The American Family Health Study (AFHS) collected family health and fertility data from a national probability sample of persons aged 18-49 between September 2021 and May 2022, using web and mail exclusively. In July 2022, we surveyed AFHS respondents and gauged their willingness to become part of a national web panel that would create novel…

All research accounts are partial. Who we are--our biographies, experiences, ideological stances, and so on--affects the entirety of the research process. Who we are shapes what types of research questions we find interesting, how we frame our research objectives, how we collect data, how we analyze these data, and how we present our findings. In…

As veteran educational researchers in case study and action research methods, we engaged in a design-based research project as an innovative approach for dealing with the complex practice of integrating science and literacy within elementary classrooms. We choose design-based research as both a theoretical "and" research framework as our…

A major obstacle to developing evidenced-based policy is the difficulty of implementing randomized experiments to answer all causal questions of interest. When using a nonexperimental study, it is critical to assess how much the results could be affected by unmeasured confounding. We present a set of graphical and numeric tools to explore the…

In order to enhance Extension evaluation efforts it is important to understand current practices. The study reported here researched the evaluation behaviors of county-based Extension professionals. Extension professionals from eight states (n = 1,173) responded to a survey regarding their evaluation data collection, analysis, and reporting…

Instrumentation rigor and bias management are major challenges for qualitative researchers employing interviewing as a data generation method in their studies. A usual procedure for testing the quality of an interview protocol and for identifying potential researcher biases is the pilot study in which investigators try out their proposed methods…

When conducting research on sensitive topics, it is challenging to use new methods of data collection given the apprehensions of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). This is especially worrying because sensitive topics of research often require novel approaches. In this article a brief personal history of navigating the IRB process for conducting…

Over the past few years, the focus group method has assumed a very important role as a method for collecting qualitative data in social and behavioural science research. This article elucidates theoretical and practical problems and prospects associated with the use of focus groups as a qualitative research method in social and behavioural science…

This article is part of The Weekly Qualitative Report's occasional series on "How-To Collect Qualitative Data." The qualitative data collection method described is that of focused discussion groups (FDG's). This method involves the moderator, or scripter as is the preferred term in focused discussion groups, to move beyond that of a…

This guide is designed to help researchers make sure that their research reports include enough information about study measures so that readers can assess the quality of the study's methods and results. The guide also provides examples of write-ups about measures and suggests resources for learning more about these topics. The guide assumes…

Whether a study is qualitative or quantitative, the process of data collection is not as orderly as it may seem when described in published research reports, articles, or books. Data collection may be more challenging when conducting research across national and linguistic borders. In this article, I share and reflect upon the complex and messy…

Qualitative research has increased in popularity among social scientists. While substantial attention has been given to various methods of qualitative analysis, there is a need to focus on strategies for collecting diverse forms of qualitative data. In this article, the authors discuss four sources of qualitative data: participant observation,…

The observational method particularly recommended for educators who collect data in rural settings is the participant-as-observer identity. Participant observation entails total commitment of the investigator to participate as intimately as possible in the experiences of those being studied. (CM)

Differences between ethnographic, phenomenological, or qualitative research techniques are reviewed through an explanation of the rationale behind their use and discussion of some of the processes by which this type of research is conducted. While this article is focused on educational research, the discussion applies equally to social…

Explores methodological issues associated with gaining access to street children and reducing the influence of the researcher's 'outsider' identity, when undertaking sociospatial research. Illustrates how meaningful results can be gleaned without the inhibitory effects of limited access and outsider influence. (Author)