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Abstract: The article presents three case studies of reading promotion by using virtual technology in some Valencian schools, throughout the 2010-2011 academic year. The methodology is mainly qualitative, supplemented by investigation-action, since the resulting data have been used by mediators to improve their practice. Specifically, the study of the three cases has been carried out through participative observation in order to collect data. The process was then was completed with interviews, life stories and a questionnaire. Lastly, a discussion group contributed to the analysis, interpretation and triangulation as a method of evaluation.Key words: reading and Web 2.0, qualitative research, case studies.

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This article presents a research and teaching experience that took place within an international research project, Digital Inclusion and Participation (2009-2011) involving researchers from Portugal and the USA (Texas). The main aim of the project is to understand the conditions and tendencies of access and appropriation of digital media by users and non-users, with a particular focus on families and groups which are more vulnerable to digital exclusion (elderly people, immigrants, ethnic and linguistic minorities). Together with this aim the project also includes advanced education in digital media, focusing on the training of graduate students through supervised research among those social groups. These two objectives came together in an interdisciplinary Seminar on Methods of Researching Media and Journalism (2009-10 and 2010-11) co-lectured by the authors of this paper, respectively from the Departments of Media Studies and Sociology. This article focuses on the process of research and teaching that was activated in the Seminar, how graduate students were prepared and supervised to conduct interviews with two members of the same family from different generations, how they were actively involved in the adaptation of the original questions, used at the University of Texas in Austin, into a narrative script focused on life stories and relationships with the media (see Annex), and in the sampling process of the interviewee families. The implications of using such a qualitative methodology and research-based learning for the students, as well as the other advantages and pitfalls found during this process, are discussed in detail.

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This research studies an assessment system of distance learning that combines an innovative virtual assessment tool and the use of synchronous virtual classrooms with videoconferencing, which could become a reliable and guaranteed model for the evaluation of university e-learning activities. This model has been tested in an online course for Secondary School Education Specialists for Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American graduates. The research was designed from a qualitative methodology perspective and involved teachers, students and external assessors. During the whole process great care was taken to preserve data credibility, consistency and reliability, and a system of categories and subcategories that represents online assessment has been developed. The results confirm that we have made considerable progress in achieving a viable, efficient and innovative educational model that can be implemented in Higher Distance Education. Also, videoconferencing and synchronous virtual classrooms have proved to be efficient tools for evaluating the e-assessment method in virtual learning spaces. However, we need to keep testing this model in other educational scenarios in order to guarantee its viability.

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This study investigates the language used by national newspapers in Mexico: “El Universal”, “La Jornada”, “Milenio”, and “Reforma”, when addressing the issue of feminicide regarding victims and perpetrators, as well as their relationship with the gender of the reporter and with each newspaper. The research is based on the analysis of qualitative content and the theoretical framework of framing. Categories were built on the type of language in cases of feminicide of 360 journalistic texts published during 2017: 1) Narrative of feminicide; 2) Justification of the perpetrator or alleged perpetrator; 3) Social issues; 4) Blaming the victim. The analysis yielded cases of victim blaming to a lesser extent than those of the perpetrator's justification. Aspects of the narration of feminicide stood out both by the gender of the reporter and by the media in the four newspapers, from two perspectives: 1) The fact, the follow-up, or the context; 2) The fact, legal aspects, and statistics. Reporters, men and women, tend to justify the perpetrator; male reporters blame the victim more than female reporters; and female reporters contextualize feminicide through social issues: social violence, impunity, and failures in legal processes. “La Jornada” is inclined towards social issues, while “El Universal” tends to justify the perpetrator.

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Key factors for the future of Archival science are identified and prioritized from the views of a small group of professionals and researchers, using the qualitative technique of consensus-building. The study has identified 70 factors distributed among five variables: the future of archives (26), of Archival science (10), of professionals (12), of relationships with technologies (10) and of society (12). The amount, scope and results invite us to continue the research in broader contexts as well as in larger groups of experts from different sectors.

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Abstract\r Purpose — This paper explores the potential of ‘action research’ as transport survey method, with particular emphasis on critically assessing its utility in the resolution of major transport policy challenges, such as the mitigation of climate change and environmental impacts, transport-related social exclusion and intergenerational equity issues. Although not particularly novel within the social sciences, it is an approach that has been largely overlooked within the field of transport studies to date.\r \r Methodology/approach — The paper presents practical examples of where action research has been used to elicit information about people's travel experiences and behaviours and discusses how it achieves different outcomes from other qualitative transport survey methods. It identifies appropriate contexts for action research and explores the skills and techniques to overcome some of the main criticisms of the method. It then evaluates some of the critical challenges of applying an action research approach and identifies potential ways for overcoming these. Finally, it discusses the key challenges for analysis, presentation and dissemination of their action research ‘data’ and potential ways of overcoming these.\r \r Findings — Action research has a long history within the social sciences, dating back to practical problems in wartime situations in Europe and the United States. It can be applied at either the level of individuals, small groups and/or ‘communities’ and organisations, with the expressed aim of bringing together research enquiry and future policy or planned actions (ibid). It provides a useful additional survey technique for policy-makers wishing to understand the detailed process of travel behaviours and barrier to travel at the individual level.\r \r Originality/value of the paper — The action research method is specifically useful for supporting and actively encouraging behaviour change as an integral part of the research process. It has only recently emerged within the literature as a transport survey method. It can be a particularly useful method for developing more collaborative data collection methods research participants enquires and thus enable us to identify their underlying motivations, intentions, perceptions and negotiations, as well as the micro-level impacts of smaller scale transport initiatives. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book