Qualitative Data Flashcards
Finals preperations
What is Qualitative reserch?
- explain the reality of the world though the perspective of the participants
- Data:
# Descriptive ( words)
# collected from natural setting (no laboratories)
# analyzed inductively ( collect first ask later) - instrument:
# The researcher itself ( no equipment).
# Researcher is active with the participants.
# results are subjective ( based on perceptions, opinions and experiences of the participants). - Researchers:
# Concerned with the process, not the outcomes.
Difference of Qualitative research and quantitative research?
Qulaitative reserch:
- relatively smaller population samples
- context specific
- carefully selected sample (aka “purposive sampling”)
- may include accessing:
# subject matter experts(SME)
# group members
# witnesses
How to Do qualitative research: Steps?
- define the problem
- identify the theoretical framework
- develop the research question(s)
- choose the most appropriate study design
- select the participants; purposeful
- training and pilot work
- entering the setting
- data collection
- data analyses
- generate a report of the findings
The Theoretical Foundations of Qualitative research?
It will allow researcher and will:
- Help design our research questions
- determine how we conduct qualitative research
- guide the selection of relevant data
- influence how we interpret the data
- Propose explanations
What are the Key Theories that used in the Qualitative research?
- phenomenological perspective
- symbolic interaction
- critical theory
What is Penomenological perspective?
- “principal architect of modern social science” –> Max weber a social theorist
- Understanding the world through the participant
- The researcher must rid his/ her mind of preconceptions about the participants
What is Symbolic Interection perspective?
- George Herbert Mead –> philosopher and social theorist
- theory suggest: how people create and understand life based on their interactions with others
- gestures =symbols
- examples:
- Language
- Action of people
What is Critical theory?
- Karl Marx - philosopher, sociologist, historian, economist
- Wrote the “Communist Manifesto”
- These theorist study:
# study how the construction of knowledge and the organization of power in society generally can lead to the subjugation or oppression of particular individuals, groups, or perspectives# concerned with equity and justice in relation to issues.# seeks to end oppression
What are some Research Designs?
- case studies
- ethnography
- Phenomenology
- historical analysis
- grounded theory
- content and discourse analysis
Case studies:
- Study that involves the in-depth study of a person,
- Study that is done in a long period of time and can be used to narrow down a very broad field of researcher into one or few examples.
-Data:
# personal interviews
# observations
# direct interaction with participants
# may occur over multiple sessions
- Caution:
# unsystematic and uncontrolled - Benefits:
# description
# evidence
Ethnography:
- the study of specific cultural group to get a clear understanding of their:
# belief systems and practices
# organizational set up
# lifestyle - Most used by anthropology
- reports usually very accurate
- Data:
# personal interviews
# observations
# first-hand testimonies
# immersion into the culture
# done within a specific time frame - To be successful u need to:
# unobtrusive observations
# unobtrusive measures
# potential pitfalls
Unobtrusive observation means
observations that are not influenced by the presence of the investigator
Unobtrusive measures means:
measures taken from the results of behavior not the behavior itself
Potential pitfalls for ethnography:
- Internal and external validity might be compromised
- errors might be on the way compromising results
- researcher should be aware that varying perspectives exist within the setting.
- not appropriate a large population
Phenomonology:
- recognizes that each person has a unique and meaningful experience
- Used to identify participants, experiences, struggles, adaptive strategies/ coping mechanism
- result presented = detailed discussion of the lived experiences of participants
-Data:
# personal interviews
# focus groups discussion
# observations
# done a a specific time
Historical anaylsis:
- Allows researcher to correlate between past an present events and researchers rely on historical evidence.
Data:
# personal interviews with experts about a specific topic
# direct account if events
# archival data
# official documentations
# personal records
# eyewitness records
Content and discourse Analysis:
- Analyzing communication content to identify differences.
-This type of analysis conducted to:
# Identify communication trends and intentions.
# Understand attitudes and behaviors toward messages.
# Highlight international communication differences.
# Detect patterns in communication.
# Assess psychological or emotional states.
- Data:
# analysis or examination of:
- journals
- articles
- audio materials
- visual materials
Grounded Theory:
- The researcher develops a new theory during data collection and analysis to explain how and why a specific phenomenon occurs, addressing participants’ main concerns.
- Data:
# Interviews
# observations/ fieldwork.
# focus group discussion
# study artifacts
What are some types of data collection? DOLANIT
- Narrative (continual recording)
- tallying (frequency counting)
- Interval methods
- duration method
- observing
- listening
- argot –> special language or terminology
what are some type of field notes?
- Jotted notes
- Direct observation notes
- Research interference notes
- Analytic memos
- Personal notes
- Maps/ Diagrams
# spatial map
# social map
# temporal map - Machine recordings
- interview notes
How to sort or categories data?
1st - Transcribe interviews and transfer field notes to another medium
2nd- 2 ways to sort data:
- Keep index cards
- computer programs now are typically used
What is Qualitative Data analysis?
- A way researchers attempt to merge data into a holistic portrayal of phenomenon
6 other types of QDA:
1. Content Analysis
2. Narrative analysis
3. Discourse analysis
4. thematic analysis
5. Grounded theory
6. IPA
Content analysis:
- most common and straightforward QDA
- Evaluate pattern within a piece of content
- words, phrases, or images, collection of newspaper articles
Limitations:
- Time consuming– lots of reading
- loosing important nuances in communication due to involving both qualitative and quantitative aspects of data
- Vey specific timeline- dont take account what happened before and after
Narrative Analysis:
- analyze data through listening stories
- provides insight into their view of the world
- important to understand the way information if being shared or told
Limitations:
1. Sample sizes
2. Time consuming
3. researcher bias can have a strong influence
4. can lead t broad conclusion
Discourse analysis:
- A research that involves understanding culture or power dynamics
- understanding language within the social context (jargon)
Limitations:
1. spoken language can be influences due to social structures of a society
- End up going to a rabbit hole is a specific question is not made to be asked.
- Time consuming
Thematic analysis:
- Research that involves understanding peoples experience or view
- Thematic analysis is a bit of an exploratory process the question of the research can change though the analysis
Limitations:
1. Data needs to be reviewed
- time consuming
- High budget for extra time unexpected adjustments
Grounded Theory:
- Powerful analysis using existing theories to create new one using test and revisions
- when a topic have a very little knowledge about
- Start of overreaching question about a given population then analyses is small sample groups
limitations:
1. Circularity: know as little as possible regarding the research questions to reduce bias (knowing a lot)
- Knowing nothing at all
Interpretive phenological analysis (IPA)
- A reach analysis method that allows to understand personal experiences concerning a major life event.
- Phenomena extreme rare and large events.
- Subject centered - focus on the experiencer
Limitations:
1. Researcher bias
2. Researcher need to be very self aware.
What are the 4 things that show the research was conducted competently?
- credibility ( accurate?)
- transferability (other settings?)
- dependability ( dealing?)
- confirmability ( other confirm?)
Researches provides evidence of trustworthiness though:
- Engagements with participants
- audit trail of change
- thick description of setting and context
- self awareness of researcher bias
What is reactivity?
- the different reaction of participants if they were not in a study
Reasons of reactivity:
- Evaluation apprehension
- socially desirable behaviours
- attention feedback regulation
ways to reduce reactivity:
- deception
- reducing the degree of obstructiveness
- pick neutral behaviours to observe
- concealment
What does reliability mean?
- dependability and consistency
2 types:
1. Internal consistency
- Data making sense when pieces are together.
2. external consistency
- cross-checking data multiple sources of informations
how to ensure reliability in field reserch?
- interobserver agreement –> observes coding events in the same way
- compare the data same observers but different events.
- compare the data different observes but same events.
- examine data of an individual observer
What is validity?
- extent in which a test measurement is intended to the measure
- Types of validity for qualitative research is:
- Ecological
- Natural history
- Member validation
- competent insider performance
Ethical dimension of field research’ are: 5 types
- Deceptions
- misleading people in covert research( fake name and identity)
- confidentiality
- must protect all information retaining direct quotes
- involvement with deviants
- guilty knowledge
4.The powerful
- hierarchy of credibility- the powerful have more voice over the weak one
- Publishing of field reports
- no publicizing member secrets
What are surveys?
- Web-based
what are Interviews?
- telephone
- personel
- group discussions
- Delphi technique
History of survey:
Social surveys:
- 1085
- William the conqueror
# Doomsday Book
- First Official book - taxation purposes - determine young men for military service
History: What happened in Great Britain:
1851- 1864 (Henry Mayhew)
#he made a 4 volume London Labour and Landon Poor
1906(B.Sebohm Rownstree)
# a study of town life
# examined the extent of urban poverty
History: What happened in United States:
1895 (Hull)
- house maps and paper
1899 (W.E.B DuBois)
- Philedelphia Negro
when was the time where the major method for social research?
1890s to 1930s
- in the beginning the survey were largely exploratory and descriptive
Several forces re-shaped the social survey:
- researchers
- Data storage
- data archives
- Funding
- expanded funding 1970s and 1980s.
- Methodology
- Trial and error - improved statistic.
- Post WW2
History: In post WW2, even though there were made a lot of survey after the war, universities were reluctant to use survey research due to:
- Cost
- Number of subject required
- skeptical of using something that had evolved from “private industry”
After 1970s:
- use of survey continued to grow, greater acceptance with academia.This was due to:
- Advent of computers
- evolution of social research. centres
What happened in modern day surveys?
- Now the research can be done by many people, with same question within a specific time frame
What are the web-based surveys: Problem?
- email: Better than mail
- Problem : No control over responses and respondents
- USR key: Questions are in the USB
- Problem: Time consuming, virus carrier
- Forms-based: questionnaire is located on the researchers site
What about mail surveys: pros and cons?
Pros:
- cost savings
- no interview bias
-greater assurance of anonymity
- completion by the respondent at their convenience
- Accessibility
- Accurate information
- identical wording for all respondents
Cons:
- Lack of flexibility
- likelihood of unanswered questions
- Low response rate
- Inability to record spontaneous reaction
-Lack of control
- No guarantee to return by deadline date
What are some survey designs:
- Descriptive designs
- Use cross sectional, longitudinal, or group comparison
- Analytical designs
- Adreess the relationship between the variables.
- Cross sectional, case control, prospective
Types of questions:
- Close-ended question: fix4d answers
- Open-eded questions: free range
Close-ended question: fixd answers
CONS:
PROS:
- easy top complete
- Simplifies coding and analyses
- better response rate for sensitive questions
- minimum of “extra” comments
- Answer could be random
- variations is reponses
- too many answers categories
- incorrect answer selection
- Open-eded questions: free range
PROS:
- when all answers categories are unknown
- preferred more when controvential subject to be talked about.
- allows creativity
CONS:
- difficult to code/analyse
- to general questions
- harder to collect and sort the data
What to avoid while asking questions?
- Jargon
- Slang
- Abbreviations
- Ambiguity
- Confusions
- Vagueness
- Emotional language
- Prestige bias
- double barrelled questions
- adjective without agreed upon meaning
- double negative
- a oid distant future events
- leading questions
- question beyond the respondents capabilities
- False premises
If you can use surveys as the method or tool to collect you data, you cant used quantitative or qualitative research. True or false.
False
If your survey has close ended question you research is…..
design = quantitative
If survey has open-ended questions you research is…..
Design = Qualitative
regardless of whether your research design is quantitative or qualitative, the people completing your survey are respondents - they are not subjects and they are not participants. True or folse?
True
Scales of qualitative Data:
- scales assume that people with the same subjective feeling mark the graphic scale at the same place
- Numerical
- Checklists
- Forced choice
- Rankings
- Likert scale
What is Likerts scale?
- AKA Summated rating scale
-Ordinal scale NOT INTERVAL - Categorized by number as cannot be changed afterwards
Likert scale - Response set
- agreeingwith every question in a series rathe than carefully think
AKA : Response Style or response bias
# to avoid - word statements will be available
- Answers can be inconsistent or have contradictory opinion
Likert scale - Indexing responses
- Have a minimum and maximum index and do not agree one.
Semantic differential scale:
- Developed in 1950s
- measure subjective feelings using adjectives with choosing its level. like
- how do you feel about winter?happy _ _ _ _ _ _ _ sad
3 major classes of meaning is:
- Evaluation –> (good-bad)
- potency ( strong- weak)
- activity ( active- passive)
What are some rating errors?
- Leniency (too easy)
- Central tendency( choosing middle)
- Halo ( knowing the subject before)
- proximity
- observer bias
-observer expectation
Factors affecting mail surveys:
- time of mailing more responses if sent out
- mon/tues but not thurs/friday - feb an april not good
- march - good
- September -school only
- Follow-up letters/ telephone calls
Types of rated of return to mail surveys:
- Eligibility rate - % who are elligible?
- Location rate - % who are in sampling frame?
- Response rate - % completed
- contact rate - % who agreed to participate
- Non contact rate- % could not been contacted
- non response rate - % refused to complete
Telephone interviews: PROS AND CONS
PROS:
- cost friendly
- faster
- boarders area
- increased anonymity
- call back if no answer
-accessibility
- better collecting sensitive data
CONS:
- less motivated to response
- Hoax? cover up?
- little control over situation
Personal interview: PROS AND CONS
PROS:
- flexibility
- higher response rate
- observation of verbal; ad non-verbal responses
- control over question
- utilize more involved and complex questions
CONS:
- cost in money an time
- openness to manipulation
- lack of anonymity
- vulnerability to personality clashes
- lack of standardization
- difficult to summarise findings
Personal interviews structure 3 types:
- Unstructured
- Semi-structured
- structured
Interview bias:
- personal opinions overshadowing the respondents answers
- Unintentional error( by the interviewer)
- contacting wrong person
- misreading the question
- wrong order of reading the questions
- recording wrong answers
What is Delphi technique
- Use of archive a group consensus: similar to jury in court
