Criteria for quality in qualitative research and use of freedom of information requests in the social sciences

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 537-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Walby ◽  
Alex Luscombe
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Information Requests

Access to information (ATI) and freedom of information (FOI) requests are an under-used means of producing data in the social sciences, especially across Canada and the United States. We use literature on criteria for quality in qualitative inquiry to enhance ongoing debates and developments in ATI/FOI research, and to extend literature on quality in qualitative inquiry. We do this by building on Tracy’s (2010) article on criteria for quality in qualitative inquiry, which advances meaningful terms of reference for qualitative researchers to use in improving the quality of their work; and illustrating these criteria using examples of ATI/FOI research from our own work and from others’ in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. We argue that, when systematically designed and conducted, ATI/FOI research can prove extraordinary in all eight of Tracy’s criteria.

scholarly journals Ethics review and freedom of information requests in qualitative research

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Walby ◽  
Alex Luscombe
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Ethical Review ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Double Jeopardy ◽  
Citizenship Rights ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Independent Review ◽  
Information Requests

Freedom of information (FOI) requests are increasingly used in sociology, criminology and other social science disciplines to examine government practices and processes. University ethical review boards (ERBs) in Canada have not typically subjected researchers’ FOI requests to independent review, although this may be changing in the United Kingdom and Australia, reflective of what Haggerty calls ‘ethics creep’. Here we present four arguments for why FOI requests in the social sciences should not be subject to formal ethical review by ERBs. These four arguments are: existing, rigorous bureaucratic vetting; double jeopardy; infringement of citizenship rights; and unsuitable ethics paradigm. In the discussion, we reflect on the implications of our analysis for literature on ethical review and qualitative research, and for literature on FOI and government transparency.

scholarly journals Editorial

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. v-vii
Author(s):  
Penny Welch ◽  
Susan Wright
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Social Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social

In this issue of Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences, authors from Denmark, the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom analyse serendipity in anthropology teaching, the use of lecture videos in political science, peer dialogue in education studies, polarisation anxiety among social science students and active learning in criminology.

Awards are Popular

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno S. Frey ◽  
Jana Gallus
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Nobel Prize ◽  
The United States ◽  
West Point ◽  
Great Role ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Social

State orders play a great role in most countries. This applies not only to monarchies (e.g. the United Kingdom) but also includes staunch republics such as France or the United States. Awards are most popular in the arts and media (e.g. the Oscars), in sports, in religion, in the voluntary and humanitarian sector, in academia (e.g. honorary doctorates), and also in business (e.g. Manager of the Year). One of the most cherished awards is the Nobel Prize, given for peace, literature, and various sciences. Inducement prizes have been successful to spark innovation. They promise a monetary sum and public acclaim to that person or group of persons finding a solution to a well-specified problem. There are also ironic prizes (such as the Golden Raspberry Awards or the Goat of West Point). The social sciences, including economics, have largely disregarded awards. The Economics of Award is only in its beginnings.

scholarly journals An Attack on the Separation of Powers? Strategic Climate Litigation in the Eyes of U.S. Judges

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8335
Author(s):  
Jasmina Nedevska
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
Climate Politics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
Research Plan

Climate change litigation has emerged as a powerful tool as societies steer towards sustainable development. Although the litigation mainly takes place in domestic courts, the implications can be seen as global as specific climate rulings influence courts across national borders. However, while the phenomenon of judicialization is well-known in the social sciences, relatively few have studied issues of legitimacy that arise as climate politics move into courts. A comparatively large part of climate cases have appeared in the United States. This article presents a research plan for a study of judges’ opinions and dissents in the United States, regarding the justiciability of strategic climate cases. The purpose is to empirically study how judges navigate a perceived normative conflict—between the litigation and an overarching ideal of separation of powers—in a system marked by checks and balances.

Do We Need a Postmodern Anthropology for Mission in a Postcolonial World?

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Rynkiewich
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
United States ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Cultural Anthropology ◽  
The United States ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
World War ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cross Fertilization

Abstract There was a time when mission studies benefitted from a symbiotic relationship with the social sciences. However, it appears that relationship has stagnated and now is waning. The argument is made here, in the case of cultural anthropology both in Europe and the United States, that a once mutually beneficial though sometimes strained relationship has suffered a parting of the ways in recent decades. First, the article reviews the relationships between missionaries and anthropologists before World War II when it was possible to be a ‘missionary anthropologist’ with a foot in both disciplines. In that period, the conversation went two ways with missionary anthropologists making important contributions to anthropology. Then, the article reviews some aspects of the development of the two disciplines after World War II when increasing professionalism in both disciplines and a postmodern turn in anthropology took the disciplines in different directions. Finally, the article asks whether or not the conversation, and thus the cross-fertilization, can be restarted, especially since the youngest generation of anthropologists has recognized the reality of local Christianities in their fields of study.

Social impact bonds and their implications for third sector organisations: experiences from the Netherlands

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Patetta ◽  
Marta Enciso Santocildes
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
The United States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Private Investments ◽  
Social Impact Bonds ◽  
Third Sector Organisations

The social impact bond (SIB) is defined as a form of payment-by-results scheme combining governmental payments with private investments. This paper explores the motivations and implications of three third sector organisations (TSOs) participating in SIBs in Continental Europe. It offers an understanding of the involvement of TSOs in this type of scheme; and it shares insights about a context that is different from the United Kingdom and the United States – the Netherlands – which presents the opportunity to expand our knowledge about SIBs.

Prospects for Social Reporting in the United States: A Receding Horizon

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (x) ◽  
pp. 251-261
Author(s):  
Richard C. Rockwell
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
United States ◽  
Real World ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Reporting ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Scientific Advance ◽  
The Real ◽  
Incomplete Model ◽  
The Social

This essay sets forth the thesis that social reporting in the United States has suffered from an excess of modesty among social scientists. This modesty might be traceable to an incomplete model of scientific advance. one that has an aversion to engagement with the real world. The prospects for social reporting in the United States would be brighter if reasonable allowances were to be made for the probable scientific yield of the social reporting enterprise itself. This yield could support and improve not only social reporting but also many unrelated aspects of the social sciences.

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