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SOC 315 > Final > Flashcards

Final Flashcards

1
Q

Qualitative Research

A
  • concerned primarily with people’s experiences and putting that into words and images
  • it is usually inductive
  • tends to be interpretivist
  • often constructionist
  • takes a naturalist perspective
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2
Q

Types of Qualitative Research

A
  • ethnography/participant observation
  • qualitative interviewing
  • focus groups
  • discourse/conversation analysis
  • content analysis
  • participatory action research
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3
Q

Main Steps of Qualitative Research

A
  1. establish a general research question
  2. select a relevant site and subjects
  3. collect the data
  4. interpret the data
  5. conceptual and theoretical work
    • tighter specification of the research question - collect further data
  7. writing up findings/conclusions
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4
Q

Blumer 1954: definitive concepts

A
  • defined with nominal and operational definition
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5
Q

Blumer 1954: sensitizing concepts

A
  • provide only a general sense of reference and guidance as to the content of the concept
  • begin with a broad definition and narrow through research
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6
Q

Criteria for evaluating qual. research: credibility

A
  • do the people studied agree with the interpretation of their thoughts and actions offered by the researcher?
  • conducted through respondent (member) validation
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7
Q

Criteria for evaluating qual. research: transferability

A
  • can the findings be applied to other contexts or people not studied?
  • “thick” description helps to determine whether transferability is possible
  • provides enough info to conduct later comparison to finding from other studies
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8
Q

Criteria for evaluating qual. research: dependability

A
  • were proper procedures followed?

- can the study’s theoretical inferences be justified? (auditing, peer review)

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9
Q

Criteria for evaluating qual. research: confirmability

A
  • was the researcher objective and unbiased?
  • did the researcher sway the results dramatically
  • auditing can be used to examine this
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10
Q

seeing through the eyes of the subjects

A
  • empathy

- in-depth description and emphasis on context

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11
Q

emphasis on process

A
  • showing how events and patterns unfold over time
  • a long time spent in the field allows researcher to understand individual and social change and its context
  • semi and unstructured interviewing, life history approach
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12
Q

flexibility and limited structure

A
  • questions should be quite general
  • there is usually little or no theory driving the research
  • the topics explored in the research may change as study progresses
  • allows researcher to find new directions of study
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13
Q

ultimate goals of qualitative research

A
  • seeing through the eyes of others
  • bringing out a sense of process
  • having a flexible and unstructured method of inquiry
  • achieving a deep understanding of the new people or groups being studied
  • pursue social justice and bring about social change
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14
Q

critiques of qualitative research

A
  • too subjective/impressionistic
  • bias can result from personal relationships that develop during research
  • may be unclear how a particular topic/theme became the focus of research
  • difficult to replicate
  • issues of generalization
  • lack of transparency
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15
Q

contrast between quantitative and qualitative research

A
  • numbers vs. words
  • pov researcher vs. pov particpants
  • researcher distant vs. researcher close
  • theories tested in research vs. theories developed from data
  • structured vs. unstructured
  • generalizable knowledge vs. contextual understanding
  • hard reliable data vs. deep rich data
  • macro vs. micro
  • behaviour vs. meaning
  • artificial vs. natural setting
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16
Q

ethnography

A
  • a study of people and their culture in naturally occurring settings
  • goal is to describe the life of the community from the pov of participants and with as little impact from outside as possible
  • researcher is immersed in a particular social setting for a long period of time
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17
Q

ethnography vs. participant observation

A
  • terms are essentially synonymous
  • ethnography includes participant observations but also individual interviews, studying docs and artifacts from community
  • ethnography refers to written account about the researcher
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18
Q

access to the field

A
  • key point for any ethnography
  • open/public settings - may be difficult to make observations
  • closed settings - some kind of boundaries or restrictions
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19
Q

overt ethnography

A
  • the people being studied know they are being observed
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20
Q

covert ethnography

A
  • the people being studied do not know they are being observed
  • has many ethical concerns and is difficult to implement
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21
Q

access to closed settings

A
  • use friends, contacts, colleagues
  • use help of a “gatekeeper” (controls access to setting and knows key participants)
  • get someone in the org. to vouch for you
  • offer something in return
  • provide a clear explanation of your aims and methods
  • be willing to negotiate
  • in covert research: adopt and support a suitable social rule
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22
Q

access to open settings

A
  • similar to closed setting access
  • ongoing access can be problematic: people get suspicious of motives, group members fear what they say will get around, participants may sabotage research
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23
Q

ongoing access

A

to maintain access:

  • play up your credentials
  • play a role and construct a likable front
  • be prepared and adaptable
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24
Q

key informants

A
  • participants who are particularly knowledgable and cooperative
  • drawbacks of using them:
  • researcher may ignore other members
  • their view may not be representative of the groups as a whole and gets unduly represented in research
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25
Q

roles of ethnographies: complete participation

A
  • covert operations
  • the researchers adopt a secret role in group
  • may skew data due to participant bias
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26
Q

roles of ethnographies: participant as observer

A
  • researcher adopts role in group
  • participants are aware who researcher really is
  • risk of reactivity
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27
Q

roles of ethnographies: observer as participant

A
  • researcher observes and interviews from the edge of group
  • risk of reactivity
  • risks incorrect interpretation of activity
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28
Q

roles of ethnographies: complete observer

A
  • researcher does not engage participants at all
  • no risk of reactivity
  • but: researcher has limited info for understanding actions
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29
Q

analytic memos

A
  • link observations to concepts

- notes on data but not the data notes

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30
Q

visual ethnography

A
  • uses visual material as sources of data, documents or illustrations of participant stories
  • photovoice takes collaboration further (participants take photos of their daily experiences and interpret them in terms of their own perspectives and identities)
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31
Q

realist approach

A
  • the material presented is taken as the”fact”, the actual representation of reality
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32
Q

reflexive approach

A
  • awareness of how researcher influenced what the materials reveal
  • visuals may be “collaborative” with participants, may be subject to multiple interpretations by different people
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33
Q

institutional ethnography

A
  • study of the daily practices in institutions and how those reveal power inequalities or ruling relations in orgs.
  • relation between discourse and experiences (especially in written context)
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34
Q

purposive sampling

A
  • involves searching for people who are likely to be a rich source of info on the group or setting under study
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35
Q

snowball sampling

A
  • a viable contact is used to identify others who may be willing to provide info on the topic of study, who are then used to establish further contacts
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36
Q

theoretical sampling

A
  • a type of purposive sampling
  • meant to be an alternative strategy to discover categories and their properties to suggest the interrelationship in a theory
  • can involve people, settings, events, time, contexts
  • data collection continues until the point of theoretical saturation is reached
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37
Q

qualitative vs. structured interviews

A
  • more open ended
  • greater interest in the interviewees perspectives and concerns
  • tangents are encouraged
  • need to be flexible
  • rich, detailed answers sought
  • interviewee often interviewed more than once
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38
Q

unstructured interviewing

A
  • the researcher uses only a brief set of points to introduce topics
  • only thing defined is the broad topic of interest
  • conversational
  • no more than a short interview guide
  • starts with a single broader question
  • respondents answers are in a free form
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39
Q

semi structured interviewing

A
  • the researcher has a list of questions or topics to be covered
  • offers a somewhat longer interview guide
  • interviewees are still free to reply in any way they choose
  • questions may be asked out of order
  • new questions may be devised and asked on the spot
  • there is a clear focus on the topic of interest
  • useful when more than just one interviewer/interviewee
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40
Q

preparing an interview guide

A
  • establish some degree of loose order to the questioning process
  • broad questions related to the research issue
  • language that is understood by the participants
  • no leading questions
  • prompts to ensure sufficient personal info about participants is collected to contextualize the data
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41
Q

before the interview

A
  • familiarize yourself with the setting to contextualize the data
  • have good equipment and know how to use it
  • use a quiet and private setting for interviews
  • use good techniques (active listening)
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42
Q

kinds of questions

A
  • introducing questions
  • follow up questions
  • probing questions
  • specifying questions: factual
  • direct questions: interviewee perceptions
  • indirect questions: perceptions of others
  • structuring questions/transition questions
  • silence
  • interpreting questions
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43
Q

interview

A
  • listen: primary intent is to listen to your interviewee
  • avoid: avoid bringing anxiety to the interviewee
  • be: vignette questions can be used to ground interviewee’s ideas and accounts of behaviour in particular settings
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44
Q

after the interview

A

note the following:

  • how the interview went
  • where it was conducted
  • other issues and feelings raised during
  • what was going on around the interview
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45
Q

reflexivity and co-constructed data

A
  • reflect how your own interactions with participants affected: what was said, how it was said, what was left unsaid
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46
Q

focus group

A
  • an interview with a group of 4 or more
  • value is gaining access to the meanings that develop during the interactions with others rather than in isolation (naturalistic)
  • morgan (1998) suggests 6-10 people
  • moderator/facilitator
47
Q

focus groups: selecting participants

A
  • natural groups: people who already know each other or already have had some interaction
  • may affect discussion
48
Q

focus groups: limitations

A
  • less control over discussion than an interview
  • an unwidely amount of data may be produced
  • data may be difficult to analyze
  • varying personality traits in room
  • difficult when sensitive issues, social hierarchy, strongly opposed oppositions
49
Q

online interviews/focus groups: advantages

A
  • usually smaller (6-8)
  • several responses at once
  • overcomes geographical issues and sensitive topics
  • visual biases reduced
  • less reactive response to mediator
  • often a safe and friendly environment
50
Q

online interviews/focus groups: disadvantages

A
  • takes longer
  • more difficult to establish rapport
  • more difficult to probe
  • higher non-response
  • moderator cannot read body language
  • can’t identify distracted participants
  • online connection may be lost
51
Q

content analysis: documents

A
  • any source of data that can be read and wasn’t produced specifically for the purpose of social research
52
Q

Scott’s (1990) criteria for assessing quality of docs

A
  • authenticity: genuine and of unquestionable origin
  • credibility: free from error or distortion, factually accurate
  • representativeness: typical of what its supposed to represent
  • meaning: clear and comprehensible
53
Q

content analysis: visual objects SCOTT

A

Scott (1990) 3 types of family photos:

  • idealization: formally posed
  • natural portrayal: candid
  • demystification: revealing, atypical portrayal
  • representativeness?
54
Q

content analysis: govt docs

A
  • includes census info, voting records, official reports etc
  • can be seen as authentic and having meaning
  • credibility? are the docs biased?
55
Q

content analysis: mass media outputs

A
  • newspaper, magazines, tv, films
  • authenticity
  • credibility
  • representativeness
56
Q

coding: two key concerns

A
  1. designing a coding schedule
    - the form where the data are recorded
  2. designing a coding manual
    - the set of instructions to coders
    - lists what is to be coded, the categories subsumed under each dimension, the numbers that correspond to each category, general guidance
    - inter and intra coder reliability
57
Q

coding: potential pitfalls

A
  • categories must be mutually exclusive and exhaustive
  • instructions must be clear
  • the unit of analysis must be clear
  • pilot testing will reduce risks of error
58
Q

content analysis without pre-existing coding scheme

A
  • QCA looks for underlying themes present in a unit of analysis
  • researcher decides what themes are to be extracted and how the presence of a theme is established
  • themes are recurrent topics mentioned in text or recording
  • themes could be anticipated or emergent in the text
59
Q

ethnographic content analysis (ECA) (Altheide 1996)

A
  • differs from QCA in that researcher is constantly revising the themes or categories as the data are examined
  • emphasizes the context in which the docs are generated
  • follows a recursive and reflexive movement between concept-development-sampling-data, collection data, coding data, analysis interpretation
60
Q

semiotics

A
  • the science of signs
  • studies systems of communication and meaning by looking at signs
  • seeks to expose hidden meanings in texts
61
Q

semiotics: denotation

A
  • the most immediate level of meaning
62
Q

semiotics: connotation

A
  • associative meanings, generally more abstract concepts that are invoked in presentation
63
Q

semiotics: myth

A
  • a broad set of cultural assumptions, beliefs, and values evoked and reinforced by media texts
64
Q

hermeneutics

A
  • theory and methodology of text interpretation (originally religious texts)
  • meaning of text involve author’s circumstances and context
  • author’s world view is important for deriving meaning
  • context is critical to understanding
65
Q

readers and audiences: active or passive?

A
  • do readers accept the interpretation at face value or do they read with critique and evaluation?
  • do they reinterpret what is written?
  • social researchers interpret data through their own frame of reference
  • conclusions reflect interpretations of a particular researcher, not all possible interpretations
66
Q

discourse analysis

A
  • post modern form of content analysis
  • anti-realist: no objective reality waiting to be found
  • tends toward a constructionist orientation
  • based in large on work of foucault
67
Q

discourse analysis: Gill (2000) 4 themes

A
  1. discourse is a topic in itself
  2. language is constructive
  3. discourse is a form of action
  4. discourse is rhetorically organized
68
Q

discourse analysis: strategies: producing facts

A
  • quantification rhetoric
  • using variation in numbers to highlight contrast
  • attention to specific details
  • attention to rhetoric detail - the way argument is constructed
69
Q

critical discourse analysis

A
  • exposes the political nature of the examined texts, considers issues of power hierarchies, structural inequalities and historical political struggles
  • social justice focus
70
Q

conversation analysis: indexicality

A
  • things like pauses and sounds have meaning that depends on the context in which they exist
71
Q

conversation analysis: reflexivity

A
  • examines how social order is created through communication
72
Q

conversation analysis: links to quantitative research tradition

A
  • fine-grained detailed analysis of talk
  • structure of talk analyzed
  • positivist orientation on replicability
  • context means just the words said prior to a response
73
Q

conversation analysis: assumptions

A
  • talk is structured and forged contextually

- analysis should be grounded in data

74
Q

advantages of CA

A
  • very transparent, easily replicated
  • allows for longitudinal analysis
  • unobtrusive method
  • flexible
  • overcomes social barriers
75
Q

disadvantages of CA

A
  • limitations due to the texts analyzed
  • usually some inter and intra coder unreliability
  • potential for invalid conjuncture
  • difficult to answer “why” questions
  • emphasis on measurement may make it atheoretical in nature
76
Q

types of coding

A
  • descriptive
  • thematic
  • line by line
  • IPA
  • in-vivo
77
Q

analytic induction

A
  • qualitative analysis is an iterative process
  • a general research question is devised, some data are gathered, a hypothesis is proposed
  • researcher continues to gather data until no contradictory cases are found
78
Q

analytic induction: difficulties

A
  • because all cases must be explained, the hypothesis generated may be too broad to be useful
  • there are usually no guidelines on how many cases must be reviewed before the validity of the hypothesis is accepted
79
Q

grounded theory

A
  • derived from data, systematically gathered and analyzed through research process
  • most widely used framework
  • inductive, iterative process
  • coding questions
80
Q

grounded theory: basic features

A
  • coding
  • constant comparison
  • theoretical saturation
81
Q

coding in grounded theory

A
  • includes labels given to issues/activities being observed
  • starts in early stage of research process
  • data are treated as potential indicators of concepts
82
Q

coding in grounded theory: types

A

Strauss and Corbin (1990)

  • open: identifies initial concepts that will be categorized together later
  • axial: data are reviewed for linkages and re-organized
  • selective: selecting the core categories
83
Q

substantive theory

A
  • observed patterns are related to each other and a theory is developed to explain connections
84
Q

formal theory

A
  • theory formulated at a higher level; requires data collection in different settings; applicable in a variety
85
Q

grounded theory: criticisms

A
  • differences between concepts and categories may be vague
  • may not be as “theory-neutral” as claimed
  • practical difficulties
  • may not result in theory
  • coding may result in fragmentation
86
Q

narrative analysis

A
  • researching the stories people tell to understand their life and the world
  • focus on context and events, and interpretations people make of them
87
Q

narrative analysis: 4 models

A

Riessman (2004)

  1. thematic: explains what is said rather than how its said
  2. structural: examines the way a story is told and what is emphasized to increase persuasiveness
  3. interactional: examines dialogue between teller and listener
  4. performance: examines narrative as a performance
88
Q

mixed methods

A
  • qual and quan research strategies have a great deal in common and can complement each other
  • certain epistemological and ontological positions may be associated with particular research methods
  • multi-strategy research
  • 3 types of questions: explanatory, exploratory, convergent
89
Q

problems with the quan/qual contrast

A
  • behaviour vs meaning
  • theories/concepts tested in research vs. those emerging from the data
  • numbers vs words
  • artificial vs natural
90
Q

mutual analysis

A
  • meta-ethnography can compare findings from different settings and contexts, not otherwise accessible to a single researcher
  • reliability measure for coding
    can occur in:
  • thematic analysis
  • quasi-quantification
  • combatting anecdotalism through limited quantification
91
Q

the embedded method’s argument

A
  • the use of a particular method implies acceptance of certain epistemological and ontological positions
  • there is reason to question it: unsustainable
92
Q

the paradigm argument

A
  • the quan and qual approaches are bases on separate paradigms
  • however they do have overlapping areas
93
Q

epistemological arguement

A
  • quan and qual are based on incompatible epistemological principles
  • people making this claim also maintain that the two general orientations are ontologically incompatible
94
Q

technical argument

A
  • quan and qual are simply techniques that can be used without necessarily adopting a particular epistemological position
  • the selection of a method is a decision about which window the researcher will open to look into the room
95
Q

approaches to multi-strategy research: triangulation

A
  • the use of quan research to corroborate qual findings and vice versa (ex. several observers, theoretical principles, sources of data and methods)
  • can also take place within a research strategy (ex. using different quan methods in one project
96
Q

approaches to multi-strategy research: facilitation

A
  • the use of one research strategy to assist with research that uses a different strategy
  • that may occur in a number of ways:
  • suggesting hypotheses
  • aiding measurement
  • providing research participants
97
Q

approaches to multi-strategy research: complementarity

A
  • using 2 or more approaches where a single approach wouldn’t be sufficient
  • qual data can be used to interpret the relationship between variables found in quan research
  • different methods can be used to study different aspects of a phenomenon
98
Q

filling the gaps

A
  • two-step approach to planning multi-strategy research:
    1. priority decision: will the principle data gathering tool be qual or quan
    2. sequence decision: should the complementary method be used first as a preliminary, or second as a follow up
99
Q

the problem of generality

A
  • tendency in qual research to present findings without evidence indicating how typical they are
  • quan comparisons can be of use
100
Q

qual research and relationships between variable

A
  • one strategy is to look for an intervening variable

- one that is influenced by the IV but in turn has an effect on the DV

101
Q

Steps of writing up quantitative research

A
  1. abstract
  2. intro
  3. theory
  4. data
  5. measurement
  6. methods + models
  7. results
  8. conclusion
  9. bibliography
102
Q

lessons in writing up quantitative research

A
  • try to capture reader’s attention early
  • spell out the rationale of the research
  • state the research questions and hypotheses clearly
  • data collection, measurement, sampling etc elaborated and clearly presented
  • context
  • implications and theoretical framework
103
Q

steps of writing up qualitative research

A
  1. abstract
  2. intro
  3. lit review
  4. design and methods
  5. results
  6. discussion
  7. conclusions
  8. bibliography
104
Q

lessons in writing up qualitative research

A
  • capture readers attention early
  • spell out rationale of research
  • state research questions generally
  • research design and methods discussed but not in lots of detail
  • the conclusion should present the implications of the articles major theoretical and conceptual contributions
105
Q

ethnography: post modernism position

A
  • question the very notion of pre-existing reality; knowledge is relative
  • a particular narrative can offer only one version of reality
  • neutrality is impossible
  • no study offers definitive portrayals of a subject
  • readings/interpretations rather than observations/findings
  • critique has led to the idea of polyvocality
  • promotes reflexivity
106
Q

ethnography: realist position

A
  • ethnography is to give an authoritative account of reality, the one based on observation and uncontaminated by researchers biases/influences
  • an authoritative truthful account
  • “realist tales”
107
Q

characteristics of realist tales: experiential authority

A
  • authors activities are not part of the description of subject matter
  • descriptions and analyses are presented as if they are authoritative, unbiased, accurate etc
  • extensive quotes from convos and interviews provide a way to strengthen the credibility of the report
108
Q

characteristics of realist tales: typical forms

A
  • descriptions of the people studied are said to represent characteristics that are commonly found in their group or society
109
Q

characteristics of realist tales: participants POV

A
  • author claims to have done sufficient research to accurately portray the thoughts, feelings, interpretations etc of people studied
  • seeing the world through the participants eyes is meant to enhance the authoritativeness of the account
110
Q

characteristics of realist tales: interpretive omnipotence

A
  • interpretation provided by the author is presented as virtually incontrovertible
  • alternative interpretations are not given serious consideration
111
Q

forms of ethnographic writing: realist tales

A
  • definitive, confident, dispassionate 3rd person accounts of culture and behaviour
  • most common form
112
Q

forms of ethnographic writing: confessional tales

A
  • personalized accounts about the experiences of ethnographer
  • reflect growing emphasis on reflexivity
  • methodological and ethical sins are admitted
  • more concerned with presenting how the research was carried out than with the findings
113
Q

forms of ethnographic writing: impressionist tales

A
  • experiences of ethnographer and “what is” are combined in stories about dramatic events which helped the research to uncover and understand the culture/people
  • exposes fieldwork experience that led to acceptance and knowledge acquisition, dramatic and revelation events
  • both culture and researcher are in story

SOC 315 (2 decks)

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