Qualitative research Flashcards
What is qualitative data?
Uses spoken words, written text and observations in order to understand situations and perspectives.
Give some examples of qualitative data.
Audio (interviews, focus groups)
Images
Videos
Text
What are some distinctions that make qualitative data different from quantitative data?
Uses words (vs numbers)
Is concerned with meanings (vs behaviour)
Induces hypotheses from the data (vs starting with hypothesis)
Includes case studies
Usually not generalisable
Subjective (vs objective)
Data collection unstructured
Usually small samples
Usually in natural setting
What are the objectives of qualitative research?
To test if a theory is appropriate
To explain why something happens
To describe a phenomenon in detail
To explore new understanding and knowledge
What are the three approaches to qualitative research?
Grounded theory
Phenomenology
Ethnography
What is grounded theory?
No prior information or knowledge is known
Inductively generate/discover a theory from the data
Commonly used
What is phenomenology?
Captures people’s experiences
Explores how people make sense of the meaning they give to these experiences
What is ethnography?
Tries to describe aspects of the cultural and social system of a group, e.g. history, religion, economy, politics or environment.
What are some examples of qualitative data collection methods?
Focus groups
Interviews
Observation
Analysis of records, pictures, video, audio, social media feeds
What are the advantages of focus groups over interviews?
More time efficient
Richer source of data from discussions
What are the disadvantages of focus groups over interviews?
‘Private’ views will not be discussed.
Hard to get in-depth perspectives from each person.
Some people don’t interview well in groups.
What are the types of focus groups/interviews?
Structured (highly scripted)
Semi-structured (topic/interview guide helps to keep on topic but not a script - common in health research)
Unstructured (uncommon)
What is the rule of thumb for sample size in qualitative research?
Continue research until ‘data saturation’ is reached (the point where new data no longer adds to findings - normally around 30 people).
What is an inductive approach to data analysis?
Hypothesis is developed from the patterns observed.
Research questions are used to narrow the study’s scope.
Uses ‘open coding’ - codes (categories) are assigned as concepts unfold
What is a deductive approach to data analysis?
Starts with hypothesis which is based on existing knowledge
Codes are drawn from literature and categories already decided ahead of data collection
