7 mixed methods - quantitative and qualitative

Question 1

What are the main components of a qualitative analysis?

Answer 1

see the world of the participants
-> more insight as the focus is on textual rather than numerical data

why instead of how fast, how many

data must be collected in rigid and controlled way
-> validity as opposed to reliability

much more flexible and data-led

wording of the questions, style of asking the questions, order of the questions can vary

Question 2

What types of qualitative studies can be conducted?

Answer 2

• reviews
  pre-existing documentation (guidelines, policy documents, archived interviews, dairy entries, …)
• observation
  involves observing a particular setting or behaviour - or both
  non-participatory - avoiding influence - monitoring from distance
• interviews
  structured, semi-structured, unstructred
• focus groups
  group interviews

Question 3

Consider this scenario: Grace is a speech and language therapist and wants to develop a new approach to the treatment of language deficits following a left-hemisphere stroke. To do this, she first reviews the existing guidelines on post-stroke language treatment. She then spends a week making notes while working in her usual role on a stroke ward. This allows her to consider in more detail how the reviewed guidelines are actually implemented. Grace then finishes the first stage of her research by discussing the approach to post-stroke language treatment in a series of separate discussions with her colleagues.

Which of the main qualitative approaches would Grace be using in her research plan?

Answer 3

review then observation then interviews

Question 4

What is one definition of qualitative research?

Answer 4

Qualitative research is defined as

“the study of the nature of phenomena”

, including
“their quality, different manifestations, the context in which they appear or the perspectives from which they can be perceived”,

but excluding
“their range, frequency and place in an objectively determined chain of cause and effect”.

Question 5

How can qualitative methods be administered in health and health services research?

Answer 5

wide range of research questions generated by complexity of areas of interest

culture of the healthcare system, organisation, atmosphere are vital
→ diminish RCTs reliability

lay and professional health beliefs

qualitative description is a prerequisite of good quantitative research

naturalistic methods

development of concepts which help us to understand social phenomena in natural settings

‘What is X and how does X vary in different circumstances, and why?”

Answering the “what is X” question, though, is the foundation of quantification:
until something is classified it cannot be measured.

no a priori categories

Question 6

How can qualitative methods complement quantitative ones?

Answer 6

• complementary rather than exclusive

1. qualitative work can be conducted as an essential preliminary to quantitative research
2. supplementation
   triangulation/multimethod approach
3. exploring complex phenomena or areas not amenable to quantitative research

Question 7

What is epistemology?

Answer 7

theory of knowledge; scientific study which deals with the nature and validity of knowledge

Question 8

What is naturalistic research?

Answer 8

non-experimental research in naturally occurring settings
Social anthropology-social scientific study of peoples, cultures, and societies;
particularly associated with the study oftraditional cultures

Question 9

What is induction?

Answer 9

process of moving from observations/data towards generalisations, hypotheses, or theory;

Question 10

What is grounded theory?

Answer 10

hypothesising inductively from data, notably using subjects’ own categories, concepts, etc; opposite of deduction, process of data gathering to test predefined theory or hypotheses

Question 11

What is purposive or systematic sampling?

Answer 11

deliberate choice of respondents, subjects, or settings, as opposed to statistical sampling, concerned with the representativeness of a sample in relation to a total population. Theoretical sampling links this to previously developed hypotheses or theories

Question 12

What are fieldnotes?

Answer 12

collective term for records of observation, talk, interview transcripts, or documentary sources.

Question 13

What is content analysis?

Answer 13

systematic examination of text (field notes) by identifying and
grouping themes and coding, classifying, and developing categories

Question 14

What is analytic induction?

Answer 14

use of constant comparison specifically in developing hypotheses, which are then tested in further data collection and analysis

Question 15

What is triangulation?

Answer 15

use of three or more different research methods in combination;
principally used as a check of validity

Question 16

What are consensus techniques?

Answer 16

Delphi and nominal group techniques and consensus development conferences. They provide a way of synthesising information and dealing with conflicting evidence, with the aim of determining extent of agreement within a selected group

Question 17

What is validity?

Answer 17

extent to which a measurement truly reflects the phenomenon under scrutiny

Question 18

What is the hawthorne effect?

Answer 18

impact of the researcher on the research subjects or setting,
notably in changing their behaviour

Question 19

What is reliability?

Answer 19

extent to which a measurement yields the same answer each time it is used

Question 20

What are three components of reflixivity?

Answer 20

• demonstrating awareness of how biases may emerge
• thoughtfulness about, and attempts to minimise, the impact of the researcher on the data collected
• attempts to address bias through systematic and comprehensive analysis, and reflectiveness on the research methods

Question 21

What are key features of semi-structured interviews?

Answer 21

scheduled in advance

location outside everyday events

organised around a set of predetermined questions

other questions emerge from the dialogue

usually last 30mins to several hours

Question 22

What are key features of unstructured interviews?

Answer 22

guided conversations

originate from ethnographic and anthropological traditions

key informants are selected

interviewer elicits information

Question 23

Who is a good informant?

Answer 23

• knowledgeable about the topic
• able to reflect and provide detailed experiential information
• willing to talk

Question 24

What needs to be set before the interview?

Answer 24

• purpose
• clarification of topic
• format
• appropriate length
• assurance of confidentiality
• digital recorder? permission
• assure participant they may ask for clarification
• assure participant they can decline to answer
• assure participant there will be opportunities to ask questions

Question 25

What are the phases of an interview?

Answer 25

• building rapport
• apprehension phase (general convo about interview, prompt questions)
• exploration phase (more in depth, open-ended questions, probing)
• co-operative phase (free discussion, not a chat)
• participation phase (greatest rapport, not always reached, interviewee guides and teaches the researcher)
• concluding the interview (positive note, humor)

Question 26

What are possible probing techniques to be used during the exploration phase of an interview?

Answer 26

silent - thinking time allowed

echo - repeats the point

verbal agreement - expresses interest

tell me more - expand

long question - short one, then longer one

leading - explain reasoning

baiting - interviewer gives impression that they might be aware of certain information, prompting the participant to explain further

Question 27

What is important about the transcription process of an interview?

Answer 27

verbatim
practising the technique!

Question 28

What are ethical duties during and after an interview?

Answer 28

confidentiality
protection of study participants such that individual identities are not linked to information provided and are never publicly divulged

consequences
interview might be the only place where the topic is discussed
→ strong feelings
→ reflective discussions

Question 29

What is mixed method research?

Answer 29

combination of qual and quan

-> gain a more in depth understanding

-> strengthen both validity and reliability

methodological eclecticism
(combination might cancel out their respective weaknesses)

Question 30

How did mixed methods originate?

Answer 30

late 1970s from applied fields in social and behavioural sciences

formative component to summative component

causal effects as opposed to causal mechanisms

narratives might be intrinsically more interesting than numbers

Question 31

What are possible designs of a mixed method approach?

Answer 31

convergent parallel design
(go in parallel, do not influence each other)

exploratory sequential design
(one follows after the other)

+ nested
(both administered at the same time)

Question 32

What types of research problems can be adressed through mixed method?

Answer 32

assessing complex multi-component interventions or systems

what works for whom, when, how and why?

focussing on intervention improvement

Question 33

What are primary characteristics of mixed method approaches?

Answer 33

paradigm pluralism
(variety of paradigms may serve as underlying philosophy)

emphasis on diversity at all levels of the research entreprise

emphasis on continua rather than a set of dichotomies

Iteratice, cyclical approach to research
deductive and inductive logic
context of discovery
context of justification

focus on the research question in determining the methods employed within any given study

set of basic signature research designs and analytical processes

Question 34

What is the balance and comprise tendency?

Answer 34

• decline in conftrontationalism
• paths for fruitful dialog between paradigms
• cooperate and work with one another

Question 35

What is the issue related to the paradigms?

Answer 35

three accepted paradigmatic positions:

• pragmatism and its interpretations
  Howe (1988) - everyday pragmatism
• frameworks associated with the axiological assumption
  researchers need to be explicit about how to adress issues of social justice power differences and ethical implications
• dialectical stance, which involves using multiple assumptive frameworks within the same study
  paradigms are being mixed → away from attributes of paradigms but
  distinctive attributes

-> maybe we need to deconstruct paradigms and open up
- world views
- epistemological stances
- model examples
- shared beliefs in community of scholars

Question 36

What are issues related to the language of MMR?

Answer 36

bilingual - quan+qual
developing new language that crosses methodological designs

Question 37

What are issues in conducting MMR?

Answer 37

• A diversity of options
  many data analysis procedures are design-bound
  there is no correct design
  frameworks should be mixed

design is separable from research purpose

• data analysis
  identification of analogous analytical processes
  generation of unique lexicon of MMR analysis procedures indigenous to
  the area

Question 38

What are considerations when evaluating MMR?

Answer 38

1. Does the research question justify the use of mixed methods?
2. Is the method sequence clearly described, logical in flow and well aligned with study aims?
3. Is data collection and analysis clearly described and well aligned with study aims?
4. Does one method dominate the other or are they equally important?
5. Did the use of one method limit or confound the other method?
6. When, how and by whom is data integration (mixing) achieved?

Question 39

What are critiques of MMR?

Answer 39

• incompatibility thesis
• MMR subordinates qual methods to a secondary position to quan methods
• logistical concerns, costs
• methodological bilingualism is unworkable
• expertise
• fitting into MMR literature - writing good articles
• prematurely headed toward fixed consensus for social inquiry

Question 40

What categories would a decision tree for statistical approaches have?

Answer 40

• group differences or correlation/prediction
• how many dependent variables
• how many independent
• How many levels in the independent variables?
• is it categorical?
• are the same participants used in all conditions?