaining access in unfamiliar research contexts, building rapport and trust with participants, managing ethical dilemmas and addressing power imbalances between researchers and participants.Originality/valueWhile there is a growing body of empirical research on street trading in the global south, there are limited studies that discusses the practical fieldwork experiences associated with conducting primary research with such vulnerable and dynamic urban populations. The authors highlight strategies and practical steps that can be taken to address these challenges. This paper emphasizes the need for flexibility and adaptability in researching street traders, as it is akin to exploring uncharted territories where conventional methodological templates may not be effective.
{"title":"“Exploring unchartered territories”: fieldwork experiences from researching street traders","authors":"Elmond Bandauko, G. Arku","doi":"10.1108/qrj-03-2023-0049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-03-2023-0049","url":null,"abstract":"PurposeDoing qualitative research with vulnerable urban populations such as street traders present significant methodological challenges, which many researchers may not be prepared to handle. This paper aims to provide a reflective account of the authors' fieldwork experiences while conducting a study with street traders in Harare, Zimbabwe.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws data from a qualitative case study conducted with street traders in Harare's Central Business District (CBD). In this study, mixed qualitative methods were used including focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews and photovoice.FindingsThe study’s findings suggest that researching street traders is a complex process that requires flexibility, adaptability and creativity of researchers across the following aspects: gaining access in unfamiliar research contexts, building rapport and trust with participants, managing ethical dilemmas and addressing power imbalances between researchers and participants.Originality/valueWhile there is a growing body of empirical research on street trading in the global south, there are limited studies that discusses the practical fieldwork experiences associated with conducting primary research with such vulnerable and dynamic urban populations. The authors highlight strategies and practical steps that can be taken to address these challenges. This paper emphasizes the need for flexibility and adaptability in researching street traders, as it is akin to exploring uncharted territories where conventional methodological templates may not be effective.","PeriodicalId":47040,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Research Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45746418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-05DOI: 10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0012
J. Arantes, Mark Vicars
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how automation in the ever-changing technological landscape is increasing integrated into, and has become a significant presence in, our personal lives.Design/methodology/approachThrough post qualitative inquiry, the authors provide a contemplation of automation and its effect on creativity, as a contemporary expression of dis/locations, the simulacrum, performative work and a toxic digital presence in socio-cultural-technical spaces.FindingsThe authors discuss how we behave, contribute, explore, interact and communicate within and across automated digital platforms, has salience for understanding and questioning the ways that dominant discourses in the contemporary construction and enactment of subjectivity, creativity and agency are being modulated by the machine.Originality/valueThis paper offers a nuanced consideration of creativity, by considering the way creativity is being performed and situated within the effects of automation and its role in dis/locations, performative work and its potential as a the simulacrum in socio-cultural-technical spaces.
{"title":"Rescripting creativity after automation: situating the simulacrum to interpret the queerness of computational creativity","authors":"J. Arantes, Mark Vicars","doi":"10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0012","url":null,"abstract":"PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how automation in the ever-changing technological landscape is increasing integrated into, and has become a significant presence in, our personal lives.Design/methodology/approachThrough post qualitative inquiry, the authors provide a contemplation of automation and its effect on creativity, as a contemporary expression of dis/locations, the simulacrum, performative work and a toxic digital presence in socio-cultural-technical spaces.FindingsThe authors discuss how we behave, contribute, explore, interact and communicate within and across automated digital platforms, has salience for understanding and questioning the ways that dominant discourses in the contemporary construction and enactment of subjectivity, creativity and agency are being modulated by the machine.Originality/valueThis paper offers a nuanced consideration of creativity, by considering the way creativity is being performed and situated within the effects of automation and its role in dis/locations, performative work and its potential as a the simulacrum in socio-cultural-technical spaces.","PeriodicalId":47040,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Research Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47005572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-24DOI: 10.1108/qrj-03-2023-0035
Cynthia Brown, R. Fiolet, Dana Mckay, Bridget A. Harris
PurposeThis paper presents a novel exploration of the story completion (SC) method for investigating perpetration of technology-facilitated abuse in relationships (TAR).Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted the infrequently used SC method to explore TAR perpetration. The perpetration of TAR can involve socially undesirable and potentially illegal behaviours such as online stalking, non-consensual sharing of nude images, and other coercive and controlling behaviours. These problematic behaviours present an ideal context for employing the SC method to reveal new data on TAR perpetrator perspectives, motivations and behaviours.FindingsThe SC method elicited new hypotheses regarding TAR perpetration behaviours and motivations. Post-study reflection on the multifaceted nature of perpetration raised questions about the utility of SC as a stand-alone method for investigating TAR perpetration. Challenges encountered included: striking the most effective length, detail and ambiguity in the story stems, difficulty in eliciting important contextual features in participants’ stories, and other issues scholars encounter when investigating perpetration of violence more broadly. The authors close with suggestions for more effective use of SC methodology in TAR and intimate partner violence research.Originality/valueThis paper expands discussion of the SC method’s application and extends scholarship on violence and perpetration research methodologies. The paper demonstrates the importance of story stem design to the attainment of research objectives and the usefulness and limitations of SC in exploring this sensitive topic and hard-to-reach population. It also advocates for the combined application of SC with other methodological approaches for the attainment of research outcomes when investigating multifaceted phenomenon.
{"title":"Exploring the use of story completion to understand the perpetration of technology-facilitated abuse in relationships","authors":"Cynthia Brown, R. Fiolet, Dana Mckay, Bridget A. Harris","doi":"10.1108/qrj-03-2023-0035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-03-2023-0035","url":null,"abstract":"PurposeThis paper presents a novel exploration of the story completion (SC) method for investigating perpetration of technology-facilitated abuse in relationships (TAR).Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted the infrequently used SC method to explore TAR perpetration. The perpetration of TAR can involve socially undesirable and potentially illegal behaviours such as online stalking, non-consensual sharing of nude images, and other coercive and controlling behaviours. These problematic behaviours present an ideal context for employing the SC method to reveal new data on TAR perpetrator perspectives, motivations and behaviours.FindingsThe SC method elicited new hypotheses regarding TAR perpetration behaviours and motivations. Post-study reflection on the multifaceted nature of perpetration raised questions about the utility of SC as a stand-alone method for investigating TAR perpetration. Challenges encountered included: striking the most effective length, detail and ambiguity in the story stems, difficulty in eliciting important contextual features in participants’ stories, and other issues scholars encounter when investigating perpetration of violence more broadly. The authors close with suggestions for more effective use of SC methodology in TAR and intimate partner violence research.Originality/valueThis paper expands discussion of the SC method’s application and extends scholarship on violence and perpetration research methodologies. The paper demonstrates the importance of story stem design to the attainment of research objectives and the usefulness and limitations of SC in exploring this sensitive topic and hard-to-reach population. It also advocates for the combined application of SC with other methodological approaches for the attainment of research outcomes when investigating multifaceted phenomenon.","PeriodicalId":47040,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Research Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44669372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-22DOI: 10.1108/qrj-12-2022-0160
Reshmi Lahiri-Roy, B. Whitburn
PurposeThis paper emerged from the challenges encountered by both authors as academics during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Based on their subsequent reflections on inclusion in education for minoritised academics in pandemic-affected institutional contexts, they argue that beyond student-centred foci for inclusion, equity in the field, is equally significant for diverse teachers. Working as tempered radicals, they contend that anything less is exclusionary.Design/methodology/approachUsing a reciprocal interview method and drawing on Freirean ideals of dialogue and education as freedom from oppression, the authors offer dual perspectives from specific positionings as a non-tenured woman academic of colour and a tenured staff member with a disability.FindingsIn framing this work dialogically and through Freirean ideals of conscientização, the authors' collective discussions politicise personal experiences of marginalisation in the teaching and researching of inclusion in education for preservice teachers, or more pointedly, in demonstrating the responsibility of all to orientate towards context-dependent inclusive practices. They assert that to enable educators to develop inclusion-oriented practice, the contextual frameworks need to ensure that they question their own experiences of inclusion as potentially precarious to enable meaningful teaching practice.Research limitations/implicationsIt offers perspectives drawing on race, dis/ability and gender drawing on two voices. The bivocal perspective is in itself limitation. It is also located within a very Australian context. However, it does have the scope to be applied globally and there is opportunity to further develop the argument using more intersectional variables.Practical implicationsThe paper clearly highlights that universities require a sharper understanding of diversity, and minoritised staff's quotidian negotiations of marginalisations. Concomitantly inclusion and valuing of the epistemologies of minoritised groups facilitate meaningful participation of these groups in higher education contexts.Social implicationsThis article calls for a more nuanced, empathetic and critical understanding of issues related to race and disability within Australian and global academe. This is much required given rapidly shifting demographics within Australian and other higher education contexts, as well as the global migration trajectories.Originality/valueThis is an original research submission which contributes to debates around race and disability in HE. It has the potential to provoke further conversations and incorporates both hope and realism while stressing collaboration within the academic ecosystem to build metaphorical spaces of inclusion for the minoritised.
{"title":"Precarious inclusion: A collaborative account of casualisation and teaching leadership challenges at the post-pandemic university","authors":"Reshmi Lahiri-Roy, B. Whitburn","doi":"10.1108/qrj-12-2022-0160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-12-2022-0160","url":null,"abstract":"PurposeThis paper emerged from the challenges encountered by both authors as academics during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Based on their subsequent reflections on inclusion in education for minoritised academics in pandemic-affected institutional contexts, they argue that beyond student-centred foci for inclusion, equity in the field, is equally significant for diverse teachers. Working as tempered radicals, they contend that anything less is exclusionary.Design/methodology/approachUsing a reciprocal interview method and drawing on Freirean ideals of dialogue and education as freedom from oppression, the authors offer dual perspectives from specific positionings as a non-tenured woman academic of colour and a tenured staff member with a disability.FindingsIn framing this work dialogically and through Freirean ideals of conscientização, the authors' collective discussions politicise personal experiences of marginalisation in the teaching and researching of inclusion in education for preservice teachers, or more pointedly, in demonstrating the responsibility of all to orientate towards context-dependent inclusive practices. They assert that to enable educators to develop inclusion-oriented practice, the contextual frameworks need to ensure that they question their own experiences of inclusion as potentially precarious to enable meaningful teaching practice.Research limitations/implicationsIt offers perspectives drawing on race, dis/ability and gender drawing on two voices. The bivocal perspective is in itself limitation. It is also located within a very Australian context. However, it does have the scope to be applied globally and there is opportunity to further develop the argument using more intersectional variables.Practical implicationsThe paper clearly highlights that universities require a sharper understanding of diversity, and minoritised staff's quotidian negotiations of marginalisations. Concomitantly inclusion and valuing of the epistemologies of minoritised groups facilitate meaningful participation of these groups in higher education contexts.Social implicationsThis article calls for a more nuanced, empathetic and critical understanding of issues related to race and disability within Australian and global academe. This is much required given rapidly shifting demographics within Australian and other higher education contexts, as well as the global migration trajectories.Originality/valueThis is an original research submission which contributes to debates around race and disability in HE. It has the potential to provoke further conversations and incorporates both hope and realism while stressing collaboration within the academic ecosystem to build metaphorical spaces of inclusion for the minoritised.","PeriodicalId":47040,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Research Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44201723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-17DOI: 10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0005
Dawn Joseph, B. Hyde
PurposeThe pandemic presented many new challenges is all spheres of life including faith communities. Around the globe, lockdowns took pace at various stages with varying restrictions that included the closure of places of worship which significantly affected the way people serve God and gather as a community. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the wellbeing and resilience of members of Christian faith communities in Melbourne (Australia) who had experienced one of the longest lockdowns in the world.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on online survey N = 106 collected between November 2021 and May 2021. Participants were over the age of 18 from Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Baptist and Pentecostal/Evangelical faith communities. They employ thematic analysis to analyze, and code open-ended responses from four questions in relation to the research question: In what ways has your wellbeing been impacted during the pandemic?FindingsMelbourne experienced one of the longest lockdown periods in the world between 2020 and 2021 when blended modes of worship forced people to congregate in new and different ways. The empirical insights of participants express their views in relation to celebrating faith and hope, connecting with community, pursuing leisure activities and pursuing leisure in relation to the PERMA model of wellbeing. The findings may resonate with other faith communities in Melbourne and around the globe. They may also lead to new and innovative ways of planning and envisioning modes of worship that may be helpful in a variety of faith contexts.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was limited by its sample size (N = 106) and its geographical restriction of Christian faith communities in the Melbourne metropolitan area. This means that broad generalizations cannot be made. Nevertheless, the findings may resonate with other faith communities in Australian and in other parts of the world.Practical implicationsIn highlighting the impact COVID-19 had in Australia and ways people balanced their sense of faith and wellbeing, this study raises concerns about the lack of funding that supports mental health initiatives in faith settings and the wider community. The study recommends that faith community leaders and members use informal communication channels to foster hope building wellbeing and resilience, and that pastoral care networks be established in the wider community to promote leisure activities that nurtures social connection, builds faith and resilience.Social implicationsWhilst the pandemic has provided new openings for members of faith communities to engage with God, the scriptures, each other and leisure, it remains “a balancing act of keeping the faith and maintaining wellbeing”. Such a balancing act may positively enliven a sense of wellbeing and resilience as people continue to navigate the uncertainty inherent in a milieu beginning to be named as “post-Covid”.Ori
{"title":"“A balancing act of keeping the faith and maintaining wellbeing”: perspectives from Australian faith communities during the pandemic","authors":"Dawn Joseph, B. Hyde","doi":"10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0005","url":null,"abstract":"PurposeThe pandemic presented many new challenges is all spheres of life including faith communities. Around the globe, lockdowns took pace at various stages with varying restrictions that included the closure of places of worship which significantly affected the way people serve God and gather as a community. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the wellbeing and resilience of members of Christian faith communities in Melbourne (Australia) who had experienced one of the longest lockdowns in the world.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on online survey N = 106 collected between November 2021 and May 2021. Participants were over the age of 18 from Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Baptist and Pentecostal/Evangelical faith communities. They employ thematic analysis to analyze, and code open-ended responses from four questions in relation to the research question: In what ways has your wellbeing been impacted during the pandemic?FindingsMelbourne experienced one of the longest lockdown periods in the world between 2020 and 2021 when blended modes of worship forced people to congregate in new and different ways. The empirical insights of participants express their views in relation to celebrating faith and hope, connecting with community, pursuing leisure activities and pursuing leisure in relation to the PERMA model of wellbeing. The findings may resonate with other faith communities in Melbourne and around the globe. They may also lead to new and innovative ways of planning and envisioning modes of worship that may be helpful in a variety of faith contexts.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was limited by its sample size (N = 106) and its geographical restriction of Christian faith communities in the Melbourne metropolitan area. This means that broad generalizations cannot be made. Nevertheless, the findings may resonate with other faith communities in Australian and in other parts of the world.Practical implicationsIn highlighting the impact COVID-19 had in Australia and ways people balanced their sense of faith and wellbeing, this study raises concerns about the lack of funding that supports mental health initiatives in faith settings and the wider community. The study recommends that faith community leaders and members use informal communication channels to foster hope building wellbeing and resilience, and that pastoral care networks be established in the wider community to promote leisure activities that nurtures social connection, builds faith and resilience.Social implicationsWhilst the pandemic has provided new openings for members of faith communities to engage with God, the scriptures, each other and leisure, it remains “a balancing act of keeping the faith and maintaining wellbeing”. Such a balancing act may positively enliven a sense of wellbeing and resilience as people continue to navigate the uncertainty inherent in a milieu beginning to be named as “post-Covid”.Ori","PeriodicalId":47040,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Research Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45377767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-09DOI: 10.1108/qrj-02-2023-0018
Waqar Ali Shah, Asadullah Lashari
PurposeThis paper discusses the challenges that two doctoral researchers faced while researching religious minorities and women in a culturally sensitive society such as Pakistan. Their shared interest in sensitive topics related to gender and minorities in Pakistan led both researchers to collaborate in this study to provide a better understanding of issues in qualitative research in the same research context. They discuss the challenges of interviewing participants within the educational context. They also suggest some ways to overcome such challenges.Design/methodology/approachBased on Foucualt's writings on regimes of truth, discourse and systems of exclusion, the authors in this study analyze how patriarchal and faith-based regimes of truth constrain some discourses that affect participants’ willingness and insights to reflect on the issues freely.FindingsWhile reflecting on their experiences in data collection, authors report that qualitative researchers struggle to access participants to investigate issues related to gender subjectivities and minority faiths in educational contexts in developing societies like Pakistan. Researchers face a variety of problems, from their own positionality to participants’ access to their responses. The reason for this is patriarchal and religious regimes and also their intersecting relations that restrict participants’ ability to reflect on their issues. Minorities in Pakistan are often prevented from expressing their views freely by blasphemy fears. The discourses of gender are also sensitive. Therefore, the study suggests that in societies such as Pakistan, where religion and gender are emotive terms, the problem can be handled by counter-discourses that challenge truth regimes by conceiving research as a transformative practice. Moreover, such societies require a policy for protecting researchers and participants in the interest of knowledge production and dissemination.Originality/valueThis study is originally based on the primary data used in two doctoral studies.
{"title":"Regimes of patriarchy and faith: reflections on challenges in interviewing women and religious minorities in Pakistan","authors":"Waqar Ali Shah, Asadullah Lashari","doi":"10.1108/qrj-02-2023-0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-02-2023-0018","url":null,"abstract":"PurposeThis paper discusses the challenges that two doctoral researchers faced while researching religious minorities and women in a culturally sensitive society such as Pakistan. Their shared interest in sensitive topics related to gender and minorities in Pakistan led both researchers to collaborate in this study to provide a better understanding of issues in qualitative research in the same research context. They discuss the challenges of interviewing participants within the educational context. They also suggest some ways to overcome such challenges.Design/methodology/approachBased on Foucualt's writings on regimes of truth, discourse and systems of exclusion, the authors in this study analyze how patriarchal and faith-based regimes of truth constrain some discourses that affect participants’ willingness and insights to reflect on the issues freely.FindingsWhile reflecting on their experiences in data collection, authors report that qualitative researchers struggle to access participants to investigate issues related to gender subjectivities and minority faiths in educational contexts in developing societies like Pakistan. Researchers face a variety of problems, from their own positionality to participants’ access to their responses. The reason for this is patriarchal and religious regimes and also their intersecting relations that restrict participants’ ability to reflect on their issues. Minorities in Pakistan are often prevented from expressing their views freely by blasphemy fears. The discourses of gender are also sensitive. Therefore, the study suggests that in societies such as Pakistan, where religion and gender are emotive terms, the problem can be handled by counter-discourses that challenge truth regimes by conceiving research as a transformative practice. Moreover, such societies require a policy for protecting researchers and participants in the interest of knowledge production and dissemination.Originality/valueThis study is originally based on the primary data used in two doctoral studies.","PeriodicalId":47040,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Research Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43910328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-04DOI: 10.1108/qrj-02-2023-0031
Andrea Szabó, András Déri
PurposePolitical participation of young people has been examined, but there is a lack of research about how these participation forms are interpreted and what counts as participation for young people. The study aims to identify discourses of political participation in Hungary, where the COVID-19 restrictions during 2020–2021 have confined young people's everyday interactions and political activism to the online space for an extended period. The authors’ asteroid-effect hypothesis suggests that new discourses of political participation have become more widespread, which may have reinterpreted the previous dynamics between online and offline participation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyse the results of six focus groups and eight interviews with young people conducted between 2021–2022 through discourse analysis.FindingsThe qualitative results show that to intellectualise the everyday discourses of youth political participation, extending its classical theories is worthwhile. While online participation has not emerged as a paramount, positive interpretational framework, a new discourse of political participation has emerged, making conversation a fundamental act.Originality/valueWhile the results are limited to Hungarian youth, the strong appearance of participation as a communicative action can have consequences to theoretical approaches of political participation. The authors believe that COVID-19 restrictions had a significant role in this change, because family talks became more politicised.
{"title":"Talk or something more? COVID-19 and youth discourses of participation","authors":"Andrea Szabó, András Déri","doi":"10.1108/qrj-02-2023-0031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-02-2023-0031","url":null,"abstract":"PurposePolitical participation of young people has been examined, but there is a lack of research about how these participation forms are interpreted and what counts as participation for young people. The study aims to identify discourses of political participation in Hungary, where the COVID-19 restrictions during 2020–2021 have confined young people's everyday interactions and political activism to the online space for an extended period. The authors’ asteroid-effect hypothesis suggests that new discourses of political participation have become more widespread, which may have reinterpreted the previous dynamics between online and offline participation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyse the results of six focus groups and eight interviews with young people conducted between 2021–2022 through discourse analysis.FindingsThe qualitative results show that to intellectualise the everyday discourses of youth political participation, extending its classical theories is worthwhile. While online participation has not emerged as a paramount, positive interpretational framework, a new discourse of political participation has emerged, making conversation a fundamental act.Originality/valueWhile the results are limited to Hungarian youth, the strong appearance of participation as a communicative action can have consequences to theoretical approaches of political participation. The authors believe that COVID-19 restrictions had a significant role in this change, because family talks became more politicised.","PeriodicalId":47040,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Research Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42344803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-04DOI: 10.1108/qrj-10-2022-0135
L. Chok, J. Suris, Y. Barrense-Dias
PurposeAdolescence is an important life stage including physical, emotional and social changes that make adolescents vulnerable to mental health issues. To face these emotional and behavioral problems, adolescents may use various coping strategies. This exploratory qualitative study aimed to better understand the coping strategies when adolescents face mental health difficulties, the reasons why some adolescents find it difficult to seek social support and/or professional care and which interventions they would find efficient to improve adolescents' mental health.Design/methodology/approachThe study included 28 participants aged between 12–19 years old. Four online focus groups (FGs) separated by gender and age were performed between March and April 2021, during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland.FindingsThe results show that several strategies put forward by participants did not include talking about their problems with others. Reducing the stigma and taking the adolescents' mental health seriously would make it easier for adolescents to talk about their problems to other people. Overall, participants considered that doing leisure-time activities and going out with friends were the best way to reduce stressful situations and mental health problems. For all aspects of health, including the mental one, it is important that policies promote the access to sports and arts activities for all the adolescents.Originality/valueThis study explored adolescents' coping strategies and their opinions on intervention for dealing with potential mental health problems, an issue that is still taboo for some adolescents.
{"title":"Adolescents' mental health, coping strategies, social support and interventions: a qualitative study in Switzerland","authors":"L. Chok, J. Suris, Y. Barrense-Dias","doi":"10.1108/qrj-10-2022-0135","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-10-2022-0135","url":null,"abstract":"PurposeAdolescence is an important life stage including physical, emotional and social changes that make adolescents vulnerable to mental health issues. To face these emotional and behavioral problems, adolescents may use various coping strategies. This exploratory qualitative study aimed to better understand the coping strategies when adolescents face mental health difficulties, the reasons why some adolescents find it difficult to seek social support and/or professional care and which interventions they would find efficient to improve adolescents' mental health.Design/methodology/approachThe study included 28 participants aged between 12–19 years old. Four online focus groups (FGs) separated by gender and age were performed between March and April 2021, during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland.FindingsThe results show that several strategies put forward by participants did not include talking about their problems with others. Reducing the stigma and taking the adolescents' mental health seriously would make it easier for adolescents to talk about their problems to other people. Overall, participants considered that doing leisure-time activities and going out with friends were the best way to reduce stressful situations and mental health problems. For all aspects of health, including the mental one, it is important that policies promote the access to sports and arts activities for all the adolescents.Originality/valueThis study explored adolescents' coping strategies and their opinions on intervention for dealing with potential mental health problems, an issue that is still taboo for some adolescents.","PeriodicalId":47040,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Research Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48254154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-24DOI: 10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0008
Nicole Sankofa
Purpose LeftTube – a loosely connected community of left-leaning content creators on YouTube – includes a subsection of video essayists that conduct scholarly work seemingly adjacent to critical research. Exploring this digital community of critical scholars may precipate opportunities for collaboration and reciprocal learning to better academic qualitative research approaches. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study is to (1) examine if and how this digital community engages in critical scholarship, and (2) initiate a call for academic qualitative scholars to watch this digital space as a potential source of collaboration, an opportunity for co-learning and consideration for inclusion in the qualitative “big tent”.Design/methodology/approach Using an algorithm-based sampling procedure, 143 videos were sampled across 23 Black women content creators. Videos were analyzed for characteristics of critical research using multimodal-ethnographic semiotic analysis.Findings Findings suggest that 11 strategies of critical scholarship were used with themes of knowledge production and ethical framework. Such results indicate that this subsection of LeftTube video essayists are conducting critical scholarship.Originality/value The most significant implication is the expansion of the qualitative “big tent” to include international social media content creators who conduct social science research. This would have many benefits to academic qualitative researchers, including learning how the studied community (1) makes critical scholarship impactful and influential in civil discourse, (2) mobilizes critical language, and (3) resists neoliberal and capitalist systems attempting to marginalize critical research.
{"title":"Does the “big tent” include non-academics? Social media content creators conducting critical scholarship","authors":"Nicole Sankofa","doi":"10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0008","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose LeftTube – a loosely connected community of left-leaning content creators on YouTube – includes a subsection of video essayists that conduct scholarly work seemingly adjacent to critical research. Exploring this digital community of critical scholars may precipate opportunities for collaboration and reciprocal learning to better academic qualitative research approaches. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study is to (1) examine if and how this digital community engages in critical scholarship, and (2) initiate a call for academic qualitative scholars to watch this digital space as a potential source of collaboration, an opportunity for co-learning and consideration for inclusion in the qualitative “big tent”.Design/methodology/approach Using an algorithm-based sampling procedure, 143 videos were sampled across 23 Black women content creators. Videos were analyzed for characteristics of critical research using multimodal-ethnographic semiotic analysis.Findings Findings suggest that 11 strategies of critical scholarship were used with themes of knowledge production and ethical framework. Such results indicate that this subsection of LeftTube video essayists are conducting critical scholarship.Originality/value The most significant implication is the expansion of the qualitative “big tent” to include international social media content creators who conduct social science research. This would have many benefits to academic qualitative researchers, including learning how the studied community (1) makes critical scholarship impactful and influential in civil discourse, (2) mobilizes critical language, and (3) resists neoliberal and capitalist systems attempting to marginalize critical research.","PeriodicalId":47040,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Research Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41909194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-04DOI: 10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0010
Moch. Imam Machfudi, Sandi Ferdiansyah
PurposeWhile extensive reading has been widely implemented in face-to-face settings, few studies have examined how extensive reading in online classrooms is enacted. The present study aims to explore students' voice in online extensive reading classrooms.Design/methodology/approachThis brief report is part of classroom action research. It involved 3 undergraduate students majoring in English education who undertook extensive reading course during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants documented their reading experience through digital storytelling (DST) at the end of the semester. Data from the DST were collected and analyzed using thematic analysis with narrative approach.FindingsThe story began with the recollection of the participants' memories in the past when they studied English. It then moved to students expressing meeting the intersection between challenges and opportunities when becoming an extensive reader. The digital story ended with a reflection on the action of the participants when engaged in extensive reading and its learning tasks. The present research suggests that extensive reading teachers should involve students in meaningful but flexible online activities to develop reading habit and interest, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueAmple studies have investigated how students experience extensive reading class situated in either online or offline setting. However, few studies have explored students' voices when they have to do extensive reading online during university closure due to COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this study investigates students' voice from DST as a data collection technique.
{"title":"A tale from extensive readers in an online extensive reading classroom","authors":"Moch. Imam Machfudi, Sandi Ferdiansyah","doi":"10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-01-2023-0010","url":null,"abstract":"PurposeWhile extensive reading has been widely implemented in face-to-face settings, few studies have examined how extensive reading in online classrooms is enacted. The present study aims to explore students' voice in online extensive reading classrooms.Design/methodology/approachThis brief report is part of classroom action research. It involved 3 undergraduate students majoring in English education who undertook extensive reading course during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants documented their reading experience through digital storytelling (DST) at the end of the semester. Data from the DST were collected and analyzed using thematic analysis with narrative approach.FindingsThe story began with the recollection of the participants' memories in the past when they studied English. It then moved to students expressing meeting the intersection between challenges and opportunities when becoming an extensive reader. The digital story ended with a reflection on the action of the participants when engaged in extensive reading and its learning tasks. The present research suggests that extensive reading teachers should involve students in meaningful but flexible online activities to develop reading habit and interest, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueAmple studies have investigated how students experience extensive reading class situated in either online or offline setting. However, few studies have explored students' voices when they have to do extensive reading online during university closure due to COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this study investigates students' voice from DST as a data collection technique.","PeriodicalId":47040,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Research Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49067378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}