scholarly journals Studying the Study: Reflections on Exploring the Health and Disability Narratives of Long-Term Sickness Benefits Recipients in the UK

Author(s):  
Kayleigh Garthwaite

Researching sensitive topics such as sickness and disability can encompass a wide range of demands that must be continually negotiated throughout the research process by both the researcher and research participants. Therefore, a studying the study approach is important when exploring the quality and ethical practice in qualitative research on sensitive issues with vulnerable populations. This becomes especially important within a UK context when considering the negative discourse surrounding the sickness benefits process in the UK. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with 25 long-term sick and disabled benefits recipients in the UK, the study sought to uncover the health and illness narratives of long-term sickness benefits recipients. Within the presentation of methods that were used, a discussion of the methods used in conducting a “study of the study” are considered, providing an illustration of how to do this and what to do with the results of such a reflective piece. The challenges of doing such research are outlined, and the need for a reflective process surrounding the research process is emphasised. Finally, the approach of studying the study is an example of an illustration of how to adopt this approach when considering qualitative research with hard to reach groups.

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1235
Author(s):  
Luke Waterman ◽  
Mónica Rivas Casado ◽  
Emma Bergin ◽  
Gary McInally

With increases in average temperature and rainfall predicted, more households are expected to be at risk of flooding in the UK by 2050. Data and technologies are increasingly playing a critical role across public-, private- and third-sector organisations. However, barriers and constraints exist across organisations and industries that limit the sharing of data. We examine the international context for data sharing and variations between data-rich and data-sparse countries. We find that local politics and organisational structures influence data sharing. We focus on the case study of the UK, and on geospatial and flood resilience data in particular. We use a series of semi-structured interviews to evaluate data sharing limitations, with particular reference to geospatial and flood resilience data. We identify barriers and constraints when sharing data between organisations. We find technological, security, privacy, cultural and commercial barriers across different use cases and data points. Finally, we provide three long-term recommendations to improve the overall accessibility to flood data and enhance outcomes for organisations and communities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Pechurina

This article discusses ethical decisions in the qualitative research of homes, with particular focus on a situation, in which a researcher studies his/her own migrant community. While exploring more common topics, such as negotiating access and receiving permission to photograph within participants’ homes, this article will also highlight issues that occur specifically within community-based ethnographic studies among Russian migrants. Using examples from the study of Russian immigrants’ homes in the UK, this article raises important questions of social positioning and power distribution within studied community. It will demonstrate the complexities of ethical decision making at different stages of the research process, which reflects the constantly changing relationship(s) between the cultural and social backgrounds and identities of researchers and participants. The insider and outsider role of the researcher is relative and the constant need to balance it, while simultaneously creating difficult ethical dilemmas, often reveals rich data and moves the whole research process forward.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (08) ◽  
pp. 1181-1190
Author(s):  
Liz Ford ◽  
Peter Rudge ◽  
Kathy Robinson ◽  
John Collinge ◽  
Michele Gorham ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTObjectives:Prion diseases are rare dementias that most commonly occur sporadically, but can be inherited or acquired, and for which there is no cure. We sought to understand which prion disease symptoms are most problematic for carers, to inform the development of outcome measures.Design:Self-completed questionnaire with follow-up of a subset of participants by structured interview.Setting:A nested study in the UK National Prion Monitoring Cohort, a longitudinal observational study.Participants and measurements:71 carers, of people with different prion diseases with a wide range of disease severity, identified 236 of their four most problematic symptoms by questionnaire which were grouped into ten domains. Structured interviews were then done to qualitatively explore these experiences. Eleven family carers of people with prion disease were selected, including those representative of a range of demographics and disease subtypes and those who cared for people with prion disease, living or recently deceased. Interviews were transcribed and formally studied.Results:The six most problematic symptom domains were: mobility and coordination; mood and behavior; personal care and continence; eating and swallowing; communication; and cognition and memory. The prevalence of these symptoms varied significantly by disease stage and type. A formal analysis of structured interviews to explore these domains is reported.Conclusions:We make suggestions about how healthcare professionals can focus their support for people with prion disease. Clinical trials that aim to generate evidence regarding therapies that might confer meaningful benefits to carers should consider including outcome measures that monitor the symptomatic domains we have identified as problematic.


Author(s):  
Susan S. Reutter

Corrections is a multi-layered business containing all aspects of life for the employees, clients/inmates, and the general public. Therefore, the findings of the study are transferable to many types of administrators. The chapter uses a case study approach and qualitative research methods. The study findings focuses on corrections administrative leadership mindset, philosophical approaches, and practice policies.. The conceptual and theoretical approaches included effective corrections administrators are promoting the growth of social capital (e.g., social skills and relationships), human capital (employable skills), and cultural capital (e.g., community and public safety). Four state prison wardens/administrators participated in this study. Data was collected via Creswell's in-depth portrait of cases: three-part series of semi-structured interviews. Four themes emerged during data analysis. This chapter focuses on the fourth theme and the conceptual framework.


2020 ◽  
pp. 026975802096197
Author(s):  
Vicky Heap

Despite victimological interest in the impacts of different types of criminal victimisation, there is little empirical work that examines the effects of sub-criminal behaviour on victims. This article begins to redress the balance by reporting the findings from a qualitative research project in England that investigated the effects of long-term anti-social behaviour victimisation. Semi-structured interviews explored victims’ accounts of the long-term anti-social behaviour they experienced and the resultant effects it had on their lives. The research uncovered that victims experience a range of mental and physical health effects as well as behavioural changes and has provided the first in-depth insight into the impact of this type of victimisation. The findings suggest the cumulative harms associated with anti-social behaviour need to be better acknowledged, understood and addressed, with greater support made available to victims.


Author(s):  
Janet L. Peacock ◽  
Sally M. Kerry ◽  
Raymond R. Balise

Presenting Medical Statistics from Proposal to Publication (second edition) aims to show readers how to conduct a wide range of statistical analyses from sample size calculations through to multifactorial regressions that are needed in the research process. The second edition of ‘Presenting’ has been revised and updated and now includes Stata, SAS, SPSS, and R. The book shows how to interpret each computer output and illustrates how to present the results and accompanying text in a format suitable for a peer-reviewed journal article or research report. All analyses are illustrated using real data and all programming code, outputs, and datasets used in the book are available on a website for readers to freely download and use. ‘Presenting’ includes practical information and helpful tips for software, all statistical methods used, and the research process. It is written by three experienced biostatisticians, Janet Peacock, Sally Kerry, and Ray Balise from the UK and the USA, and is born out of their extensive experience conducting collaborative medical research, teaching medical students, physicians, and other health professionals, and providing researchers with advice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ruth Zárate-Rueda ◽  
Sonia Patricia Díaz-Orozco ◽  
Leonardo Ortiz-Gumán

 This scientific article shows the results of a research process whose objective was to analyze the practices and pedagogical strategies implemented by teachers of the Industrial University of Santander (UIS) and the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga (UNAB); these teachers have students with sensory disabilities in their classrooms. For this goal, a qualitative methodology was adopted with a case-study approach; 27 subjects participated in this process: 20 educators and 7 students from the programs of Law, International Business, Accounting, Social Communication, Gastronomy, Music, and Philosophy. Based on a sample of homogenous cases of intentional type and semi-structured interviews, it was possible to conclude that, despite the significant advances made so far, it is required for universities to promote institutional guidelines articulating participatory work with the educational community. This community intervenes in the social reality of students with disabilities, as well as in the axes of accessibility and communication.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 731-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
GERALDINE BOYLE

This paper examines the extent of mental ill-health and probable depression among older people in long-term care. It presents selected findings from a study in Greater Belfast, Northern Ireland, that compared the quality of life, autonomy and mental health of older people living in nursing and residential homes with those of older people living in private households who were receiving domiciliary care. Structured interviews were conducted with 214 residents in institutions and 44 older people receiving domiciliary care. The study found that those in private households were more severely physically-impaired and had a higher level of mental ill-health than the residents of institutional homes. It is suggested, however, that the mental ill-health effects were associated less with physical impairments than with the restrictions placed on the older person's decisional autonomy, and that long-term care environments that constrain the older person's autonomy contribute to the development of depression. Although the UK National Service Framework for Older People specified that those with depression should be given treatment and support, priority should also be given to preventing the depression associated with living in long-term care settings.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susannah Rennie ◽  
Chris Andrews ◽  
Sarah Atkinson ◽  
Deborah Beaumont ◽  
Sue Benham ◽  
...  

Abstract. Long-term datasets of integrated environmental variables, co-located together, are relatively rare. The UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) was launched in 1992 and provides the UK with its only long-term integrated environmental monitoring and research network for the assessment of the causes and consequences of environmental change. Measurements, covering a wide range of physical, chemical and biological "driver" and "response" variables are made in close proximity at ECN terrestrial sites using protocols incorporating standard quality control procedures. This paper describes the datasets (there are nineteen published ECN datasets) for these co-located measurements, containing over twenty years of data (1993–2015). The data and supporting documentation are freely available from the NERC Environmental Information Data Centre under the terms of the Open Government Licence using the following DOI’s: Meteorology Meteorology: https://doi.org/10.5285/fc9bcd1c-e3fc-4c5a-b569-2fe62d40f2f5 (Rennie et al., 2017a) Biogeochemistry Atmospheric nitrogen chemistry: https://doi.org/10.5285/baf51776-c2d0-4e57-9cd3-30cd6336d9cf (Rennie et al., 2017b) Precipitation chemistry: https://doi.org/10.5285/18b7c387-037d-4949-98bc-e8db5ef4264c (Rennie et al., 2017c) Soil solution chemistry: https://doi.org/10.5285/b330d395-68f2-47f1-8d59-3291dc02923b (Rennie et al., 2017d) Stream water chemistry: https://doi.org/10.5285/fd7ca5ef-460a-463c-ad2b-5ad48bb4e22e (Rennie et al., 2017e) Stream water discharge: https://doi.org/10.5285/8b58c86b-0c2a-4d48-b25a-7a0141859004 (Rennie et al., 2017f) Invertebrates Moths: https://doi.org/10.5285/a2a49f47-49b3-46da-a434-bb22e524c5d2 (Rennie et al., 2017g) Butterflies: https://doi.org/10.5285/5aeda581-b4f2-4e51-b1a6-890b6b3403a3 (Rennie et al., 2017h) Carabid beetle: https://doi.org/10.5285/8385f864-dd41-410f-b248-028f923cb281 (Rennie et al., 2017i) Spittle bugs: https://doi.org/10.5285/aff433be-0869-4393-b765-9e6faad2a12b (Rennie et al., 2018) Vegetation Baseline: https://doi.org/10.5285/a7b49ac1-24f5-406e-ac8f-3d05fb583e3b (Rennie et al., 2016a) Coarse grain: https://doi.org/10.5285/d349babc-329a-4d6e-9eca-92e630e1be3f (Rennie et al., 2016b) Woodland: https://doi.org/10.5285/94aef007-634e-42db-bc52-9aae86adbd33 (Rennie et al., 2017j) Fine grain: https://doi.org/10.5285/b98efec8-6de0-4e0c-85dc-fe4cdf01f086 (Rennie et al., 2017k) Vertebrates Frogs: https://doi.org/10.5285/4d8c7dd9-8248-46ca-b988-c1fc38e51581 (Rennie et al., 2017l) Birds (Breeding bird survey): https://doi.org/10.5285/5886c3ba-1fa5-49c0-8da8-40e69a10d2b5 (Rennie et al., 2017m) Birds (Common bird census): https://doi.org/10.5285/8582a02c-b28c-45d2-afa1-c1e85fba023d (Rennie et al., 2017n) Bats: https://doi.org/10.5285/2588ee91-6cbd-4888-86fc-81858d1bf085 (Rennie et al., 2017o) Rabbits and deer: https://doi.org/10.5285/0be0aed3-f205-4f1f-a65d-84f8cfd8d50f (Rennie et al., 2017p).


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald F. Hess

This article advocates that law schools and law teachers should use high quality, rigorous, qualitative research to help them make thoughtful changes in response to current challenges facing legal education. Regardless of the type of study, qualitative research involves a five stage process: (1) study design and ethics; (2) sampling; (3) data collection; (4) data analysis; and (5) the research report.This article illustrates each stage of the qualitative research process through a study of outstanding law teachers that was reported in the recent book, What the Best Law Teachers Do. This book is based on a study that was designed to identify the characteristics and practices of extraordinary law teachers who have significant, positive, long-term effects on their students.


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