1.5 Qualitative Research Methods Flashcards
What are the 4 main types of qualitative research methods?
- Observation
- Interview
- Focus Group
- Case Study
Why may observation be used as a research method?
- focus of research is on how people interact and their behaviours
- researchers believe that the most meaningful knowledge can only be acquired via observations
- allows researcher to become deeply immersed into the phenomenon
What are the 7 main types of observation?
- laboratory
- naturalistic
- overt
- covert
- participant
- structured
- unstructured
What is laboratory observation?
An observation carried out in an artificial/research setting
What is the advantage of a laboratory observation?
An experiment can be tightly controlled, for example decreasing the risk of confounding variables
What is the disadvantage of a laboratory observation?
It is difficult to generalize the findings to a natural environment
What is naturalistic observation?
Naturalistic observation is carried out in naturally occurring settings, i.e one that has not been arranged for the purposes of the study
What is the advantage of naturalistic observation?
Sometimes it may be the only choice as it may be unethical to choose laboratory setting e.g when observing violence
What is the disadvantage of naturalistic observation?
May be time-consuming to wait for behaviour of interest to occur
What is overt observation?
Overt observation occurs when participants are aware of the fact that they are being observed
What is the advantage of overt observation?
Ethics are adhered to as participants give consent
What is the disadvantage of overt observation?
here are methodological constraints, for example participant bias such as social desirability bias.
What is covert observation?
In covert observation the participants are not informed about the fact that they are being observed
What are the advantages of covert observation?
Researcher gains access to groups to which would not normally agree to be observed
Avoidance of participant bias i.e. participants behave naturally
What is the disadvantage of covert observation?
Unethical as participants do not give informed consent
How could you avoid the ethical issue surrounding covert observation?
Participants can be debriefed after the observation session and are asked for their consent before the data is used
What is participant observation?
In participant observation the observer becomes part of the observed group
What is the advantage of participant observation?
It allows the researcher to gain first hand experiences
What are the disadvantages of participant observation?
Researcher may lose objectivity if they begin to identify with the group
Unethical not to inform group that one of the members is a researcher
What is structured observation?
In structured observation the information is recorded systematically and in a standardised way e.g a checklist of behaviours
What is the advantage of structured observation?
It produces easily comparable data
What are the disadvantages of structured observation?
may be hard to fit observation into one category
- takes away natural aspect of observation
What is unstructured observation?
Unstructured observations do not have a pre-defined structure and observers simply register whatever behaviours they find noteworthy
What is the advantage of unstructured observation?
It provides detailed qualitative data
What is the disadvantage of unstructured observation?
Researcher may not be able to note down all note-worthy behaviours
- not enough time or simply not able to notice every behaviour
Why might an interview be used as a research method?
- may be the only way to get an insight into subjective experiences and interpretations
- a better way to understand the participants point of view
- in-depth individual interviews are useful when sensitive topics are discussed
What is an interview transcript?
A written record of the interview
What are the 3 types of interviews?
- structured interviews
- semi-structured interviews
- unstructured interviews
What is a structured interview?
An interview which includes a fixed list of questions that are asked in a fixed order
What is a semi-structured interview?
Do not specify an order or a particular set of questions
What are the advantages of a semi-structured interview?
Researcher knows questions but can also add questions or ask for clarifications
Researcher can change the question order if it fits the flow of the interview better
What is a disadvantage of a semi-structured interview?
Better suited for smaller research projects or in studying the unique experiences of each participant
What is an unstructured interview?
Mostly participant-driven
Every new question is determined by the interviewee’s answer to the previous one
What is an advantage of an unstructured interview?
Unstructured interviews may encourage the participant to be more honest in their answers
What are disadvantages of an unstructured interview?
Two different interviewee’s may get very different sets of questions
Hard to standardise
What is a focus group?
Special type of semi-structured interview that is conducted simultaneously with 6-10 people
Key idea is that participants are encouraged to interact with each other and researcher is facilitator
Participants discuss responses to each question and react to each other’s statements
What are 4 advantages of a focus group?
Quick way to get info from several participants at same time
Creates more natural environment ensuring less participant bias
Easier to respond to sensitive question in group
Multiple perspectives are discussed
What are 3 limitations of a focus group?
If one participant is particularly dominant, may distort responses of other participants, facilitators responsibility to ensure each person contributes
More difficult to preserve anonymity and confidentiality
Demanding in terms of sampling and creating interview transcripts
What is a case study?
An in-depth investigation of an individual or a group
It is anything (any method) that deepens our understanding of an individual or a group of interest
why are case studies deemed as a different research method even though they’re a mix of other methods?
Individual or group is unique in some way - want to gain a deeper understanding for this particular group
Less focus on generalisability
Case is studied thoroughly, using a combination of different methods
What are 3 advantages of case studies?
Useful to investigate phenomena that are unique e.g groups hard to get into
Can be used as a base to help develop new theories or contradict other theories
Case is studied thoroughly using a combination of different methods
What are 4 disadvantages of case studies?
Participant bias - may get too close to researcher, acquiescence or social desirability bias more likely
Generalisability is problematic (from a single case to a wider population)
Researcher bias - researchers may get too involved and connected with person/group being studies
Demanding in terms of anonymity and confidentiality - difficult to preserve the anonymity of unique cases
