Valerie Chepp – författare

AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE TO THE EVOLUTION OF THEORY AND METHODOLOGY WITHIN COGNITIVE INTERVIEW PROCESSESProviding a comprehensive approach to cognitive interviewing in the field of survey methodology, Cognitive Interviewing Methodology delivers a clear guide that draws upon modern, cutting-edge research from a variety of fields.Each chapter begins by summarizing the prevailing paradigms that currently dominate the field of cognitive interviewing. Then underlying theoretical foundations are presented, which supplies readers with the necessary background to understand newly-evolving techniques in the field. The theories lead into developed and practiced methods by leading practitioners, researchers, and/or academics. Finally, the edited guide lays out the limitations of cognitive interviewing studies and explores the benefits of cognitive interviewing with other methodological approaches. With a primary focus on question evaluation, Cognitive Interviewing Methodology also includes: Step-by-step procedures for conducting cognitive interviewing studies, which includes the various aspects of data collection, questionnaire design, and data interpretationNewly developed tools to benefit cognitive interviewing studies as well as the field of question evaluation, such as Q-Notes, a data entry and analysis software application, and Q-Bank, an online resource that houses question evaluation studiesA unique method for questionnaire designers, survey managers, and data users to analyze, present, and document survey data results from a cognitive interviewing study An excellent reference for survey researchers and practitioners in the social sciences who utilize cognitive interviewing techniques in their everyday work, Cognitive Interviewing Methodology is also a useful supplement for courses on survey methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate-level.

Readings in Social Justice: Power, Inequality, and Action provides students with a carefully curated selection of articles that explore the concept of social justice within social systems of power, inequality, and resistance. The anthology is grounded in literature on social change, liberation, ethics, and critical theory authored by prominent scholars, thinkers, practitioners, and activists in the field. It provides students with an interdisciplinary and introductory overview of the field of social justice studies.The book is divided into four distinct units. Unit 1 features readings that draw upon classical and foundational texts to introduce students to key concepts, vocabulary, and theories in social justice studies. Unit 2 includes contemporary texts with focus on the concepts of oppression, privilege, and intersectionality. In Unit 3, students learn about the various ways in which inequality and injustice manifest in our everyday lives and institutions. The final unit presents strategies for inciting and implementing social justice. Each unit includes a glossary of key terms, as well as post-reading questions to help readers comprehend and synthesize information across the anthology's featured texts.Developed to help students better understand social inequities, injustices, and opportunities for change, Readings in Social Justice is an exemplary resource for courses in sociology and social justice.

The twenty-first century is already riddled with protests demanding social justice, and in every instance, young people are leading the charge. But in addition to protesters who take to the streets with handmade placards are young adults who engage in less obvious change-making tactics. In Speaking Truths, sociologist Valerie Chepp goes behind-the-scenes to uncover how spoken word poetry—and young people's participation in it—contributes to a broader understanding of contemporary social justice activism, including this generation's attention to the political importance of identity, well-being, and love.  Drawing upon detailed observations and in-depth interviews, Chepp tells the story of a diverse group of young adults from Washington, D.C. who use spoken word to create a more just and equitable world. Outlining the contours of this approach, she interrogates spoken word activism's emphasis on personal storytelling and "truth," the strategic uses of aesthetics and emotions to politically engage across difference, and the significance of healing in sustainable movements for change. Weaving together their poetry and personally told stories, Chepp shows how poets tap into the beautiful, emotional, personal, and therapeutic features of spoken word to empathically connect with others, advance intersectional and systemic analyses of inequality, and make social justice messages relatable across a diverse public. By creating allies and forging connections based on friendship, professional commitments, lived experiences, emotions, artistic kinship, and political views, this activist approach is highly integrated into the everyday lives of its practitioners, online and face-to-face.  Chepp argues that spoken word activism is a product of, and a call to action against, the neoliberal era in which poets have come of age, characterized by widening structural inequalities and increasing economic and social vulnerability. She illustrates how this deeply personal and intimate activist approach borrows from, builds upon, and diverges from previous social movement paradigms. Spotlighting the complexity and mutual influence of modern-day activism and the world in which it unfolds, Speaking Truths contributes to our understanding of contemporary social change-making and how neoliberalism has shaped this political generation's experiences with social injustice.