Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis

Question 1

What is “richness” of data? (How can we tell the data is “rich”)

Answer 1

Can we read the person’s words and get a clear picture of their experience?

Question 2

What is “depth” of data? (How can we tell the data has “depth”)

Answer 2

Did they collect data until nothing new was heard?

Question 3

What is rigour in qualitative research?

Answer 3

Constant comparative data collection.
Data collection and analysis simultaneously.
Close adherance to philosophical orientation
Thoroughness in collecting data
Consideration of all the data in developing

Question 4

How is rigour achieved in qualitative research?

Answer 4

Continuously comparing data as they are acquired during research.
Compare findings to literature and transcripts/findings

Question 5

What are common methods of data collection in qualitative research?

Answer 5

Interview
Observation
Documents, artifacts, or records

Question 6

What are two types of interview used for qualitative research?

Answer 6

In-depth or focus groups

Question 7

What are two types of observation used for qualitative research? (A method of data collection)

Answer 7

Concealed or unconcealed

Question 8

What are four criteria for judging scientific rigour in a qualitative study?

Answer 8

Credibility
Auditability
Transferability/fittingness
Confirmability

Question 9

What is “credibility” (as criteria for scientific rigour)?

Answer 9

Truth of findings as judged by participants and others within the discipline.

Question 10

What is “auditability” (as criteria for scientific rigour)?

Answer 10

Accountability as judged by the adequacy of information leading the reader from the research question and raw data through various steps of analysis to the interpretation of findings.

Question 11

What is “transferability/fittingness” (as criteria for scientific rigour)?

Answer 11

Faithfulness to the everyday reality of the participants, described in enough detail so that others in the discipline can evaluate the importance for their own practice, research, and theory development.

Question 12

What is “confirmability” (as criteria for scientific rigour)?

Answer 12

Findings that reflect implementation of credibility, auditability, and transferability standards.

Question 13

How is credibility determined?

Answer 13

The authors present such a faithful description of human experience that it is recognizable as one’s own to others who have experienced this phenomenon.

Question 14

What are some methods of establishing credibility?

Answer 14

Triangulation
Prolonged engagement
Member checking
Peer debriefing
"Thick" description
Researcher credibility
Reflexivity

Question 15

What is triangulation?

Answer 15

Using more than one approach to some aspect of the study. Eg. more than one researcher conducting interviews, more than one method of data colelction (interview and observation, or one-on-one interviews and group interviews),

Question 16

What is prolonged engagement?

Answer 16

Long interview/more than one interview.

Question 17

What is member checking?

Answer 17

Making sure you check your interpretation with the people who you interviewed. This ensures that your interpretation of the data matches the experience of the subject, and isn’t just coming out of your bias.

Question 18

What is peer debriefing?

Answer 18

two or more members on the research team talking about their understanding – eg this is what im seeing/hearing, does this line up with what you’re seeing/hearing/understanding? This helps to eliminate bias.

Question 19

What is thick description?

Answer 19

Verbatim quotes from the study participants. This way, we can read it and understand their words and see if it makes sense with the researcher’s conclusion.

Question 20

What is researcher credibility?

Answer 20

How credible the researchers are in the field of study. They should be experts.

Question 21

What is reflexivity?

Answer 21

Critical reflection. Keeping a reflective journal where they keep thoughts and reflections.

Question 22

What is the methods for ensuring transferability?

Answer 22

“Thick” description, verbatim data in research reports.

Question 23

What are some methods of ensuring auditability?

Answer 23

Investigator triangulation, detailed filed notes re: methodological decisions, reflexivity.

Question 24

What is “data reduction”?

Answer 24

Ongoing process as data is collected
Process of selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting, and transforming the data.
Data is organized into meaningful clusters (themes or structured meaning units).

Question 25

What is thematic analysis?

Answer 25

Process of recognizing and recovering the emergent themes.

Question 26

What is phenomenological analysis? (What is the process)

Answer 26

Immersion in the data - read and reread
Extract significant statements
Determine the relationship among themes
Describe phenomena and themes
Synthesize themes into a consistent description of phenomenon

Question 27

What is ethnographic analysis? (What is the process)

Answer 27

Immerse in the data
Identify patterns and themes
Take cultural inventory
Interpret findings
Compare findings to the literature

Question 28

What is grounded theory analysis? (What is the process)

Answer 28

Examine each life of data line by line
Divide data into discrete parts
Compare data for similarities/differences
Compare data with other data collected, continuously - constant comparative method
Cluster into categories
Develop categories
Determine relationships among categores

Question 29

What is case study analysis? (What is the process)

Answer 29

Identify unit of analysis
Code continuously as data is collected
Find commonalities, themes
Analyze field notes
Review and identify patterns and connections

Question 30

Where are the findings presented?

Answer 30

Results section - presentation of the raw data and analysis

Discussion section - the interpretation of the results/findings