CHYS- EXAM

Question 1

Qualitative Interviewing

Answer 1

The qualitative interview involves asking questions, listening, expressing interest, and recording what is said; it is a relational experience between interviewer and interviewee.
Qualitative interviews align with research that is seeking subjective (interpretive) meaning of life experiences.
These interviews are most effective when trust is built and the process is based upon mutual discovery.

Question 2

Qualitative Measurement and Concepts in Social Research

Answer 2

Qualitative measurement is an on-going occurrence int eh data collection process.
Concepts are described through words or imagery. The ideal is to develop understanding of meaning through clear and explicit definitions of concepts.

Question 3

Qualitative Interviewing – Interview Design

Answer 3

structured interviews
semi-structured interviews
unstructured interviews

Question 4

Recall – Qualitative measurement is an inductive process:

Answer 4

((1) Conduct research through accumulating empirical evidence about the concept.
(2) Identify the linkages between the empirical evidence and the concept of interest.
(3) Generate a clear definition for the concept to be able to explain it in depth.

Question 5

Structured Interviews

Answer 5

Researchers ask a set of pre-determined questions

Question 6

Concepts

Answer 6

An idea expressed as a symbol or in words.

Question 7

Semi-Structured Interviews:

Answer 7

Researchers balance formalized questions with questions developed during the interview.

Question 8

Conceptualization

Answer 8

The process of conceptualizing in qualitative measurement is about interpreting the meaning of different concepts to different people.

Question 9

Unstructured Interviews

Answer 9

Researchers only ask questions that emerge during the interview that align with the purpose of the research

Question 10

Qualitative Measurement is a three-fold process:

Answer 10

(1) Empirical World >
(2) Operationalization >
(3) Conceptualization

Question 11

Qualitative Measurement is a three-fold process explain each

Answer 11

(1) Empirical World – The observations that people experience through their senses (touch, sight, hearing, smell, taste).
(2) Operationalization – Describes how the researcher collects data and combines ideas and evidence to measure how concepts are experienced in the world.
(3) Conceptualization – A process of forming coherent theoretical definitions as the researcher explains how their participants experience the concept.

Question 12

Qualitative Interviewing

Answer 12

(1) Introducing Questions – General opening questions where the interviewee is prompted to give their account of an experience.
(2) Follow-up Questions – Questions to get additional information about a topic just discussed.
(3) Probing Questions – Questions used to expand an incomplete point.
(4) Specifying Questions – Questions to get more details about specific aspects of an interviewee’s response.

Question 13

Qualitative Measurement and Concepts in Social Research – Students with Disabilities , example

Answer 13

Topic – Students with disabilities
Empirical Data – Field observation at a school and interviews with 20 students with disabilities.
Operationalization – Through interviews, a number of students shared the phrase ‘nothing about us, without us.’ [It’s the researchers job to take that term and conceptualize it based upon what they have been told about it.]
Conceptualization – Nothing about us, without us, means that students with disabilities need to discuss, collaborate and advocate to improve the state of inclusion in their school.

Question 14

Sample

Answer 14

A smaller set of cases a researcher selects from a larger pool.

Question 15

Non-Probability Sampling

Answer 15

type of sampling in which the sampling elements are selected using something other than mathematically random processes.
Collecting specific cases can lead to deepening understanding for a particular research context.

Question 16

The Five Types of Non-Probability Sampling – Haphazard (Convenience) Sampling

Answer 16

(1) Haphazard (Convenience) Sample – Researchers select anyone that they happen to come across.
A TV interview with people passing by on the street. This is not representative of everyone (it is out of convenience).

(2) Quota Sample – Researchers first identify general categories into which cases or people will be selected, then they select a predetermined number of cases in each category.
Selecting 5 transgender, female, and males under the age of 30, between 30-60 and over the age of 60. The sample is fixed but the selection of participants is haphazard.

(3) Purposive Sample – Researchers use a wide range of methods to locate all possible cases of a highly specific and difficult to reach population.
With purposive sampling, knowledge is acquired from key informants who are best positioned to describe an experience (i.e. speaking with homeless individuals to understand homelessness).

(4) Snowball (network) Sample – Researchers begin with one interviewee, then, based on information from that person, they secure another interviewee. The process continues with each ensuing interview participant.
A study on parents using a child-care program in Toronto may start at one child-care centre in Etobicoke. Then, it may move to a parent that the first parent knows Downtown. Then, it may move to a parent this parent knows in Scarborough.

(5) Sequential Sample – Researchers try to find as many relevant cases as possible until there is no new information or diversity from the cases.
A study of 50 children with disabilities is conducted. Once all 50 children have been interviewed, it is decided that 10 more children with disabilities should be included. Over the course of interview 51, 52, 53 etc…, it becomes evident that there is not really much new information about the experiences of children with disabilities being revealed. Therefore, the research can stop.

Question 17

Qualitative Interviewing

Answer 17

(5) Direct Questions – Questions made usually toward the end of the interview to address specific topics that may not have been covered.
(6) Indirect Questions – Questions that ask the interviewee to share what they believe other people think, behave, or feel.
(7) Structuring Questions – Questions to keep the interview on track if it has gone off topic.
(8) Interpreting Questions – Questions to ensure the researcher is interpreting what the interviewee is saying correctly.
(9) Silence – A technique used to get interviewees to continue speaking.

Question 18

Qualitative Interviewing – Advantages

Answer 18

Free to answer questions the way one wishes.

Data collection is rich in detail.

New theories can emerge from the data (interviewees are not restricted to what the researcher is looking for).

Question 19

Qualitative Interviewing Disadvantages

Answer 19

The sample size of participant’s is generally small.

The material costs for conducting interviews can be quite high.

Question 20

Qualitative Interviewing – Focus Groups

Answer 20

Focus Groups – A special qualitative research technique in which people are informally ‘interview’ in a group-discussion setting.
Focus groups generally consist of 6-12 people with a moderator who facilitates the discussion.
The moderator follows the interview guide and is responsible for keeping the discussion on track.
The focus group sample will vary, but inclusivity and representation are important to accumulate rich data.

Question 21

Qualitative Interviewing – Focus Groups - Advantages

Answer 21

Natural setting puts people at ease and allows them to feel empowered.

Encouraging open expression of marginalized groups

Participants may question one another and produce learning within the group.

Question 22

Qualitative Interviewing – Focus Groups - Disadvantages

Answer 22

The polarization effect may see group discussion lead to more extreme positions

A moderator may unknowingly limit open, free expression.

Groupthink may emerge by the influence one person may have on another part of the group.

Question 23

Qualitative Interviewing – Debate

Answer 23

The class will be separated into two large groups (one group will support the importance of

-prevents group think
-allows the participants to to talk without being stopped
-more personal with one on one
-can share more information, won’t have to share time with other participants within the group (divided time)
-can be competitive
interviewing while the other will support the importance of focus groups).
Working in partners or smaller groups, come up with why you feel your designated type of interviewing is the best approach to qualitative interviewing?
Be prepared to defend your response by considering what the other type of interviewing has to offer.
Therefore, consider identifying a few strengths of your own approach and a few weaknesses of the other groups approach.

Question 24

Field Research

Answer 24

Field Research is qualitative in style where a researcher observes and (potentially) participates in small-scale social settings.
Observation and participation lasts from months to even years to learn from members of a community.
The general objective is to ask what is the social world of X like?
Such in-depth learning leads to deeper understanding through collecting richer quality data.

Question 25

Field Research – The Logic and Requirements of the Research Approach

Answer 25

The Logic of Field Research
Resourcefulness and ingenuity to navigate the field and secure information.
Field research is based on naturalism – The principle that researchers should examine events as they occur in the natural, everyday, ongoing setting.
want to impact the natural environment as little as possible
The Requirements of Field Research
Flexibility to adjust in fluid situations.
The desire to pursue knowledge through experience .
Field research begins with a topic as the questions will be revealed through the field location.
Continuous self-reflection for the researcher’s impact on the interviewee is essential.

Question 26

Field Research – Level of Involvement

Answer 26

Complete Observer – A researcher only observes the group.
Semi-Participant – The researcher participates to some degree but not as a full member.
Complete Participant – The researcher fully participates in all aspects of the group’s activities.

complete -semi-participant- complete participant

Question 27

Field Researcher – Experiences in the Field

Answer 27

Planning – Planning to secure the proper authorization and maintaining respect for all involved is essential to acquire access to members of the community.
Gatekeepers – Individuals with the formal or informal power to control access to the site.
Negotiation – Entering and gaining continued access requires negotiation and ensuring transparency as well as support.
Disclosure – Covert observation (secretly studying the group) or overt observation (studying the group with their full knowledge) can transpire along a continuum

Question 28

Field Researcher – Collecting Data in the Field

Answer 28

Observation – The researcher becomes an instrument to absorb and observe accumulating details that provide the chance for meaning-making processes.
Listening – The researcher needs to not only listen to what is being said, but what is not being said, or how it is being said as well.
Taking Notes – Writing down not only the information that individuals provide but also capturing one’s own personal reflection as it unfolds.

Question 29

Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis – Similarities and Differences

Answer 29

Similarities
Both practice data reduction – Going from a large collection of data to more generalizable statements about social life.
Both make inferences – The use of reasoning to reach a conclusion based on evidence.
Both strive to avoid errors, false conclusions, and misleading inferences.

Question 30

Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis- differences

Answer 30

Data in the form of numbers

Deductive approach to reasoning

Probability Sampling

Facts about social life represent an objective reality that can be examined through scientific methods.

Data in the form of words

Inductive approach to reasoning

Non-Probability Sampling

Interpretations about social life are rooted in the subjective understanding of participants.

Question 31

Coding Data

Answer 31

Coding Data – Systematically reorganizing raw numerical data into a format that is easy to analyze.
Codebook – A document that describes the procedures for coding variables and their location.

Question 32

Coding Data

Answer 32

oding data may come in the form of aLikert Scale survey which prior to answering any questions, the respondent identifies their gender. For example;
(1) Woman
(2) Man
(3) Transgender
(4) Other

Question 33

Statistics Defined

Answer 33

Statistics can be defined in two ways:
(1) A set of collected numbers (i.e. numbers telling the amount of people who live in a city).
(2) A branch of applied mathematics used to manipulate and summarize the features of numbers (i.e. to give them meaning in the context of the study).

Question 34

Statistics for Meaning

Answer 34

statistics can be presented to formulate meaning:
Descriptive Statistics – A general type of simple statistics used by researchers to describe basic patterns in data.
Frequency Distribution – A table that shows the distribution of cases into categories of one variable. For example, 400 respondents described across one variable (i.e. salary).

Question 35

Statistics – Central Tendency

Answer 35

Researchers summarize information about one variable through measures of central tendency.
Measures of central tendency are a one-number (univariate) summary of a distribution

mode = the most frequent score
median = the point at which at which half the cases are higher, and half the cases are lower
mean= the average score (sum of all scores divided by total scores )

Question 36

Qualitative Coding

Answer 36

Qualitative coding sees the researcher organize the data into conceptual categories.
Coding encourages higher level thinking that can be achieved through exploring concepts including experiences of race, gender or class within the context of their study.
Qualitative coding achieves two objectives:
Mechanical Data Reduction – Reducing mountains of data into manageable piles.
Analytical Data Categorization – The way in which a researcher ‘imposes order’ on the data; organize the data in a way that contributes to advancing understanding on the topic

Question 37

Approaches to Qualitative Coding- open coding

Answer 37

Open Coding
A first coding of qualitative data in which a researcher examines the data to condense it into preliminary analytical categories (codes) for analyzing the data.
Open codes bring themes to the surface from deep inside the data.

Question 38

Approaches to Qualitative Coding- Axial Coding

Answer 38

A second coding of qualitative data after open coding. The researcher organizes the codes, develops linkages among them, and discovers key analytical categories.
Codes reveal cause, consequences, comparisons, strategies, and processes.

Question 39

Analytical Memos

Answer 39

A memo or discussion of thoughts an ideas about the coding process that a researcher writes to themselves. This helps them process and organize how to present their findings in a diligent and in-depth manner.
The analytical memo forges a link between the concrete data and more abstract/theoretical thinking as it relates to the researcher’s reflections on and thinking about the information they share.

Question 40

Reflections on Correctly Coding in Qualitative Research

Answer 40

Question: Am I coding correctly? It’s better to ask the question, am I coding thoroughly?
Did I fully transcribe my interviews?
Did I remind myself of my general research question?
Did I document the process as transparently as possible?

Question 41

Coding in Qualitative Research

Answer 41

Coding a Transcript
Access the document – Interview Transcript: A Teacher’s Observation of Child Oppression
Read the document through. Then, re-read the document and code the document.
What types of codes could you consider?
Child oppression
Bullying
Issues of gender, race, class, citizenship status (newcomer)