Qualitative corroboration : interviewing, inventorying, observing, and surveying to understand preschool parents' meaning-making of emerging digital enrichment products /
This case study explores the methodological approaches used to investigate parents' practices and beliefs with regard to digital home learning products for preschool children. There is an ever-increasing presence of digital toys, games, and apps in children's lives, yet limited systematic...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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London :
SAGE Publications Ltd,
2026.
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| Series: | SAGE research methods cases.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | This case study explores the methodological approaches used to investigate parents' practices and beliefs with regard to digital home learning products for preschool children. There is an ever-increasing presence of digital toys, games, and apps in children's lives, yet limited systematic research on parental decision-making regarding these products exists. This qualitative study employed four complementary data collection methods to achieve triangulation: semi-structured interviews, home inventories of digital products, guided observations of parent-child interactions with technology, and post-interview confirmation surveys. Key methodological considerations included addressing validity threats such as confirmation bias and hindsight bias through neutral questioning and balanced probes, adapting data collection procedures when initial plans proved impractical in field conditions, and managing the challenges of researching families with young children. The study involved twelve upper-income families in the Boston area with children ages 2-5. Findings revealed that while traditional enrichment practices were relatively unified among families, technological enrichment practices were divergent. Parents found digital products more entertaining than educational for their children, with significant disagreement about technology's impact on creativity and imagination. The case study demonstrates how qualitative research can effectively explore emerging phenomena using multiple strands of complementary corroborating strategies. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource. |
| ISBN: | 9781036243463 103624346X |