What is…?
What is…? -sessions provide brief thumbnail description and discussion on specific methodological
aspects and tools. Each speaker is given 20 minutes to outline some of the key methodological
points of the approach or tool in question after which there some time for questions and discussion.
Pirjo Nikander (TaY)
What is qualitative longitudinal research?
Longitudinal research designs are perhaps customarily linked to quantitative or panel studies. In
recent decades however, the value of qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) for both academic and
policy research has increasingly been recognized.
Qualitative longitudinal research:
- allows data collection and the following of subjects or groups over time
- enables the identification and exploration of meanings people attach to social change, and how
they personally interpret and respond to such change
- is sensitive to important contextual issues and micro-social processes, such as the ways in which
people re-negotiate their own lives at times of personal life transition (e.g. the transition to
motherhood or fatherhood).
- offers fresh perspectives into established arenas of social enquiry, informs policy makers and
complements quantitative longitudinal understandings of ongoing societal change.
QLR applications are found e.g. in studies concerning ageing and the lifespan, crime, child
socialization, parenting, and family relationships; education organizations and schooling outcomes;
and occupational careers. The presentation discusses the benefit and challenges of using qualitative
longitudinal research, and provides concrete empirical examples from recent empirical research
projects.
Tuomo Peltonen
What is organizational ethnography?
This presentation reviews the historical development of the use of ethnography in organization
studies, contemplates on the possibilities and limits of organizational ethnography, and discusses
some of the recurrent themes around participant observation in the study of organizational
phenomena.
Sanna Herkama and Anne Laajalahti
What is Atlas.ti?
There are various kinds of computer programs available for the qualitative data analysis. They
enable, for example, the handling and analysis of large textual research materials as well as the
analysis of various forms of images and audio and video files. What are the possible benefits and
limitations connected to the usage of such software in qualitative data analysis? Should/could I use
one of these programs in my research?
In this session researchers share their own experiences of the usage of ATLAS.ti software developed
to assist in qualitative data analysis. The highlights and pitfalls of the user experiences are shared
and discussed during the session. In addition, some comparisons to the other qualitative analysis
software available are reviewed.
Presenters
Sanna Herkama, Senior Researcher, University of Turku / Division of Psychology / KiVa,
sanna.herkama@utu.fi
Anne Laajalahti, Project Researcher, University of Jyväskylä, Department of Communication,
anne.laajalahti@jyu.fi