Not knowing the population size is a common problem in data-limited contexts. Drawing on work in Sierra Leone, this short take outlines a four-step solution to this problem: (1) estimate the population size using expert interviews; (2) verify estimates using interviews with participants sampled; (3) triangulate using secondary data; and (4)…

What do we do with emotion in biographical research: is it an end in itself, a symptom to be explained, a thread to be pulled? This paper presents an experiment in methodology within a field of biographical methods that involved revisiting a single qualitative interview after the elapse of thirty years. The interview with 22 year old Stacey was…

This case discusses how scenario-based interviews can be used to develop research into policy and practice. Based on data collected from U.K. further education management settings, it shows how and why scenario-based interviews were used. It also explains how the data collected were then used to illustrate and analyze the implementation of a…

Much care has been paid to reflexivity, including considering emotional sensitivities?in relation to face-to-face interviews. However, less attention has been paid to the impact of sensitivities on the process of data?analysis and the presentation of research findings. This paper focuses on?what constitutes 'the data' to be analysed, who analyses…

Qualitative data analysis has been criticised for a lack of credibility over recent years when vagueness has been afforded to the reporting of how findings are attained. In response, there has been a growing body of literature emphasising a need to detail methods of qualitative data analysis. This paper adds to this body of knowledge by presenting…

Researchers have become increasingly interested in better understanding the survey data collection process in interviewer-administered surveys. However, tools for analysing paradata capturing information about field processes, also called call record data, are still not yet fully explored. This paper introduces sequence analysis as a simple tool…

As universities are undergoing transformations produced by trends towards marketisation, massification, new public management, and 'third mission' of socio-economic impact, higher education (HE) researchers are increasingly concerned with the implications of the HE sector change on academic practice, professional identities, and even wellbeing.…

Collecting multiple perspectives data (e.g. from related individuals) in a qualitative longitudinal design can provide rich understanding of the dynamics at play in complex relational systems, and the different perceptions of people involved. However, such approaches are inherently challenging due to the complexity and volume of data involved. So…

This popular text, now in its fifth edition, provides step-by-step guidance for new and experienced researchers who want to use interviewing as a research method. This user-friendly guide explains the rationale for interviewing and the complexity of selecting interview participants, important interviewing techniques, and how to work with the…

This case study discusses how theory and deductive analysis can be used to better understand work-based learning (WBL). Based in a U.K. teacher education setting, it discusses a project which examined how novice teachers in English Further Education develop their professional knowledge and how their experiences might help understand WBL more…

This article examines how Finnish universities and other higher education institutes have responded to the challenges posed by rapid changes in the world of work and societies all over Europe, particularly with reference to the development of generic skills. The data were collected by means of individual and group interviews at three Finnish…

This article addresses methodological issues related to the consequences of researchers' range of insider identities that emerge over the course of completing subsequent stages of qualitative migration research projects. Taking on a temporal approach to the insider status evolving over the course of field entry, data collection, data analysis, and…

This study probed the conceptualization of (in)authenticity in teaching and the way it could be enacted in pedagogical practices. The participants were a purposive sample of 20 Iranian university teachers. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, field notes, and observation. The collected data were analyzed through the lens of hermeneutic…

In this article, we report the results of research that explores the intra-mathematical connections that high school students make when they solve Calculus tasks, in particular those involving the derivative and the integral. We consider mathematical connections as a cognitive process through which a person relates or associates two or more ideas,…

The aim of this study is to investigate primary student teachers' drawings of the human internal organs, e.g. location, size and presence of organs (heart, lungs, stomach, liver, kidneys, pancreas and intestines etc.) This research was conducted with 104 primary teacher candidates studying in the Faculty of Education at Trakya University during…