Disaggregated South African household net wealth: A mixed methods approach

This article addresses the paucity of disaggregated household net wealth data in South Africa. A mixed methods approach was followed to develop and conduct a country-specific household net wealth measurement survey. A disaggregated household typology of assets and liabilities, based on international net wealth surveys, was developed. Focus group research was employed in the qualitative strand to finalise the survey. In the quantitative strand, disaggregated micro-level data estimates from 2 606 households were collected and the article presents the cursory findings. A comparison is drawn between the survey’s main asset and liability estimates with data estimates presented in the South African Reserve Bank’s household balance sheet. These estimates were constructed from macro-level data estimates and lack information on the disaggregated composition of household net wealth. Furthermore, the conceptual linkages and differences between the micro and macro data estimates are described. The manner in which differences in the concepts, construction methods and potential survey errors contributed to differences between the two sets of data estimates is also indicated. The aim of the research was to contribute to the field of household finances from the perspective of a developing country. Therefore, the process followed to construct and validate the survey instrument and data estimates could assist other developing countries to develop their own surveys. Disaggregated net wealth data estimates could assist policy-makers with the overview and management of a country’s household net wealth.

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Investigating models of adult safeguarding in England – a mixed-methods approach

The Journal of Adult Protection ◽

10.1108/jap-11-2013-0045 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. 377-388 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Caroline Norrie ◽

Martin Stevens ◽

Katherine Graham ◽

Jill Manthorpe ◽

Jo Moriarty ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Mixed Method Research ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Content Type ◽

Mixed Methods Approach ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

The Subject ◽

Study Sites ◽

Experimental Study Design

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the methodology being used in a study exploring the organisation of adult safeguarding. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-methods study is presented which describes how the research team is seeking to identify models of adult safeguarding and then compare them using a quasi-experimental study design. Findings – Close examination of this study's methodology highlights the potential value of mixed-method research approaches. Research limitations/implications – Anticipated study challenges include difficulties with gaining agreement from study sites and recruitment of people who have been the subject of a safeguarding referral. Originality/value – This will be the first study in England to identify and compare different models of adult safeguarding in depth. Outlining and discussing current methodology is likely to be of interest to practitioners, managers and other researchers and policy makers.

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A Mixed-Methods Look at Teaching Quality: Challenges and Possibilities from One Study

Teachers College Record ◽

10.1177/016146811211400401 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 114 (4) ◽

pp. 1-36

Author(s):

Robert G. Croninger ◽

Daria Buese ◽

John Larson

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Low Income ◽

Mathematics Instruction ◽

Teaching Quality ◽

Quality Teaching ◽

Multiple Perspectives ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Important Indicator ◽

Mixed Methods Approach ◽

Lesson Content

Context The desire to provide useful, research-based information to policy makers and teachers poses a series of challenges for education researchers. These challenges include striking a balance between complexity and simplicity in the portrayal of teaching, addressing the potential conditional nature of what constitutes quality teaching, and appreciating the multiple perspectives by which quality teaching might be judged. Purpose This article uses a mixed-methods approach to discuss these three challenges. We describe our own attempts to address these challenges in a longitudinal study of reading and mathematics instruction in fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms in moderate- to high-poverty schools, provide a mixed-methods analysis to identify the conditional nature of quality in teaching, report our results, and discuss implications for future studies of teaching. Research Design We focus on data that examined mathematics instruction in fourth and fifth grades during the 2004–2005 school year, including student academic records, observations about mathematics lessons, teachers’ curriculum logs, and interviews with teachers about the challenges that they face in providing quality instruction to their students. After limiting the data to students with scores on the state-mandated assessments, we had a total of 1,074 students taught by 63 different teachers in 66 different classes in the analytic sample. We examine the effects of teacher instructional practices on student achievement in classrooms with moderate and high levels of children from low-income families, using multilevel modeling; we then use interviews with teachers and specialists to better interpret the results of the quantitative analysis. Conclusions What constitutes quality teaching, at least as judged by achievement gains, is contingent on students’ instructional needs. Although students in classes where teachers reported greater variability in the number of curriculum topics covered had lower levels of achievement, the effects of teacher actions and lesson content depended on the poverty status of the class. Examination of the qualitative data suggests that an important indicator of quality is the ability of teachers to navigate successfully the policy environment for their stu-dents—in this case, the ability to meet the demands of a newly implemented curriculum and the assessment timeline— and still present students with a coherent and appropriate set of lessons. Our analysis also indicates that students in majority-poverty classes are more dependent on their teachers to mediate the curriculum and provide multiple representations of mathematics, whereas students in moderate-poverty classes are better able to access mathematical knowledge through textbooks, standard worksheets, and more complex lesson content. A mixed-methods approach to studying teaching increases the likelihood of capturing the complexity of teaching but also highlights the importance of balancing complexity with the need for useful information for policy makers and practitioners.

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Regime Shocks in India, Mexico, and Eritrea

Human Geopolitics ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198833499.003.0004 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 81-105

Author(s):

Alan Gamlen

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Case Studies ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Mixed Methods Approach ◽

New Information ◽

Institution Formation ◽

Indian Affairs ◽

Elite Interviews ◽

Diaspora Engagement

Chapter 4 provides new information about specific case studies of three well-known diaspora engagement efforts: the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, and the Department of Eritreans Abroad. Emphasizing the strengths of a mixed-methods approach, the chapter quotes and comments on extensive passages from in-depth elite interviews with senior policy makers in these countries. The chapter fleshes out the dynamics of regime shock and diaspora institution formation introduced previously. In all three cases, diaspora institutions have, in various ways, responded to major territorial reconfigurations and involved elements of human geopolitical claims over population rather than territory.

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A Multiphase Mixed Methods Approach to Internationalisation of South African Higher Education: A Research Framework Outline

10.34190/rm.19.500 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Lizl Steynberg ◽

Jan Grundling ◽

Bing Liu ◽

Yuan Li

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

South African ◽

Research Framework ◽

Mixed Methods Approach ◽

African Higher Education ◽

South African Higher Education

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Evaluating operationalisation of integrated monitoring and evaluation system in Kisumu County: Implications for policy makers

African Evaluation Journal ◽

10.4102/aej.v7i1.385 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Enock Warinda

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Evaluation System ◽

Single Point ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Binary Logistic Regression Model ◽

Integrated Monitoring ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Mixed Methods Approach

Background: Evaluation findings are increasingly becoming valuable for policy makers in Kenya. The Directorate of Monitoring and Evaluation is responsible for providing reliable data findings for decision-makers. They are in turn expected to access the data and information through the National Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation System (NIMES). Unfortunately, the directorate hardly receives timely data as required, thus is unable to make timely decision within the ministry of agriculture, livestock and irrigation in Kisumu County.Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the extent of operationalisation of NIMES through utilisation of the electronic project management information system (e-ProMIS) within the three agricultural departments.Methods: Through single-point face-to-face interviews using semi-structured questionnaires, mixed methods approach and Likert scale were applied to assess the level of operationalisation of, staff competences in, and satisfaction with NIMES. Both random and purposive sampling was used. Using mixed methods approach, primary and secondary data were collected from 10 key indicators and fitted in a binary logistic regression model to assess the level of operationalisation of NIMES.Results: This article shows that operationalisation of NIMES is unsatisfactory, and data collected are incorrectly formatted. None of the departmental personnel charged with uploading relevant data in e-ProMIS neither accessed nor utilised the platform. There were no champions supporting NIMES, thus no reports generated from the system.Conclusions: Factors hindering operationalisation of NIMES were: dysfunctional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, limited human capacity on M&E, lack of NIMES champions, limited availability of data, unclear information flow to decision makers and inadequate integration of NIMES in planning and budgeting.

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