Lecture 3 - Metholodogical And Theoretical Persepctives Flashcards
What are some examples of collecting data in qualitative research??
Interviews, focus groups, ethnography, qualitative questionnaires, online forums/social media, content analysis
What is ethnographic research ??
- It has roots in anthropology
- concerned with the examination of human behaviour as a process
- analysis of the human reaction to stimuli
- subjective experience to which meaning is applied
- understanding the ‘meaning of situations’ from the participants point of view
- to explore the real world and ‘tell it like it is’
What is a difference between ethnography vs participant observation?
Ethnography can take a long time to undertake, hence participant observation is more likely to be approach that is take
What are participant roles (Gould, 1969)?
- complete participant
- participant as observer (intentions overt to group)
- observer as participant (known but still a stranger)
- complete observer (1 way mirror approach)
What are positives of participant observation??
- least likely to impose own values as will understand the environment
- experience deeper cultural differences
- has a process of understanding that is hidden from other types of research
What are some negatives of participant observation??
- Can’t be replicated - lacks internal validity
- relies heavily on researchers own ability
- researcher may omit data to confirm their own beliefs - results will be biased
What are some ethnographic issues??
- Samples/sample size
- Practicalities -> taking field notes, reflexivity, interviewing and observing, self and impression management
What is Reflexivity??
Awareness of how you affect changes in the behaviour of your sample
What’s the issue with interpretations?
- What people say and do is often very different from what they say they say and do
- capturing opinions or statements at any time can be a problem ….. solution is to observe over a period of time
What is Naturalism/interpretivism??
- Becoming immersed in the culture is the only way of understanding it
- ethnographer becomes a participant
- an understanding of your own cultural reality as well as those you are studying
What are you 2 views on Ontology?
Objectivist view - social phenomena exist without social actors involved
Constructivist view - social phenomena are constantly revised through social interaction
What is the key question of ontology??
It is the answer to “what is the nature of the social reality you will be investigating”?
What is the question being asked with epistemology??
“How did it come to know what I know”
What are the 2 epistemological views?
Positivist view - application of natural science methods to understand social realities
Interpretivist view - that social realities require subjective meaning and interpretation
What is the methodology concerned with ??
Concerned with the potentiality and limitations of techniques or procedures
