Dr Judith Glaesser

Contact Dr Judith Glaesser (email at judith.glaesser@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

Judith Glaesser joined the School of Education in 2006, having gained a PhD in sociology from the University of Constance, Germany. In 2008, the Universitätsverlag Konstanz (uvk) published her PhD thesis entitled "Soziale und individuelle Einflussfaktoren auf den Erwerb von Bildungsabschlüssen" (Social and individual influences on the acquisition of educational qualifications).

Her research interests lie in the field of sociology of education, especially social inequality in education and how various factors such as social background and type of school attended combine to shape educational pathways. She is also working on methodological issues, using various large-scale datasets to explore the use of Qualitative Comparative Analysis, an analytic approach based on set theory and Boolean algebra which was developed by Charles Ragin.

In 2008, she was awarded a three year ESRC research fellowship to continue her work on these innovative methodological approaches, within the substantive fields of sociology of education and comparative education. For more information on the work undertaken as part of the fellowship, see http://www.esrc.ac.uk/my-esrc/Grants/RES-063-27-0240/read

Together with Prof. Barry Cooper (Co-Investigator) and Dr. Stephanie Thomson (Research Associate), she has recently been awarded, as Principal Investigator, a further ESRC grant: “Qualitative Comparative Analysis: Addressing Methodological Challenges, with particular reference to survey data”. The three-year project has started in January 2013. A flavour of the sort of thing it will be exploring can be found here:

http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/profiles/616/QCA-AMCworkingpaper1LogicalparadoxesinfsQCA.pdf

Judith was appointed as a lecturer in the School of Education in October 2011. She would welcome enquiries from prospective research students who are interested in the substantive areas of sociology of education and comparative education. She would also be happy to supervise anyone interested in exploring and/or applying Qualitative Comparative Analysis.

Supervises

• Mrs Catherine Marshall
• Mr Cesare Aloisi
• Ms Angela Hall
• Miss Olivia Wilkins

Research Groups

• Methods and Critical Approaches

Research Projects

• Exploring and evaluating the use of configurational methods in large n contexts: transitions in the English and German educational systems
• Qualitative Comparative Analysis: Addressing Methodological Challenges, with particular reference to survey data

Research Interests

• Comparative Education
• Inequality in Education
• Sociology of Education

Publications

Journal papers: academic

• Glaesser, J. & Cooper, B. (2013). Exploring the consequences of a recalibration of causal conditions when assessing sufficiency with fuzzy set QCA. International Journal of Social Research Methodology Online First.
• Glaesser, J. & Cooper, B. (2012). Educational achievement in selective and comprehensive local education authorities: a configurational analysis. British Journal of Sociology of Education 33(2): 223-244.
• Glaesser, J. & Cooper, B. (2012). Gender, parental education and ability: their interacting roles in predicting GCSE success. Cambridge Journal of Education 42(4): 463–480.
• Cooper, B. & Glaesser, J. (2012). Qualitative Work and The Testing and Development of Theory: Lessons from a Study combining Cross-Case and Within-Case Analysis via Ragin's QCA. Forum: Qualitative Social Research 13(2): 4.
• Cooper, B. & Glaesser, J. (2011). Introduction to the Special Issue: Case-Based Approaches to the Analysis of Quantitative Data. Methodological Innovations Online 6(2 (Special Issue): 1-5.
• Cooper, B. & Glaesser, J. (2011). Paradoxes and pitfalls in using fuzzy set QCA: illustrations from a critical review of a study of educational inequality. Sociological Research Online 16(3): 8.
• Glaesser, J. & Cooper, B. (2011). Selecting cases for in-depth study from a survey dataset: an application of Ragin's configurational methods. Methodological Innovations Online 6(2): 52-70.
• Glaesser, J. & Cooper, B. (2011). Selectivity and Flexibility in the German Secondary School System: A Configurational Analysis of recent data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. European Sociological Review 27(5): 570-585.
• Cooper, B. & Glaesser, J. (2011). Using case-based approaches to analyse large datasets: a comparison of Ragin's fsQCA and fuzzy cluster analysis. International Journal of Social Research Methodology 14(1): 31-48.
• Cooper, B. & Glaesser, J. (2010). Contrasting variable-analytic and case-based approaches to the analysis of survey datasets: exploring how achievement varies by ability across configurations of social class and sex. Methodological Innovations Online 5(1): 4-23.
• Roberts, R., Gott, R. & Glaesser, J. (2010). Students' approaches to open-ended science investigation: the importance of substantive and procedural understanding. Research Papers in Education 25(4): 377-407.
• Glaesser, J., Gott, R., Roberts, R. & Cooper, B. (2009). The roles of substantive and procedural understanding in open-ended science investigations: using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to compare two different tasks. Research in Science Education 39(4): 595-624.
• Glaesser, J., Gott, R., Roberts, R. & Cooper, B. (2009). Underlying success in open-ended investigations in science: using Qualitative Comparative Analysis to identify necessary and sufficient conditions. Research in Science & Technological Education 27(1): 5-30.
• Cooper, B. & Glaesser, J. (2008). How has Educational Expansion changed the Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Achieving Professional, Managerial and Technical Class Positions in Britain? A Configurational Analysis. Sociological Research Online 13(3): 1-22.
• Glaesser, J. (2008). Just how flexible is the German selective secondary school system? A configurational analysis. International Journal of Research & Method in Education 31(2): 193-209.
• Glaesser, J. (2006). Dropping out of further education: A fresh start? Findings from a German Longitudinal Study. Journal of Vocational Education and Training 58: 83-97.

Books: authored

• Cooper, B., Glaesser, J., Hammersley, M. & Gomm, R. (2012). Challenging the Qualitative-Quantitative Divide Explorations in Case-focused Causal Analysis. Continuum.
• Glaesser, J. (2008). Soziale und individuelle Einflusse auf den Erwerb von Bildungsabschlussen. Konstanz, Germany: UVK.

Books: sections

• Glaesser, J. (2009). Arbeitslosigkeit als Risiko auf dem Berufsweg - Psychosoziale Bedingungsfaktoren. In Lebensverlaufe, Lebensbewaltigung, Lebensgluck: Ergebnisse der LifE-Studie. Fend, H., Berger, F. & Grob, U. 123-139.
• Cooper, B. & Glaesser, J. (2009). Educational Expansion and Meritocracy in Britain: a Boolean Analysis. In Expected and unexpected consequences of educational expansion in Europe and the US. Theoretical approaches and empirical findings in comparative perspective. Becker, R. & Hadjar, A. Bern: Haupt. 167-177.
• Glaesser, J. (2007). Berufseintritt ohne Ausbildung. In Arbeit und Identitat im Jugendalter. Die Auswirkungen der gesellschaftlichen Strukturkrise auf Sozialisation. Mansel, J. & Kahlert, H. Weinheim: Juventa. 79-92.

Conference papers

• Glaesser, J. & Lauterbach, W. (2004), Opportunities and risk factors in labour market entry: Results from a longitudinal study. Workshop: Mobility and Transitions in the Youth Labour Market, European Research Network on Transitions in Youth. Nurnberg, Nurnberg.