Sharan B Merriam
Biographic Data
| ID | 248374 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sharan B Merriam |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sharan B |
| FAMILY NAME | Merriam |
| SIGNATURE | MERRIAM S B |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Georgia |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 259 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1983 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Qualitative Research
This chapter takes the reader on a step-by-step journey through the process of conducting a qualitative research study using research conducted with Traditional Healers (THs) in Malaysia and how they diagnose and treat cancer. Upwards of 80% of Malaysians consult traditional healers before seeing a medical doctor, resulting in late-stage diagnoses and thus higher mortality rates. However, prior to our research, little was known about the role of …
Qualitative Research
Promoting Community Wellbeing
Community wellbeing is a function of many factors working in concert to promote an optimal quality of life for all members of a community. It is argued here that the promotion of lifelong learning among older adults can significantly contribute to community wellbeing. The aging society is a worldwide phenomenon presenting both opportunities and challenges to community wellbeing. Research suggests that the more active, healthier, and educated olde…
Traditional Healers and Western Medicine
Witches ways of knowing
Although the literature on adult learning is extensive, most of the content is based on research with adults who enrolled in mainstream groups and organizations. Why adults would engage in learning to become a member of a marginalized group and the learning process they undergo to achieve that goal is a question that has been largely ignored in previous research. The authors of this study wanted to know how the decision to join a stigmatized, les…
Andragogy and Self‐Directed Learning
Andragogy and self‐directed learning continue to be important to our present‐day understanding of adult learning.
Power and positionality
Early discussions of insider/outsider status assumed that the researcher was predominately an insider or an outsider and that each status carried with it certain advantages and disadvantages. More recent discussions have unveiled the complexity inherent in either status and have acknowledged that the boundaries between the two positions are not all that clearly delineated. Four case studies - a Black woman interviewing other Black women, Asian gr…
Faith Development in the Lives of HIV-Positive Adults
Adaptation to HIV Infection
The purpose of this study was to understand the use of coping strategies in adapting to an HIV-positive diagnosis. Also, the question of whether there was an underlying developmental process, in the sense of movement from less adaptive to more adaptive strategies, was addressed. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 HIV-positive individuals younger than age 45. Analysis of the qualitative data using the constant comparative method revealed t…
Meaning‐making, adult learning and development
Where the meaning of life can be found, and how people make meaning in their lives are age‐old questions pursued by philosophers, clergy, psychologists and educators. More recently, there has been a focus on the role of meaning‐making in learning and development in adulthood. Several writers have proposed that meaning‐making is what adult learning is all about, and a few have explicitly linked meaning‐making activity to development. First reviewe…
Learning from life experience
While several have written about the connection between life experience and learning, there is little in the literature that explicitly deals with how a particular life experience can become a significant learning experience for one person, but not another. This qualitative study examines the underlying structure of the significance of life‐experience learning. Open‐ended responses to a question about one's significant learning experiences were c…
Changing attitudes of women towards family-related tasks in young adulthood
Mentors and Protégés
Within the last few years, mentoring has emerged as a popular topic in several fields. Articles and talk shows imply that success in life is somehow related to having a mentor or being a mentor. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the extent to which such enthusiasm can be substantiated by research. The literature on mentoring is divided into three sections: the mentoring phenomenon in adult growth and development, mentoring in the business…
Power and positionality
Early discussions of insider/outsider status assumed that the researcher was predominately an insider or an outsider and that each status carried with it certain advantages and disadvantages. More recent discussions have unveiled the complexity inherent in either status and have acknowledged that the boundaries between the two positions are not all that clearly delineated. Four case studies - a Black woman interviewing other Black women, Asian gr…
Adaptation to HIV Infection
The purpose of this study was to understand the use of coping strategies in adapting to an HIV-positive diagnosis. Also, the question of whether there was an underlying developmental process, in the sense of movement from less adaptive to more adaptive strategies, was addressed. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 HIV-positive individuals younger than age 45. Analysis of the qualitative data using the constant comparative method revealed t…
Meaning‐making, adult learning and development
Where the meaning of life can be found, and how people make meaning in their lives are age‐old questions pursued by philosophers, clergy, psychologists and educators. More recently, there has been a focus on the role of meaning‐making in learning and development in adulthood. Several writers have proposed that meaning‐making is what adult learning is all about, and a few have explicitly linked meaning‐making activity to development. First reviewe…
Traditional Healers and Western Medicine
Learning from life experience
While several have written about the connection between life experience and learning, there is little in the literature that explicitly deals with how a particular life experience can become a significant learning experience for one person, but not another. This qualitative study examines the underlying structure of the significance of life‐experience learning. Open‐ended responses to a question about one's significant learning experiences were c…
Changing attitudes of women towards family-related tasks in young adulthood
Mentors and Protégés
Within the last few years, mentoring has emerged as a popular topic in several fields. Articles and talk shows imply that success in life is somehow related to having a mentor or being a mentor. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the extent to which such enthusiasm can be substantiated by research. The literature on mentoring is divided into three sections: the mentoring phenomenon in adult growth and development, mentoring in the business…
Changing attitudes of women towards family-related tasks in young adulthood
Learning from life experience
While several have written about the connection between life experience and learning, there is little in the literature that explicitly deals with how a particular life experience can become a significant learning experience for one person, but not another. This qualitative study examines the underlying structure of the significance of life‐experience learning. Open‐ended responses to a question about one's significant learning experiences were c…
Meaning‐making, adult learning and development
Where the meaning of life can be found, and how people make meaning in their lives are age‐old questions pursued by philosophers, clergy, psychologists and educators. More recently, there has been a focus on the role of meaning‐making in learning and development in adulthood. Several writers have proposed that meaning‐making is what adult learning is all about, and a few have explicitly linked meaning‐making activity to development. First reviewe…
Faith Development in the Lives of HIV-Positive Adults
Adaptation to HIV Infection
The purpose of this study was to understand the use of coping strategies in adapting to an HIV-positive diagnosis. Also, the question of whether there was an underlying developmental process, in the sense of movement from less adaptive to more adaptive strategies, was addressed. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 HIV-positive individuals younger than age 45. Analysis of the qualitative data using the constant comparative method revealed t…
Andragogy and Self‐Directed Learning
Andragogy and self‐directed learning continue to be important to our present‐day understanding of adult learning.
Power and positionality
Early discussions of insider/outsider status assumed that the researcher was predominately an insider or an outsider and that each status carried with it certain advantages and disadvantages. More recent discussions have unveiled the complexity inherent in either status and have acknowledged that the boundaries between the two positions are not all that clearly delineated. Four case studies - a Black woman interviewing other Black women, Asian gr…
Witches ways of knowing
Although the literature on adult learning is extensive, most of the content is based on research with adults who enrolled in mainstream groups and organizations. Why adults would engage in learning to become a member of a marginalized group and the learning process they undergo to achieve that goal is a question that has been largely ignored in previous research. The authors of this study wanted to know how the decision to join a stigmatized, les…
Traditional Healers and Western Medicine
Promoting Community Wellbeing
Community wellbeing is a function of many factors working in concert to promote an optimal quality of life for all members of a community. It is argued here that the promotion of lifelong learning among older adults can significantly contribute to community wellbeing. The aging society is a worldwide phenomenon presenting both opportunities and challenges to community wellbeing. Research suggests that the more active, healthier, and educated olde…
Qualitative Research
This chapter takes the reader on a step-by-step journey through the process of conducting a qualitative research study using research conducted with Traditional Healers (THs) in Malaysia and how they diagnose and treat cancer. Upwards of 80% of Malaysians consult traditional healers before seeing a medical doctor, resulting in late-stage diagnoses and thus higher mortality rates. However, prior to our research, little was known about the role of …
Qualitative Research
Psychology (10 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Pedagogy (7 works) · Political science (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Medicine (5 works) · Social science (5 works) · Adult and Continuing Education Topics (4 works) · Adult education (4 works) · Developmental psychology (4 works)