Proposed Use of Prominence in Qualitative Research
Location
1048
Format Type
Event
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
January 2019
End Date
January 2019
Abstract
The presenters suggest that qualitative researchers consider prominence, a principle suggested by Budd (1964) and originally applied to newspapers and magazines to denote importance. In journalism, prominent placements are closer to the newspaper front or above the fold. Qualitative 21st century researchers defined online home pages or certain screen quadrants as prominent. However, qualitative analysts could apply prominence as criteria for selecting sample (Johnston, Olivas, Steele, Smith & Bailey, 2017) and analyzing spoken as well as text-based communication. Assessing when a participant discloses may reveal conscious and unconscious motives shaping disclosure, and thus shaping potential themes emerging within the participant data. Disclosures that occur within the initial 100 words after a question or first 10 minutes of an interview may be more prominent and thus allow insights as to how a participant portrays persona in the world (Sideman, 2013). Later disclosure may further reveal information usually reserved for when the ‘mask’ comes off. Prominence or placement may be key to understanding narrative. If prominence is not measured than qualitative researchers are missing a valuable metric that could reveal the importance of what is documented. We present prominence as principle through explanatory slides, examples, and discussion and possible software analysis use.
Keywords
prominence, qualitative, research, techniques, applications
Proposed Use of Prominence in Qualitative Research
1048
The presenters suggest that qualitative researchers consider prominence, a principle suggested by Budd (1964) and originally applied to newspapers and magazines to denote importance. In journalism, prominent placements are closer to the newspaper front or above the fold. Qualitative 21st century researchers defined online home pages or certain screen quadrants as prominent. However, qualitative analysts could apply prominence as criteria for selecting sample (Johnston, Olivas, Steele, Smith & Bailey, 2017) and analyzing spoken as well as text-based communication. Assessing when a participant discloses may reveal conscious and unconscious motives shaping disclosure, and thus shaping potential themes emerging within the participant data. Disclosures that occur within the initial 100 words after a question or first 10 minutes of an interview may be more prominent and thus allow insights as to how a participant portrays persona in the world (Sideman, 2013). Later disclosure may further reveal information usually reserved for when the ‘mask’ comes off. Prominence or placement may be key to understanding narrative. If prominence is not measured than qualitative researchers are missing a valuable metric that could reveal the importance of what is documented. We present prominence as principle through explanatory slides, examples, and discussion and possible software analysis use.
Comments
References
Budd, R. W. (1964). Attention score: A device for measuring news ‘play.’ Journalism Quarterly, 41(2), 259-262.
Johnston, E., Olivas, G., Steele, P., Smith, C., & Bailey, L. (2017). Exploring Pedagogical Foundations of Existing Virtual Reality Educational Applications: A Content Analysis Study. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 0047239517745560. doi:10.1177/0047239517745560
Sideman, I. (2013). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. 4th edition, New York, NY: Teachers College Press.