Qualitative social research in addictions publishing: Creating an enabling journal environment

The practise and practice of Bourdieu: The application of social theory to youth alcohol research

“…France (2000) critically examined explanations of youth and risk taking and emphasised the value of a sociological approach to understanding the diverse and complex social processes that influence young people's risk taking, including excessive drinking. Despite this known potential, there remains a disjunction between alcohol research and sociological theoretical frameworks (Rhodes, Stimson et al 2010). Zajdow and Lindsay (2010) question why, if recreational alcohol consumption is inherently a social practice shaped by the immediate social context, does sociology not have a stronger presence in alcohol research?…”

Enhancing the public impact of ethnography

“…Historically, public health practice and policy have, in great part, relied upon the discipline of epidemiology, which primarily uses quantitative methods to characterize the distribution of diseases within populations, elucidate causal relationships between exposures (e.g., individual behaviors) and health outcomes, and inform the development, implementation, and evaluation of health promotion and disease prevention interventions (Goodson & Vassar, 2011;Jack, 2006). Randomized clinical trials, widely considered the gold standard and highest quality of evidence, and cost analyses are other important tools for policy makers, reflecting the ideal that scarce public resources should be invested in policies and programs that have demonstrable positive outcomes and efficacy (Bryman, 2007;Rhodes, Stimson, Moore, & Bourgois, 2010;Stenius, Makela, Miovsky, & Gabrhelik, 2004;Task Force on Community Preventive Services, 2005). Policy makers rely on the best available evidence to inform policy and program planning; quantitative methods are perceived to best provide objective evidence or criteria by which to develop and evaluate health and public health policies and programs.…”

“…Qualitative researchers should consider publishing in peer-review journals which relevant policy makers are more likely to read. Perceived challenges (e.g., difficulty getting a "qualitative" paper into a "quantitative" journal) and journal word limits may make publication of qualitative or mixed methods papers difficult (Bryman, 2007;Rhodes et al, 2010;Stenius et al, 2004). Guidance for ethnographers on publishing qualitative research in policy oriented journals may be helpful in overcoming some of these challenges (Barbour & Barbour, 2002;Evans, 2002;Harden, 2010;Noyes et al, 2008;Seale & Silverman, 1997;Stenius et al, 2004).…”

Practising drinking, practising health

“…At this time, the advent of AIDS created an urgent demand for effective but equitable and respectful public health campaigns. Having followed quantitative research on HIV transmissions among gay men with qualitative studies enriching interpretation of the data, NCHSR collaborated with gay community organizations to produce practicebased concepts such as 'negotiated safety' [3,4] and 'strategic positioning' [5] to understand men's decisions about condom use under epidemic conditions [6]. Meier et al do not focus upon the relationship between quantitative and qualitative research in practice-based studies, but the model offered by the NCHSR indicates the importance of drawing upon both together if we are to understand how the many elements that combine to produce and sustain practices relate to and coproduce each other.…”

“…They are especially critical of approaches that emphasize the social determinants of variations in consumption within and between populations, and those that focus on the agency of individual drinkers, arguing that population interventions grounded in either orientation have 'delivered only limited public health gains ' [1]. What is most welcome about Meier et als' analysis is their insistence on the need for new quantitative approaches to studying alcohol consumption, rather than heeding the more common call for richer and more varied qualitative studies [2,3], which have had narrower impacts on the forms of knowledgemaking that underpin public health interventions. I do not regard this approach as dismissive of the value of qualitative research.…”