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ENRV 301 > Qualitative Research > Flashcards

Qualitative Research Flashcards

1
Q

What is qualitative research?

A

Go check table on PP

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2
Q

Factors influencing research topic

A

Time, theoretical perspective, areas of expertise, curiosity, availability of subjects, status characteristics, ethics

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3
Q

Key consideration for research topic selection

A
  • Honesty and Accuracy: set aside preconceived notions, avoid data to fit theory
  • Record Keeping: Ensure those who come after can follow your research process
  • Assessing Limitations: One should understand the limitations placed on one’s research
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4
Q

Selecting a problem

A
  • Starting point: Curiosity is aroused by something we encounter
  • Literature Review: Review to establish what research has already been done
  • Clarifying the Problem: “Unpack” major concepts through consultation with others
  • Stating the problem: A hypothesis asserts a relation between concepts and phenomenon
  • Research Objective: An objective to guide some research (such as qualitative research)
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5
Q

What is a sample?

A

A sample is the group of people who your research draws upon to acquire information on the research topic

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6
Q

Selecting a sample

A

There are various sampling methods
that can be used to decide what kind
of sample to use; different sampling
methods are appropriate to different kinds of research topics.

Qualitative Analysis relies mostly on
non-probabilistic sampling methods

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7
Q

Accidental/Convenience Sampling

A

Accidental (or Convenience)
Sampling involves studying
those who are immediately
available, although the
study only applies to
those who studied.

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8
Q

Quota Sampling

A

Quota Sampling selects individuals
or groups for study on the basis of
some certain criteria.

The amount of people and their
characteristics are determined in
the research design, with a focus
on those likely to have insight on
the topic (e.g., green party voters).

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9
Q

Purposive sampling

A

Under Purposive Sampling,
the researcher attempts to
identify ‘typical’ instances of
the group or individuals the
research is focused on (e.g. a
‘typical’ example of Bieler
School Students).

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10
Q

Snowball Technique

A

Under the Snowball
Technique, suitable people
are initially approached
regarding the study who
then nominate additional
people to be interviewed,
with no public listing.
e.g., fisherfolk in community

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11
Q

Systematic matching sample

A

Participants are matched with
others who possess a similar
attribute. This method is useful
for controlling for a certain
variable, or comparing groups
of different sizes.

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12
Q

Obtaining an adequate sample

A

You want a high response rate

Survey method determines response rate

Survey costs money, and porr response rates are a waste of time and money

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13
Q

What is a response rate

A

Number of people participated / Number of people asked to participate

70% = very good

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14
Q

Data Generating procedures

A
  • Surveys (inc. Interviews)
    – Observation
    – Focus Groups
    – Ethnography
    – Content Analysis
    – Discourse Analysis
    – Case Studies
    – Mixed Methods
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15
Q

What is the goal of a survey?

A

To gain rich qualitative data on the topic you are researching
from the perspective of people who are experiencing/knowledgeable
on the topic you are researching.

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16
Q

What are the beginning stages of a survey

A
  1. Whom to survey and why?
  2. Outline topics to explore in survey
  3. What questions should one ask?
  4. What type of survey is the best?
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17
Q

What are the types of surveys?

A

Personal interviews: high cost/time, but high quality of information

Telephone

Mail/Email

Other (web, fax, kiosk)

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18
Q

Interviews

A

Interview Guide: Sets out the questions or themes to cover in an
interview. For unstructured/in-depth interviews do not show it to the
participants and use only as a reminder to consult at the end.

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19
Q

Structured/Unstructured Interviews

A

Unstructured: Less standardization of structure, time, or other aspects.

Structured: Standardized questions and timing.
– Don’t deviate from the standard explanation of the study.
– Don’t deviate from the sequence of questions or the wording.
– Don’t give interviewees any of your personal views.
– Don’t interpret the meaning of a question or provide clarifications.
– Don’t improvise by adding answer categories or changing words.

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20
Q

Personal Interview Survey

A

High response rate, but time consuming, interviewer bias and willingness to provide accurate info

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21
Q

Advantages and Disadvantages of Mail / Other Surveys

A
  • Convenient, standardized, anonymous,
  • no interviewer bias
    Vs.
  • Static, non-responsive, simplistic
  • Has lower response rate
  • – Length α 1/response rate
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22
Q

How does survey design affect response and how?

A

A well designed survey has higher response rates:
* Objective of survey must be clear
* A few short, well defined questions

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23
Q

What are the 2 types of question structure

A

Close vs Open-ended Questions

Close ended: Yes / No response, Likert Scale Questions and Categorical Choices

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24
Q

Likert Scale Questions

A

The course content of ENVR301 is repetitive and boring:
* Strongly Agree
* Agree
* Neutral
* Disagree
* Strongly Disagree

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25
Q

Categorical Choices

A

Select your MSE Domain from the list below:
* Environment and Development
* Ecological Determinants of Health in Society
* Economics and the Earth’s Environment
* Other ______________

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26
Q

Open-ended questions (short/long answers)

A

What is your MSE Domain?

What is your opinion regarding the structure of MSE courses for your
domain?

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27
Q

Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Ended Questions

A

Advantages:
* When not all categories are
known
* Can answer in detail with
clarification
* Used if too many categories
* Used if issue complex,
exploratory, preliminary
* Allows expressiveness

Disadvantages:
 Worthless, irrelevant responses
possible
 Statistical Analysis difficult
 Requires time to respond
 Looks longer to respondent

28
Q

Advantages and disadvantages to Close Ended Questions

A

Advantages:
* Standardized
* Easier to respond to
* Easier to code
* Clearer about meaning of
question
* Better with sensitive topics
(multiple choice)

Disadvantages
* Easy for respondent to “just
guess”
* Respondent may not find the
right category

29
Q

Take into consideration with question wording

A

Avoid double-barrelled questions:
* Questions containing “and”/”or”
* What do you think about climate change and how do you think our
government is responding to it?

Avoid leading questions:
* Given that cars generate a large amount of greenhouse gases, what do you think of the level of public transit funding in Montreal?

Surveys are not about advocacy – they are about gathering information
There are other means to get information out to the public

30
Q

Question Ordering in Surveys

A
  • Factual, demographic first (easy to answer)
  • General to specific
  • Related questions together, in logical order
  • Use same scales throughout (or separate the scales
  • Don’t alienate: sensitive questions last
  • Open-ended (opinions) last
  • DON’T PUT IMPORTANT QUESTIONS LAST!
31
Q

Final Points about Surveys

A
  • Keep it simple and straightforward
  • Write a cover letter
  • For personal and telephone interviews:
  • Send out an introductory letter first
  • For mail-in and web surveys:
  • Send reminders and offer prizes
  • Conduct pretests
  • Establish a coding framework
32
Q

Advantages and Disadvantages of Observation

A

Advantages
- Observation can assist understanding of physical, social,
cultural, and economic contexts of people, as well as the relationships
between subjects, ideas, events, behaviours, and actions.
– Observation avoids subjective influences affecting people’s reports of their own behaviour.
– Observation can help one to understand and interpret data collected by other methods.

Disadvantages
- Can be time consuming
- Difficult to write down notes
or remember everything that occurred in the moment
- Difficulties remaining objective in one’s observations.

33
Q

How is observational data used?

A

1 – Alongside other methods, like interviews or focus groups.
2 – To improve relationships with key participants.
3 – To improve or sharpen other research methods being used.
4 – When determining who to recruit for one’s study.

34
Q

2 Types of Observational Research

A

– Direct Observation: This avoids people altering their behaviour since they are being observed, and can be done covertly or overtly.

– Participant Observation: A researcher joins the community they are observing,either covertly or overtly. There is the advantage of contextual understanding.

35
Q

How to design a Focus Group

A

– Project Level: Researcher must decide on the structure of the group, the sampling method, and how to standardize data collection.
– Group Level: Researcher must decide their role in the groups, the degree of moderation, and the structure and flow of topics

36
Q

What is a Moderator in a Focus Group?

A

A moderator can be the researcher or hired professional, but
regardless they must balance control of the conversation

37
Q

Data Analysis in Focus Groups

A

Individual Level – Same process as in an individual interview.

Group Level – Examine the group narrative (e.g. agreements/disagreements/thoughts), participant interactions, interruptions, etc.

38
Q

What is an Ethnography?

A

Aims at an in-depth understanding of cultures and subcultures.
Attempts to offer a detailed accounts of their everyday practices and customs.

39
Q

Ethnography

A
  • Research Design: Choose a research question informed by theories and topics
    of personal and political interest. Choices are informed by accessibility.
  • Gaining Entry: How a community is accessed is critical to determining the type of data received. One way is to make a personal connection with a liaison.
  • Gatekeepers: Those whose approval is needed to gain access to a community.
    Often informal gatekeepers hold key positions or influence in a community.
40
Q

What is the role of the researcher in an ethnography?

A

A researcher can have degrees of participation in the society (e.g. complete observer; observer-as-participant; participant-
as-observer; complete participant).

41
Q

What are the types of observers in an ethnography?

A
  • complete observer;
  • observer-as-participant;
  • participant-as-observer;
  • complete participant)
42
Q

Complete Observer and Advantages / Disadvantage

A

The researcher’s identity is hidden, and that they do not interact with those in the setting.
Advantage: allows a researcher to
study without interference. Disadvantage: researcher not
being able to clarify meanings and questions not readily understood.

43
Q

Observer-as-participant

A

Here the researcher reveals their identity, but only has a limited engagement with the participants.

44
Q

Participant-as-observer

A

The researcher participates fully in activities of the setting, and the identity of the researcher is known.

45
Q

Complete participant

A

The researcher participates actively in the community, covertly passing as an authentic member of the setting.

46
Q

Data collection in observational setting

A

It is crucial to determine what type of data you want to collect, and the method of collecting data. When using observation and participation ongoing data collection is necessary.

Field Notes: Data gathered to make sense of research setting and aid
in writing findings. Includes various forms of research recordings.

47
Q

Content Analysis

A

Documentary Research: Research based in written texts, like historical
documents, official publications, official reports, government records,
mass media, novels, personal documents (e.g. diaries), etc.

48
Q

Public and Private Documents: 4 categories of document accessibility

A

– Closed: Secret Government Documents
– Restricted: Medical, Personnel Files
– Open Archival: Census, Hansard
– Open-Published: Books, Articles, Pamphlets

49
Q

Solicited and Unsolicited Documents in Content Analysis

A

Classifying documents on the basis
of the purpose of creation. Some documents (e.g. government surveys) were created with research in mind, others (e.g. diaries) were not.

50
Q

Practical Impediments of Content Analysis

A
  • Lack of time, funding, or resources. - Access may be refused by gatekeepers;
  • A document can be damaged or difficult to read;
  • Publication can negatively impact people.
51
Q

What are the 4 criteria for assessing the quality of evidence available from document sources

A
  1. Authenticity
  2. Credibility
  3. Representativeness
  4. Meaning
52
Q

What is the authenticity criteria for assessing the quality of the available evidence?

A

Authenticity:
- Is the document consistent?
- Do different versions of a text exist?
- Are internal inconsistencies style or content? Written by someone with vested interests?
- Does it derive from a suspect source?
- Inconsistent with other texts?

53
Q

What is the credibility criteria for assessing the quality of the available evidence?

A

The extent to which evidence is undistorted and sincere, free from
error and evasion. Are people who record the information reliably translating it from a source? To assess this, use other sources and question their politics.

54
Q

What is the representativeness criteria for assessing the quality of the available evidence?

A

Whether a document is “typical” depends on aims of the
research. If one intends to argue that one account predominates, this is key.

55
Q

What is the meaning criteria for assessing the quality of the available evidence?

A

The clarity and comprehensibility of a document. While meanings
and use of words vary, social contexts facilitate understanding.

56
Q

Content Analysis vs Discourse Analysis

A
  • Content analysis looks at the content of the communication, while
    discourse analysis looks at the context.
  • Content analysis is best used to uncover trends and patterns in
    communication, while discourse analysis is best used to uncover
    underlying power structures and ideologies.
57
Q

What is Discourse?

A

Discourse is:
* language above the sentence or above the clause
* a continuous stretch of spoken language larger than a sentence, often constituting a coherent unit
* a stretch of language perceived to be meaningful unified, and purposive; language in use
* (viewed) as social practice determined by social structures

58
Q

Structural approach to discourse

A
  • Find the constituents that have particular relationships with each other and that can occur in a restricted number of arrangements;
  • Problems: units in which people speak do not always look like sentences, or grammatically correct sentences.

Example 1:
(From “The Colour Purple”, Alice Wharton): Jack is tall and kind and don’t hardly say anything. Love children. Respect his wife, Odessa, and all Odessa Amazon sisters (Celie’s Diary)

59
Q

Case Studies

A

Not a method but an approach to research that involves using other methods. Can be theory or problem based, descriptive or explanatory.

60
Q

Classification of case studies

A

– Generalizability: Some researchers conduct case studies with the goals
of generalizing to a larger population of cases.
– Transferability: “Thick Descriptions” produce one’s working hypotheses which can be transferred to other cases. This facilitates generalizations.
– The Particular: Some ague against generalizations and say cases to be
examined as closed systems. Uniqueness of cases can be examined through “thick descriptions,” avoiding essentialism.

61
Q

What are Mixed Methods?

A

The use of multiple quantitative and/or qualitative
methods in a study.

62
Q

Types of Methods to Blend

A

Interviews, Observation, Ethnography, Case Studies,
and/or Content Analysis

63
Q

Advantages and Disadvantages of Mixed Methods

A
  • Advantages: They can complement each other, be used to examine
    different viewpoints, increase validity, or inform further research.
  • Disadvantages: Could be mutually exclusive; lean towards the scientific
    method; problems with publishing; lack of training in different methods
64
Q

Approaches to Mixing Methods

A
  • Pseudo-Combination: There is one main method, and one which is secondary and supportive.
  • Concurrent Approach: Both methods are used in
    different studies at the same time.
  • Sequential Approach: One qualitative or quantitative method is used first, then a second is deployed.
65
Q
A

ENRV 301 (3 decks)

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