VSAIEEDC - A Cognition-Based Generic Model for Qualitative Data Analysis in Giftedness and Talent Research

Abstract

Qualitative research is not yet generally accepted in the study of giftedness and talent. Psychometrically oriented research tends to dominate. Critics raise concern that in qualitative research, analytical models are often vague and therefore replication nigh-impossible. The fact that there are many epistemological schools of thought, each proposing its own analytical tradition, adds to the confusion keeping controversy alive and well through philosophical debates. The aim of this article is to bridge the chasm between critics and proponents of qualitative research as valid science in its own right by outlining a generic and explicit model for the analysis of qualitative data, namely the VSAIEEDC Model. It is based on cognitive function rather then philosophical tenets and therefore, also on the assumption that all models for qualitative analysis have a common basis quite irrespective of epistemological tradition. A distinction is made between unaware analytical behavior as a necessity for everyday-living and formal analytical behavior as intentional, explicit, and applied in science. In conclusion, the need for stringent qualitative research into the socioemotional issues of the gifted and talented is discussed.

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Notes on contributors

Roland S. Persson

Roland S Persson, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology in the School of Education & Communication (HLK), Jönköping University, Sweden. He is former Editor in chief of High Ability Studies and current member of several editorial boards for scholarly publishing. Research interests focus on the gifted individual in a variety of contexts; music, sports and society as a whole.