Final Flashcards
Inductive Reasoning
Moves from the specific to the general
Qualitative Research- fundamental values (7)
- description, understanding, exploration
- selecting an approach to research that is appropriate to the research question
- rich details of the context
- multiple realities exist
- participant’s viewpoint (subjectivism is valued)
- researcher participation
- expressions & descriptions
Researcher belief: Humans are biopsychosocial beings. (Qual or Quant?)
Quant
Researcher belief: Truth is an objective reality that can be experienced with the senses and measured by the researcher.
(Qual or Quant?)
Quant
Researcher belief: Humans are complex beings who attribute unique meaning to their life situations (Qual or Quant?)
Qual
Researcher belief: Truth is the subjective expression of reality as perceived by the participant and shared with the researcher.
(Qual or Quant?)
Qual
Example question: What is the difference in blood pressure and heart rate for adolescents who are angry compared to those who are not?
(Qual or Quant?)
Quant
Example question: What is the structure of the lived experience of anger for adolescents? (Qual or Quant?)
Qual
Besides an independent study, qual methods can be used to.. (2)
- To understand the field in preparation for further studies
- In parallel with quantitative studies – mixed methods
Phenomenology
A mode of enquiry that aims to understand the meaning of individuals everyday lived experiences
Heuristics - phenomenology in which researcher has personal experience
** origin in philosophy***
Participatory Action
Participants and researchers collaborate with the community to solve problems
Use knowledge to identify solutions
Grounded Theory
A systematic process of enquiry in which aims to generate THEORY about a particular phenomena of interest/concern
** origins in sociology**
Ethnography
Explore cultural patterns of behavior, social interactions and associated meanings for individuals, groups and communities
Generic (descriptive qualitative)
Studies of this type tend not to declare allegiance to one of the specific approaches and take a general approach.
Qual sample aim
To generate a sample which allows exploration of the phenomena/social process of interest
Qual sample technique
- Selective of the most productive sample to answer the research question
- Ongoing interpretation of data will indicate who should be approached (who is missing?)
Qual sample size
- The one that adequately answers to research question
- Data saturation
- Depends on available time and resources
Purposive sampling
Purposefully selecting certain participants
Snowball sampling
Using sample to inform next sample
Convenience
using a convenient sample usually based on location
Data analysis steps (10)
- Familiarization – readings, watching and or listening
- *** Bracketing
- Transcription of recorded material - audio taped and transcribed verbatim
- Organizing of data, anonymisation
- Coding
- Identification of themes
- Re-coding, development of provisional categories
- Exploration of relationships between categories
- Refinement of themes and categories with exemplars for support
- Development of theory if appropriate
Heuristics
A form of phenomenological research in which a phenomenon is explored through the personal experiences of the researcher.
Ethnography: data is collected through
- Direct observation “field notes”
- Participant observation
- Interviews
Advantages of Qual (7)
- Depth and detail
- Not limited to specific topics
- Encourages openness
- Explores individual/group experiences
- Limits pre-judgments
- Human experience more powerful
Disadvantages of Qual (7)
- Fewer people studied
- Limited generalizability
- Difficult to systematically compare
- Variable results by researcher skill
- Quantity of data can be difficult to analyze and present
- Not as well understood in research community
- Difficult anonymity when findings are presented
Qual research: Problem Statement and Justification
- Is the topic or research objective relevant, timely, significant, and interesting?
- How have the authors justified the worthiness of their research?
Qual research: Literature Review
- Did the researcher identify a gap in the literature supporting the justification for their study?
- How many articles do the researchers review?
- Do the articles seem appropriate to the topic under study?
- What dates do the literature review span?
Qual research: Purpose/objective
What SPECIFICALLY do the researchers want to know? Have the researchers stated a specific purpose/aim/objective
Qual research: Design/ methodology
- What type of qualitative methodology did the researcher choose
- Does this seem to fit with what you know about that methodology?
Qual research: Sampling
- What sampling method did the researchers use?
- Where did they draw their sample from?
- What are the characteristics of the participants?
- Where were they recruited from?
Qual research: Ethics
- Did they uphold the principles of respect for persons, concern for welfare/beneficence, and justice?
- Did the study obtain Ethics board approval?
- Did they discuss informed consent?
- Did it mention how confidentiality and anonymity was protected?
Was the study potentially or actually harmful to participants? - Are their any reported or potentially unreported conflicts of interest?
Qual research: Data collection
- What strategy or strategies were used for data collection?
- Where did they collect their data – setting?
- Did the researcher explain his or her role in data collection?
Qual research: Data analysis & findings
- How did the researchers describe the data analysis procedure?
- What were the findings?
- How do they researchers show rather than tell?
Qual research: Discussion
- Is the answer to the research question discussed in terms of other research on this topic in the discussion section of the research article?
- Is the answer to the research question meaningfully connected to practice in the discussion section of the research article?
- Limitations?
- Suggestions for future research?
What are the Big Eight Criteria?
- Worthy topic
- Rich rigor
- Sincerity
- Credibility
- Resonance
- Significant contribution
- Ethics
- Meaningful coherence
Worthy Topic
The topic of research is: Relevant Timely Significant Interesting
Rich Rigor
- Theoretical constructs or frameworks
- Data and time in the field – is there enough data to support significant claims?
- Sample – is the sample appropriate given the goals of the study?
- Data collection
type and length of interview, questions asked
researcher journaling,
audio recording, transcribed verbatim and or field notes - Data analysis process
audit trail
transparency about the process of sorting, choosing and organizing the data
external persons audit the process and findings
peer review eg. asking a colleague/experts to audit the decision points throughout the process,
intentionally selected a diverse team of researchers
Sincerity
the study is characterized by:
- Self-reflexivity about subjective values, biases, and inclinations of the researcher(s) ie: bracketing
- Transparency about the method and challenges
Credibility
(trustworthy, dependable) – the research is marked by:
- thick description, concrete detail, and showing rather than telling
- triangulation & crystallization (multiple data sets, multiple researchers, multiple theoretical frameworks)
- Multivocality – provides space for a variety of opinions
- Member reflections
Resonance
the research influences, affects, or moves particular readers or a variety of audiences through:
- Transferability and naturalistic generalizations
- Aesthetic merit – “Did this affect me?”
Significant Contribution
- Does the study extend knowledge? Fill a gap?
- Improve practice? Prompt change? Affect policy?
- Generate ongoing research?
- Liberate or empower?
Ethics
- Did they uphold the principles of respect for persons, concern for welfare/beneficence, and justice?
- Situational and culturally specific ethics
- Relational ethics
- Researcher ethics – leaving the scene, sharing results
Meaningful Coherence
- Achieves what it purports to be about
- Uses methods and procedures that fit it’s stated goals
- Meaningfully interconnects literature, research purpose/foci, findings and interpretations with each other
Synthesis
- The step in the evidence-informed decision-making wheel where the goal is to “interpret information and form recommendations for practice”.
- This step helps you answer the question: “What does the research evidence tell me about the issue?”
Mixed Methods
Mixed methods research is research that systematically combines the collection and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data in the same study
Why use mixed methods research?
- Seeking convergence and corroboration (triangulation)
e. g. using more than one source of data or method in the same study to explain/explore health related concerns or curiosities - Seeking to elaborate or augment, or clarify
e. g. explaining contradictory findings from a questionnaire - Using results from one method to develop another
e. g. using a focus group to develop a questionnaire - Using one method to frame the research question of another
using interviews to acquire a better understanding of an issue to better develop a research question for another
What are 2 philosophical issues with mixed methods?
- Incompatibility theory
2. Pragmatism
What is Pragmatism?
- recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of both paradigms
understanding the paradigms as a continuum
What is the incompatibility theory?
- people who strongly believe in qual or quant and can’t see them combined
challenge with MM (sampling)
each method has its own assumptions and goals
- most MM studies draw only one sample (probability + purposive)
- some MM studies use sequential sampling (much like theoretical sampling)
challenge with MM (data analysis)
when and how to integrate
- simultaneously but separately with integration as an interpretive process
- sequentially where subsequent analyses build on previous
How to appraise a MM study (3)
- Establishing the suitability of the design (go back to the research question)
- Assess the qualitative and quantitative elements of the research by their respective standards of rigor
- Assess the relationship between quant and qual elements of the study and how this relationship contributes to the findings of the study.
What is the first priority of dissemination?
- returning results to study participants
How to find your target audience?
- Who is effected most by the research
- What groups will you target in your dissemination activities
- Primary audiences
- Secondary audiences
- What resources does each group typically access?
What are the most frequently used dissemination channels?
- Academic journal 98%
- Conference presentation 96%
- Report to funder 91%
- Seminar 62%
- Workshop 57%
- Press Release 48%
- Networking 46%
- Face to face meeting 40%
- Newsletter 39%
- Media Interview 32%
What are 2 major challenges with adoption and implementation of research?
(1) Adoption & effective implementation of research in practice
(2) Educating for research literacy
Barriers to evidence uptake: Knowledge
Lack of familiarity/awareness
- Volume of information
- Time needed to stay informed
- Access to resources
Barriers to evidence uptake: Attitudes
Lack of agreement with evidence
- Uncertain interpretation
- Unclear applicability
- Methodological weaknesses
- Perceived biases
Barriers to evidence uptake: Behavior
External barriers
- environmental factors (lack of time, resources, organizational constraints)
- Patient factors (expectations and preferences)
- Perceived medico-legal concerns
- Institutional factors (peer influences, barriers to institute practice chance at the department level)
Utilizing Knowledge- Joanna Briggs Institute (FAME)
Feasibility- can we do it here?
Appropriateness- should we do it here?
Meaningfulness- does it fit?
Effectiveness- how will we do it here and measure impact?
