Lecture 29 - Qualitative vs Quantitative research

Question 1

What are quantitative research methods?

Answer 1

(The traditional method most psychology research uses)
- Refers to something that has a magitude or an extent
- Refers to a cosntruct that is externally verifable
Examples: Sth is present - sth is absent => Quantitative distinction

Question 2

What are qualitative research methods?

Answer 2

Research methods that focus on the elements of subjective experiences
(More detailed: The collection and analysis of non-numerical data in order to provide a rich description and possibly explanations of people’s meaning making, how they experience and understand thw world around them

Question 3

What are some general differences between quan and qual research?

Answer 3

Qual.:
- Based on words (vs based on number in quan)
- Interest in individual experiences (vs interest in differences between groups)
- Rich description of some cases (vs vague descriptions of large groups of people)
- Data is textual or visual info (vs numerical info of quan research)
- Sample is a targeted selection of participants (vs random)
- Theory is generated by the description of a participant’s experience in a certain situation
Also, qual research is unstructured and flexible
(See also slides 1 & 2 in PP)

Question 4

What are the main differences between qual and quan research?

Answer 4

!!! Qual research is answer-driven (vs method-driven of quan research) !!!
!!! Qual focuses on subjective experiences (vs objective phenomena) !!!
Focuses on:
- understanding and meaning making
- Context of understanding
- Conceptual themes underlying understanding
- Clear descriptions and communication

Question 5

Why does qual. research focus on subjective experiences?

Answer 5

Because each one of us is different and perceives things differently: trying to interpret humans and the world around us in a mechanistic way isn’t very representative.

Question 6

What techniques does qual. research use?

Answer 6

Direct engagement, in-depth interviewing, observations.
- Such data collection techniques result in very rich and detailed data

Question 7

What important principle is qual. research associated with?

Answer 7

Principle of interpretivism: Research observations must be decoded, instead of juts simply recorded
- Both researchers and participants mist think about, interpret and then report upon the participant’s perceptions
(Leads to the problem of “what some people say about what they think they think”, see Flashcard 14, )

Question 8

How did qual research come about?

Answer 8

It owes much of its emergence to related fields, sich as sociology, anthropology (these fields use qualitative methods)

Question 9

What are some benefits of qual research?

Answer 9

In an area that hasn’t been researched before or that has been minimally researched, qual research might be conducted to identiy the key elements in that area which could then form the basis of measurement instrunments such as questionnaires

Question 10

What are some general problems of qual. research?

Answer 10

• Many think it degrades psychology as a science, since it threatens objectivity (which is considered science’s virtue)
• The above creates anxiety within the field
• Qual research embarces anecdotism (something might not be necessarily true, because it’s based on personal reports and not facts or research. Ancedotism refers to subjectivity), damages parsimony (very complex), defies falsifiability (everyone’s experience is true and correct): All these might make it look like a pseudoscience

Question 11

How does qual. research defend itself against this problem?

Answer 11

• Qual research says objectivity is a stupid aspiration: Research that aspires to be objective is doomed to fail
• It backs this up by also saying that objectivity threatens psychology: Since we study the human experience and that’s compeltely subjective, we can’t study psychology objectively
• Given the complex nature of humans, qual research also tries to avoid reductionism

Question 12

1) What is reductionism
2) How does qual research try to avoid it?

Answer 12

1) Idea that complex phenomena can be understood by breaking them down into simpler or more fundamental components
2) Says it can’t generalize from one person to everybody (regarding people’s experiences). Also assumes hypercomplexity of humans

Question 13

Based on how qual research defends itself against those troubled by it, what questions does this raise about qual research?

Answer 13

• If we can’t generalize from one person to others, how come researchers agree so much about observed phenomena? (this is to show that maybe you can generalize, so maybe you can be objective about some things, and not only subjective). Also, what’s the point of this data if we can’t generalize it? (See flashcard 25 for some extra info on this as well)
• Since everything is subjective, qual research implies that you can never be wrong. If it’s impossible to be wrong, does that mean you’re always right? How can you be right if you can’t be wrong (in the sense that not everything can always be right) -> This is way we do quan research: we can see whether we are wrong and if yes to what extent)
• Since everything is subjective, even within a person (one person’s experience of something might change over time), qual research can’t replicate findings, and this is not seen as a problem. This inability though IS ACTUALLY a problem
• Doesn’t subjectivity lead to even more researcher bias?

Question 14

What are some problems with data in qual research?

Answer 14

• The interpretation of data (since everything is subjective we have no backbone with which we can interpet our current data -> There’s no theory or prior knowledge on which we can build upon)
• The data themselves: Are they actually valid interpretations of what we want to study? (e.g. we want to measure personality, personal testimonies are problematic, because they only relate to “what people say about what they think they think”)

Question 15

What are some important notes on qual research?

Answer 15

• When we say everybody is different, this doesn’t mean that everybody is different in every possible way -> Not all differences can be studied, many aspects can though
• Just because humans are different in multiple ways, doesn’t mean that compex Research Methods should also be used
• The only way to see if the knowledge we have is useful is to apply it outside of the study

Question 16

What is epistemiology?

Answer 16

A branch of philosophy that’s concerned with the theory of knowledge and tries to answer questions about how we can know and what we can know
QUAL RESEARCH IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH EPISTEMIOLOGY

Question 17

What is ontology?

Answer 17

Assumptions we make about the nature of being, existence, reality etc.
often combined with epistemiology, and thus Qual. research
!!! Different research approaches (Qualitative vs Quantitative) are assocaited with different epistemiologies !!!
- Qual research covers many epistemiologies

Question 18

What type of epistemiology does the qualitative experimental approach adopt?

Answer 18

• Positivism: Direct correspondence between things in the world and how we perceive them (given that our perceptions aren’t biased by factors that might damage this correspondence)
• Empiricism: Knowledge of the world arises from the collection and categorization of our sense/perceptions

Question 19

How much do people adopt these two types of epistem.?

Answer 19

Not much: Observations and perception don’t provide pure facts about the world -> Shortcoming of positivism and empiricism

Question 20

What epsitemiological method responds to the above shortcoming of positivism and empiricism?

Answer 20

Hypothetico-deductivism
- This type of epistemiology states thaat the aim of science isn’t to obtain evidence that supports our theory but rather to identify false hypothesis and thus be able to falsify theories
- Formulate a falsifiable hypothesis, test it against observable data, and deduce consequences from the hypothesis
- Hypothetico-deductivism involves deductive reasoning (“top-down” approach)
1) First theory
2) Then you get hypotheses
3) Then you test hypothese through observations
4) Then you confirm or reject your hypothesis

Question 21

With which of the above three types of epistemiology does psychology as a discipline identify with?

Answer 21

All three of them. All three togther consist of the “scientific method” of psychology.
This scientific method assumed that reality exists outside of the observer and we can access this reality through research

Question 22

What are the 3 characteristics of the scientific method?

Answer 22

• Objectivity
• Neutrality
• Precise measurement in hypothesis testing

Question 23

Objectivity

Answer 23

Obtained by detaching a research and the researcher’s personal interests from participants as to not bias them or the research itself

Question 24

Neutrality

Answer 24

Don’t use personal pronouns: Use passive voice

Question 25

Precise measurement in hypothesis testing

Answer 25

Development of refined tests and measures, so that any psychological dimension that exists could be measured with precision

Question 26

Quick notes to synposize and make sense of the previous stuff

Answer 26

• Positivism, Empiricism and hypothetico-deductivism are different forms of epsitemiologies
• Positivism and Empiricism are often found in the qual. experimental approach
• Hypothetico-dedcutvisim is not, it is in general another form (not mentioned in what approach it is found)

Question 27

What is the nomothetic - idiographic debate?

Answer 27

Human sciences should strive for understanding rather than causal explanation. In other words, we should adopt an idiographic type of research, not a nomothetic one:
- Nomothetic research: Discover laws to explain objective phenomena all the time
- Idiographic research: Examine individual cases in detail to understand an outcome
So researchers criticize qualititative research because it is idiographic, and because this leads to lack of generalizability (Flashcard 13)
On the other hand, this debate also criticizes quantitative resarch as representing human beings as mechanistic and not able to capture all the essence of human complexity

Question 28

What is the phenomenological emphasis on research methods?

Answer 28

We should obtain detauled descriptions of experiences as understood by those thta have the experience in order to understand the experience’s essence (obtain an individual’s personal perception of an experience, instead of producing an obkective statement of experience)

Question 29

What type of reasoning is the phenomenologcial emphasis based on?

Answer 29

Inductive reasoning:
1) Begins with data
2) Data are categorized or labelled
3) Link some data to existing theory or use them to construct a new one
Any type of qual research that adopts inductive reasoning is said to embody an “experiential approach”. These approaches though don’t adopt an approach to realism called critical approach (See next flashcards, specifically Flashcard 33)

Question 30

Different types of qual research based on their construction of reality (based on their type of ontology)

Question 31

What are the three types of ontologies?

Answer 31

• Realism
• Critical realism
• Relativism

Question 32

Realism

Answer 32

A reality exists independent of the observer and we can access this through research
The Scientific method (Flashcard 21) is characterized by realism. It believes that reality is certain and you can observe it through research and experiments

Question 33

Critical Realism

Answer 33

A reality exists independent of the observer but we can not know that reality with certainty.
You can not make statements about the reality 100% independently from participants’ observations. Be careful in making statements beyond the reality of participants and towards a reality independent from the participants’ reality
(Experiential approach, phenomenological emphasis adopt a critical realism type of ontology)

Question 34

Relativism

Answer 34

Reality is dependent on the ways we come to know it.
An example showcasing relativism is social constructionism

Question 35

Social constructionism

Answer 35

The ways in which we understand the world and ourelves are built up through social processes, especially verbal interactions. NOTHING ABOUT THEM IS FIXED OR NECESSARY
(Since we all have very different interactions from each other, each of our realities is very different from one another’s. Therefore reality is relative to who you’re talking to)

Question 36

What’s the common component of realism and critical realism?

Answer 36

Realism and critical realism perspectives assume some relationship between the analysis of people and the truth

Question 37

Mini-synopsis

Answer 37

• Epistemiology: Positivism, Empiricism, Hypothetico-deductivism
• Hypothetico-deductivism: deductive reasoning
• Ontology: Realism (Scientifici method), Critical realism (Phenomenological emphasis, Experiential approach, inductive reasoning), Relativism (Social constructionism)

Question 38

Reflexivity in qualitative research

Question 39

Reflexivity in qualitative research

What is reflexivity in qual research?

Answer 39

Acknowledgement by the researcher of the role played by their interprative framework in creating their analysis
- Researcher’s interprative framework, especially the personal aspects of it are considered bad in quantitative research (since we want to find something as objective as possible, and the personal interprative framework makes it subjective).
- In Qual research, this personal aspect of the interprative framework is much needed

Question 40

Reflexivity in qualitative research

Why is the personal aspect of the interprative framework much needed in Qual research?

Answer 40

HELPS READER EVALUATE THE RESEARCH
Increases the transparency of the research process, readers can understand and evaluate the work.

Question 41

Evaluative criteria for qual research

Question 42

Evaluative criteria for qual research

What are the evaluative criteria for a good qual research (criteria onw hich you evaluate if a qual research is good or bad)

Answer 42

• Sensitivity to context
• Commitent and rigour
• Transparency and coherence
• Impact and importance

Question 43

Evaluative criteria for qual research

Sensitivity and context

Answer 43

• Make clear the context of the theory
• Make clear the content of previous findings/understandings by other researchers
  !!! All this while using similar methods and/or analyzing similar topics
  (e.g. socio-cultural setting of the study, ocial context of relationships between researchers and participants)
  (No need to really remember the above parenthesis)

Question 44

Evaluative criteria for qual research

Commitment and rigour

Answer 44

• Commitment: Prolonged engagement with a certain topic
• Rigour: Completeness of data collection and analysis

Question 45

Evaluative criteria for qual research

Transparency and coherence

Answer 45

• (Transparency: make methods and process visible and understandable)
• Coherence: There has to be a fit between your RQ and the philosophical perspective adopted
• Coherence: There also has to be a fit ebtween your RQ and the method of investigation/analysis used

Question 46

Evaluative criteria for qual research

Impact and importance

Answer 46

the theoretical, practical and socio-cultural impact of the study

Question 47

Evaluative criteria for qual research

Is there a consensus though for which are the best evaluative criteria for qual research?

Answer 47

NO. The above are just a few, but they haven’t been found to be necessarily the best
- Nearly impossible to determine which are the best because of the heterogenity of qual methods

Question 48

What is methodolatry?

Answer 48

Refers to blind adherence to a certain type of research methods because you’re more focused on what research method to use instead of the problem you’re trying to solve

Question 49

What might lead to methodolatry in qual research?

Answer 49

Since qual research is so diverse and complicated, researchers might be anxious as to if the type of ontology or epistemiology they adopt is correct. In an attempt to reduce this anxiety they might blindly stick to one type of epistemiology or ontology and that leads them to methodolatry towards this type
(This flashcard isn’t that important, don’t learn it by heart)

Question 50

What’s an example of Methodolatry?

Answer 50

See slide 5. In many cases in NHST there might be methodolatry, exactly because we’re focused on the methods we use instead of the research we conduct. Is using Bayesian an improvement on Methodolatry?
(We just use a different method, but the type of reasoning is the same (you go from Ho to base values, but the reasoning is the same))
ANSWER: No, it’s not a solution.

Question 51

Mixed-Methods

Question 52

Mixed-Methods

What is the mixed-methods approach?

Answer 52

Combine both qualitative and quantitative methods

Question 53

Mixed-Methods

What are th benefits of mixed-methods?

Answer 53

• guards against methodolatry
• Enrich research outcomes

Question 54

Mixed-Methods

What are some challenges to obtain the Mixed-Methods approach?

Answer 54

• Quan research aims to acheive reliability and validity, qual research believes these aspirations are pointless and stupid
• Quan and qual research are usually based on different epistemiological types: difficult then to integrate different epistemiological types as well

Question 55

Mixed-Methods

What is a possible solution to the above problems

Answer 55

Integration of qual and quan research requires different methods oriented to the same RQ or goal, and that these methods are given equal weight

Question 56

Lecture Notes

Question 57

What are the 3 approaches to Qual research?

Answer 57

• Interprative Phenomenological Analysis
• Grounded Theory
• Discourse Analysis

Question 58

What’s the main idea of interprative phenomenologcial analysis (IPA)?

Answer 58

!!! Interested purely in how an individual expereinces the world and gives meaning to it !!!
- Lies on the idea of reality and that reality exists outside of the observer

Question 59

What is the process through which researchers make sense of the participants’ experience of the world?

Answer 59

1) Targeted collection of a homogenous and small sample
2) Interview
3) Transcription, annotation, and clustering of themes
4) Report on overarching themes
(Example is slide 3)

Question 60

What is Grounded Theory?

Answer 60

Basically very similar to IPA, but in grounded theory you don’t necessarily have a prior theory. So you go back and forth between the data and the interview, in order to construct your own theory (bottom-up approach, inductive reasoning)
(Link to phenomenological emphasis, Flashcard 29)

Question 61

When do you use Grounded Theory?

Answer 61

• If you know little about the subject
• If existing theories aren’t sufficient
• When you want to develop a new theory

Question 62

Process of grounded Theory

Answer 62

1) Collecting and transcribing data
2) Coding and categorizing data (indetifying or labelling them)
3) Testing categories, which leads to further development of potential theories
4) Developing a final theory, and testing it against the data

Question 63

What is discourse analysis?

Answer 63

Basically refers to social constructionism (Flashcard 35)
(Relativism, Flashcard 34)

Question 64

What is the evaluation of the quality of quantitative research?
(This flashcard might not make much sense, neither did it really in the lecture. I hope you are at least able to get something out of it)

Answer 64

We describe stimulus material not in objective terms, but subjective terms (our constructs are subjective terms, not objective phenomena)
~ Psychological constructs consist of counteable parts, but our interpretations of these constructs also appeal to the experience of the participants (basically quan research can be both quan and wual at the same time, in a certain regard)
- Although impossible to be completely objective, we can be clear as possible about this subjectivity
- CRITICISM: Do we really have any strong theories in psychology? Isn’t a more explorative and bottom-up method a more useful approach?