Foundations of Qualitative Research Flashcards
What is qualitative research?
Aim’s to study people’s thoughts, feelings, or use of language in depth and detail.
- Emphasizes meaning of experiences in context.
- Minimizes numbers
Example of Qualitative Observational Method: Participant Observation
Ethnography.
- Systematic, usually unstructured, observation.
- Field notes
“On Being Sane in Insane Places”
Rosenhan study:
- 8 Pesudopatients that faked mild auditory hallucinations to gain entry into a psychiatry ward. Acted normal afterwards.
Research Question of the study
Will anyone notice they’re sane?
What is it like to be in a psychiatry ward?
Results of Rosenhan’s study
Length of hospitalization ranged from 7-52 days. Each released with a diagnosis of “schizophrenia in remission.” 35 patients in the ward voiced their suspicious of the pesudopatients.
Found that the pseudopatients were depersonalized (nurse changing her bra, acting like the patients in the ward were not human)
Problems with Participant Observation
Reliability (hard to check observer accuracy).
Observer bias
Reactivity
2 Types of Qualitative Research
1) Phenomenological Approaches: (The systematic study of subjective thoughts, feelings, and ways of viewing the world)
2) Social Constructivist Approaches (The systematic study of how language is used to structure things and accomplish goals)
Phenomenological Approaches: Assumptions
1) Perceived meaning is more important than objective reality events or facts.
- Phenomenologists are not interested in studying objective reality, but they don’t deny its existence.
- They believe that a person’s subjective inner experiences are the most important target of study.
Phenomenological Assumptions #2
Understanding should be the end point of science
-Predicting the future, testing specific hypotheses and experimental controls are avoided in favor of richly describing the phenomenon of interest.
Phenomenological Assumption #3
There are multiple ways of seeing the world, and all valid and interesting to study.
Phenomenological Assumption #4
Everyone’s self-perception is guided by implicit assumptions, and identifying these is important.
“Mundane reason” - Things are the way they appear to be and sane people share world views.
2 Key Processes for Phenomenological Research
1) Bracketing: identifying and setting aside one’s expectations and implicit associations,
2) Describing
Assumptions of Clinical Psych
- Assumes that certain emotions are bad, and should be minimized.
- Assumes that failing to perform well in expected social roles is a problem to be fixed.
- Reactions that are atypical within a particular cultural context are problems to be fixed.
Social Constructionist Assumptions
- Reject the assumption of an underlying independent reality (each person constructs their own reality, which is true for them)
- Most psychological variables are not real “things” they are simply social constructs.
- Researchers should study language and how people construct their arguments
Problems with Social Constructionism
The strong version of this approach is not pragmatic. Nobody really lives their life under these principles. These viewpoints are incompatible with the scientific method and statistical theory: If the truth is relative, you can’t study it.
