Lecture 6 - qualitative research = choosing your method

Question 1

-Why do we use qualitative research

Answer 1

• To move outside realistic approaches to explain human experience
• Encourages interrogation

Question 2

Positivism and the scientific method

Answer 2

• Qualitative research against positivism

- Positivism - only should study objective, real and measurable phenomenon = only 1 reality

Question 3

Non-positivist paradigm

Answer 3

• People affected by and shape social world
• Researchers active in process
• Inductive = driven by data

Question 4

Ontology

Answer 4

• Reality
• Realism = right of spectrum = pre-social reality that you can access through research
• Critical realism = middle of spectrum = pre-social reality exists but can only partially know it
• Relativism = left side of spectrum, have multiple realities that you can never fully know and only understand peoples representations of them

Question 5

Epistemology

Answer 5

• Knowledge
• 3 approaches:
• -> Positivism
• -> Contextualism
• -> Social constructionism

Question 6

Positivism (approach to epistemology)

Answer 6

• Knowledge is inert and impartial

- Aligned with realism

Question 7

Contextualism (approach to epistemology)

Answer 7

• Sits in between positivism and constructionism
• Recognition that there is a social context and human acts are contextualised within social world
• Not one single reality
• Aligned with critical realism

Question 8

Social constructionism (approach to epistemology)

Answer 8

• Knowledge is socially created
• Draws on discourses to help make sense of phenomena
• Knowledge = active and powerful
• Aligns with relativism