Effect Sizes in Qualitative Research: A Prolegomenon

The American Psychological Association Task Force recommended that researchers always report and interpret effect sizes for quantitative data. However, no such recommendation was made for qualitative data. Thus, the first objective of the present paper is to provide a rationale for reporting and interpreting effect sizes in qualitative research. Arguments are presented that effect sizes enhance the process of verstehen/hermeneutics advocated by interpretive researchers. The second objective of this paper is to provide a typology of effect sizes in qualitative research. Examples are given illustrating various applications of effect sizes. For instance, when conducting typological analyses, qualitative analysts only identify emergent themes; yet, these themes can be quantitized to ascertain the hierarchical structure of emergent themes. The final objective is to illustrate how inferential statistics can be utilized in qualitative data analyses. This can be accomplished by treating words arising from individuals, or observations emerging from a particular setting, as sample units of data that represent the total number of words/observations existing from that sample member/context. Heuristic examples are provided to demonstrate how inferential statistics can be used to provide more complex levels of verstehen than is presently undertaken in qualitative research.     

农民工城乡迁移个人机会成本的构成及定量分析

农民工城乡迁移的个人机会成本可归纳为经济性个人机会成本、社会性个人机会成本和政治性个人机会成本三大类，基于笔者主持的1012名城乡迁移农民工的问卷调查，文章分析了这三类个人机会成本各自的构成，并对它们进行了定量分析。     

What Prompts the People＇s Bank of China to Change Its Monetary Policy Stance？ Evidence from a Discrete Choice Model

In the present paper, we model the policy stance of the People＇s Bank of China （PBC） as a latent variable, and the discrete changes in the reserve requirement ratio, policy interest rates, and the scale of open market operations are taken as signals of movement of this latent variable. We run a discrete choice regression that relates these observed indicators of policy stance to major trends of macroeconomic and financial developments, which are represented by common factors extracted from a large number of variables. The predicted value of the estimated model can then be interpreted as the implicit policy stance of the PBC. In a second step, we estimate how much of the variation in the PBC＇ s implicit stance can be explained by measures of its policy objectives on inflation, growth and financial stability. We find that deviations of CPI inflation from an implicit target and deviations of broad money growth from the announced targets, but not output gaps, figure significantly in the PBC＇s policy changes.     

Taking the “Q” Out of Research: Teaching Research Methodology Courses Without the Divide Between Quantitative and Qualitative Paradigms

The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence that the debate between quantitative and qualitative is divisive and, hence, counterproductive for advancing the social and behavioral science field. We advocate that all graduate students learn to utilize and to appreciate both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. As such, students will develop into pragmatist researchers who are able to utilize both quantitative and qualitative techniques when conducting research. We contend that the best way to accomplish this is by eliminating quantitative research methodology and qualitative research methodology courses from curricula and replacing these with research methodology courses at different levels that simultaneously teach both quantitative and qualitative techniques within a mixed methodological framework.An earlier version of this article received the 2003 Southwest Educational Research Association (SERA) Outstanding Paper Award.     

The Impact of Survey Methodology and Context on Central Tendency,Nonresponse and Associations of Subjective Indicators of Government Performance

A comparison is given of (ordinal) measures of trust in government institutions that were collected with the aim of facilitating comparisons between different modes and contexts of data collection. Statistical analyses reveal that the mode effect could amount upto a 10% change of item nonresponse and a 9% change of the level of trust, whereas the context effect could lead upto a 19% change of the bivariate associations of trust. The observed changes of both measures of central tendency and of associations affect conclusions of social scientific research in isolated studies, which implies that comparative studies are seriously hampered by bias related to mode and context, two sources of obscurity adding to the two other threats which are differences of sample source and differences of question phrasing.     

In at the deep end: Conducting processual research on organisational change

This article provides a series of reflections on the practice of carrying out processual research on organisational change. At a broad level, some of the main tasks associated with conducting company case studies are described and the benefits of this approach for dealing with complex change data are outlined. At a more specific level, the article addresses three main areas tied to the actual “doing” of processual research. First, the notion of tacit knowledge and “getting your hands dirty” by engaging in ongoing in-depth fieldwork. Second, the design and implementation of a longitudinal case study research programme. Third, the advantages and concerns of combining a range of different data collecting techniques in carrying out processual studies. Overall, the main intention is to provide some useful reflections and practical insights, as well as providing something of the flavour of carrying out this type of research.     

关联交易信息的核心质量 --层次结构及实现途径

通过对关联交易的组织理性和社会成本进行简要的经济学分析，从节约社会成本的角度，借助FASB“财务会计信息质量的层次结构模型”，构筑了一个关联交易信息的核心质量层次结构，同时，从我国有关关联交易会计规范颁布和变迁的角度，分析现有关联交易信息质量的实现途径及不足，并提出相关改进建议。     

民俗旅游区旅游资源浅析--忻城中华土司民俗旅游区开发研究之一

通过对全国土司文化的保护和开发现状的论证，以及对忻城土司文化的定量、定性分析，从而对忻城中华土司民俗旅游区的旅游资源做出了科学的评价。     

经济学方法论的三大哲学论战

在经济学方法论发展史上,归纳主义与演绎主义之争、实证主义与规范主义之争、个体主义与整体主义之争是主要的三大哲学论战。通过论战,各种争论出现了由冲突走向融合的趋向。     

会计国际化背景下的我国会计信息质量特征研究

会计信息质量特征是财务会计概念框架的重要组成部分。本文采用规范分析方法对西方国家的会计信息质量特征进行了国际比较，并结合实证研究结论对影响我国财务会计信息质量特征的因素进行了现状分析。最后指出在当前特殊的环境下确立我国财务会计信息质量特征体系，应该同时兼顾国际协调与中国特色，建议在透明度的总体要求下，依次将会计信息质量特征设定为：可靠性，相关性，充分披露。