The question of quality and qualifications: Writing inferior poems as qualitative research

The reflective and interrogative processes required for developing effective qualitative research questions can give shape and direction to a study in ways that are often underestimated. Good research questions do not necessarily produce good research, but poorly conceived or constructed questions will likely create problems that affect all subsequent stages of a study. In qualitative studies, the ongoing process of questioning is an integral part of understanding the unfolding lives and perspectives of others. This article addresses both the development of initial research questions and how the processes of generating and refining questions are critical to the shaping of a qualitative study.     

Doing relevant,funded mass media research

Motivations for conducting relevant communication research are discussed and examples provided of advantages and pitfalls of seeking funding from government and media institutions.     

Self-Determination and Student Transition Planning Knowledge and Skills: Predicting Involvement

Abstract

Promoting active student involvement in transition planning has become best practice in promoting self-determination. This study examined the contribution of self-determination to transition planning knowledge and skills for 180 students with disabilities. Utilizing multiple regression analyses, the study found that global self-determination was a significant predictor of overall transition planning knowledge and skills, as well as of transition planning factors related to knowledge and skills about the individualized education program team process, goals, and decision making. Furthermore, when self-determination was broken into its component elements and included in the analyses, those elements, particularly self-regulation and self-awareness/self-knowledge, became the sole predictors of transition planning knowledge and skills.     

Neither fish nor fowl: Exploring seconded and contracted teachers’ experiences of the university sector

While seconded and contracted teachers make a significant contribution to education faculties there is limited research regarding their experiences, needs and supports. Accordingly, interviews were conducted with five seconded and three contracted teachers in an Australian regional university and interpreted within a qualitative, interpretative framework. Themes that emerge from the study highlight the contrast between university and school cultures, issues around identity, the ways in which teaching is viewed, research activity for second/contracted teachers, positives and negatives around secondment, and the phases through which seconded and contract teachers move during their employment at university. Recommendations regarding the role and expectations of seconded and contracted teachers conclude the paper.