CIAIQ 2017

PROCEEDINGS INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

António Pedro Costa — 2017-11-15

These proceedings contain only the abstracts of the articles accepted for presentation and discussion at the second International Symposium on Qualitative Research (ISQR2017) as part of the 6th Iberian-American Congress on Qualitative Research, held in Salamanca, Spain, July 12th-14th, 2017. CIAIQ/ISQR 2017 was organized by Ludomedia and University of Aveiro/CIDTFF. The full articles were published in Springer Book “Computer Supported Qualitative Research” (A. P. Costa, L. P. Reis, F. N. de Souza, & A. Moreira, Eds., Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing - Vol. 621. Cham: Springer International Publishing. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61121-1). The conference organization had also the collaboration and/or sponsoring of several universities, research institutes and companies, including University of Minho, University of Zagreb, University of Salamanca, Federal University of Goiás, University of Porto, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Polytechnic of Porto, Lusófona University of Porto, Tallin University, Catholic University of Maule, University of Tiradentes, University of Extremadura, ISLA, LIACC, CiberDid@tic, webQDA, MicroIO, Ludomedia, AISTI, among several others.

CAQDAS at a Crossroads: Choices, Controversies and Challenges

Christina Silver — 2017-08-08

The field of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data AnalysiS (CAQDAS) is characterised by choices, controversies and challenges. This chapter first briefly outlines the history of the field and discusses choices between and within programs. It goes on to discuss persisting controversies around the appropriateness of using technology for qualitative data analysis. It then outlines challenges arising from these choices and controversies. The chapter concludes by discussing how the Five-Level QDA® method, a CAQDAS pedagogy that transcends methodologies, software programs and teaching modes, addresses one of the key challenges: how to appropriately enable researchers with varied needs to harness CAQDAS packages powerfully.

The Evidence-Based Practice: Breastfeeding as a preventive factor for Postpartum Depression

Marlene Cunha — 2017-08-08

Post-partum is expected to be a time of joy. However, this is not always the case, as it can be a time marked by moments of sadness, fatigue and discouragement. This study intended to obtain the best scientific evidence to understand whether breastfeeding has a preventive effect on postpartum depression. For this, an integrative review of the literature was made on the relationship between breastfeeding and postpartum depression through the databases: EBSCO host, LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, institutional repositories and Google Scholar. Most studies identify breastfeeding as being preventive of postpartum depression, highlighting its importance for the puerperium's mental health and consequently reducing the chances of developing postpartum depression. An informed and supported woman about breastfeeding will be able to feel confident in her new role. A constant investment by the health team, initiated during the couple's planning process for pregnancy, is essential, and is maintained throughout pregnancy, delivery and postpartum.

Qualitative Research and the Challenges of Complexity

Antonio Dias de Figueiredo — 2017-08-08

Will the research agendas of this 21st century be able to handle with rigor the complexity and uncertainty of our world? Will they accommodate the leaps into the unknown of today’s creative and innovative processes? Should we care about it? Our answer is yes, because the social, economic, and political problems we confront today are becoming increasingly complex and nondeterministic. As this happens, and even their formulation becomes elusive, our traditional theories, methods, and instruments fail. We argue that the qualitative approaches inspired by the design disciplines are ideal to handle these situations, provided we carefully take into account some principles of the philosophy of science. We believe that the researchers willing to confront the growing complexity of our day, in all its richness and diversity, will have much advantage in following these approaches.

“Dilemmas” of Early Career Researchers From “dilemmas” to problems

Isabel Alarcão — 2017-08-08

Researchers, namely early career ones who start using qualitative research, may face what they call “dilemmas”. These have different sources: uncertainties concerning the validity of their research and the reliability of the research tools they use; questions on how to review literature and systematize studies, some of them also qualitative, contextualized, and therefore, difficult to compare and aggregate; doubts about the best ways to collect, analyse data and interpret results; modes of interaction to share their research with readers; concerns about their role as researchers and their relationship with the study participants. The “dilemmas” underlying these issues converge towards the main question: what is reality? As a researcher, how do I perceive reality? In this chapter, I will try to argue that the “dilemmas” of early career researchers can be transformed into epistemological problems through reflection, in-depth study and then be solved. If “dilemmas” cannot be solved, problems can.

On the quality of qualitative research in nursing

Emiko Yoshikawa Egry — 2017-08-08

This addresses three issues: 1. what is the science that we create? Recognizing the non-neutralization of the science and knowledge, we will address the theme from a dialectical and historical materialist way of seeing the world. Investigation is a social practice and science is a phenomenon involving processes. 2. What is the quality of this perspective? The primordial characteristics of quality are considered along their relationship with the phenomena of nursing. Qualitative research is suited to phenomena that are complex and intense or profound, and is the only way of expressing the parts of a whole, in a dialectic movement, reconstructing reality. 3. What is required to ensure quality in qualitative research? Qualitative research depends on the application of theoretical-philosophical fundaments of the object of investigation. The rigor across the entire process and knowledge in the state of the art of the subject being studied are fundamental.

Foundations, mishaps and dissemination of qualitative approaches

Maria de Souza Minayo — 2017-08-08

This chapter addresses the foundations of qualitative approaches in humanities and social sciences, their historical development and their status of scientificity. It discusses the birthplace of hermeneutical, phenomenological and dialectical thought in Germany; its dissemination into France; the construction of the first empirical works in the Chicago School; the period of ostracism of qualitative research overshadowed by the hegemony of quantitative studies in the United States, especially in the aftermath of WW2; and the revival of the comprehensive theoretical and empirical perspectives from the 1960s. The author argues that qualitative approaches are currently a promising type of knowledge within humanities and social sciences, because of consolidated theories and a permanent review process; researchers organized in Congresses and University Departments; training books for new researchers; increased spaces in scientific journals; and critical approaches on the validity, reliability and possible universalization of research.

Potentialities of the Qualitative Analysis assisted by Computer: An Exploratory Study about Content Value Perception in TripAdvisor

Carolina Afonso — 2017-08-08

This study explores the potentialities of the qualitative analysis assisted by computer. The study is exploratory and focus the perception of the functional value of the content created and shared by TripAdvisor users. Data were collected through online interviews. The study sample consists of 85 respondents. Through content analysis performed using MaxQDA, eleven categories were related to functional value. The most frequent category is "advice on restaurants, places to visit, etc.", followed by "real testimonials" and content on "value for money". Through Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) using SPSS, three strong associations among the categories are identified: "actual testimonies", "information about the destination" and "useful in choosing the destination"; between the categories "Advice on restaurants and places to visit" and "experiences in restaurants"; and an association between "Quality / Price" and "Hotel Information". The articulation between the two techniques proved adequate and allowed a rewarding analysis and interpretation of the data.

Qualitative Analysis of Reproduction Knowledge Through the Drawings Study with webQDA

Sara Arroba Calderón — 2017-08-08

Research on Health Education and Biology teaching contributes significantly to scientific literacy and health promotion. Thus, the reproduction function is one of the great topics to be considered. Because of that, a cross-sectional study has been designed to analyze the knowledge of Secondary students on this subject. The population under study has been made up of students from a school in Badajoz (Spain). The method used includes research techniques using a questionnaire and drawings of the reproductive system made by the students, which were analyzed using the webQDA program. In a first phase of the study, focused on qualitative methodology, the suitability of the software used is verified. Among the conclusions obtained, the difficulties of the students to locate anatomical structures are highlighted. It is proposed to design activities that will help students better understand anatomical-physiological relationships.

Ethical challenges in researching with children: An application adopting a mixed method approach

Belem Barbosa — 2017-08-08

Applying ethical principles to research is essential to ensure both participants' universal rights and data quality. From the ethical point of view, researching with children poses additional challenges in designing the research, collecting and analysing data. The ethical principles generally accepted in scientific research are complementary, yet presenting conflicts that must be anticipated and mitigated by the researcher. This article explores the application of ethical principles in research with children, considering the different stages of research and both quantitative and qualitative research, proposing a set of six ethical principles to be applied before, during and after the collection of data. The text includes examples from research adopting a mixed-method approach which involved 779 participants aged 7 to 15 years old. The study demonstrates that there is a strong interdependence among ethical principles applicable to research with children, not devoid of contradictions. Even widely accepted principles such as informed consent are complex and multifaceted. Moreover, the adoption of mixed methodology, in this particular case, has proven to be able to create ethic synergies, making the research globally more balanced.

Work Process in Mental Health and Social Inclusion: Qualitative Analysis by ALCESTE software

Sônia Barros — 2017-08-08

Qualitative research which analyzed the mental health work process in the Family Health Strategy, by “Analyse Lexicale para Contexte d'um Ensemble de Segments de Texte” (ALCESTE), considering as purpose the social inclusion of the person with mental disorder. To collect the data used Semi-structured interviews. The analyses were through the intermediary of ALCESTE, with subsequent content analysis. There were three empirical categories: Identification of the work object in mental health; Mental health actions and interventions; Social Inclusion as the purpose of the work process in mental health. We discussed the tension between the biomedical and psychosocial models, the incorporation of mental health in the Family Health Strategy, the need to integrate the health team in the planning of care and interventions for the social inclusion of the "crazy". The use of ALCESTE to aid in the analysis of the data gives coherence and trustworthiness to the research.

Use of a computational tool to support content analysis in qualitative research

Denilsen Carvalho Gomes — 2017-08-08

The present article aims to discuss how the computational tool known as Poronto can help in the stage of material exploration, in qualitative investigations in the health area. Two studies in the Nursing area used Poronto for the identification of terms in analysis documents – one study is on a database of Terms of Nursing Jargon from a University Hospital in Southern Brazil, and the other is on the identification of terms in scientific articles and patient records from a University Hospital in Northeastern Brazil for nursing care for individuals with intestinal elimination stoma. When the identification of terms and the quantification of the frequency of occurrence are performed manually, in addition to becoming exhaustive, they are subject to failure. Poronto software facilitates the exploration of material in the content analysis, especially regarding the identification and quantification of categories, and in the identification of context units.

CAQDAS in discursive textual analysis: possible applications in qualitative studies

Marlúbia de Paula — 2017-08-08

This article presents a possibility of using Discursive Textual Analysis (DTA) with the use of CAQDAS (Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software), in particular, the Sphinx Lexica. It is a qualitative study based on an empirical research whose instrument of data collection is formed by a questionnaire applied to 24 high school teachers. It concludes that the application of DTA with CAQDAS offers a greater quality in the data analysis and enables new understandings of the phenomenon studied to emerge.

How Does One “Leave” Poverty? - Socio-Identitarian Requalification Processes (PRSI) for Portuguese Women in the Basque Country, According to the Sociological Analysis of Oral Discourse

M.ª de Fátima Toscano — 2017-08-08

How does one “leave” “poverty”? It is the answer to this question that may help us fight poverty, by addressing the issue on positive terms: reorienting the - conventional - angle of observation-analysis of the causes and factors for one’s fall-impoverishment (what is poverty? who are the poor/what are they like? - negative formulation), until we grasp the complexity of exit, the processes of socio-identitarian requalification (PRSI).We have been developing this analytical-understanding model of social trajectories since the late 90’s, and have co-composed 31 narratives of migrant Portuguese women, Exemplary Cases, selected by social intervention specialists from San Sebastian, Basque Country. This paper does not follow a "typical" research structure because we choosed and focused on the contributions of this qualitative research for the development of social knowledge about fitting poverty, in spite of doing one approach of the methodology out of the context of their one production and results. Based on these results obtained, along this paper we explain the 7 PRSI components and also deepen the interpretative analysis and treatment of one of those narratives, Sara’s, highlighting the triangle FAITH in Prayer and in Luck.

Exploring Gender Stereotypes Using Qualitative-Quantitative Methodological Integration

Carmen Delgado — 2017-08-08

This paper presents the research possibilities of the integration of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to explore gender stereotypes underlying the professional practice of psychology. The self-report technique, used as a research tool for stereotypes, has shown deficiencies in the control of the effect of social desirability on responses. This research accessed through qualitative methodology the discursive forms used by the study population to express covert gender stereotypes in socially acceptable formulations. From the Discussion Group with Psychology students, textual statements concealing these stereotypes were taken to transform them into items of a quantitative scale to assess large samples. The results were analyzed qualitatively by and with participants in the study. The methodological integration was an adequate strategy to access socially shared meanings, both in the design of instruments and in the explanation of the phenomena investigated.

Reflexivity of the Process of Construction of a Grounded Theory: Reasons for the Consumption of Advertising in Social Networks

Raquel Ferreira — 2017-08-08

The present article deals with the experience of using "Grounded Theory" as a qualitative-interpretative approach applied to the research of the stimuli driving behaviors of exposure to advertising messages in digital social networks. Its adoption allowed for the discovery of regularities that served to identify the main categories of actions of the studied phenomenon. In its development, some adaptations were applied. Here, we discuss the choices made regarding our approach to the object being researched, the data gathering criteria, the procedure of data analysis and the writing of the theoretical proposition, which started with the organization of the substantive results. With such a description, we aim to collaborate not only with the improvement of the techniques recommended by the approach in question, but also with a reflexivity model of the investigation process itself.

In Case of Doubt See the Manual: a Comparative Analysis of (Self)Learning Packages Qualitative Research Software

Fábio Freitas — 2017-08-08

One of the first precautions that a consumer / user has when acquiring a new product is related to how to use it. In this context, the user manuals can be assumed as one of the main communication channels between the companies that develop the products and the user. Regarding the use of software packages, literature indicates that one of the decisive factors for user's dissatisfaction is related to the difficulty in learning how to work with a software. In this context, Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS) enterprises are increasingly looking to develop features that can decrease user's learning curve of their tools. In this way, this chapter illustrates a comparison of user support features, such as: support and typology of the User Manual; Training; Tutorials; Forums; Frequently asked questions (FAQ's); Workshops. Through a systematic exploration of the native sites guided by a dedicated checklist, it was sought to identify the singularities of the resources to support (self)learning of the different software packages. In order to systematize the offers that each user can find, enabling him/her to choose the package that provides the solutions that best respond to his/her learning style. It was concluded that among the different software packages there are no noteworthy disparities, only in two packages analysed there were shortcomings in the offer of formative and autonomous learning.

A design framework for science teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge development

Cecília Guerra — 2017-08-08

Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) represents the professional knowledge needed to integrate technology in the teaching and learning process. The purpose of this study relates to the creation of a design framework for the development of science teachers’ TPCK (initial and in-service). A qualitative methodology, following a design-based-approach, was adopted to describe the strategies for science teachers’ TPCK development, and design and assess an in-service science teacher education course. Data was obtained through interviews, questionnaires, using participant observation and analysis of in-service science teachers’ professional portfolios. Results show that integrating technology with a research teaching perspective could be a way to develop innovative science lessons for students. A detailed description of the research methodology and findings is given.

Novice researchers’ nightmare journey of paradigms and methodologies: ‘It’s hard to know what is right or wrong’.

Andrea Jayne Lacey — 2017-08-08

This paper provides my narrative of the challenges of journeying through the development of a research design for a study as part of my Doctorate of Professional Practice. The focus for the study was mental health student nurses and their first practice placement and whether these students could be better prepared prior to this first placement. This paper is intentionally written as a personal narrative of my experience into the field of qualitative research and within this account I discuss the uncertain, iterative and, in the end, emancipatory process of selecting the most appropriate ontology, epistemology and methodology to align with the aims and research questions for this study. Throughout the paper and in the spirit of narrative inquiry, I have included student nurses’ quotations from the data in the headings. These quotations seem to reflect the similar journeys on which both the students and I have been.

The use of Software ATLAS.ti and narratives in mapping the mentorship processes developed in an online training

Cicera Malheiro — 2017-08-08

The mentorship is a type of continuing education that is developed through school-centred processes involving an experienced teacher and a beginner teacher. Our objective is to present the contributions of the use of ATLAS.ti Software and the analysis of narratives produced by mentors teachers to highlight the mapping of mentoring processes performed by these individuals. We have collected data from 10 activities drawn up and posted in the VLE tools by the 4 participants selected, as main source of data and analysis content. The contents of these activities are understood, in this study as narratives. Narratives were transformed into Portable Document Format (PDF) files and imported through ATLAS.ti software (version 7.0), totalling 24 primary documents (PDs) which have composed the Hermeneutic Unit of the analysis project. During data treatment, in the stage corresponding to categorization of analysis' content, the narratives were coded, taking into consideration the methodological contribution on content analysis. The codification corresponds to a transformation (following specific rules) of raw qualitative data of the text. This transformation is what allows to reach a content representation, or the expression of its characteristics. In addition to the use of narratives in the qualitative investigative process, the ATLAS.ti has proved to be a software that potentiates the process of organizing a large amount of data, assisting in coding and decoding the analysis data. It also contributed significantly in the methodological conduction of a qualitative research of this size.

Development and Implementation of Dashboards for Operational Monitoring Using Participatory Design in a Lean Context

Andreia Filipa Martins — 2017-08-08

The need to increase employees’ productivity in a hypermarket online delivery services is the persuader of the present work. A costumer’ request, through the hypermarket website, initiates the process of collection and delivery of the ordered products. This process briefly comprises to gather the products from the shelves and to report the right indicators, at the right time, to store supervisors. To present the corresponding data and to follow this activity, quantitative dashboards were developed. These dashboards contained all the key indicators through graphs facilitating the reading and comparisons. Also, a dashboard in real time with the identification of employees without activity over a predetermined period of time and indicating the percentage of daily objectives already achieved, helping managers, was developed. All the actors, the project team, decision makers, designer, were involved in the design of the dashboards in a sharing process with the identification of aspects that should be reported or improved. At the end, dashboard enhances decision-making and has a positive impact in operational monitoring.

Ethical aspects of dissemination and archiving qualitative data in Poland

Jakub Niedbalski — 2017-08-08

The aim of the article is a reflection on ethical dilemmas, methodological problems and technological threats as well as practical solutions for dissemination, archiving and sharing of empirical material collected by qualitative researchers, and then deposited in specially created archives. The issues concerning the protection of personal subjects in the terms of the right to authorize and secure data obtained at each stage of the research are discussed. The basis of these considerations is the authors' own experience and the subject literature. These issues are related to the realities of social research in Poland, situating them in the broader context of the debate on the proposals and possibilities but also fears and doubts related to the archiving qualitative data.

A Mixed Methods Research of Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions about the Benefits of Wiki-Based Tasks and Discussion Boards

Ana Llorente — 2017-08-08

The aim of the research was to explore pre-service teachers’ perspectives towards the use of wikis and discussion boards to improve writing skills and promote collaboration. A total of 358 pre-service teachers, enrolled in the subject English I, participated in it. They ranged in age from 20 to 58. We adopted a mixed methods research approach to integrate results and carry out a combined discussion that allowed making interferences to understand better and to have a broader vision of the phenomenon. The data analysis revealed the impact of the e-activities on the participants’ confidence in English. They emphasized the opportunities afforded by the wikis to promote individual and cooperative learning, and by discussion boards to communicate. In our research, we demonstrated that the use of a mixed methods research enhanced the validity and reliability of the data, and added rigor to researches in technology and second language.

Perspective of clients and healthcare professionals about Occupational Therapy Intervention in Vocational Rehabilitation: a descriptive-exploratory study at a professional rehabilitation centre in Portugal

Jaime Ribeiro — 2017-08-08

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) allows individuals to enter, return and/or maintain employment. After literature review, no evidence of VR in individuals with acquired injuries, in Portugal was found. This paper aims to explore and describe the Occupational Therapy (OT) approach in VR and the client’s and the healthcare professionals’ perspectives, at Centro de Reabilitação Profissional de Gaia. A case study research was carried out with individuals aged 18 to 65 years old, with physical and neurological injuries, and receiving OT intervention; Occupational Therapists and other healthcare professionals working with those clients. To collect and analyse the data, a semi structured interview, focus group and subsequent content analysis by Bardin method were done. Participants’ perspectives were that OT promotes autonomy in occupations, assesses and recommends assistive products and performs functional assessments. Comparing results with literature, the clients and health professionals’ perspective of the OT intervention was consistent with the Occupational Therapist skills and intervention in VR.

Insights and Perspectives about Textual with Visual Data Analysis: the Use of Photos as an Example

Ana Isabel Rodrigues — 2017-08-08

Visual data analysis have become a noteworthy approach in qualitative research in the years. This paper presents a content analysis based on a study carried out in tourism field that used visual elements specifically photos, combined with verbal data. The goal is to demonstrate that, always considering the research goals, a more integrated approach to data production and analysis might be a suitable option. The results intend to provide evidence that visual data, in this case photos about lakes, might add value to the findings extracted from textual analysis (description of lakes) and reveal, in some cases, new insights about the object of research. In addition, the procedure of using webQDA, a Computer-Aided Text Analysis (and pictorial) is exposed and explained.

Use of software in qualitative health research in Brazil: a scoping review

Pétala Salvador — 2017-08-08

The objective of this study is to identify the use of software in qualitative studies produced within the framework of Brazilian postgraduate programs in the health area. This scoping review was carried out from the Thesis Bank and Dissertations of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). Dissertations and theses produced in the scope of Brazilian postgraduate programs in the health area configured as qualitative studies using software were analyzed. Data were analyzed by simple descriptive statistics. The final sample consisted of 306 studies. Seventeen software programs were used, some in combination. Emphasis was placed on the central role of the researcher in qualitative research. We conclude that the use of software in qualitative Brazilian studies in the health area, although still incipient, have increased, indicating a concern for innovation in research methods due to current demands for the methodological rigor of qualitative investigations and the creativity of the researcher.

Photovoice as a method of data collection in the study of motherhood over the age of 35: the power of images

Maria Santos — 2017-08-08

Objective: explore the use of Photovoice data collection method in qualitative research. Method: Data collection performed through interviews and photographs using Photovoice and analysis performed with the Grounded Theory methodology. Results: from the analysis of the photographs captured by the participants and their elicitation during the interviews, one category emerged: Needing Time For Yourself. Conclusions: Photovoice proved to be an important method of data collection by allowing access to the perspective of the participants and better understand the meaning of the phenomenon of late motherhood. Using Photovoice at the same time as Grounded Theory has been shown to bring reciprocal benefits.

The schools’ ranking in the opinion of directors of Secondary Education schools in Portugal

Susana Sá — 2017-08-08

In order to study the schools’ ranking we have to perceive in a micro towards a meso structure, in Secondary Education, what the factors that can influence the performance of schools are.In this study, we will focus on the opinion of school directors. We conducted three interviews, with two directors from two grouped schools and one from a non-grouped school, in the Northern of Portugal. The semi-structured interviews were audio recorded and later transcribed. The content was analyzed and treated with the support of the webQDA qualitative analysis software. This external evaluation affects teachers and directors, when scores are used to determine the "social" position of the school, granting them recognition or additional funds, or threatening with loss of "social register", when the score is low and, consequently, affects students, in what concerns their promotion, monitoring and graduation.

Convergence between quantitative and qualitative methodological orientations: mixed models

María Gómez — 2017-08-08

This chapter deals with the process of convergence that has developed between quantitative and qualitative methodological orientations over recent decades in the context of the social sciences. It brings together some of the arguments that sum up the opposing positions in this debate, from the stance of discrepancy and its attitude of subordinate methodological difference, to the stance of harmony, which emphasizes the value of each methodology and respects their respective contributions, and then on to a current position based on duality and the potential of convergence, compatibility and integration with regard to so-called mixed models or designs.

Teaching inclusive mathematics for cancer child patients in a hospital environment

Uyara Teixeira — 2017-08-08

This article aims to explain how teaching and learning processes of early mathematics education happen on a given oncological hospital in the Brazilian state called Goiás, Brazil. The qualitative and exploratory research is mainly based on longitudinal data, documents, teaching plans and notes, and semi-structured interviews. The data analyses are based on thematic and content methodologies regarding teaching and evaluation. The research identifies complex challenges that mathematics teachers face daily to teach mathematics in hospitals for children who are diagnosed with cancer and are having cancer treatment. For instance, teaching and learning venues being hospital rooms may not the best place for children to learn or for the teachers to work in.

How does qualitative explain specific and different tendencies in quantitative findings?

Thi Tuyet Tran — 2017-08-08

Theory suggests different strengths of quantitative research approaches, especially its generalizability. This paper, however, argues that generalizability sometimes can also become a limitation of the quantitative research design when the focus of a study is on how a certain issue immerges in a certain context, as quantitative methods often remove context and individual experience from the generalized findings. In this specific research on the university-enterprise collaboration (UEC) for enhancing graduate employability in Vietnam, qualitative interviews are used to compensate this deficit of quantitative questionnaires. Specifically, when universities and employers have different opinions about UEC, follow-up interviews help explain the disagreement between these two groups of participants. In other words, the qualitative findings of this study help answer the questions ‘how’ and ‘why’ certain tendencies immerged in the quantitative findings.

The Use of NVivo in the Different Stages of Qualitative Research

Carmen Trigueros Cervantes — 2017-08-08

When researchers take their first steps in qualitative research, they face the great lack of models to follow regarding the method to use in the analysis of data, on some occasions falling into the temptation of coveting the high level of systematisation employed by researchers working with quantitative data. This article offers a basic theoretical contribution that allows researcher to approach qualitative data analysis and the use of the NVivo software, highlighting its advantages and describing the main functions at each moment of a qualitative investigation, placing particular emphasis on the analysis process.

Understanding higher education teaching, learning and evalua-tion: a qualitative analysis supported by ATLAS.ti

Rosemary T. Nicacio — 2017-08-08

Teachers` education has been studied by Ferreira (2014), Gatti (2009, 2013), Alves (2011), Garcia (2010), Tardif (2010), Imbernón (2009), Patto (2004), and others, who discuss it on Basic Education level. We investigate how university professors who teach future teachers understand teaching foundations, which is a great field for studying in Brazil. This research is conducted based on AVENA Project in two Brazilian universities. Our main objective is to analyze possible patterns on understanding teaching, learning and evaluation in teacher`s training courses. We also analyzed students understanding in the same courses. In this article, we present a methodological path chosen, because of the great amount of the collected data we used ATLAS.ti software, which we chose because of the possibilities of organization for qualitative analysis.

A Categorical-Generative Theory of Social Processes: Towards the Ontological and Mathematical Foundations of a Grammar-based Model for Qualitative Research

Bruno da Rocha Braga — 2017-08-08

This paper proposes a mathematical model to describe the dynamics of flows of events that evolve, conditioned by a specific set of structures and contextual conditions, such as complex, dynamic, and contingent social phenomena. A discrete rule-based model for patterns of sequences of events deduced from Generative Grammar Theory and Category Theory depicts theoretical propositions and identifies causal relationships in empirical evidence. Regarding the ontological and epistemological assumptions of Critical Realism, the proposed modeling methodology adopts the logic of retroduction instead of the logic of falsification as a knowledge-extending means of drawing explanatory inferences from data in a systematic way.

Corpus Linguistic Analysis: How far can we go?

Richard Chapman — 2017-08-08

The present paper aims to explore methodological approaches to the examination of corpus linguistic data with particular attention to higher-level analysis. Fundamental assumptions in corpus linguistics are questioned, including the concept of repetition and so of token and type, parsing of items, the use and interpretation of metaphor, and the sociolinguistic and pragmatic elements in all utterances. Using purposely collected corpus data from very limited corpora, the paper aims to underline the importance of qualitative approaches to linguistic analysis even in the ostensibly highly quantitative field of ‘traditional’ corpus linguistics. Preliminary conclusions suggest that the complexity and richness of corpus linguistic data make qualitative analysis very demanding, but of unquestionable potential significance. The final proposal is for a small-scale corpus approach to accompany the mass linguistic data of large corpora, offering different analyses and results that might be valuable for fruitful comparison and triangulation

Indices of change: analysing the indexical properties of data from psychotherapy case work to discern patterns of therapeutic change over time

John Hills — 2017-08-08

With reference to semiotic theory, a form of data analysis is proposed that explicitly unpacks the indexical properties of data from psychotherapy case studies. The approach is observed to happen within the therapeutic hour as a co-production between the client and their therapist. Thus analysing the data in this way seeks to address two common charges against traditional research into psychotherapy processes: that it fails to capture the true value of the therapy and lacks the sensitivity to measure outcomes. Two case vignettes will demonstrate the utility of this approach in lived context, with meaning emerging as therapy continues.

Gender Bias on Tinder: Transforming an Exploratory Qualitative Survey into Statistical Data for Contextualized Interpretation

Milena Lopes — 2017-09-07

Tinder is an online dating application that enables a human-human interaction. However, the easiness of connection brings to light some concerns about possible harmful gender dynamics, which can enhance bias within technological developments and threaten women empowerment. This research aims to investigate whether the application meets women’s expectations, whether there is gender bias and sexist behavior during the users’ experiences and what is the relation between the findings to the graphical user interface. The research approaches to a mixed method design in order to achieve its goals.