qualitative methods Flashcards
what is narrative?
how you represent reality rather than the reality
what did Marsh and Savigny find by comparing 2 UK based journals and 2 US based journals?
the US had a tendency towards positivism, whereas the UK is more pluralist, with a strong tradition of normative theory and non-positivist research
why did Bennett et al find the US had a minimal qualitative movement?
due to most colleges not teaching qualitative methods (only 16%)
what are 4 key features of qualitative research?
- Inductive analysis to discover categories not only testing theoretically derived hypotheses
- A holistic perspective with a sensitivity to the context
- Qualitative data collection based on detailed, description
- Empathic neutrality not objectivity
what is also important to qualitative research?
reflexivity
what are 5 primary research techniques for qualitative research?
• Semi structured / in-depth interviews • Focus groups • Ethnography participant observation experiments
who are interviews associated mostly with? (5)
institutionalism, post-positivist behaviouralism, constructivism, interpretivism and feminism
how do institutionalists use interviews?
with elites
why are focus groups used?
group interaction used to produce data which wouldn’t be found otherwise – size and composition of the group is very important
what is ethnography?
uses both participant and non-participant observation within ‘natural’ social and political contexts
what are 2 secondary research techniques for qualitative research?
historiographies
case studies
why can secondary research be affected by bias?
somewhat inevitable as sources are chosen based on accessibility or the researcher’s awareness of their existence
what are historiographies used for?
to explain real world outcomes (not really predictions)
what are the two approaches to analysing words?
discourse analysis
content analysis
what happens within discourse analysis?
Makes a clear attempt to go beyond the data, uncovering how people seek to portray their actions
is discourse analysis more qualitative or quantitative?
qualitative
what is linguistic discourse analysis?
Focus on the words themselves, precise meanings to see how an argument is constructed
what is critical discourse analysis?
unpack the ideological underpinnings of things we take for granted to expose the power relations underneath
what happens within content analysis?
systematic analysis of the content of political communication
is content analysis more qualitative or quantitative?
quantitative
how is content analysis used in the study of political parties?
to identify drifts in the ideological self understanding of parties
what is the Manifesto Project Database?
Quantitative assessment of party manifestos
how many parties are included in the Manifesto Project Database?
1000+
how many countries are included in the Manifesto Project Database?
52
