Chapter 10 Flashcards
______________ cannot be eliminated (through design), but must be __________ and ____________
The researcher’s biases cannot be eliminated (through design), but must be acknowledged and minimized
___________ is critical in providing an understanding of the phenomenon under investigation
context
Natural Setting
Behavior is studied as it naturally occurs
There is no intervention
Often described as “field research”
Direct Data Collection
The researcher is the instrument
Researchers spend a considerable amount of time interacting with participants, settings, and documents
Rich Narrative Descriptions
Descriptions are in the form of words and pictures rather than numbers
The descriptions, often lengthy, capture what has been observed in the same form in which it occurred naturally
Process Orientation
An emphasis on the process that produced behavior, rather than on the products and outcomes
There is a focus on the reasons that the outcomes occurred
Characteristics of Qualitative Research
Natural Setting Direct Data Collection Rich Narrative Descriptions Process Orientation Inductive Data Analysis Participant Perspectives Socially Constructed Meaning Emergent Research Design
Inductive Data Analysis
There are no “hypotheses” at the outset of a study to be proved or disproved; instead, data are gathered first and as analysis begins, emerge that lead to hypotheses that may then be confirmed or disconfirmed through by looking through additional data.
Qualitative researchers feel that hypotheses at the outset of a study limit the researcher, causing them to miss other important facets of the data
Participant Perspectives
Reality is reconstructed for the participant’s perspective, rather than the researcher’s perspective or some external neutral perspective
The meaning of events to the participant is a central focus
Socially Constructed Meaning
Participants actively construct their own reality (constructivist perspective or interpretivism)
Knowledge is built on participants’ lived experiences and situation-specific interactions with others
Emergent Research Design
Qualitative researchers begin their studies with some idea what data will be collected and the procedures that will be employed, but they give a full account of the methods retrospectively, after all the data have been collected.
The design is emergent in that it remains flexible and evolves during the study.
Types of Qualitative Research
Ethnographic Studies Case Studies Phenomenological Studies Grounded Theory Studies Critical Studies
Ethnographic Studies
An in-depth description and interpretation of cultural patterns and meanings within a culture or social group
Involves extensive or long-term interaction with the cultural or social group
Ethnographic Studies
Data collection methods
Data Collection Methods:
Observation
Interviews
Document and Artifact Analysis
______________ studies emphasize culture
ethnographic studies
__________________ research begins by establishing the foreshadowed questions (the initial problem statement).
Ethnographic research
Case Studies
An in-depth analysis of one or more events, settings, programs, social groups, communities, individuals, or other “bounded systems”
Because the case study typically involves a single case, __________________ is either limited or non-existent
generalizability
Phenomenological Studies
Describes and interprets the experiences of participants in order to understand the “essence” of the experience as it is perceived by the participants
Focuses on the consciousness of human experience
Focuses on the consciousness of human experience attempts to ___________
Attempts to distill the essential or invariant structure in the meanings given by the participants
Grounded Theory Studies
Discovers or generates theory that explains central phenomenon from the data
In grounded theory studies, the theory is ____________.
The theory is a set of propositions or a schema that explains the data
The theory is grounded in the data, which are collected in the field and therefore embedded within a natural context
__________________ study
Research questions are focused on what happened to individuals, why they believe it happened as it did, and what it means to them
Grounded Theory Studies
_______________ study
The research problem is: What is the essential meaning or the event, episode, or interaction?
Phenomenological Studies
___________________ study
The research question identifies the case and begins with a general question; it is often followed by several sub-questions
case studies
Critical Studies
The researcher serves as an advocate to respond to the themes and issues of marginalized individuals and groups
Focused on systems of power and control, privilege, inequality, dominance, and influence based on race, gender, and socioeconomic class
Purposeful samples
participants, documents, and artifacts are identified and used in qualitative research
Key informants are identified and used in groups when all cannot be studied
Sites and documents are selected purposefully to provide rich data
Qualitative research uses ____________ type of data collection.
purposeful samples
Ethnographic case study uses ____________ type of data collection.
internal sampling
A case study uses ____________ type of data collection.
a group of participants (an identified group)
The group is a collection of individuals who interact with each other, share the same space, and identify with each other
Larger groups are sometimes preferred, as the researcher’s presence is less likely to alter the behavior of larger groups
Phenomenological study uses ____________ type of data collection.
participants are selected who have experienced the phenomenon being investigated
Grounded theory study uses ____________ type of data collection.
participants, documents, and artifacts are selected based on the ability of each to contribute to the development of the theory
Critical theory study uses ____________ type of data collection.
sources of data are selected based upon their likelihood of providing evidence that will lead to advocacy for change
Research roles
Complete outsider
Complete insider
insider/outsider or partial participant
complete outsider
The researcher may be a complete outsider, totally detached from the naturally occurring behavior and activities of the participants
insider/outsider or partial participant
The research may be an insider/outsider or partial participant, which is somewhere in between the two
complete insider
The researcher may be a complete insider, who has an established role in the setting in which data are collected
Steps of Entry into the Field
Establish the Appropriate Role (for the researcher)
Obtain Initial Permission
Establish Rapport
Complete Observer
Observes without becoming a part of the process in any way
Observer Participant
Identified as a researcher and does not take on the role of participants
Participant Observer
Participates as a member of the group but is known as a researcher
Complete Participant
Participates as a member of the group and is not known as a researcher
The more the ___________ is actively involved with the ____________, the greater the chance that this involvement will change what ___________ actually do
researcher, participants
participants
Field Notes
Written descriptions of what was observed, as well as the researcher’s interpretations
Descriptive Information
Field note information that describes what has occurred. This information is neutral with regard to interpretation.
Reflective Information
Field note information that express the researcher’s speculations, feelings, interpretations, ideas, hunches, and impression. Sometimes called observer comments.
Informal Conversational Interview
Questions emerge from the immediate context and are asked in the natural course of events
Interview Guide Approach
Topics are selected in advance, but the researcher decides the sequence and wording of questions during the interview
Key Informant Interview
Interview with select individuals who have extensive knowledge of the group or problem
____________ typically don’t allow a dichotomous response (e.g., Yes or No), so that the respondent can expand on things
Interview questions
Life History Interview
Participant provides information on their life history, which gives developmental perspective
Focus Group Interview
An interview with 8 to 12 people that promotes interaction among the individuals and leads to a richer understanding of what is generated in the discussion. A moderator guides the discussion, must prevent one person or group of persons from dominating the discussion.
Documents
are usually written records, although not print materials (e.g., pictures or paintings) may also be used.
Primary Sources
Documents provided by those who were at the event or are firsthand accounts.
Secondary Sources
Documents that are summaries of primary sources or are secondhand accounts.
Artifacts
are archival sources that are not actual documents (e.g., comments on student records or buildings built by a particular civilization)
___________ and ____________ analysis can be used to verify findings originally derived from observations and interviews.
Document and artifact
Codes
must be created to characterize the segments or units
__________ is usually separated by its source
data
Emic Perspective
The view of an insider. Represented by participants interviews
Etic Perspective
The view of an outsider. Represented by the researcher’s interpretations (i.e., reflective field notes)
Category
A more general or abstract idea that represents the meaning of similarly coded information. In a large study, categories may include sub-categories that are hierarchically related to one another
Constant Comparative Method
Categories are formed and then used to try to summarize the coded data. Usually, codes are found that don’t fit, or categories are discovered that fit the coded data better. These new categories are then tried. This process proceeds recursively, until a set of categories is found that accounts for the vast majority of the coded data.
__________ are usually illustrated with quotes from participant interviews
Conclusions
The models are formed _________, synthesized from the data, categories, and patterns that emerge
inductively
Prolonged Engagement:
Engaging with participants over a long period of time
Transferability
The qualitative equivalent of external validity in quantitative research
It is the reader who must decide whether the results of the present study apply to another case or context
_______________ is enhanced by thick description of the site, participants, and procedures used to collect the data
Transferability
Member Checking
Having participants review the researcher’s interpretations and conclusions for accuracy
Triangulation
Finding several data sources that converge upon a single interpretation or conclusion
Negative Case Analysis
Analyzing cases that don’t fit the model
Peer Debriefing
Having a peer knowledgeable about the study confirm that the conclusions follow from the data
External Audit
Having a peer not knowledgeable about the study confirm that the conclusions follow from the data
Researcher Reflection
A self-analysis of the researcher’s own biases that may have influenced the conclusions reached
Thick Description
In depth presentation of the data so that readers may assess the conclusions reached in light of the data
Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative Research
The researcher’s background, interests, and expectations should be clear
The conceptual and theoretical frameworks for the study should be clear
The method of selecting participants should be clear
Field notes should contain detailed objective descriptions of just about everything
Researchers should be trained to conduct data collection
The credibility of the research should be addressed
Descriptions should be separate from interpretations
The researcher should use multiple methods of data collection
The study must be long enough
