Analysing Qualitative Data Flashcards
What are some important things to consider when collecting data from individual interviews?
Single or multiple interviews?
Purposive sampling?
Topic guide or highly structured list of questions?
Inductive approach?
Cohesion between methodological approach and structure of interview - is there a good fit?
What practicalities do you have to consider when using individual interviews?
Piloting: who with and how many? Incentives Training for the interviewer Consent Confidentiality and anonymity
What challenges could you face when conducting individual interviews?
Sensitive subjects
Individual interview that becomes dyad (handling role of career/family/friend
Participants with different views to your own
How do you write a good topic guide?
Introduction,who you are, purpose, confidentiality, permission to record
Warm up; non threatening, easy questions
Main body of interview: covering main purpose of the interview
Cooling off: defusing tension, more straightforward questions
Closure: defying queries
What makes a good interview?
Pay attention
Show that you are listening
Provide feedback
Don’t interrupt
What are potential advantages of group interviews over individual interviews?
Efficiency
Closer to everyday conversation
Generates data that includes interaction between participants on top of interest (debate, discussion, disagreement)
Useful for sensitive subjects
What are some considerations to take when looking at group interviews?
Single point in time or repeated measures?
Pre-existing groups?
Use of stimulus materials
Directive/non-directive approach to facilitation
What are the practicalities of group interviews?
Number (usually 4-8) Incentives for participating Training for facilitator Help for facilitator Remember to over recruit Pilot venue, recruiting
What are some challenges of group interviews?
The loud one/ the quiet one
Too many/ too few
Sensitive topics
Ground rules about confidentiality
What is ‘saturation’?
In grounded theory, this means that you are not getting any further new information about the key psychological concepts from further interviews
What are the different approaches to analysing qualitative interviews?
Conversation analysis
E.g. How do doctors negotiate treatments
Discourse analysis
E.g. Which discourses do depressed people draw on in talking about themselves?
What are some features of thematic analysis?
Not tied to any one specific paradigm
Concerned with identifying, analysis, and reporting patterns within your data
Coding (bricks) build into themes (walls)
How is thematic analysis used in psychology?
Data familiarity Generation of initial codes Searching for themes Reviewing themes Defining and naming themes Writing up paper
What are some considerations of thematic analysis?
Inductive
Deductive
Sematic
Latent
What are some considerations for focus groups?
Coding for interactions and group dynamic
Coding for process, not just content
What’re some features of discourse analysis?
Frames research questions in terms of what people do with talk
Prefers naturally occurring speech
Interested in talk as social action
Emphasis on language as interaction
Features of discourse analysis continued:
Analysis of language at level being individual words
Interest in rhetorical devices, repertoires etc
Can be Foucauldian vs constructivist
DA provides both theory and prw time to guide analysis
What is Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis?
IPA is one of the most popular methods of analysing qualitative data in health psychology
Focus on lived experience and meaning making
Social context of experience views as important (notion of ‘life world’)
What are some features of IPA?
Often focuses on narrative data, collected via interviews
Origins in phenomenology and hermeneutics
What is constant comparative analysis?
The idea that you start doing your analysis at the same time as you are collecting your data is very important in grounded theory
What does the constant comparative analysis do?
Develops categories
Compares across interviews
Develops theory
What are the types of analysis approaches?
Content Thematic Discourse Framework Interpretative phenomenological Grounded theory Narrative Conversation
What is the process of analysis?
Analysis is about organising, understanding, and interpreting your data
Looking for patterns
Moving upwards toward more abstract thinking pl explanation, and theorising
What practical exercises do you complete when analysing?
Coding
Memos
Theorising
What is coding?
What are you doing when working with your data e.g. Labelling
What is memoing?
Writing notes about the data - reflexive account of what you’re doing, what you’re thinking
What is theorising?
Thinking about your data in a more abstract way. Moving beyond empirical data to interpretation and ideas
What are software programs that can be used to help analyse?
Nvivo
Atlas
How would you know when you’ve finished analysis?
Often difficult to know
Sharing with experts
Coherence, persuasiveness, integrity of analysis
Moved from description to interpretation, theory building
What are some practical issues of analysis?
If you feel lost when analysing probably mean you’re doing it right
Use loving document as memo to self to keep track of your thinking
Talk to other people
What are strengths of qualitative research?
Can provide rich, contextualised understanding of human behaviour
Useful for studying social phenomena in depth and detail
Can address complex issues or processes
Provides space for critical reflection on the researchers’ role/influence on research process
More strengths of qualitative research:
Inductive exploration can generate new understanding/fresh insight, or refine and extend existing theory
Can be used to study contexts and process not amenable to experimental manipulation e.g. Policy and management changes, natural/cultural contexts
What are potential limitations of qualitative research?
Cannot test hypotheses or make comparisons e.g. Group differences, relationships between variables
Can be criticised for lacking objectivity or reliability (but alternative criteria for quality)
Doesn’t generate causal explanations for behaviour
