Research methodologies - Bibliography - Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS)

Social research methodologies

This bibliography provides a selection of recent references from the Australian Family & Society Abstracts database and the Australian Institute of Family Studies library catalogue.

The publications listed are held in the Australian Institute of Family Studies Library and can be borrowed via the inter library loan system or acquired directly from the issuing body. Direct links to documents on the Web are provided when available.

References are arranged alphabetically by title.

A health researcher's guide to qualitative methodologies.
Dew, Kevin
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health v.31 no.5 Oct 2007: 433-437

In this overview of qualitative methodologies for health research, different possible goals in health research are outlined: quantifying relationships between variables, identifying associations, exploring experience, understanding process, distinguishing representations, comprehending social practices and achieving change. Three important issues in understanding qualitative approaches to research are discussed: the partiality of our view of the world; deductive and inductive approaches to research; and, the role of the researcher in the research process. The methodologies of phenomenology, grounded theory, discourse analysis, ethnography, ethnomethodology and action research are illustrated. In order to undertake high quality qualitative research, it is important for researchers to consider their analytic focus and methodological position. (Journal abstract, edited)

A longitudinal analysis of income-related health inequality in Australia.
Brandrup, Jason D; Kortt, Michael A
In: HILDA Survey Research Conference 2007: papers. Parkville, Vic: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne, 2007, 33p, Online (PDF 325KB)

The traditional approach to measuring income related health inequalities has relied on cross sectional data to estimate measures of inequality such as concentration indices. Jones and Lopez-Nicolas have demonstrated that, when there are differences between the health of those individuals who are upwardly and those who are downwardly income mobile, longitudinal income related inequality measures can show a greater degree of inequality compared to measures calculated using cross sectional data. They developed a health related mobility index to measure the difference between cross sectional and longitudinal income related health inequality concentration indices, which can be decomposed into the contribution of different regressors. The authors replicated Jones' and Lopez-Nicolas' method, developing a health related mobility index for Australia using utilities from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. (Author abstract, edited)

Adapting focus group methods to fit Aboriginal community-based research.
Willis, Eileen; Pearce, Meryl; Jenkin, Tom
Qualitative Research Journal v.5 no.2 2005: 112-123, Online only (whole volume PDF 3.41MB)

A number of ethical and methodological difficulties exist for researchers hoping to do effective and sensitive field work with Australian Indigenous communities in remote areas. Barriers can be created by geographical distance from the researcher's home resources, cultural distances, language, local politics and community dynamics, and mistrust by communities of the purpose and outcomes of the research. This paper considers the value of culturally specific methodologies and ethical protocols in overcoming these difficulties, and outlines a research project carried out in nine Aboriginal communities that used a modified focus group approach in which the participants decided the topics for discussion. While this approach results in lack of standardisation and therefore comparability of data, it allows critical issues relevant to the local community to emerge.

Best practices in quantitative methods for developmentalists
McCartney, Kathleen, Burchinal, Margaret R. and Bub, Kristen L.
Boston, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.

This book aims is to fill a gap in the literature by offering a series of overviews on common data-analytic issues of particular interest to researchers in child development.

Challenging ethical issues in contemporary research on human beings.
Denis Muller and Associates
Canberra, ACT: National Health and Medical Research Council, 2007, 88p, and Online (PDF 964KB)

What are the ethical issues that researchers and human research ethics committees (HRECs) must consider and resolve when research proposals are being considered? Focusing on health and medical research, this paper uses as case studies ten research proposals that were identified as interesting and challenging by virtue of the ethical issues they raised. Key issues identified by HRECs and researchers were: consent; scientific merit; conflict of interest; risks versus benefits; protection of vulnerable people; disclosure of information to participants and their families; privacy; and confidentiality. The report confirms that the public interest is being well served, in that research involving humans is subjected to careful prior review. Research quality is being promoted and demonstrates the integrity of the HRECs and their members.

Defining 'quality' in social policy research: views, perceptions and a framework for discussion.
Becker, Saul., Bryman, Alan. and Sempik, Joe.
Lavenham: Social Policy Association, 2007.

In this report the findings from an innovative mixed methods study of over 250 social policy researchers and research users is presented. The paper explores how they conceptualise 'quality' in social policy research and how they judge the quality of published research texts and articles.

Differences in mail and telephone responses to self-rated health: use of multiple imputation in correcting for response bias.
Powers, J R; Mishra, G; Young, A F
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health v.29 no.2 Apr 2005: 149-154, tables

The purpose of this article is to estimate differences in self rated health by mode of administration and to assess the value of multiple imputation to make self rated health comparable for telephone and mail. In 1996, Survey 1 of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health was answered by mail. In 1998, 706 and 11,595 middle aged women answered Survey 2 by telephone and mail respectively. Self rated health was measured by the physical and mental health scores of the SF-36. Mean change in SF-36 scores between Surveys 1 and 2 were compared for telephone and mail respondents to Survey 2, before and after adjustment for socio demographic and health characteristics. Missing values and SF-36 scores for telephone respondents at Survey 2 were imputed from SF-36 mail responses and telephone and mail responses to socio demographic and health questions. At Survey 2, self rated health improved for telephone respondents but not mail respondents. After adjustment, mean changes in physical health and mental health scores remained higher for telephone respondents compared with mail respondents. Multiple imputation yielded adjusted changes in SF-36 scores that were similar for telephone and mail respondents. The effect of mode of administration on the change in mental health is important given that a difference of two points in SF-36 scores is accepted as clinically meaningful. Health evaluators should be aware of and adjust for the effects of mode of administration on self rated health. Multiple imputation is one method that may be used to adjust SF-36 scores for mode of administration bias. (Journal abstract)

Doing research with children
Greig, Anne, Taylor, Jayne. and MacKay, Tommy.
2nd ed.
London: Sage Publications, 2007.

Contents: Pt. I. The special nature of children in research - theories and approaches -- 1. Introduction to research and children : a special relationship -- 2. Theory for research and practice with children -- 3. Theoretical frameworks -- Pt. II. Doing research with children - reviewing, designing and conducting research with children -- 4. Evaluating research with children -- 5. The importance of questions -- 6. Designing and doing quantitative research with children -- 7. Designing and doing qualitative research with children -- Pt. III. Special issues -- 8. Consultation and participation with children in research -- 9. Ethics for doing research with children -- 10. Themes and perspectives.

Experience research social change: methods beyond the mainstream.
Kirby, Sandra L., Greaves, Lorraine. and Reid, Colleen.
2nd ed.
Peterborough, Ont : Broadview Press, c2006.

Contents: 1. Why Do Research? -- 2. Where Do You Stand? Locating the Research and the Researcher -- 3. Working Together -- 4. Planning the Project: Developing a Research Focus and Research Question(s) -- 5. Planning the Project: Research Ethics and Preparing the Proposal -- 6. Searching the Literature -- 7. Operationalizing the Research Question -- 8. Developing Skills as a Data Gatherer -- 9. Gathering Data and Data Management -- 10. Analysing Data and Reporting -- 11. Conclusions.

Interviewing and representation in qualitative research.
Schostak, John F.
Maidenhead, England: Open University Press, 2006.

Contents: Introduction -- 1. The interview in the project context -- 2. Language as method. As model, as world -- 3. Doing the inter-view-- 4. Interpreting, understanding, explaining -- 5. Positioning subjects, framing selves, making worlds -- 6. Mapping the politics: a rhetoric of circumstances, motives and action -- 7. Truth, witness and betrayal: the ethical framing of interview based research -- 8. From anecdote to narrative case studies -- 9. From interviews to writing -- Exit Strategies.

Investigating the social dimensions of transport disadvantage-I: towards new concepts and methods.
Dodson, Jago; Buchanan, Nick; Gleeson, Brendan; Sipe, Neil
Urban Policy and Research v.24 no.4 Dec 2006: 433-453

The major conceptual and methodological approaches that can be found in the literature on the connection between social disadvantage and access to transport are analysed. Three major approaches are modelling, socio spatial and qualitative analysis. This article, the first of two papers, argues that there is a need for greater sophistication in the use of analytical methods, and a need for greater sensitivity to social differentiation in urban areas and relative to infrastructure and services. It then describes a methodology that combines spatial social and transport service data. The methodology is used in an empirical case study in the second article, to be published in the March 2007 issue of this journal.

Investigating the social dimensions of transport disadvantage II: from concepts to methods through an empirical case study.
Dodson, Jago; Gleeson, Brendan; Evans, Rick; Sipe, Neil
Urban Policy and Research v.25 no.1 Mar 2007: 63-89, tables, maps

The second of two articles reviewing methods used in research into the links between social status and transport disadvantage, this article presents a case study of socio - spatial transport disadvantage within the Gold Coast City. It demonstrates that new ways of combining and representing social and transport data sets can promote social inquiry that is relevant to policy evaluation.

Item non-response and imputation of annual labor income in panel surveys from a cross-national perspective.
Frick, Joachim R; Grabka, Markus M
In: HILDA Survey Research Conference 2007: papers. Parkville, Vic: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne, 2007, 33p, Online (PDF 257KB)

Using data on annual individual labour income from three datasets (German SOEP, British BHPS, Australian HILDA), the authors investigate the selectivity of item non response (INR) and the impact of imputation as a prominent post survey means to cope with this type of measurement error on prototypical analyses (earnings inequality, mobility and wage regressions) in a cross national setting. Given the considerable variation of INR across surveys, as well as the varying degree of selectivity built into the missing process, there is interest in improving harmonisation of income data production and imputation strategies across surveys. All three panels make use of longitudinal information in their imputation procedures. There are, however, marked differences in implementation. The authors contend that the reduction in cross national variation resulting from sensitivity to the choice of imputation approaches underscores the importance of investing more in improved cross national harmonisation of imputation techniques. (Author abstract, edited)

Methodology for synthesising estimates of Indigenous child health.
Palin, Katie; Elazar, Daniel; Silbern, Sven; De Maio, John
Canberra, ACT: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007, 24p (ABS catalogue no.1351.0.55.021), and Online

The Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey (WAACHS), conducted during 2000-01, provides information on health, mental health, education and other socioeconomic outcomes for Indigenous children. In this report, the feasibility of deriving estimates of Indigenous child health for Queensland and the Northern Territory, using data from the WAACHS and other national datasets such as the Census of Population and Housing, is explored. The report presents the techniques used for creating synthetic estimates, and outlines the underlying assumptions that must hold before the methodology can be used. Although the technique was not feasible in this case, the methodology documented in this report could be useful to other researchers undertaking a similar exercise.

Mixed methods research is an effective method of enquiry for community health research.
Andrew, Sharon; Halcomb, Elizabeth J
Contemporary Nurse v.23 no.2 Dec 2006 - Jan 2007 (Special issue: Advances in contemporary community and family health care): 145-153, figures

Rapid social change, the pressure of contemporary living, an ageing population and an increase in chronic disease have a significant impact on community health. The complex issues underlying research into community health offer significant challenges to the researcher. The use of mixed methods research is growing in popularity in a range of disciplines, although its application is less well understood. This paper will outline the utility of mixed method research for community health research and demonstrate how this methodology can be used to enhance the richness of data obtained. (Journal abstract)

Putting the users of research in the driver's seat: the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health's new approach to research development.
Brands, Jenny; Gooda, Mick
Australian Aboriginal Studies no.2 2006: 27-35

Research has a bad name in many Aboriginal communities. There is an often quoted phrase that 'Aboriginal people are the most researched in the world', and that researchers take from communities in order to gain academic qualifications with little benefit returned to Aboriginal peoples. Increasingly, Aboriginal peoples have been asserting their right to control research, often applied through ethics processes, or through the use of Indigenous methodologies. The Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health represents a further development. It provides a mechanism for directing the development, funding, conduct and dissemination of research in ways designed to maximise the likely benefits of the research for Aboriginal peoples - to do 'good' research. This has led to the development of a new model for the research industry, in which research priorities are set by the Aboriginal health sector, research projects are developed through facilitated collaboration with research users, and even the peer review or quality assurance process is very different. (Journal abstract, edited)

Qualitative research methods.
Liampttong, Pranee; Ezzy, Douglas
South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press, 2nd ed., 2005, 410p, tables, figures

This book has been written in order to demystify the process of qualitative research, particularly qualitative health and social science research. It is a textbook that includes both practical guidance as well as informed theoretical discussion of some major issues in qualitative research. The book addresses sampling and rigour, the use of theory, data analysis, writing research proposals and reports, and online research. It reviews established methods, such as interviewing, focus groups and ethnography, as well as narrative method, memory work and participatory action research.

Researching the vulnerable: a guide to sensitive research methods.
Liamputtong, Pranee
London, England: Sage Publications, 2007, 246p

Researchers working with vulnerable and marginalised groups of a society face particular considerations and sensitivities. This textbook on undertaking qualitative research with vulnerable groups discusses what makes a group vulnerable, and then covers moral and ethical issues, procedures, interviewing methods, flexible and collaborative investigative methods, alternative research methods, and writing research findings.

Social research methods: an Australian perspective.
Walter, Maggie, ed.
South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press, 2006, 390p, figures, tables

This introductory undergraduate text explores the value and limitations of available social research methods and practices. Each chapter is written by an active research practitioner and uses case studies. The chapters are: The nature of social science research, by Maggie Walter; The research process, by Douglas Ezzy; Ethics and social research, by Daphne Habibis; Qualitative interviewing methods, by Max Travers; Content analysis, by Warren Sproule; Discourse analysis, by Keith Jacobs; Doing evaluation research, by Rob White; Surveys and sampling, by Maggie Walter; Population level analysis, by Natalie Jackson; Analysing qualitative data, by Karen Willis; Analysing quantitative data, by Tim Phillips; Other research methods, by Glenda Jones; Writing up research, by Michelle Gabriel. All chapters have been selected for individual indexing, except Analysing quantitative data.

Successful qualitative health research: a practical introduction.
Hansen, Emily C
Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin, 2006, 211p

This book is aimed at health students and health professionals who plan to conduct an applied health research project using a qualitative approach. It provides an introduction to health research and a step by step guide to designing and carrying out a research project. It explores research design and vigour, observation and participant observation, interviewing, focus groups, analysing qualitative data and writing qualitative research. The book contains case studies to illustrate various methodologies and projects.

The art and craft of rigorous analysis and authentic (re)presentation.
Mutch, Carol
Qualitative Research Journal v.6 no.1 2006: 51-68, Online (PDF 640KB)

This article highlights the art and craft involved in qualitative data analysis, to represent and re-present participants' stories, and re-construct and deconstruct the complexity of events. These techniques are revealed as the author explores the personal and emotional side of curriculum development in New Zealand, through analysis of narratives of key participants in the policy process.

The familiarization study in qualitative research: from theory to practice.
Whiteley, Alma M; Whiteley, Jervis
Qualitative Research Journal v.6 no.1 2006: 69-85, Online (PDF 533KB)

This paper seeks to bridge a perceived gap in the literature on the methodology of qualitative research. The audience in mind is business and management students who are required to carry out field research as a part of their masters or doctoral degrees. After submitting a research proposal or candidacy, which sets out the research strategy in broad terms, students are characteristically faced with field work involving the collection of data from participants or respondents. Whatever thought and planning has been given to interviewing and questionnaires in theory, it is a necessity in qualitative research to adapt to the situation on the ground which is unique for every research. (Journal abstract)

The geography of rural homelessness in Australia: towards a new research agenda.
Rolley, Fran; Argent, Neil
Parity v.20 no.7 Aug 2007: 31-32

Rural homelessness in Australia has distinct features that differentiate it from homelessness in metropolitan areas. This article describes a research project that used a social geography approach to investigate the causes, nature and extent of being homeless in rural Australia. The article discusses some of the methodological problems encountered in quantifying homelessness and service delivery in rural areas, and problems in assessing the influence of rurality on homelessness.

The use of telephone focus groups for qualitative research.
Hurworth, Rosalind
Qualitative Research Journal v.5 no.1 2005: 90-97, Online only (whole volume PDF 2.96MB)

Although the use of face to face focus groups in qualitative research is well documented, little has been written about telephone focus groups. This article describes the use of such a group in a statewide study in Victoria. It discusses the process of establishing and using a telephone focus group, the benefits it offers, its potential limitations and how they might be overcome.

Towards a culturally appropriate mental health research process for Indigenous Australians.
Bishop, Brian J; Vicary, David A; Andrews, Henry; Pearson, Glen
Australian Community Psychologist v.18 no.2 Aug 2006: 31-41, and Online (whole issue PDF 535K)

The aim of this paper is to consider culturally appropriate methodologies for psychology researchers working with Indigenous Australians and to suggest some alternatives. The emphasis is on developing approaches that are not culturally offensive and do not continue a colonial mentality. The authors propose research strategies that represent an amalgam of the literature for use with individuals, groups and communities. They caution that as Indigenous people are not a homogenous group, due to different languages, cultural practices, country, family relationships, levels of acculturation and impact of western colonisation, no single research method will provide a universal panacea. Instead the authors provide guidelines that allow for the researcher to adapt to the idiosyncratic nature of Indigenous communities. (Journal abstract, edited)

Towards rigour in qualitative analysis.
De Wet, Jacques; Erasmus, Zimitri
Qualitative Research Journal v.5 no.1 2005: 27-40, figure, Online only (whole volume PDF 3027K)

A study of students' perceptions of 'race' and racism at a South African medical school are used to demonstrate that the analysis of qualitative data can be systematic, procedural and rigorous. The paper describes the study design and analysis, and the role and effect of using a qualitative software package in analysing the data. It argues that transparent analytical procedures improve rigour and contribute to best practice in qualitative research.

Wave 2 data management issues.
Misson, Sebastian
Melbourne, Vic: Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2007 (LSAC discussion paper no.5), Online

The data management policy and procedures for Wave 2 of Growing Up in Australia - the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) are discussed in this paper. The paper covers key data management issues, including: variable naming conventions; file structure; treatment of household composition data; data confidentialisation; data imputation; and weighting of data. It also reviews current policy and procedure, as implemented following the release of Wave 1 data, and further discusses some potential revisions and additions to these in light of the forthcoming release of Wave 2 data, which will be the first major release of a longitudinal dataset from the study.

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