In 2015, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health conducted focus groups with school nurses (SNs) and athletic trainers (ATs) from Massachusetts middle and high schools to assess implementation of legislated regulations relative to the management of students' head injuries incurred during extracurricular sports. Four tape-recorded focus…

This study reports on the process and development of middle school science fair projects inspired by a summer science program of citizen science monitoring (Monarch Larvae Monitoring Project) with their classroom teacher. We gathered and analyzed qualitative data (interviews, focus groups, and project boards). Our analysis revealed three key…

Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has critical health implications for developing fetuses and subsequently for infants and young children. Research has suggested that this ambient air pollutant can be found indoors in quantities that may be hazardous to human health. In low-income neighborhoods in New York City such as northern…

The 3M National Teaching Fellowship (3MNTF) is the highest award in teaching in Canada and was first awarded in 1986, yet to date there has been no research measuring its impact on individual winners and their institutions. As part of this project, two focus groups were conducted at the 3MNTF Retreat in Banff, with the 2012 cohort, 3M retreat…

Using principles of community-based participatory research we developed a new theory-based measure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for individuals with intellectual disability (ID). We recruited adults with ID (n = 129) to take part in interviews and review successive versions of HRQOL items. Critical input about content and…

Research suggests that bullying does occur in kindergarten. The extent of bullying in Norway and other Scandinavian countries is estimated to be about 12%. The purpose of this study is to investigate children's understanding and experiences of bullying. We use a qualitative approach and have conducted individual interviews and focus group…

Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology to conceptualize, operationalize, and empirically validate the concept of information need. Method: The proposed methodology makes use of both qualitative and quantitative perspectives, and includes a broad array of approaches such as literature reviews, expert opinions, focus…

This article describes a validation study using Retrodictive Qualitative Modeling, a framework for conducting research from a dynamic and situated perspective, to establish an empirical foundation for a new phenomenological construct--language teacher immunity. Focus groups (N = 44) conducted with second language (L2) practitioners and teacher…

This case study is based on research begun for an MA dissertation in Human Resource Management and subsequently developed. It follows the government's decision that from September 2012, UK universities would be able to increase their tuition fees from a maximum of £3000 to £9000 per year. The project aimed to investigate the impact of this on…

In the past 20 years, the landscape of Higher Education in the United Kingdom has changed considerably. With the prospect of tuition fees spiralling above £9,000 per year, per student, it is important to explore the impact this has upon the student experience. In spite of the vast financial investment current students make towards their education,…

National statistics indicate substantial mental health and academic challenges experienced by a sizable proportion of Hispanic children and adolescents in American school settings. School counselors can provide culturally responsive supports to this population and would benefit from contextually grounded, ecologically valid assessments that focus…

This action research introduces an innovative construct entitled R.A.I.S.E. (Representation, Amplification of Assets, Inspiration, Support, and Empowerment and Engagement) to scale up leadership excellence in Ontario education systems. Equity (or the E-word) has become a highly contentious and volatile left-and right-wing political hotbed.…

This study used an Appreciative Education framework to explore the strengths of Chinese international students and to identify areas where support is needed during their transition to U.S. higher education settings. Using a convergent mixed methods design with data collected from surveys, interviews and focus groups, the complex nature of the…

Purpose: Higher education (HE) institutions create, disseminate, share and exchange knowledge through relationships among people, processes and technologies. Knowledge sharing (KS) in academia enables people within the institute to develop practices which allow them to collect and share what they know. This often leads to actions that improve…

This study investigates practitioners' involvement in Evidence-Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP) at an academic library. Through focus group interviews, the study reveals that most of the evidence-based decisions in academic library practice are considered "Know-what (works)" and serve the "instrumental" purpose,…