scholarly journals What’s being tested and what’s being learnt? A contribution to lessons learned evaluation methods for community-based sustainability initiatives.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Mitchell ◽  
Mark Lemon ◽  
Gavin Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Project Design ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Qualitative Thematic Analysis ◽  
Sentiment Mining

Aim:There is little good practice guidance with respect to methods and skills for conducting lessons learned evaluations of community-based development projects. In this paper we utilise a mixed methods approach to evaluate the lessons learned by the team members and stakeholders of a funded five year ‘test-and-learn’ sustainability initiative. The approach combines a statistical and a qualitative thematic analysis of transcribed textual data and presents an analytic framework with which to track the lessons learned by community development projects.  Design/ Research methods:A mixed methods approach combining text and sentiment mining complemented by a qualitative thematic analysis is applied to the same data collected from stakeholder responses to an on-line survey and the transcribed audio recordings of four focus groups in which stakeholders participated. Conclusions/ findings:Employing replicable tools, augmented by qualitative research methods, provide a framework for a systematic approach to elicit and capture lessons learned by a sustainable community development project. These bear on how project activities, from engagement to supporting the local food economy, have been experienced by stakeholders and their learning acquired over the course of the project. Implications for future project design and funding options are considered. Originality/ value of the article:Despite the evident value of its contribution to improving project design and funding options, the evaluation of lessons learned in community-based sustainability work remains under-researched. The combined use of text and sentiment mining techniques with qualitative thematic analysis on the same data offers an original contribution to research in this field.

scholarly journals Development of a Mixed Methods Investigation of Process and Outcomes of Community-Based Participatory Research

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Lucero ◽  
Nina Wallerstein ◽  
Bonnie Duran ◽  
Margarita Alegria ◽  
Ella Greene-Moton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Participatory Research ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Diverse Community ◽  
Cross Site

This article describes a mixed methods study of community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership practices and the links between these practices and changes in health status and disparities outcomes. Directed by a CBPR conceptual model and grounded in indigenous-transformative theory, our nation-wide, cross-site study showcases the value of a mixed methods approach for better understanding the complexity of CBPR partnerships across diverse community and research contexts. The article then provides examples of how an iterative, integrated approach to our mixed methods analysis yielded enriched understandings of two key constructs of the model: trust and governance. Implications and lessons learned while using mixed methods to study CBPR are provided.

Problematic caregiving activities among family carers of older adults with disabilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oladele Atoyebi ◽  
Maude Beaudoin ◽  
François Routhier ◽  
Claudine Auger ◽  
Louise Demers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Family Carers ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Adults With Disabilities ◽  
Sequential Mixed Methods

Family carers of older adults with disability often both experience stress that may affect their ability to provide care, and find some caregiving activities differentially challenging. The objectives of this research are to identify the caregiving activities that are most problematic to carers and to explore the reasons why carers found these activities challenging. Participants were past or current carers aged 19 years and older. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, data were collected through a survey and open-ended interviews. Thematic analysis revealed that an activity was likely to be more problematic if it had to be coordinated with other caregiving needs or where a care recipient’s disability was severe.

scholarly journals Risk and resilience during COVID-19: A new study in the Zigler paradigm of developmental science

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Suniya S. Luthar ◽  
Ashley M. Ebbert ◽  
Nina L. Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Home And School

Abstract When children are exposed to serious life adversities, Ed Zigler believed that developmental scientists must expediently strive to illuminate the most critical directions for beneficial interventions. In this paper, we present a new study on risk and resilience on adolescents during COVID-19, bookended – in introductory and concluding discussions – by descriptions of programmatic work anchored in lessons learned from Zigler. The new study was conducted during the first two months of the pandemic, using a mixed-methods approach with a sample of over 2,000 students across five high schools. Overall, rates of clinically significant symptoms were generally lower as compared to norms documented in 2019. Multivariate regressions showed that the most robust, unique associations with teens’ distress were with feelings of stress around parents and support received from them. Open ended responses to three questions highlighted concerns about schoolwork and college, but equally, emphasized worries about families’ well-being, and positive outreach from school adults. The findings have recurred across subsequent school assessments, and strongly resonate with contemporary perspectives on resilience in science and policy. If serious distress is to be averted among youth under high stress, interventions must attend not just to the children's mental health but that of salient caregiving adults at home and school. The article concludes with some specific recommendations for community-based initiatives to address mental health through continued uncertainties of the pandemic.

Integrating Community-based Research into a Senior Capstone Seminar: Lessons Learned from a Mixed-methods Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Shostak ◽  
Margarita Corral ◽  
Ann G. Ward ◽  
Alex Willett
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Community Based Organizations ◽  
Sociology Departments

This article describes a senior capstone, Neighborhoods and Health, which used community-based research (CBR) as its primary pedagogy. Students in the course drew upon multiple research methods and forms of data to provide our partner, the Urban Farming Institute of Boston, with an array of research products in support of the revitalization of a historic farm in the Boston neighborhood of Mattapan. Based on pre- and posttest assessment and analysis of students’ reflections in their journals, we identify how a multimethods approach—combined with a commitment to producing usable research products—simultaneously contributed to students’ research methods proficiency and their understanding of complex social processes. For both sociology departments and interdisciplinary majors that draw on sociological perspectives, CBR offers a compelling means of providing seniors with meaningful capstone experiences while adding capacity to the important work of community-based organizations.

Leading across cultural borders: a communitarian approach to global development

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-166
Author(s):  
Malcolm Elliott Glover
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Global Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Multicultural Workforce ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the community development experiences of a communitarian leader who has worked with various global institutions. Through interviews and the examination of lived experiences, findings yield new insights into the complexity of human identity and the flexibility of decision making in a multicultural setting. The narrative also aims to inform current discourse on leadership in the non-profit sector. Design/methodology/approach Narrative analysis was used to investigate outcomes and relay the personal anecdotes of the interview participant. Formal and open-ended questioning generated comprehensive responses concerning the participant’s personal and professional interactions while completing work-related tasks for global development projects. In general, questions that referenced conflict among colleagues, cultural proclivities, and gendered decision making allowed the participant to expound on answers that explored workplace relationships, organizational structures, and leadership perspectives. Interview responses were examined for emergent patterns or categories and detailed analysis of codes from interviews guided the creation of four key themes: feminine ethos, organizational identity, self-perception, and sociocultural interaction. Findings The narrative delves into the important human and humanitarian experiences that have shaped the professional life of Dr Thomas Bruce, an exemplar of leadership in the global non-profit sector. Bruce, a self-described communitarian, served as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Heifer International and oversaw community outreach initiatives in South Africa for the Kellogg Foundation. Based on Bruce’s knowledge, expertise, and responses, findings suggest global leaders take a multidimensional approach to colleague interaction and project completion. Narrative outcomes also indicate the evolving nature of grassroots initiatives requires both assertive and cooperative management styles. Research limitations/implications Due to the chosen research method, findings focus on the experiences of one global non-profit leader. Narrative outcomes are unique and may not have the requisite data to be applied to cases or situations beyond the global non-profit sector. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to interview other leaders who have worked on global humanitarian initiatives to further understand their diverse experiences. Practical implications The narrative includes practical implications for practitioners who oversee global development projects and other humanitarian initiatives in an interdependent world. Use of compromise, collaboration, and compassion often aid community outreach efforts and strengthen communication in the workplace, particularly for leaders who manage a multicultural workforce. Social implications In an interdependent world shaped by the forces of globalization and cosmopolitanism, leaders of global non-profit organizations regularly manage a multicultural workforce and resolve public disputes in order to address prevailing humanitarian challenges. Understanding the lessons learned by one exemplar in the global non-profit sector can aid cross-cultural communication and enhance community development activities in various countries. Originality/value This narrative fills an identified need to study and understand how global leaders work with diverse communities and a multicultural workforce to complete important institutional and humanitarian goals.

Twitter, Incivility and “Everyday” Gendered Othering: An Analysis of Tweets Sent to UK Members of Parliament

2019 ◽  
pp. 089443931986551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalynd Southern ◽  
Emily Harmer
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
To Receive

Recently, widely reported studies assessed messages sent to UK female MPs online and concluded that they suffer high levels of abuse. However, these studies tended to focus on the most high-profile MPs and the worst instances of abuse or did not include male MPs in their study for comparison. This study aims to assess more subtle forms of incivility and othering and the experiences of less prominent MPs online. It takes a mixed-methods approach to analyzing 117,802 tweets sent to MPs over a 14-day period for evidence of incivility. Firstly, models assessing the factors associated with receiving incivility on Twitter are presented, and furthermore, an in-depth thematic analysis of gendered tweets is conducted. The findings suggest that for the receipt of certain types of incivility, there is little difference between female and male MPs. However, female MPs were more likely to receive generally uncivil tweets, tweets with stereotypes about their identity, and tweets questioning their position as politicians than male MPs. Qualitatively, in terms of gendered othering, we found several instances of tweets containing misogynistic abuse, tweets demonizing, and objectifying female MPs, as well as tweets feminizing male MPs.

scholarly journals The psychological and ideological foundations of meat consumption, vegetarianism, and veganism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Madeline Judge
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Attitude Measures

<p>Despite increasing evidence suggesting that plant-based diets may have multiple benefits over animal-based diets (e.g., Craig & Mangels, 2009; Stehfest, et al., 2009), vegetarians and vegans tend to represent a minority of most Western populations. This thesis investigated the social and ideological foundations of perceptions of vegetarians and vegans in Western societies, and also explored the potential role of visions of the future in motivating support for social change towards plant-based diets. For my first two studies, I adopted a mixed methods approach to understanding perceptions of vegetarians and vegans in Western societies (Creswell, 2014). Study 1 was a thematic analysis of 44 online discussion forums containing evaluations of vegetarians and vegans as social groups, and the analysis was informed by discursive and rhetorical psychology (Billig, 1996; Potter, 1996). In my interpretations of the data, I highlighted the flexible and argumentative nature of expressing ‘attitudes’ towards vegetarians and vegans. I also discussed these discourses in relation to the wider ideological dilemmas of liberal individualism, rationality versus emotions, diet and health, and the human-animal relationship. In Study 2, I drew on the discourses in Study 1 to develop a survey-based investigation of attitudes towards vegetarians and vegans, in a sample recruited from the general population of Aotearoa New Zealand (N = 1326). Two attitude measures were developed based on a previous scale assessing attitudes towards vegetarians (Chin, Fisak & Sims, 2002). Attitudes towards both vegetarians and vegans were generally positive; however, attitudes towards vegans were significantly less positive than attitudes towards vegetarians. Subsequent analyses tested two dual-process motivational models of social worldviews, ideological attitudes and outgroup attitudes (Duckitt, 2001), in the prediction of non-vegetarian attitudes towards vegetarians and vegans. The dual-process models fit the data well, suggesting that ideological motivations to maintain social cohesion and social inequality were associated with increasingly less positive attitudes towards vegetarians and vegans. I proposed that these associations may be due to vegetarians and vegans representing a challenge to social traditions, and a rejection of human dominance over animals. In Study 3, I adopted a mixed methods approach to understanding visions of plant-based futures, in a convenience sample of first-year university students (N = 506). Study 3a involved a thematic analysis of participants’ visions of potential future NZ societies, where most of the population now consumes plant-based, vegetarian, or vegan diets. Dominant themes included changes to health, the environment, and the economy, as well as changes to individual traits and values. In Study 3b, non-vegetarian participants were randomly assigned to imagine plant-based, vegetarian or vegan futures, and then completed a survey of collective future dimensions and support for plant-based policies (drawing from Bain, Hornsey, Bongiorno, Kashima, & Crimston, 2013). The strongest predictors of support for plant-based policies were visions of a vegetarian future as reducing societal dysfunction, and visions of a vegan future as increasing warmth in individuals. I concluded the thesis by reviewing the theoretical implications of the current research, discussing future research directions, and proposing some suggestions for the advocacy of plant-based diets.</p>

scholarly journals Implementation contextual factors related to community-based active travel to school interventions: a mixed methods interview study

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
MacKenzie Koester ◽  
Carolina M. Bejarano ◽  
Ann M. Davis ◽  
Ross C. Brownson ◽  
Jon Kerner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Active Travel ◽  
Family Needs ◽  
School Bus ◽  
Community Based ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Walking School Bus ◽  
Active Travel To School

Abstract Background Active travel to school contributes to multiple physical and psychosocial benefits for youth, yet population rates of active travel to school are alarmingly low in the USA and many other countries. Though walking school bus interventions are effective for increasing rates of active travel to school and children’s overall physical activity, uptake of such interventions has been low. The objective of this study was to conduct a mixed methods implementation evaluation to identify contextual factors that serve as barriers and facilitators among existing walking school bus programs. Methods Semi-structured interviews guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) were conducted with leaders of low-sustainability (n = 9) and high-sustainability (n = 11) programs across the USA. A combination of quantitative (CFIR-based) coding and inductive thematic analysis was used. The CFIR-based ratings were compared between the low- and high-sustainability programs and themes, subthemes, and exemplary quotes were provided to summarize the thematic analysis. Results In both the low- and high-sustainability programs, three of the 15 constructs assessed were commonly rated as positive (i.e., favorable for supporting implementation): student/family needs and resources, implementation climate, and planning. Three constructs were more often rated as positive in the high-sustainability programs: organizational incentives and rewards, engaging students and parents, and reflecting and evaluating. Three constructs were more often rated as positive in the low-sustainability programs: student/family needs and resources - built environment, available resources, and access to knowledge and information. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis: planning considerations, ongoing coordination considerations, resources and supports, and benefits. Conclusions Engagement of students, parents, and community members were among the factors that emerged across the quantitative and qualitative analyses as most critical for supporting walking school bus program implementation. The information provided by program leaders can help in the selection of implementation strategies that overcome known barriers for increasing the long-term success of community-based physical activity interventions such as the walking school bus.

scholarly journals Gender Equity and Norms in Health Programs: Learnings from a Drowning Reduction Program in Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Medhavi Gupta ◽  
Aminur Rahman ◽  
Notan Chandra Dutta ◽  
Md. Shafkat Hossain ◽  
Devaki Nambiar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Gender Norms ◽  
Health Programs ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Gender Analysis ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Reduction Program ◽  
Part Time

Abstract Background: Community-based health programs implemented in low-and middle-income countries have additional health impacts beyond their targeted outcomes, such as on gender norms, roles and relationships. Programs should measure their effects on gender to respond to any unexpected consequences. Hence, we conducted a gender analysis on a drowning reduction program in rural Bangladesh providing survival swimming classes to children.Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used. Quantitative program monitoring data was analysed to assess gender differences in program participation and engagement. A qualitative approach using interviews, focus group discussions and observations aimed to find explanations for quantitative findings and additional experiences of the program. The analysis was conducted using Family Health International 360’s Gender Integration Framework.Results: Fewer girls participated in the swimming classes than boys due to cultural perceptions on appropriate activities for girls and their greater involvement in domestic work. Women were not hired in leadership roles in the implementing organisation due to constraints on transport access and perceptions on women’s ability to conduct labour-intensive activities. However, the program influenced communities to become more accepting of local women’s mobility and involvement in employed work due to their engagement in the program as swim instructors. Women swim instructors were also more satisfied with the pay and part-time nature of the work as men were able to earn more elsewhere, and so women were recruited in higher numbers by the implementing organisation.Conclusions: Systematised strategies are required to ensure equal participation of girls and boys in swim classes and enable equitable drowning outcomes. Within the implementing organisation, changes to attitudes and the formulation of gender-specific strategies will support women in leadership roles, ensuring that women-specific issues are considered in program delivery. The implementing organisation may also consider strategies to combat perceptions that lower-paying part time work is more suitable for women than men. Addressing these issues would have positive implications for the health and equity of both men and women in these rural communities.Contributions to literature· Community-based health programs have impacts on gender norms, roles and relationships within their context of implementation, which in turn affect individuals’ health outcomes unexpectedly. These effects are rarely analysed.· This study describes a novel application of a gender analysis to a drowning reduction program in Bangladesh, using a mixed-methods approach.· We show that the program had positive impacts on women’s mobility and access to employment, but also identify opportunities for this program to actively transform harmful gender norms for equitable health outcomes.· Implementers of health programs may follow a similar methodology and framework to identify how they are affecting health outcomes through impacts on gendered constraints, norms and relationships.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document