Final Exam (Week 8-10) Flashcards
How is evaluating a qualitative study different from quantitative study?
Requires different approaches than criteria used to evaluate quantitative research
No measures or instruments to assess (researcher is the instrument)
No intervention or treatment to find threats to internal validity
Qualitative evaluation approaches
Trustworthiness (can you trust the study?)
Methodological coherence (is the method coherent?)
Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (is the criteria consistent?)
Relativistic approach to characterizing traits (are we being subjective?)
Ethics (ethical?)
What is an ethics evaluation approach?
Consider merits of research in an ethical way
Foundation of all research
An ongoing process
Researchers need to ensure respect for peoples, concern for welfare, and equity
What is a trustworthiness evaluation approach
Convincing an audience that a study is worth paying attention to and worth taking account of (you can trust this study)
Four aspects:
Neutrality = findings based on the participants’ meaning and experiences (researcher isn’t adding in their own)
Truth value = how true are the findings?
Consistency = dependability of a study (it’s not a one-off)
Applicability = extent to which we can transfer the findings to other contexts (is it useful)
What is similar to trustworthiness in a quantitative study?
Controlling for threats to internal validity
It’s a starting place to evaluate qualitative research
Other similar terms include rigour and validation
Strategies to evaluate trustworthiness
- Researcher reflexivity (researcher positions themselves)
- Triangulation (using a variety of sources, perspectives, and methods)
- Purposeful sampling (info-rich participants who can best inform the question)
- Prolonged engagement (lots of time with participants in the field, building relationships)
- Member check (participants review data or study interpretations and can add/alter/delete so we ensure accuracy of records)
- Rich, thick descriptions (generating thorough, descriptive data and presenting them in a rich manner)
- Peer debrief (professional ‘peer’ pushes researcher to critically reflect on study)
- Audit trail (researchers maintain detailed description of entire process, record EVERYTHING, someone external to the study examines various components of the study)
- Presents negative/discrepant info that counters main study findings (both sides of the story)
What is methodological coherence?
Coherence among philosophical assumptions, research questions, study design, data generation, data analysis, and interpretation
Indicator of quality research
Imperative to have a well-planned research design
What is COREQ
Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research
Three domains: research team + reflexivity, study design, analysis + findings
total of 32 items
Purpose is to be a guide to inform researchers of important aspects to include in their research (bc qual can be open-ended), identifies variety of details where qual research can be evaluated
What is a relativist approach
Basically it is up to researchers (and audience) to evaluate and determine merits of a study
Characterizing traits that may allude to quality of research are dependant on
Context of study (time, occasion, purpose)
Fluid and dynamic
We avoid fixed terms and checklists, criteria to deem qual research as “good” is relative
Flow chart ‘spiral’ of qualitative data analysis
Collect data -> organize data -> read data -> code data ->generate themes -> describe and interpret -> represent findings
Types of interviews
One-on-one or group interviews
Types of one-on-one data generation
- Complete participant (engaging as a participant)
- Participant as observer (engaging as researcher and participant, more noticeable)
Written docs PUBLIC, visual and audio sources can be art objects, photographs
Types of observations in group data generation
- Observer as participant (researcher first, less engaged as a participant)
- Complete observer (no interaction, not seen or noticed)
Written docs PRIVATE, visual and audio sources can be music, videos/film
Includes focus groups, sharing circles, talking circles
What is the most common method of data generation in qual studies? Why?
Interviews, because of its relational nature
Important to build rapport
Lets researchers understand participant’s views and meanings they attach
Three phases of interviews
Intro - builds rapport, intro to each other, what the topic will be, any ethical things that they need to know
Questioning - Interview guide can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured (conversational)
Closing - End on a positive note, see if they have questions/comments, communicate next steps, thank them
What is observation and what does it look like
Researchers go into natural setting to better understand topic (external validity), use of senses (sight, touch, hearing)
Field notes are often used to record interviews
What should goals of data analysis align with?
It should align with research question/purpose
- What do we want to do, define a construct, describe participants’ experiences, develop a theory?
Inductive vs Deductive data analysis
Inductive: Researchers identify themes/theory from data
Deductive: Making inference based on an existing framework or starting list of categories
It is possible to have a combo!! Ex. start with a framework but allow data to form emergent categories
What do we mean when saying qualitative data analysis is immediate?
Analysis begins at the beginning of the research process
Begins the moment the investigator starts thinking about the research (since he/she is the tool), need to reflect on their role as part of the analyzing process
It’s meaning-making at the onset of investigation
What do we mean when saying qualitative data analysis is ongoing?
Researchers engage in analysis throughout the process, not just at one moment
New info may challenge previous interpretations
Researcher reflexivity is continuous
What do we mean when saying qualitative data analysis is spiral?
Data analysis isn’t a fixed linear approach, researchers flow through the process in analytic circles, often returning to earlier steps as new insights and reflections emerge
Without embracing the spiral nature, much insight can be missed
The fluidity of this process is the heart of qual research
What is the 6 step approach to qualitative data analysis?
- Organize and prepare the data
- Read or look at all the data
- Start coding all the data
- Generate descriptions or themes
- Decide how the findings will be represented
- Interpret the findings