Chapter 9 Flashcards - Principle of Methodological Coherence, COREQ, Relativistic Approach to Evaluating Qualitative Research
What does the principle of methodological coherence say?
An indicator of quality research; requires alignment within a research design, including coherence among researcher’s philosophical assumptions, questions, designs, etc.
- Should logically connect different aspects showing that various parts of the study connect together
Example of what is not methodological coherence?
Studying motivational climate of elite sports
- Did not purposefully sample elite players but rather asked novice players
- Low methodological coherence because aspects (RQ & process of purposeful sampling) do not align with one another
Researcher studying experiences of student atheletes with a disability and collects data through interviews and document analysis.
- Misalignment occurs through not including interview findings in the context of the document
- Bias of researcher influence the interpretation of interview data
Another example of incorrect methodological coherence
What is the image trying to say?
Based on the one’s paradigm (what they view) this leads to what type of methodology that can be employed and then what methods can be used
A single paradigm is not restricted to one specific methodology
What is the armchair walkthrough?
Planning qualitative study recommends developing a sense of one’s Research project to enhance methodological coherence
- Reflect on all aspects of qualitative study (i.e. questions asked, data generated)
- Consider alternative approaches (i.e. different questions that could be asked, other data generation techniques)
- Provides a road map
Why does the principle of methodological coherence require you to be a reflexive researcher?
Cannot let assumptions, previous knowledge agendas be the driving force of research
Must consider:
* The assumptions
* How beliefs inform kinds of research questions being asked
* Preferences for certain forms of data
By bracketing one’s assumptions ==> researchers can intentionally work towards conducting qualitative research that in methodologically coherent
Remember: bracketing is holding back one’s biases and judgments to let a study happen and let it become more rigorous
What is consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ)
A Qualitative Evaluation Approach
- Using checklists to consider what is good research
- Tong, Sainsbury and Craig made a 32-item long checklist - One comprehensive list
What was the 32-item checklist split into?
3 domains for evaluating qualitative research
- Research team and reflexivity - characteristics of researcher and relationship with participants
- Study design - theoretical framework, participant selection, research setting
- Analysis and Findings - data analysis, reporting of research
What was COREQ initially developed for?
Studies with interviews/focus groups as the main method of data generation
What are the multiple purposes of COREQ?
As a set of reporting guidelines
* guide informing researchers of important aspects to include in their research
* Identify various criteria that should be included in a written report
* Variety of details that the qualitative research could be evaluated on
Why must a relativistic approach be taken for qualitative studies?
There won’t always be a specfic strategy that works well with a study. A list of pre-determined criteria won’t fit all qualitative research studies which is why a relativistic approach should be taken
What is relativism?
Concepts should be understood relative to a specific conceptual scheme, theoretical framework, paradigm, society or even culture
Can’t just say that one view is absolute, rather there are multiple views based on what one believes
One size fits-all approach is very limiting
What relativistic approach is trying to get at
What are characterizing traits in a relativistic approach?
Criteria that allude to the quality of research, not necessarily indicative of strong research
- What is deemed to be of high quality in one study may not be of high quality in another study
What does the relativistic approach require one to do when evaluating qualitative research?
Challenges readers to identify characterizing traits (help with identifying quality of the research) throughout entire research process
* Get a deeper understanding of unique characteristics of each study rather than using a set list
* Promotes more thoughtful and context specific assessment of qualitative research
