lecture 14

Question 1

Analyzing qualitative data through

Answer 1

coding and
counting.

Question 2

SHLRP goals

Answer 2

1. To describe the learning experiences and outcomes
   which accompany the reading of self-help books
   relating to health, relationships, and careers.
2. To analyze the impact of such reading upon the
   subjective identities of those who read self-help
   books.

Question 3

mode of observation

Answer 3

Qualitative interviews with 134 people who had read a
self-help book

Question 4

Interview sections

Answer 4

1. Identification of a self-help reading experience.
2. Motivation.
3. Learning goals.
4. Learning strategies.
5. Learning.
6. Impact.
7. Background.
8. Key narrative exercise.

Question 5

how did the intevriew analyze the readers learning goals

Answer 5

When you started reading the book, was there
anything specific that you were hoping to learn?
— If so, please tell us a little bit about those goals.
 Were there particular things about your
career/health/relationships that you were hoping to
change or gain some insight on?
— If so, what were those things?

Question 6

did they test a hypthosis

Answer 6

no

Question 7

we did not
engage in systematic or random sampling procedures.

Answer 7

true

Question 8

Reliance on available subjects

Answer 8

(non-probability
sampling method)

Question 9

Given our sampling techniques, our interviewees do
not represent the full range of readers of self-help
books, and we cannot

Answer 9

authoritatively generalize our
findings to that broader population of readers.

Question 10

interviewees were recruited primarily through

Answer 10

online
advertisements placed in the “books” sections of Kijiji
websites for Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, and
Winnipeg.

Question 11

Purposive sampling:

Answer 11

we screened all applicants with an
online survey to promote balance in terms of gender,
age, level of educational attainment, and area of self-
help interest.

Question 12

Coding and counting as qualitative data analysis

Answer 12

Describe the learning experiences and outcomes which
accompany the reading of self-help books relating to
health, relationships, and careers.

Question 13

Pathway 1: Linear and successful learners

Answer 13

-Had a goal
-Learned
something
-Changed
somehow

Question 14

Pathway 2: Incomplete learners (a)

Answer 14

-Had a goal
-Learned
something
- Did not
change

Question 15

Pathway 2: Incomplete learners (b)

Answer 15

-Had a
goal
-Did not
learn

Question 16

__ % of participants had a goal

Answer 16

93

Question 17

____% said they learned something

Answer 17

83

Question 18

__% siad they changed

Answer 18

61

Question 19

Pathway 3: Incidental or random learners (a)

Answer 19

-Had no
goal
-Learned
something
-Changed
somehow

Question 20

Pathway 3: Incidental or random learners (b)

Answer 20

Had a goal
Learned
something
unrelated
Changed
somehow

Question 21

inear and successful learner: Susan

Answer 21

Book: Eight weeks to optimum health, by Andrew
Weil
 Goal: “I wanted to set realistic goals on how to
improve my health.”
 Learning: “Relax, eat natural unprocessed foods and
walk. Consume more fish, eat less refined grains.”
Change: “I have not followed everything in the book
to a ‘T’ but I have changed my lifestyle significantly
for the better. I changed the way I took some
vitamins and I added some vitamins to my diet. I also
omitted a few foods from my life altogether and
made an effort to eat more fruits and vegetables. I
also made time to enjoy life. This book helped me
realize that I don’t take the time to just enjoy things.”

Question 22

Purposeful but incomplete learner: Steven

Answer 22

Book: Good to Great: Why some companies make the
leap and others don’t, by Jim Collins
 Goal: “I was trying to get some general lessons that
could be applied to business in general. A bunch of
issues at work had been noticed and I had hoped to
pull something from the book to work on solving
these.”
Learning: “Most of the book seemed fairly in tune with what I
already believed so there were no real revelations. It did
simplify some concepts and expressed them in slightly
different ways than I would have, but beyond making them a
bit more accessible nothing major came to light.”
 Change: In terms of taking concrete action resulting from
reading, Steven indicated that he had such intentions (“We’ve
been on the edge of success for a long time and haven’t been
able to turn that corner yet and hoped the book would be
able to show at a high level where we might be going
wrong”), but did not actually describe doing so.

Question 23

Random or incidental learner: Delilah

Answer 23

 Book: Fish! A proven way to boost morale and
improve results, by Stephen Lunden and colleagues
 Goal: “While I was working for a company with low
morale we were requested to read it… I don’t think
there was anything I was hoping to learn.”
 Learning: “I learned that life is all about what you
make of it and to make the best out of any situation.
The book was about finding fun in the workplace and
helping you enjoy your job.
Change: “I definitely put the positive thinking into
practice and I became more productive. I tried to
think of ways to make the monotonous tasks more
enjoyable and went into work every day with more
positive thinking. The book made me realize that the
negativity I was feeling was personal, so once I
realized that it could always be worse it was easy to
put the positive thoughts into practice.”
”

Question 24

___% had linear pathways

Answer 24

59

Question 25

____% had incomplete pathways

Answer 25

25

Question 26

___ % had incidental pathways

Answer 26

16

Question 27

more men than women had what path

Answer 27

incidental

Question 28

30 years old or less had high ____ and ___ path but lower ____ path

Answer 28

incomplete and incidental
- linear

Question 29

Some self-help books help some people, some of the
time

Answer 29

true

Question 30

Women are more likely than men to be

Answer 30

linear and
successful learners

Question 31

Older people are more likely than younger people to
be

Answer 31

linear and successful learners.

Question 32

Quantifying qualitative data.
 Focused on _____ patterns in social life

Answer 32

documenting