The member check has been heralded as an important component of validation in qualitative research. Traditionally, the member check has been used in order to assess the accuracy with which a researcher has represented a participant's subjectivity. Some theorists, however, have argued that change, rather than representation, should be sought as a primary goal for qualitative research. The difference between using representation or change as a marker of validity has been described as a transactional/transformational divide. I argue that the member check can be utilized to span this divide in order to support a holistic view of validity. In particular, I assert that researchers should not expect participant subjectivities to remain static throughout the research process. Examples of the member check used in this manner are provided.

Posttraumatic symptomatology (PTS) and self-dysfunction (SD) were examined as correlates and predictors of sexual revictimization in a prospective study of 339 college women. Both PTS and SD were associated with a history of child and adult sexual victimization. Compared to a history of child victimization, a history of adult victimization was associated with greater self-dysfunction. Both PTS and SD predicted revictimization during the study; however, self-dysfunction also predicted victimization in the absence of prior victimization. In a multivariate model, PTS did not directly predict victimization during the study, although SD mediated the relationship between PTS and victimization. Sexual victimization (child or adult) prior to the study predicted PTS, which predicted SD, which predicted victimization during the study. Findings suggest that prior child and adult victimization are directly related to later sexual victimization, and are indirectly related to later sexual victimization via the impact of PTS on SD.

The college party environment comprises a risk factor for unwanted sexual activity but may also provide a safety net, given the presence of bystanders who can potentially intervene in risky situations. Sexual assault prevention programs are increasingly incorporating bystander education into their designs. This article presents findings intended to inform these programs. Qualitative data from single-sex focus groups about typical college party behavior was analyzed for common themes. Analysis of these themes suggests that although some sexual behavior is visible at college parties, most sexual behavior is assumed to occur behind closed doors. In addition, intervention and prevention methods may vary by gender. Multiple factors appear to promote or dissuade bystander intervention in college party situations.

This article argues for the value of I poems as a means to hear and understand the voices of individual women and girls. I poems are a feature of the Listening Guide (e.g., Brown & Gilligan, 1992). As a feminist method, the Listening Guide was developed to attend to the multiple and complex voices found in qualitative data, particularly when the subject of study is taboo or otherwise difficult to discuss. The creation of poems out of participant voices is one way to emotionally engage the reader or audience, and to resist the urge to turn a participant's complex story into a single linear narrative. It is argued that I poems, when constructed with the guidelines set forth by the Listening Guide, are an evocative way to present participant data. To illustrate this, I poems constructed from interview data about women's unwanted sexual experiences are included.

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