Current Issue
|
|
Issue 2012 Vol 7 (2) |
| |
1. |
Cornish ethnicity and undercounting: utilising the 2001 England and Wales Census to develop an accurate measurement methodology - Kerryn Husk and Alison Green abstract |
|
2. |
Measuring Commitment to Environmental Sustainability: The Development of a Valid and Reliable Measure - Ian Alcock
abstract |
|
3. |
Designing a nutritional scoring system for assessing diet quality for children aged 10 years and under in the UK - Antonia Simon, Rebecca O’Connell and Alison M Stephen
abstract |
|
4. |
Non-fiction literature and interpretive/qualitative research methods: reflections on the meaning of ‘social science’. - Filip Sosenko
abstract |
|
| |
| Abstracts |
| |
| 1.Cornish ethnicity and undercounting: utilising the 2001 England and Wales Census to develop an accurate measurement methodology |
| |
In this paper we outline results from exploratory research which aimed to provide better estimates of self-identified Cornish ethnic group affiliation in Cornwall, a county in the South West of the UK. For the first time the 2001 England and Wales Census recorded a ‘write-in’ Cornish identity category – however the lack of a dedicated tick-box and limited publicity around the option meant that the result was likely to undercount the true population. We utilise data from a range of sources about Cornish ethnicity to derive weights for the Census result based around statistical means. We subsequently apply these weights to posit a more likely estimate of 25-30% rather than the 6.7% reported. The limitations inherent in such an exploratory model of analysis limit our conclusions, but we feel that our result engages with the methodological literature around small-scale survey measures as well as the ethnicity measurement literature more broadly. We conclude that a group of individuals who share some commonality of response, regardless of the methodological or philosophical problems surrounding the measure, are an interesting topic of study for social science and can inform subsequent analyses of relative position. |
| |
| 2. Measuring Commitment to Environmental Sustainability: The Development of a Valid and Reliable Measure |
| |
| The development of a seven item scale to measure commitment to environmental sustainability is described. The items ask about pro-environmental behaviour in general terms, and avoid reference to specific behaviours. Scale scores are derived by summing scores on the seven items. Scores on the derived zero to 26 point scale were examined for a UK nationally representative sample of adults over the age of 16. The scores are shown to be normally distributed and the items are shown to have internal consistency. The inter-correlations between the items are all positive and significant. All items are shown to load substantially and in broadly equal degree onto the primary Principal Component. Predictive validity of the scale is demonstrated by examining the differential scores for groups whose specific behaviours are reported as more or less pro-environmental. |
| |
| 3. Designing a nutritional scoring system for assessing diet quality for children aged 10 years and under in the UK |
| |
| In the UK there is no Diet Quality Index (DQI) that enables estimates of diet quality to be made for children of different age groups. This paper discusses the methodological complexities of designing an appropriate DQI for children aged 10 years and under, using dietary data in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) in relation to UK dietary guidelines. Two stages of the process of developing this score are described. The final score was employed as an outcome measure in secondary analysis of the NDNS and as a means of sampling 48 case study children from the NDNS. This DQI, like all composite measures, produces a summary of overall dietary quality. This may mask individual components important for understanding the health impacts of children’s diets. However, DQIs are methodologically advantageous over ‘data driven’ dietary pattern approaches because they are based on existing knowledge of optimal dietary patterns and provide clear nutritional benchmarks for comparing dietary quality for population sub-groups. Our innovative scoring system enables children’s diets to be compared for different age groups relative to UK dietary guidelines and is appropriate for use in quantitative analysis and for assessing diet quality more qualitatively for small groups of children. |
| |
| 4. Non-fiction literature and interpretive/qualitative research methods: reflections on the meaning of ‘social science’. |
| |
| This article attempts to add a new dimension to the meta-scientific discussion about the status of interpretive enquiry and the boundaries of „social science?. It argues that while the existing debate tends to see qualitative research and interpretive theories in opposition to quantitative methods and structural social theory, it is equally important to examine what similarities and differences are between „professional? qualitative enquiry and non-scholarly enterprises such as non-fiction literature (reportage, travelogue, essay), journalism and documentary filmmaking. The paper investigates research methods used by non-fiction writers and compares the scholarly and non-scholarly approaches to interpretive enquiry. The study exposes the existence of many similarities and shows that significant differences exist in theory but not so much in practice. |
