Chapter 13 - "Contextual Qualitative Methods"

Question 1

constructionism/constructivism

Answer 1

Philosophies that suggest that meaning and reality do not exist in a fixed form external to the perceiver, but rather are actively constructed by members of a particular community in order to achieve particular objectives. Although very similar, these two philosophies have slightly different nuances. In particular, constructivism can refer to analytic approach that is based on examination of the way in which different realities are created.

Question 2

idealism

Answer 2

A philosophy that suggests that features of the world are created through the subjective act of perceiving the world and hence are not amenable to measurement or definitive characterization.

Question 3

idiographic approach

Answer 3

An approach to research that attempts to develop person-specific analyses of phenomena in the particular context in which they arise. This is not oriented to the discovery of universal causal laws (of the form ‘A always leads to B’).

Question 4

nomothetic approach

Answer 4

An approach to research that attempts to develop class-wide analyses of phenomena that apply generally to members of a given group or population. This is oriented to the discovery of universal causal laws (of the form “A always leads to B’).

Question 5

positivism

Answer 5

An approach to science that assumes that scientific activity produces (and should aim to produce) knowledge about objectively present and knowable features of the world.

Question 6

postmodernism

Answer 6

In popular (and rather loose) usage, a philosophy that embraces the tenets of idealism, relativism, and constructivism in arguing that the constructs of value and worth are entirely dependent on the perspective of the judge and therefore that they are impossible to establish objectively.

Question 7

realism

Answer 7

A philosophy that suggests that features of the world exist in an objective form that makes them amenable to measurement and definitive characterization.

Question 8

data reduction

Answer 8

The process of simplifying a data set by combining responses on one or more measures.

Question 9

factor analysis

Answer 9

A statistical method of data reduction that identifies and combines sets of dependent variables that are measuring similar things. The method relies on assessment of the correlations between all dependent variables and extraction of a small number of underlying factors that can be viewed as independent sources of relationships among these variables.

Question 10

personal constructs

Answer 10

The ways in which a person subjectively understands and represents important features of their world. These are typically elicited among repertory grid analysis.

Question 11

repertory grid analysis

Answer 11

A method for summarizing aspects of participants’ personal constructs. The core feature of this is a grid that identifies similarities and differences among elements that are judged with reference to dimensions (constructs) generated by the participant.

Question 12

coding units

Answer 12

In qualitative analysis, the discrete features of any sampling domain (e.g., particular words or phrases) that form the basis of the coding system.

Question 13

content analysis

Answer 13

A method for abstracting meaningful quantitative data from qualitative data that relate to an aspect of communication.

Question 14

inter-rater reliability

Answer 14

The level of agreement between two or more raters when they use a particular coding system to code qualitative data. Examples of inter-rater reliability statistics include Cohen’s kappa and Krippendorff’s alpha.

Question 15

relativism

Answer 15

A philosophy which asserts that there is no such thing as universal objective truth. Instead it is asserted that different interpretative frameworks and perspectives create their own truths and that no absolute criteria exist for differentiating between these in order to establish their validity.

Question 16

constructionist/constructivist methods

Answer 16

Approaches to psychological research that embrace a philosophy of constructionism/constructivism. Among other things, they (a) reject the scientific method as a means of developing psychological knowledge and (b) involve research and theorizing that attempt to understand, but not go beyond, the perspective and experience of participants.

Question 17

contextualist qualitative methods

Answer 17

Approaches to psychological research in which reliance on scientific method is tempered by an emphasis on developing theory that is sensitive to the perspective and experience of both participants and researchers as well as to the context in which research takes place.

Question 18

reflexivity

Answer 18

The process through which a researcher reflects on his or her own role in producing particular research outcomes.

Question 19

coding system

Answer 19

In qualitative analysis, the categories used to summarize key features of a data set.

Question 20

concept card

Answer 20

A card that lists the various ways in which a concept (or theme) has been used within a given data set.

Question 21

fit

Answer 21

In grounded theory, the degree to which any aspect of analysis is an appropriate and recognizable description of the phenomena under investigation.

Question 22

grounded theory

Answer 22

A qualitative research practice in which understanding of a phenomenon is inductively derived from studying that phenomenon from the perspective of those to whom it is relevant. In this way, the researcher does not begin with a theory and then test it; instead, theory is discovered, developed and provisionally verified as it emerges from systematic examination of data.

Question 23

open coding

Answer 23

In grounded theory, the process of developing coding concepts and categories that fit the data as closely as possible. For this reason, such concepts are not predetermined but evolve over the course of the coding process.

Question 24

reflexive journal

Answer 24

A researcher’s record of thoughts and activities that relate to the research process. Among other things, this is intended to provide insight into the decisions that guide data management.

Question 25

saturation

Answer 25

The point at which no more is discovered about a particular analytical construct through the collection of more data. In qualitative research this is often a key criterion for deciding how much data to collect and analyse (akin to power analysis in quantitative research).

Question 26

taxonomy

Answer 26

A classification scheme used to summarize and organize information.

Question 27

double hermeneutic

Answer 27

A feature of the research process that reflects the fact that attempts to discover the meaning of phenomena for participants is necessarily bound up with the meaning that they have for researchers.

Question 28

interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)

Answer 28

A research method that attempts to discover the meaning of phenomena for participants, but that also recognizes — and attempts to do justice to the fact — that this is necessarily bound up with the meaning that those phenomena have for researchers.

Question 29

interview schedule

Answer 29

The plan for an interview that provides details of the issues that a researcher wants to explore and the questions that the researcher wants to ask. It may also include details of prompts to be used in the event that a question proves difficult for an interviewer to answer.

Question 30

phenomenology

Answer 30

The meaning that a given phenomena has for the people who experience it.

Question 31

rapport

Answer 31

The process through which an interviewer seeks to establish a positive relationship and build trust with an interviewee. This is often important for the interview to flow smoothly and for it to yield useful data.

Question 32

semi-structured interview

Answer 32

An interview in which a researcher has a predetermined set of questions to ask, but where the interviewer does not necessarily stick to these or ask them in a particular sequence. Instead, the interview is conducted in a naturalistic and conversational manner that puts the interviewee at ease and facilitates rapport between interviewer and interviewee.

Question 33

structured interview

Answer 33

An interview in which a predetermined set of questions is asked in a predetermined sequence. The goal is to maximize consistency across interviews and ensure that all participants have a similar experience.

Question 34

discourse analysis

Answer 34

A constructionist practice that involves the fine-grained analysis of language. By this means researchers focus on how language does more than merely describe the world or relay information, but is used instead to achieve complex social objectives in particular contexts.

Question 35

methodolatry

Answer 35

A dogmatic approach to research methods that argues that one method (or set of methods e.g., those that are quantitative) is inherently superior to all others.

Question 36

methodological pluralism

Answer 36

An approach to research methods that argues that researchers need to be able to use different types of research method in order to answer different types of research question.