Methods in qualitative research

Question 1

what is the purpose of interviews?

Answer 1

to gather descriptions of real world of the interviewee with respect to interpretation of the meaning of the described phenomena

Question 2

what describes the characteristics of the population without the intention to investigate why/how/when?

Answer 2

descriptive research

Question 3

what type of research is conducted with he aim to investigate the why/how/when?

Answer 3

explanatory research

Question 4

what type of research is conducted in the aim to generate ideas, definitions and theories?

Answer 4

exploratory research

Question 5

what are the 2 types of interview?

Answer 5

structured and semi-structured

Question 6

what are the features of a structured interview?

Answer 6

strict schedule of Qs in predetermined order, used to compare, descriptive or explanatory in nature, used in quantitative methodology (market research)

Question 7

why do structured interviews minimise bias?

Answer 7

minimises impact of researcher on answers given by participant

Question 8

what are the features of a semi-structured interview?

Answer 8

flexible schedule of Qs with no predetermined order, idea of themes to be covered with a few set key questions, open to new directions based on ppt responses, exploratory or explanatory in nature, mainly used in qualitative research

Question 9

what is important to do as a researcher when conducting interviews?

Answer 9

use simple language, ask open ended questions, create rapport, prompt ppts when necessary, engage in active listening, body language

Question 10

what is a focus group?

Answer 10

group of 6-10 ppts talking about a particular topic

Question 11

what are the aims of focus groups?

Answer 11

group interaction, sharing viewpoints/experiences/opinions from each other, develop each perspective, collect a range of viewpoints

Question 12

what is best to avoid with focus groups?

Answer 12

sensitive topics (interviews more appropriate for this)

Question 13

the researcher in a focus group should be the facilitator. What does this mean?

Answer 13

tries not to take active part in convo, intervenes to steer convo in direction of relevance, attempts to get everyone’s input

Question 14

what are 3 features of observation methods?

Answer 14

people observed in naturalistic settings, people often don’t know they are being observed at the time, no direct manipulation from researcher during study

Question 15

if observations aren’t in real life what other ways can they take place?

Answer 15

archival data, phone and text conversations, police interrogations

Question 16

what research ethics need to be considered with interviews, focus groups and observations?

Answer 16

informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity, debriefing

Question 17

what are the issues with qualitative (bottom up) approach?

Answer 17

you don’t know what you don’t know (reliant on ppts to highlight issues of interest), difficult to know how much data is enough, researcher bias (may steer convo in certain direction and miss other important info), participant bias, reliability/replicability, might not be generalisable to population

Question 18

how might participant bias come about?

Answer 18

ppts may only disclose selective info, ppts may lie (this is a general issue with self-report)