QRM

Question 1

Case studies

Answer 1

An in-depth investigation that involves a detailed study of a single individual, institution or event.

Question 2

Intrinsic case study

Answer 2

case studies of interest purely for their own sake, where there is no need to generalise beyond the case researched or to attempt to build theory based on the conclusions.

Question 3

Instrumental case study

Answer 3

case studies carried out in order to describe, explain or build a theory around a phenomenon that happens with some frequency. Findings are expected to have relevance to other case studies.

Question 4

Strengths of case studies

Answer 4

• Good to investigate sensitive and complex issues that may not be able to be studies otherwise
• Useful for studying group processes within a social group
• The results may create new knowledge which challenge preconceived ideas and contradict established theories

Question 5

Limitations of case studies

Answer 5

• Researcher bias could be an issue because the researchers own beliefs and ideas could influence data collection
• Generalizability is difficult
• Participant expectancy is a risk as the researcher and participants interact for long periods of time

Question 6

Case studies: sampling techniques

Answer 6

Snowball and purposive are best suited to case studies as they involve specific criteria, where as other techniques, such as random, would have participants that do not fit the criteria.
¬ However, purposive sampling is very selective and would be biased by the researcher.
¬ Case studies can often be about sensitive topics; therefore, snowball is good as the participants are encouraged to join by someone they trust (eg a friend).

Question 7

Case studies: participant expectations

Answer 7

¬ There is a risk of participant expectancy because the researcher and participants interact with each other for long periods.
¬ Sometimes participants can show demand characteristics if they guess the aim of the case study.
¬ Because there is so much data then this could reduce participant expectations.
¬ This can seriously affect the results of the study and should be carefully monitored by the researcher.

Question 8

Case studies: researcher bias

Answer 8

¬ This could be a problem because the researcher’s own beliefs and ideas could influence data collection.
¬ The topic that the researcher has chosen may mean that they have preconceptions about the participants-intrinsic.
¬ Relationships may form between the researcher and participants; this can lead to subjective views. This could happen due to the usual longitudinal nature of a case study but also depends on the level of interaction.

Question 9

Case studies: credibility

Answer 9

¬ A case study involves very in-depth information, collected over a longitudinal period.
¬ Therefore, the data collected can be seen as trustworthy as the researcher can taken a long time to investigate a very specific phenomenon, provided the researcher uses triangulation and reflexivity.
¬ This would suggest that the data is believable and reliable.

Question 10

Case studies: triangulation

Answer 10

¬ This is commonly used in case studies; researchers often use many different methods to study a topic.
¬ Clive Wearing-observed, interviewed and took part in experiments.
¬ This allows the researcher to increase the credibility of there results and enables them to give a true picture of the phenomenon.

Question 11

Case studies: reflexivity

Answer 11

¬ How ‘trustworthy’ are the results-how valid the results of a study are.
¬ A report of a study should state information about the researcher and any relation they have to the topic in question and to any participants within the study.
¬ Any of these factors should be noted if they could impact the results of the study.
¬ Using personal and epistemological reflexivity increases the credibility of results as it can reduce bias and increase trustworthiness of the data- another researcher should look over the study and see that there have been no large impacts on the study because of researcher relations.

Question 12

Case studies: ethical considerations

Answer 12

¬ Informed consent: it is important to gain informed consent from participants, sometimes participants are unable to give informed consent themselves as they are vulnerable individuals.
¬ Protection from harm: it is important in case studies for the privacy and anonymity of the participant to be upheld and avoid exploiting and taking advantage of vulnerable participants.
¬ Confidentiality: this can be an issue in case studies as they are so specific and therefore it can be hard to hide someone’s personal details (eg Clive Wearing)- case studies usually involve individuals and there is often a lot of information about the participant therefore if the information is not keep confidential it will be easy to identify the participant and this may compromise protection from harm.

Question 13

Case studies: generalisability

Answer 13

¬ These are not carried out with the purpose of being generalizable beyond the case researched.
¬ Because they do not occur with much frequency, this makes it hard to make comparisons.
Instrumental:
¬ Even though they are still very unique, sometimes these can be generalised to some extent.
¬ This is because the case study is designed to add further depth and information to existing theories.
¬ Therefore, they must be generalizable to some extent so they can be compared to other existing research to increase the credibility of the theory.

Question 14

Semi-structured interviews

Answer 14

there is an interview guide giving themes to explore- questions to discuss. There is flexibility in order, wording and depth of questions. Questions can be open or closed ended questions.

Question 15

Focus group interviews

Answer 15

: a group of 6-10 people are interviewed at the same time. A facilitator introduces the participants to each other, asks questions and leads group interactions. Supposed to be like in real life and discuss and respond to one and others statements. Gives a special dynamic to the group and generates rich data

Question 16

Narrative interview

Answer 16

individual interpretations of the world and such narratives influence people behaviour. A mix of facts and interpretations of experiences often conducted like a real story.

• researcher asks questions which are open ended and allows the person being studied to lead the interview in the study rather than the researcher showing the way

Question 17

Interviews: sampling techniques

Answer 17

↔ Sampling techniques best suited to interviews will depend on the topic being investigated.
↔ It is likely that purposive sample will be used as it is the most effective way of obtaining data which includes the most information and information that is appropriate to the topic under investigation. However, this allows for too much subjectivity and researchers bias and prejudices might bias the sample, decreasing credibility.
↔ If the topic is sensitive, then the researcher could use the snowball technique. This would allow them to gain participants difficult to gain through the other techniques.

Question 18

Interviews: participant expectations

Answer 18

↔ If the participants guess the aim of the interview, then they may change their responses.
↔ Particularly in focus groups where participants may feel pressure to give a certain response

Question 19

Interviews: researcher bias

Answer 19

↔ The research could use leading questions to guide the participant in giving the responses they want.
↔ Through inductive content analysis this can be prevented.

Question 20

Interviews: credibility

Answer 20

↔ Researcher subjectivity could reduce the credibility of the results.
↔ If the researcher uses impartial questions and prevents from using leading questions or directing the participants in any way, then the data collected will be more credible.
↔ Use of method triangulation will increase credibility, comparisons can be made.

Question 21

Interviews: triangulation

Answer 21

↔ Researchers can use method triangulation to increase the credibility of results.

Question 22

Interviews: reflexivity

Answer 22

↔ Researcher should use reflexivity to identify potential biases that may affect results.
↔ Personal reflexivity-
↔ Epistemological reflexivity can be shown with the choice of interview method because depending on the choice of methods affects the type of data collected.

Question 23

Interviews: ethical considerations

Answer 23

↔ In semi-structured and narrative interviews private and personal information can be revealed that the participant may not have planned on disclosing to the researcher. This may result in the researcher being told controversial information and so the researcher must decide whether to disclose the information to the authorities

Question 24

Interviews: generalisability

Answer 24

↔ Interviews, in particular narrative and semi-structured, can be very person so therefore not very generalizable, however a large amount of interviews carried out on the same topic, can allow overall trends identified to be generalized to the wider population.
↔ Focus groups can be seen as more generalizable as they contain more people per interview and therefore have a larger variety of opinions and views on the topic.

Question 25

participant observation

Answer 25

The researcher participates actively in the life of the participant- becomes part of the target group under investigation

Question 26

non-participant observation

Answer 26

Researcher does not take part in the life of the participant and does not interact with them

Question 27

naturalistic observation

Answer 27

Researcher often spends a long time in the field, to become familiar with participants’ natural behaviour

Question 28

overt observation

Answer 28

Participants know that they are being observed

Question 29

covert observation

Answer 29

Participants don’t know that they are being observed

Question 30

Observations: sampling techniques

Answer 30

μ A sample is gained before the observation takes place.
μ The choice of the sampling depends of the research topic.
μ However, often in qualitative research purposive sample is often chosen because the topic is specific and often unique.
μ A cluster could also be an appropriate technique where the researcher takes a sample from the relevant target population.

Question 31

Observations: participant expectations

Answer 31

μ As humans don’t respond passively, participant’s expectations about the research may affect the trustworthiness of the data collected.
μ Depending on whether the observation was overt or covert, social desirability problems may arise as if the observation is overt the participants may try to please the researcher.
μ The screw you effect may also become apparent in overt observations where the participants want to ruin the observation as they have guessed the aim. This will effect the integrity of the data.
μ The Hawthorn effect may occur in overt observations when participants know they are being watched. Here, the participants have certain expectations and they change their behaviour in some way.

Question 32

Observations: researcher bias

Answer 32

μ If an observation is longitudinal, then the researcher may become more subjective with time.
μ The research has to identify and be aware of their biases throughout the whole observation.
μ This could be done through credibility checks and reflexivity.

Question 33

Observations: credibility

Answer 33

μ Observations generally have high credibility due to the study of natural behaviour in a natural environment, compared to experimental, artificial environments with low ecological validity.
μ However, they could not be credible due to the subjective interpretations of the data acquired, however this can be reduced through inductive content analysis.
μ The most credible forms of observations would be non-participant, naturalistic and overt, these forms mean that it it more likely for the participant to act more themselves and reduce the Hawthorne effect.

Question 34

Observations: triangulation

Answer 34

μ Observations can be used in method triangulation to increase the validity of the results.
μ An observation could be used as a main or primary research method, along with another method such as an interview or questionnaire.

Question 35

Observations: reflexivity

Answer 35

μ Researchers can often become subjective in observations.
μ It is important that they reflect on how their own beliefs, ideas and experiences could affect their interpretation of the data.
μ This is important as it increases credibility of the results.

Question 36

Observations: ethical considerations

Answer 36

μ Researchers have to think about ethical considerations before, during and after carrying out an observation.
μ Informed consent: this can be an issue in covert observations as participants don’t know that they are being observed
μ Confidentiality: researchers have to maintain confidentiality through destroying any research material such as video tapes/recordings that would reveal the participants identity.

Question 37

Observations: generalizability

Answer 37

μ The extent of generalizability will depend on how unique the research is.
μ Often more generalizable than case studies, however less than experimental research methods as there are no experimental controls or variables in observations.
μ Due to researcher subjectivity, this will make it hard to replicate and so hard to generalise to other populations.

Question 38

Representational generalizability

Answer 38

• findings from a study can be applied to populations outside of the study
• if findings from similar research studies corroborate findings, some degree of generalisation may be possible

Question 39

Inferential generalizability

Answer 39

• findings from a study can be applied to settings outside the study
• the findings can be “transferred” to similar settings.

Question 40

Theoretical generalisability

Answer 40

Theoretical concepts developed in the study can be used to develop further theory.

Question 41

Strengths of qualitative research

Answer 41

• generates rich data (in-depth and subjective information for interpretation)
• It is useful for investigating complex and sensitive issues.
• people are studied in real life settings so there is more ecological validity
• the approach generates new ideas and theories to deal with real life problems
• researcher(s) and participants are often interaction with each other for longer periods of time

Question 42

Limitations of of qualitative research

Answer 42

• there are often large amounts of data to analyse
• it can be very time consuming, especially if triangulation is uses, as research often takes place over a prolonged period
• it is usually difficult to generalise results to other settings because of the few participants in qualitative research
• interpretation of data may be subjective but reflexivity and credibility checks can reduce bias
• participant expectations and researcher bias may influence the research process. reflexivity and credibility checks can reduce this.

Question 43

Demand characteristics

Answer 43

try and guess what the research is about

Question 44

social desirability problems

Answer 44

try and please the research (consciously or unconsciously)

Question 45

screw you affect

Answer 45

deliberately try to spoil the research

Question 46

Hawthorne effect

Answer 46

can occur in overt observations when participants know they are being watched. Here, participants have certain expectations and as a result they change their performance.

Question 47

Demand characteristics

Answer 47

features of an experiment that a participant unconsciously responds to when searching for clues about how to behave

Question 48

Experimenter bias

Answer 48

the effect that the experimenter’s expectations have on the participants and therefore on the results of the experiment

Question 49

Generalisability

Answer 49

The degree to which findings of a particular study can be applied to the target population

Question 50

Hawthorne effect

Answer 50

The tendency for participants to alter their behaviour merely as a result of knowing they are being observed

Question 51

Participant effects

Answer 51

a general term used to acknowledge the fact that participants react to cues in an experimental situation and that this may affect the validity of any conclusions drawn from the investigation

Question 52

Reliability

Answer 52

a measure of consistency both within a set of scores or items and also over time such that it is possible to obtain the same results on subsequent occasions when the measure is used.

Question 53

Screw you effect

Answer 53

a participant who knows the aims of an experiment deliberately behaves in a way to spoil the experiment.

Question 54

Social desirability bias

Answer 54

a tendency for respondents to answer questions in such as way that presents themselves in a better light

Question 55

Considerations before an interview

Answer 55

-data collection and establishing interview guide
(method needs to collect most/best quality data)
-choosing interviewer
(interviewee needs to be comfortable)
-sampling and sampling method
(collecting participants best suited)
-data recording
(may be best to audio record for researcher can focus on interviewee)
-transcription of data
-ethical considerations
-reflexivity

Question 56

Considerations during an interview

Answer 56

-establishing rapport between interviewer and participants
(trusting relationship so that participants talk freely)
-data recording
(technique functions properly so interviewer can focus on participant)
-active and neutral listener
(questions clearly, don’t interrupt, ensure participants have chance to explain their own views to prevent bias)
-professional approach
(participants should be able to leave in the middle of interview)

Question 57

Considerations after an interview

Answer 57

-debriefing
(participants informed about results, possibility to withdraw data)
-confidentiality and anonymity
(can’t be identified)
-credibility check
(other researchers to look over, consult participants about interpretation)
-consent to use data, photos ect
(destroy photos ect after to ensure confidentiality)

Question 58

Inductive Content Analysis

Answer 58

*Inductive content analysis is a measure of analysing data in a qualitative study. It involves the grounded theory – transferring a low order theme to a high order theme and IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis).

Question 59

Process of ICA pt1

Answer 59

• collecting data and making initial analysis
• preparing the data for content analysis
• reading and re-reading, identification of initial themes based on first readings of raw data-first attempt at coding prepares for analysis
• analysing: starts early in data collection process and moves back and forth between data collection, analysis and concept development

Question 60

Process of ICA pt2

Answer 60

-analysis and low-level theme into higher-level themes
-checking whether interpretations are credible
-inferences and conclusions are formed based on the summary table.
At this stage the researcher tries to identify relationships between themes-may reveal specific patterns in themes which may lead to formulation of theory.