Intro to qualitative research Flashcards
what is the aim of psychological research?
to understand/gain knowledge about the world by looking at principles, behaviours and patterns
what asks the philosophical question about what is knowledge, belief and truth/reality?
epistemology
the strategy/approach to research =
methodology
list the hierarchy that shows methods and methodology are not the same thing
epistemology > methodology > method > technique
what is positivism?
there is ONE reality and we can uncover the nature of this reality through observation
what is relativism?
there is NOT one reality. reality will always be relative to the historical, cultural and social context
what epistemological approach is the following?
reality is there for us to perceive, in research we use observation to make sense of reality, acknowledges the problems with blindly trusting what we observe (use falsification)
post positivist approach
more positivism
what epistemological approach is the following?
there is some reality out there but our perception of it is socially constructed dependent on our social and cultural interactions, in research we try to make sense of someone’s subjective experience of reality
phenomenological approach (middle)
what epistemological approach is the following?
there isn’t one reality, it is socially and culturally produced, we construct a communal reality through agreement by talking and interacting with each other to create what we think is reality
constructionist approach (more relativism)
what approaches do quantitative and qualitative methodology take?
quantitative = more positivist (there is one reality that we want to uncover) qualitative = more relative (there is not one reality that we aim to discover)
what are the differences between quantitative and qualitative methodologies?
quantitative: use observation to make sense of reality, DEDUCTIVE in nature, analyses of data which are coded into numbers.
qualitative: takes into account people’s subjective experience of reality, INDUCTIVE in nature, analyses of data with emphasis on words
how is quantitative methodology deductive in nature?
start with theory and set specific hypotheses to test the theory, aim to falsify null hypotheses, manipulation allows us to treat whether our theories uphold when changing something
how is qualitative methodology inductive in nature?
start with observations and then form a more general theory, aim to find general themes or possible viewpoints to a Q, not the expectation that there is one best answer that needs to be discovered
the decision as to which methodology to use depends on what 2 things?
topic and goal of the research
what methods are used in qualitative research?
direct data collection = interviews, focus groups, questionnaires.
indirect data collection = observations, analyses of online material
what is the difference between direct and indirect data collection?
direct is when ppt deliberately provides data to researcher whereas indirect the ppt doesn’t deliberately provide data
identify the most common criticisms of qualitative research
subjective, influenced by personal bias, doesn’t represent the population, can’t be replicated, not systematic
what is an argument for the criticism that qualitative research is subjective?
depends on your epistemological approach whether this is a problem of not
what is an argument for the criticism that qualitative research doesn’t represent the population?
it doesn’t aim to be representative
what is an argument for the criticism that qualitative research can’t be replicated?
it doesn’t aim to be replicable
what is an argument for the criticism that qualitative research is not systematic?
argued that it is as because it is open to being subjective, there are very strict guidelines that are followed. there are methods that look at the validity of the data to check how systematic analyses has been, inter-rater reliability is tested
