Gretchen B. Rossman

Numbers and Words: Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in a Single Large-Scale Evaluation Study.

This article discusses how quantitative and qualitative methods can be combined in a single evaluation study to better understand the phenomenon in question. Three perspectives on combining methods are reviewed: the purist approach where the two methods are seen as mutually exclusive, the situationalist approach that views them as separate but equal, and the pragmatist approach that suggests integration is possible. From the pragmatist position it is argued that either method can be used at the analysis stage to corroborate (provide convergence in findings), elaborate (provide richness and detail), or initiate (offer new interpretations) findings from the other method. Specific examples of how results from each method can inform the other are offered.

Everyday ethics: reflections on practice

This introductory article frames the contributions for this issue on everyday ethics – moments that demand moral considerations and ethical choices that researchers encounter. We discuss concerns raised within the research community about the tendency to observe merely obligatory ethical procedures as outlined in Human Subjects Review regulations. We argue that these procedural rituals are manifestly insufficient for the moral challenges of ongoing and evolving research with people; we call for deeper engagement with the ethical dilemmas and defining moments that arise in the everyday conduct of research. We argue that considerations of ethics should be central to establishing the rigor or trustworthiness of research projects. Drawing on principles of systematic inquiry as transparent and grounded in conceptual reasoning, we describe research as praxis and the researcher as practitioner.

Ethics and Trustworthiness

1. Imagine that you are reading a qualitative research study. Given that the natural — and appropriate — attitude to take is to be skeptical of any research study: a) How could the researcher convince you that she has fairly and honestly represented the research context, participants, and events? b) How could she persuade you to accept her research findings? c) How could the researcher show you that this research is useful and meaningful for you in your own research or professional context? 2. Next, imagine that a teacher working at the same school as you is doing a qualitative research study. He has asked you if he could observe you teaching, and then interview some of your students. Consider the following questions. a) What kind of assurances would you like him to make to you so that you would feel comfortable participating in his study? b) What assurances do you think that your students would want?

Context, Courses, and the Curriculum Local Responses to State Policy Reform

An important component of the first wave of recent policy reform included increased state-mandated high school graduation requirements. This article documents local variability in response to state-mandated reform and illustrates the challenges of implementing centralized policy as a tool to improve the quality of education. The longitudinal research, based on the experiences of students and staff in five diverse high schools, combines both quantitative and qualitative techniques to establish a convincing picture of local adaptability. The article concludes with a discussion of the need for state level policymakers to be more sensitive to local context and culture if they want to reform local practice and improve learning opportunities for students.

Intentions and Impacts: A Comparison of Sources of Influence on Local School Systems.

Federal and state school reform initiatives are often diverted or blunted by local and contextual considerations.

Validity:Mapping Diverse Perspectives

While judging the trustworthiness and quality of qualitative inquiry is central to scholarship, policy development, and program design, the process is neither simple nor formulaic. Standards are emergent and often contested, as advocates for a particular genre argue that theirs are the proper or correct ones. The trustworthiness of qualitative inquiry depends on the credibility and rigor of the study design, the data collection and analyses, and finally on the arguments put forward and the evidence on which they rest. This article maps, placing particular emphasis on argumentation, evidence, and ethics, the contested terrain of canons for trustworthiness – from early postpositivist perspectives to those defined by probity and relationships.