AHS 301 Exam 3 Flashcards
Qualitative Research
- looking for patterns of association as a way to understand underlying meaning and dimensionality of phenomena (event)
- involves triangulation
- merging together of various data collection strategies
- is flexible & elastic, capable of adjusting to what is being learned during the course of data collection
- tends to be holistic, striving for an understanding of the whole
- requires researchers to become inversely involved
- often remaining in the field for lengthy periods of time
- requires ongoing analysis of the data to formulate subsequent strategies and to determine when fieldwork is done
Activities in a qualitative study (planning the study)
- identifying the research problem
- doing a literature review
- developing an overall approach
- selecting and gaining entry into research sites
- developing methods to safeguard participants
Activities in a qualitative studies (developing data collection strategies)
- deciding what type of data to gather & how to gather them
- deciding from whom to collect data
- deciding how to enhance trustworthiness
Activities in a qualitative study (gathering and analyzing data)
- collecting data
- organizing and analyzing data
- evaluating data: making modifications to data collection strategies, if necessary
- evaluating data: determining if saturation has been achieved
Activities in a qualitative study (disseminating findings)
- communicating findings
- utilizing (or making recommendations for utilizing) findings in proactive and future research
Grounded Theory Studies
- rooted in sociology
- describe & understand the key social, psychological & structural processes that occur in a social setting
- social & psychological stages & phases that characterize a particular event or episode
- based on the social experience of a group of individuals
- goal is to discover a core variable that is central in explaining what is going on in that social scene
- involves in-depth interviews & observation
Phenomenology Studies
- rooted in philosophy & psychology
- exploring & understanding people’s everyday life experiences
- examining the meaning of lived experiences of humans
- 4 aspects of lived experiences
- lived space
- lived body
- lived time
- lived human relation
- 4 aspects of lived experiences
- goal is to determine what is the essence of a particular event as experienced by those undergoing the experience
- researchers and informants are co-participants
Ethnography Studies (part 1)
- rooted in anthropology
- description & interpretation of cultural behavior
- study cultural patterns & experiences in a holistic fashion
- culture is inferred from the words, actions & products
- goal is to learn from (rather than to study) members of a cultural group to understand their world view as they perceive and live it
- involves extensive fieldwork
- participate to the extent possible in the life of the culture under study
Ethnography Studies (part 2)
- seek to learn from members of a cultural group to understand their world view
- emic perspective:
- way members of the culture envision their world (insiders view)
- emic is the local language, concepts, and means of expression that are used by the members of the group under study to characterize their experiences
- etic perspective:
- outsiders interpretation of the experiences of that culture
- language used by those doing the research to refer to the same phenomena
Ethnography Studies (part 3)
Types of information obtained:
-cultural behavior (what members of the culture do)
-cultural artifacts (what members of the culture make & use)
-cultural speech (what people say)
Participant Observation
-researcher makes observations of the culture under study while
participating in its activities
-data sources used include observations, in-depth interviews, records, charts, & other types of physical evidence (photographs, letters, diaries)
-make interpretations of the culture, describing normative behavioral and social patterns
Ethnomethodology Studies
- discover how people make sense of their everyday activities & interpret their social words so as to behave in socially acceptable ways
- researchers attempt to understand a social groups norms & assumptions that are so deeply ingrained that the members no longer think about the underlying reasons for their behaviors
Data collection - emergent design
- design emerges during the course of data collection
- researcher makes ongoing decisions reflection on what has already been learned
- talk with or observe a few people that have had 1st-hand experience with even under study
- loosely structured process
- allows for the expression of a full range of beliefs, feelings & behaviors
Data Collection - unstructured reviews
- start with some general questions or topics and allow respondents to tell their stories in a conversational fashion
- respondents guide the discussion & identify/elaborate on what is most relevant to them
- not guided by a researchers a priori w/little interruption
- may start w/ a grand tour question
- “what happened when you first learned you had AIDS.”
Data Collection - semi-structured interviews
- researchers know what they want to ask, but cannot predict what the answers will be
- prepare in advance a written topic guide
- list of areas or questions to be covered w/each participant
- encourage participants to talk freely about all the topics on the list & to tell stories in their own words
- designed to elicit more detailed information
- “what happened next?”
- “when that happened, how did you feel?”
- goal is to ask questions that give respondents an opportunity to provide rich, detailed information about the phenomenon under study
Data Collection - focus groups interview
- a group of 4 or more people is assembled for a discussion
- interviewer (moderator) guides the discussion according to a written set of questions or topics to be covered
- carefully planned discussions
- takes advantage of group dynamics
- those selected tend to be fairly homogenous
- setting should be one that is comfortable, not intimidating, accessible & easy to find
- researchers other than the moderator should be present to take detailed notes about each session
- limitations:
- may be uncomfortable expressing ones views in front of group
- group thinking can take over
- group culture that inhibits individual expression
Characteristics of good interviews
- usually congenial, friendly people who have the capacity to see the situation from the respondents perspective
- nonverbal communication can be critical in conveying concern and interest (facial expressions, postures, nods)
- study participants will not share much information if they don’t trust the interviewer
- interviewers need to be a good listener
- not to interrupt respondents, to “lead” them, to offer advice or opinions, to counsel them or to share personal experiences
Post - interview procedures
Tape-recorded interviews
- listened to & checked for audibility & completeness
- identify any problems with the recording
- may suggest possible follow-up questions if respondents are re-contacted
- transcription of interviews need to be done with rigors
- needs to be transcribed word for word
- need to enter information about pauses, laughter, crying, or volume of respondents speech
- need to listen to the recording while double-checking transcript
- 3hours of transcription time for every hour of interviewing
Observations
Participant observation:
-observations occur within the group under study
-participate in the functioning of the social group under investigation and strive to observe, ask questions, and record information within the contexts, structures, and symbols that are relevant to group members
Unstructured Observations
-watching and recording unfolding behaviors
-observers do not interact w/participants in activities
Observers role
4-phase sequence/continuum
-primarily observation with active listening (learning the ropes)
-primarily observation wit limited participation
-primarily participation with continued observation
-primary reflection and reconfirmation of findings w/informants
Continuum that does not assume and evolving process
-complete participant
-participant observer
-observer as participant
-complete observer
-gaining entry into the social group it culture under study
-establishing rapport & developing trust within social group
Field Notes
-observers efforts to record information and synthesize & understand the data
-narrative account of what is happening in the field
-usually lengthy and time-consuming to prepare
Observational notes:
-objective descriptions of observed events & conversations
-information about actions, dialogue, and context are recorded as completely & objectively as possible
Reflective notes:
-document the researchers personal experiences, reflections, & progress while in the field
Data Analysis and Interpretation
- ongoing
- who to sample next
- types of questions to ask
- observations to be made
- begin to identify themes & categories that describe event under study
Data issues to consider
Data saturation
-when themes and categories in the data become repetitive and redundant
-no new information can be obtained by further data collection
Trustworthiness of data
-while in the field, findings accurately reflect the experiences & viewpoints of participants
-NOT the perception of the researcher
Tuskegee syphilis study
- US public health system
- 1932-1972
- black sharecroppers in Macon County, AL
- 399 cases
- 201 controls
- study the effects of untreated syphilis — “bad blood”
Tuskegee syphilis study
1940-efforts made to prevent men from getting treatment under the military draft
1945-penicillin became standard treatment for syphilis
1946-judiciary council of the AMA
-ethics of experiments involving human subjects
-based on the Nuremberg Code
3 requirements for participation in research studies:
1. The voluntary consent of the person on who, the experiment is to be performed must be obtained
2. The danger of each experiment must be previously investigated by animal experimentation
3. The experiment must be performed under proper medical protection and management
