Intro to qualitative research Flashcards
What is interpretivism?
An approach that highlights the importance to understand the beliefs, feelings, motives and actions of individuals in order to understand reality
What is the ultimate goal of qualitative research?
To develop concepts which help us to understand social phenomena in natural settings, giving due emphasis to the meanings, experiences and views of participants
What is mindfulness in interviewing?
- You must be highly focussed on the interaction with the interviewees –> stay focus on the moment and be attentive to what is going on
What does cultivate a middle ground mean in interviewing?
- Do not get involved enough to be judgemental, do not be distant enough to reduce your understanding
What does empathetic neutrality mean in interviewing?
- You need to demonstrate that you understand a person’s situation and perspective without judging them
- -> Can be done through verbal (leaving pauses) and non-verbal (nodding, eye contact) communication
What do dynamic systems mean in interviewing?
- Change language, prompts, and pace in response to the interaction with the participant and the surroundings
What does credibility mean?
Do the conclusions “ring true” for the people studied?
What does dependability mean?
Are the observations dependable –> need to see how you went from A to B to C
What does confirmability mean?
Are the conclusions the result of the phenomenon under study rather than the biases of the research?
What does transferability mean?
Can others judge how the analysis is relevant to them?
How do you know if the qualitative data is actually accurate and trustworthy?
- Credibility
- Dependability
- Conformability
- Transferability
How to enhance rigour
- Reflexivity: being aware of the impact of researchers attitudes, their power and influence; accounting for mistakes and insights
- Member checking: directly asking participants to confirm whether your impressions corresponded to what they said or ask them to provide feedback on your results
- Peer review: of data analysis/consensus coding
- Triangulation: e.g. comparing data sources, sites, types of data, data analysis)
What is the aim of phenomenology?
To provide rich descriptions of an experience as it is lived
What is the aim of ethnography?
To describe and interpret a culture or its subgroups
What is the aim of grounded theory?
To explore social processes and to generate explanatory theories of human behaviour which are grounded in the data
