CH 16. Analysis of Qualitative Data Flashcards
The first major step that a researcher must undertake in a qualitative analysis is which of the following?
A) A search for major themes
B) A search for appropriate metaphors
C) The use of quasi-statistics
D) Developing a system for organizing and indexing the data
Ans: D
Feedback:
A first step in analyzing qualitative data is to organize and index the materials for easy retrieval, typically by coding the content of the data according to a category scheme. The actual analysis of data begins with a search for patterns and themes, which involves the discovery not only of commonalities across participants, but also of natural variation in the data. Some qualitative analysts use metaphors or figurative comparisons to evoke a visual and symbolic analogy. Another analytic step involves validation of the thematic analysis. Some researchers use quasi-statistics, a tabulation of the frequency with which certain themes or relations are supported by the data. In a final step, analysts try to weave the thematic strands together into an integrated picture of the phenomenon under investigation.
Before the advent of computer software for qualitative analysis, the main procedure for managing qualitative data was the development of which of the following?
A) Conceptual files
B) Core categories
C) Memos
D) Themes
Ans: A
Feedback:
Traditionally, researchers have organized their data by developing conceptual files, which are physical files in which coded excerpts of data for specific categories are placed. Memos, themes, and core categories have not traditionally been used for management of qualitative data; rather they are current methods of analyzing qualitative data. Now, however, computer programs (CAQDAS) are widely used to perform basic indexing functions and to facilitate data analysis.
Which of the following statements is true?
A) Narrative materials tend to be linear, which simplifies the coding process.
B) Qualitative researchers typically develop a category scheme before they collect their data.
C) CAQDAS is available for coding, organizing, and retrieving qualitative data.
D) Content analysis is the analytic method used in phenomenologic studies.
Ans: C
Feedback:
Computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) can help to remove some of the work of cutting and pasting pages of narrative material. Software cannot, however, do the coding, and it cannot tell the researcher how to analyze the data.. Narrative materials usually are not linear, a fact that complicates coding. For example, paragraphs from transcribed interviews may contain elements relating to three or four different categories, embedded in a complex fashion. A preliminary category system is sometimes drafted before data collection, but more typically qualitative analysts develop category schemes based on a scrutiny of actual data. Qualitative content analysis involves analyzing the content of narrative data to identify prominent themes and patterns among the themes; this approach is not used in phenomenologic studies, which have alternate analytic methods.
Steps generally employed in the management and analysis of qualitative data include which of the following? Select all that apply.
A) Testing hypotheses
B) Searching for recurrent themes and patterns
C) Validating themes and patterns
D) Developing a category scheme
Ans: B, C, D
Feedback:
Glaser’s grounded theory method is concerned with the generation of categories and hypotheses rather than testing them. A first step in analyzing qualitative data is to organize and index the materials for easy retrieval, typically by coding the content of the data according to a category scheme that is developed. The actual analysis of data begins with a search for patterns and themes and continues with the validation of these patterns and themes..
Quasi-statistics are essentially a method of which of the following?
A) Statistical analysis
B) Validation
C) Thematic generation
D) Constant comparison
Ans: B
Feedback:
Validation concerns whether the themes accurately represent the perspectives of the participants. In validating and refining themes, some researchers introduce quasi-statisticsóa tabulation of the frequency with which certain themes or insights are supported by the data. Statistical analysis is a method used in analyzing quantitative studies. In a final step of theme generation, analysts try to weave the thematic strands together into an integrated picture of the phenomenon under investigation. Grounded theory uses the constant comparative method of data analysis, a method that involves comparing elements present in one data source (e.g., in one interview) with those in another.
What does the actual analysis of data usually
begin with?
A) A search for major themes
B) Entering information into files
C) The use of quasi-statistics
D)Developing a system for organizing and
indexing the data
A) A search for major themes
Some qualitative analysts use figurative
comparisons to evoke a visual and symbolic
analogy. What is this called?
A) Themes
B) Categories
C) Metaphors
D) Quasi-statistics
C) Metaphors
What does the process of constant comparison
involve?
A)
Comparing two researchers’ interpretation of
the data
B)
Comparing the researchers’ interpretation of
the data against study participants’
interpretation
C)
Comparing data segments against other
segments for similarity
D)
Comparing data from the study with data and
categories from other similar studies
C)
Comparing data segments against other
segments for similarity
One approach to analyzing ethnographic data
is Spradley’s method, which involves how
many levels of data analysis?
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
D) 4
What type of analysis uncovers cultural
themes?
A) Domain
B) Taxonomic
C) Componential
D) Theme
D) theme
What type of analysis compares and contrasts
terms in a domain?
A) Domain
B) Taxonomic
C) Componential
D) Theme
C) Componential
What type of analysis selects key domains
and constructs systems of classification?
A) Domain
B) Taxonomic
C) Componential
D) Theme
B) Taxonomic
Leininger and McFarland provided
ethnographers with a four-phase ethno
nursing data analysis guide. What is the first
phase?
A) Collecting and recording data
B) involves identifying and categorizing descriptors
C) Searching for repetitive patterns
D) Abstracting major themes
A) Collecting and recording data
To grasp the essential meaning of the
experience being studied, researchers search
for themes. What is the holistic approach?
A)Find common patterns of experiences shared
by particular instances.
B) Viewing text as a whole.
C) Pulling out key statements and phrases.
D) Analyzing every sentence in the analysis
B) Viewing text as a whole.
Central to analyzing data in a hermeneutic
study is the notion of the hermeneutic circle.
What is a hermeneutic circle?
A)
Find common patterns of experiences shared
by particular instances.
B)Continual movement between the parts and
the whole of the text.
C) Pulling out key statements and phrases.
D) Analyzing every sentence in the analysis
B)Continual movement between the parts and
the whole of the text
