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PSYC3020 - Applied Psychology > 20 - Qualitative Research > Flashcards

20 - Qualitative Research Flashcards

1
Q

Describe qualitative research

A

Interpretivism
• Researcher and social worldinteract
• Characterised by interpretivist theory of knowledge
• Facts and values not distinct
• Affected by researcher values and perspectives
• Not possible to do objective, value-free research

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2
Q

Describe quantitative research

A

Positivism
• World unaffected by the researcher
• Facts and values distinct, possible to do objective, value-free research that is generalizable
• Natural science method (hypothesis testing, causal explanations appropriate to understand social phenomena)

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3
Q

When do people use qualitative research?

A
  • When there is not much to go on
  • When you want a particular perspective on the topic
  • When you want to explain quantitative results
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4
Q

What are some features of qualitative research?

A
  • Uses INDUCTIVE reasoning
  • Has high VALIDITY
  • Has low RELIABILITY
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5
Q

What are the different types of sampling that can be used in qualitative research?

A

Purposive:

  • Participants recruited according to pre-selected criteria relevant to research question
  • Participants have the required experience or knowledge that researchers seek

Convenience:
- Participation invited because individuals are conveniently (opportunistically) available- access, location, time and willingness

Theoretical:

  • Used in grounded theory studies
  • Research starts from homogenous (small) and moves to a more heterogeneous (larger) sample
  • Occurs sequentially and alongside data analysis

Snowballing:

  • Recruiting one or a few people and then relying on these people to put the researcher in touch with others.
  • Useful where the sample are marginalised/stigmatised individuals and to find and recruit ‘hidden populations’
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6
Q

How is qualitative research data analysed?

A
  • Data usually presented in written form (observations, transcribed audio-taped interviews)
  • Data is transcribed, coded, categorised
    Present themes/patterns from data
  • Concept of ‘saturation’ of data
    Phase of analysis in which the researcher has continued sampling and analysing data until no new data/themes appear
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7
Q

What are the problems with qualitative research?

A

Ensuring rigour
- Use appropriate methods to maximise validity and reliability

Results may be influenced by personal bias & idiosyncrasies

Generalising beyond the sample

Time consuming

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8
Q

How to improve rigour in sampling?

A

Purposive sampling to maximise likelihood of capturing all views

  • Recruit a range of participants for key variables likely to influence views
  • Practical considerations also important (e.g. snowball sampling for ‘hidden’ populations)

New variables may emerge in analyses and prompt additional sampling of different groups

Sampling continues until no new themes are identified in three consecutive interviews- ‘saturation’

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9
Q

How to improve rigour in data collection?

A
  • Interview / focus groups: Audio or video-recorded. Transcribed in full
  • Participant confidentiality assured

Interviewer:

  • Suitably trained in qualitative methods
  • Accepted by participants as trustworthy
  • Familiar with the context
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10
Q

What is reflexivity?

A

awareness of the way own beliefs/attitudes affect the research process and outcomes

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11
Q

How to improve rigour in data analysis?

A
  • Agreement between the researchers on the categorisation of data can be calculated
  • Map the relationships between themes to explain findings
  • Make sure the themes/concepts are supported by the data rather than based on your assumptions
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12
Q

How to improve rigour in data coding?

A
  • Development and application of coding frame (with themes/concepts) can improve rigour
  • Immersion in the data (e.g. read transcripts multiple times)
  • Multiple researchers should code some of the same transcripts and compare results to improve the coding frame
  • Apply final coding frame systematically to all the data by annotating the transcripts with codes
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13
Q

How to improve rigour in validity checking?

A

Triangulation
- Compare same issue from different sources, methods, points (e.g. researcher notes, interview transcripts, audio-tapes)

Provide evidence for themes/concepts
- Use participants’ own language to demonstrate the source of the theme or concept (e.g. illustrative quotes)

Participant feedback/validation/verification

  • Member checking
  • Ask participants to review your interpretation of their data
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14
Q

List some common qualitative approaches

A

Grounded theory
Interpretive Phenomological Analysis
Ethnography

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15
Q

Describe Grounded theory as a qualitative approach to health research

A
  • Strong tradition grounded theory in health research
  • Aims; To collect and analyse qualitative data to
    Describe components of a phenomenon
    The relationships between them
    Generate a theory of the phenomena that is ‘grounded’ in the data
  • Methods; Complex iterative process, no distinct end point
     Coding: identifying/describing codes, relating codes to one another
     Memoing: recording thoughts/ideas as they evolve
     Diagrams: make sense of the data with respect to the emerging theory
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16
Q

Describe Phenomological Analysis (IPA) as a qualitative approach to health research

A

Aims; To gain a detailed examination of the participant’s lifeworld, personal experience/perceptions of an event
- To gain understanding of the lived experience through its meaning to individuals

Methods
 Data collection: open questions, look for meaning of the experience for that person, check interpretation with the person. Interview with open questions.
 Data analysis: Goal is to describe phenomena and improve understanding; Might not have obvious ‘conclusions’

17
Q

Describe Ethnography as a qualitative approach to health research

A

Aims

  • Seeks to understand human behaviour and individuals’ experiences within a group culture
  • Originally tied to ethnicity and geographic location, broadened to study culture of any group/organisation

Methods

  • Most common approach is participant observation (e.g. field research)
  • ethnographer becomes immersed in the culture and records extensive field notes
18
Q

What is a thematic analysis?

A
  • Useful approach for doing applied qualitative research in health
  • Method for identifying, analysing, and reporting patterns (themes) within data.
  • Highly flexible- not bound to a particular theoretical approach
  • Progresses from description of data&raquo_space;> interpretation of the significance of patterns and their broader meanings and implications
  • Authors provide step-by-step guide to thematic analysis
19
Q

What is framework method of analysis?

A
  • Analytic approach which sits within the broad family of thematic analysis
  • Tool for supporting thematic analysis because it provides a systematic model for managing and mapping data
  • 7 key steps
20
Q

What are the 7 key steps in the framework method of analysis?

A
  1. Transcription
  2. Familiarisation with the Interview
  3. Coding
  4. Developing a working analytical framework
  5. Applying the analytical framework
  6. Charting data into the framework matrix
  7. Interpreting the data
21
Q

What are some strategies to ensure rigour in the framework method of analysis?

A
  • Immersion: Steps 1 and 2 focus on researcher immersion with the data
  • Team-based coding: Advocates for several researchers to engage in coding and for all team members to read summaries to offer perspectives during analysis
  • Close attention to participant experiences: Through charting- researchers pay close attention to describing the data using participant’s own expressions, before moving onto interpretation
  • Systematic, thorough analysis: Systematic procedures makes analysis easy to follow
  • Inclusion of contextual data: Flexible enough that non-interview data (e.g. field notes taken during interview or reflexive considerations) can be included in matrix
  • Audit-trail: Framework method ensures there is a clear audit trail from original raw data to final themes, including illustrative quotes.
22
Q

What are some pitfalls to the framework method?

A
  • Temptation to quantify: Systematic approach, matrix format, spreadsheet-look»> can be appealing to those trained quantitatively- increases temptation to quantify the qualitative data (e.g. “13/20 participants said …”)
  • Resource intensive: Framework method is time consuming and resource-intensive
  • High training needs: High training component to successfully use Framework Method

PSYC3020 - Applied Psychology (25 decks)

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