The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Volume lll, Number 1, 1997
Issue Topic: Methodology
New & Noteworthy
The New & Noteworthy section features an annotated list of papers, organizations, and initiatives related to the issue’s theme.
Bartunek, J. M., & Louis, M. R. (1996). Insider/outsider team research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. In their consideration of insider/outsider research, the authors explore the relationships that external researchers develop with people who work within the setting that is the focus of study. After describing how to conduct such research, the authors map the process of insider/outsider collaboration through a comprehensive case example. They then examine the practical and ethical challenges which may arise when conducting insider/outsider team research and conclude by contemplating implications for the quality of knowledge gained from such research.
Chelimsky, E., & Shadish, W. R. (Eds.). (1997). Evaluation for the 21st century: A resource book. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Evaluators from around the world explore the evolution and future of evaluation. Sections include a recent history of evaluation; auditing and evaluation; performance measurement and evaluation; international evaluation; new topics for evaluation; current methodologies; and the purpose of evaluation.
Denzin, N. K. (1996). Interpretive ethnography: Ethnographic practices for the 21st century. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. The author examines ethnography in a postmodern and multinational age. He argues that postmodern ethnography is the moral discourse of the contemporary world and that ethnographers can and should explore new sorts of experiential texts—such as performance-based text, literary journalism, and narratives of the self—to form a new ethics of inquiry.
Heron, J. (1996). Cooperative inquiry: Research into the human condition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. This guidebook offers strategies for implementing inquiry groups and presents three key methods for approaching group development. It introduces different forms of cooperative inquiry, principal kinds of inquiry development, phases of the inquiry cycle, as well as topics related to its use. The guide also provides an exhaustive, theoretical background on cooperative inquiry.
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Participatory learning and action. London: Author. This series is designed to enable practitioners of participatory methodologies to share their field experiences, conceptual reflections, and methodological innovations. (This informal series is published three times a year. 3 Endsleigh Street, London. email: iiedagri@gn.apc.org.)
Narayan, D. (1996). Toward participatory research (World Bank Technical Paper No. 307). Washington, DC: The World Bank. This practical guide discusses the principles underlying participatory techniques, insights gained from the use of such techniques in the field, best practices for designing and implementing these methods, and actual participatory activities and checklists. While the findings draw primarily from the water and sanitation sector, they are proving applicable in other sectors and settings as well.
Narayan, D., & Srinivasan, L. (1994). Participatory development tool kit: Materials to facilitate community empowerment. Washington, DC: World Bank. Based on training experience in 20 developing countries, this tool kit has been developed to assist trainers, practitioners, and others to incorporate participatory processes and methods into their programs. The tool kit includes visual materials, activity envelopes for participants, and a guidebook which assist in the generation of locally based program information.
Stringer, E. T. (1996). Action research: A handbook for practitioners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. After explaining community-based action research in terms of qualitative methodology, the author presents clear, comprehensive strategies for conducting action research. Advancing a concise, three-tier approach, Stringer recommends that practitioners simply look, think, and act in order to resolve issues and problems within their communities. In addition, the author discusses the legitimacy of action research as well as its function in the future.
Trochim, W. M. K., & Campbell, D. T. (in press). The regression point displacement design for evaluating community-based pilot programs and demonstration projects. The Regression Point Displacement Design is a pretest/posttest quasi-experimental design that usually involves a single treated group and multiple control groups. This design appears to have potential, especially for assessing the impact of pilot programs and demonstration projects. The validity issues and statistical analysis for this design are described. Several real and hypothetical examples are presented.
Caroline Schaefer, Research Assistant, HFRP
Karen Horsch, Research Specialist, HFRP