Qualitative Research

Question 1

What is qualitative research ?

Answer 1

It seeks information which cannot be easily expressed in numbers
It is concerned with the live experience of people, feelings, opinons, perceptions of people.

Question 2

Why can qualitative research be useful ?

Answer 2

To better understand the contexte in which we work
Before an experimental study to find out the appropriate topic to be investigated
Or concurrent with an experimental study, it helps the researcher to know about related phenomena in the study that cannot be quantified.

Question 3

What is participants bias

Answer 3

Responses based on popular opinion or what is socially acceptable (ex: Bandwagon effect or groupthink)

Question 4

What is recall bias ?

Answer 4

Accuracy of responses is limited by the ability of the participant to remember what happened.

Question 5

What is researcher’s bias

Answer 5

Researcher deliberately interpret data to satisfy their opinions, hypothesis or personal values

Question 6

Describe the subjectivist paradigm

Answer 6

The truth is what you think it is and it’s based on individual viewpoint

Question 7

Describe the constructivist paradigm

Answer 7

The truth is created by groups of people and it needs to be interpreted because it is based on their circumstances

Question 8

Describe the positivist paradigm

Answer 8

There is only one truth and we can measure it based on the validity and reliability of measurement tools

Question 9

What is a paradigm ?

Answer 9

It is a framework to understanding things or for thinking about things. Paradigms are discipline specific.
The paradigm will define the research question

Question 10

What are the steps of the research method ?

Answer 10

Sampling
Recruitment 
Data collection 
Data analysis 
Data representation and research report writing

Question 11

What are the traditional qualitative research approches ?

Answer 11

Ethnography
Grounded theory
Phenomenology

Question 12

What is ethnography ?

Answer 12

A holistic documentation of the views, actions and feelings of a particular group. The goal is to describe the live experience of participants.

Question 13

What is grounded theory ?

Answer 13

To propose a theoretical explanation for a phenomenon or process based on specified assumptions. Iterative data collection and analysis. The goal is to formulate a theory to explain a phenomenon.

Question 14

What is phenomenology ?

Answer 14

To determine how people make sense of an experience or a phenomenon. The goal is to determine how people with a certain experience coped with it or made sense of it.

Question 15

What is iterative data collection ?

Answer 15

A data collection in which the outcome of the analysis of one phase of data collection will determine the type of data to be collected for the next phase of the research.

Question 16

What are the sources of data in qualitative research ?

Answer 16

• spoken words
• photos videos audio recording
• text
• observed behavior of individuals and groups
• combination of all of the above

Question 17

Why is academic rigor important in qualitative research ?

Answer 17

Quality control is achieved by academic rigor. All the procedures must be based on evidence. Synonym : trustworthiness.
It is a measure of how thorough researchers are in conducting their research and how accurate they are in reporting their research methods and outcomes.

Question 18

What are the criteria of trustworthiness is qualitative research ?

Answer 18

• credibility (—> internal validity)
• transferability (—> external validity)
• dependability (—> reliability)
• confirmability (—> objectivity)

Question 19

How to fulfill the criteria of trustworthiness ?

Answer 19

• transparency / audit trail
• iterative coding
• multiple coders
• triangulation of researchers, methods, data sources
• participant verification
• reflective practice

Question 20

What is transparency ?

Answer 20

The absence of researcher bias. Achievable by audit trail. = accountability

Question 21

What is iterative coding

Answer 21

Part of the process of data analysis, coding the data several times in order to refine the codes

Question 22

Why using multiple coders ?

Answer 22

In qualitative research it is to get the perspectives of researchers with different backgrounds and disciplines in the research

Question 23

What is triangulation ?

Answer 23

It is the use of multiple sources of information to show the trustworthiness of any aspect of the research
(Ex : triangulation of researcher, method, analysis data)

Question 24

What is participant verification

Answer 24

Reduce bias
Taking your interpretation of what comes out of the data back to the people you collected it from to see wether / to what extend they agree and wether you have missed / misinterpreted something.