Traditional, textual descriptions of qualitative findings do not adequately reflect the complexity of human behavior. Artful portrayals provide multiple ways of looking at research material and lead to new insights. The use of found poetry in research is described, as well as a course that introduces graduate students to various artful portrayals…

Presents the multiple stories one female, African-American professor experienced within her research, examining her experiences as a marginalized member of the academy conducting qualitative research within a community with which she identified while simultaneously conversing with an older, female, African-American mentor. The paper highlights her…

This article explores the contributions of qualitative research to the study of career development and the psychology of working. Epistemological perspectives (logical positivism, postpositivism, and social constructionism) are discussed as they relate to historical context, career theories, and the various methods used within qualitative…

The participation of older adults in computer learning environments is a recent phenomenon. Older adults of the twenty-first century have not grown up with information and communication technologies and are not likely to have used computers in their working lives. They may even feel alien in the world of technology. The purpose of this paper is to…

Recent research has investigated the impact of neighborhood violence on children's mental health and moral development. Based on the view that the way in which children construe their experiences of violence mediates the impact of unsafe neighborhoods and that children's narrative is important for children's construction of self and incorporation…

Examines the educational narratives of eight reentry black women in higher education to determine what common experiences shaped their academic lives. Results include the indication that participants entered higher education to better their lives and possibly the lives of their children, regardless of past school failures and lack of family…

This symposium paper reports on developing biographical qualitative research methods, mixing personal narrative and conceptualization. The section on "Learning To Do" begins with an autobiographical report on a study of an urban classroom during which the author developed his early techniques for qualitative research, including the…

This book describes a year-long participant-observer case study of the professorship as a profession. Following an introductory chapter, each chapter examines one aspect of the professor's occupation by recounting the specific experiences of the author, a sociology professor at Wright State University (Ohio). Chapter 2 looks at the department as…

Metaphorically, going places without a map was a significant shift for me. Experiencing a sense of disconnection both professionally and personally became a catalyst to undertake a journey of re-connection. This coincided with an experience of displacement and what transpired was the making of new meanings around being an educator and around…

In Canada's Exemplary Schools Project, a national committee designed and coordinated 21 case studies. A committee member recounts decisions made about design and method, and highlights differences between method and methodology, as well as variations in conceptualization of qualitative research. Discusses the meaning of "exemplary,"…

This article examines historical styles of research conducted around the construct of gifted underachievement. It then explores possibilities of implementing alternative approaches and theoretical arguments in practical applications in this area. It discusses ethnographic narratives, deliberative hermeneutic research, aesthetic research,…

The purpose of this investigation was to explore childhood career development by examining 4th-and 5th-grade students' career and self-awareness, exploration, and career planning. Responses to written assignments provided qualitative data for analysis. Written narrative data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research methods as described…

Surveys forms of narrative inquiry in educational studies. Outlines certain criteria, methods, and writing forms. Describes them in terms of beginning the story, living the story, and selecting stories to construct and reconstruct narrative plots. Describes two-part research agenda for curriculum and studies flowing from stories of experience and…

This study explored how undergraduate students diagnosed with AD/HD remain in college. Using a qualitative research design from a grounded theory perspective, the researchers captured the personal stories of 10 college students from two universities similar in location, size, and liberal arts tradition. The findings included themes related to…

This qualitative study explored the perceptions of 14 adults (ages 21 to 37) with learning disabilities (including 7 enrolled in college) regarding their K-12 school experiences. Personal interviews were used to elicit those dimensions of the school experience perceived as most positive or most negative. The critical incident technique was used to…