I was writing up some findings from a paper that I have been peripherally involved with and struggling with for...um...uh....well, let's just say longer than I care to spell out in detail. Since I had some idea of the expectations of the proposed audience, and I was simultaneously making some assumptions about the expectations of my collaborators, I found myself taking what I might consider the path of least resistance and "weighting" my findings by listing numbers of participants. Fortunately I consulted Patton's Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (4th ed, 2014, Sage) and came upon a section devoted to just that topic. Don't do it - he advises (or directs)! Patton asserts that use of the non specific quantities most of us (us being people who write up qualitative research findings) prefer, such as some, most, many, a few, is a better and more precise practice. And, seriously, how much real difference does it make if 5 or 6 people said something, or suggested something. I believe based on my own systematic (while flexible and creative) approaches to data analysis that selected and presented themes represent important, supported, and relevant essences of the data, regardless of the number of times a specific word or phrase is used. If I had not come to feel that way, I think I would never have been able to write up qualitative findings in a way that had meaning to my readers. As I've said to some students recently, the essence (not the Truth) tends to float to the top of the corpus of data. Some of my own efforts at reanalysis with the same data after separation of time have reinforced this belief. It is more of a challenge when the data are not those I collected and processed (I still spend nearly as much time with audios and others' transcripts as I do when I do my own transcription, however) but I still think elements of data that are essential and engaging (one of my favorite words these days) make themselves known (I have difficulty using the word emerge although I appreciate its use). Armed with a renewed sense of purpose, I rewrote the section, removing the " out of Y participants said" (this makes me think of "4 out of 5 dentists survey recommend...") and replacing those with many, most, etc. I was also reminded of this skit from MadTV years ago in which Bob Newhart portrays a therapist - a reference to his 1970s show in which he was a psychiatrist/psychologist (not certain which but he seemed sort of Freudian in his approach). I used to show this video to students who were aspiring to help others make health behavior changes. It is funny but also in a way suggests a reasonable and logical approach to nearly any behavior change. Follow the link below to go to YouTube and watch: Bob Newhart - Stop It!
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I have had multiple opportunities to look over and/or comment on things ranging from learning outcomes to works proposed for publication, and the one thing I keep seeing repeated, over and over, is something along the lines of 'no wordsmithing.'
This is sort of surprising because it seems like such a 19th century term to me. I do not think I heard this word a dozen times in my life but I have definitely heard (or read it) a dozen times in the last month. Where did this come from? On one level, I understand this. Focus on word order, preferred terminology, and other (sort of) minutiae, especially when provided by multiple people, can be difficult to navigate. Once a few people have been at a document with track changes, it can be pretty difficult to decipher - especially if you do not know how to use alternative views. On another level, I am mildly bothered by these blanket, absolute prohibitions against commenting on language use. And to me 'no wordsmithing' has just a hint of the anti-intellectual attitudes I recall from 2nd grade. The open access article linked below shows some profound changes in global BMI between 1975 and 2014. Although my research interest in aging and physical activity is not necessarily focused on weight or BMI, there is often a relationship between excess body weight and other physical and mental health outcomes that I am more specifically concerned with.
If like me, you have a general impression that people have been progressively getting larger, reading this article, and in particular viewing the very nice graphics, might help you conclude that your impression is correct. Trends in BMI |
AuthorI am Sheryl L. Chatfield, Ph.D, C.T.R.S. I am a member of the faculty in the College of Public Health at Kent State University. I also Co-coordinate the Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research and I am a member of the Design Innovation Team at Kent State. Archives
February 2024
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