Cherciov's Use Of Qualitative Methods

Unlike previous studies, Phinney et al. considers more subjective aspects of ethnic identity, and treats immigrant language proficiency as one of three factors contributing to it, along with parental cultural maintenance and ethnic peer groups. It finds language to be a significant aspect in ethnic identity in that it is reinforced by cultural maintenance and peer interaction (2001, p. 151). While participants’ relation to language varied with national origin, it played similar roles in narratives of ethnic identity formation for all groups. This is strongly linked to social identity theory and other sociological concepts of ethnic identity and family relationships. However, the nature of the study makes establishing causation particularly difficult, and the use of questionnaires should be supplemented by qualitative methods as the combination of categorical variables with a deductive approach results in problematic assumptions of how ethnic identity and cultural maintenance manifest. …show more content…
It combines interviews examining migration narratives with more formal methods of language proficiency testing of verbal and written ability. The findings recognize attitude and immigrant language attrition do not have a linear relationship as they are affected by factors such as extent of active effort in maintenance, and also considers emerging transnational identities (2013, p. 730). While the study is not easily generalized, Cherciov is successful in her argument for mixed method approaches, as she demonstrates an effective example of combining quantitative evidence with more subjective examination of national identities not solely focusing on finding correlations with language maintenance. It also provides opportunities for studying attrition in relation to cultural maintenance through language, as well as theories of attitude and language