qualitative research Flashcards
criticisms
subjective, influenced by personal bias, doesnt represent the population, cant be replicated, is not systematic.
data collection methods
observations, interveiws, focus groups, questionnaires.
What is quantative research
Objective, you write as if you have no bias, measure responses to then statistically confirm phenomena, focus on generalizing
Test theories using hypotheses, controlled experiments, uses numbers
deductive (top down - from theories to hypotheses to confirmatiion via observations)
limitations of quantitative analysis
sample may not represent the population, can phenomena be reduced to numbers, researcher bias
what is qualitative reseatch
reflexes, acknowledge your position as a researcher. collect rich accounts to explore experience, focus on case studies, develop themes and then create theories.
open questions, words, inductive (bottom up- observations to broad generalizations and theories)
limitations of qualitative research
1 person isnt enough, huge amounts of data to process. researcher bias.
content anaylsis
combines qualitative and quantitative- extract common themes from an open ended questionnaire, deductive (predefined) or inductive (emerge)
- Questionnaire responses
how do you conduct a content analysis
familiarize yourself (read through)
generate initial codes (topics which fit)
search for themes (broader themes which summarize responses)
review (do they adequately explain responses if not revise)
count frequency each theme is mentioned
inter- rater reliability check
report (using the frequencies)
what is a thematic analysis
underlying method for all forms of qualitative research.
identify themes in data
- Interview responses
How to conduct a thematic analysis
familiarise (transcribe the data)
generate initial codes (noting short segments, deductive- questions developed from previous literature
inductive - found during the analysis
search for themes -group into broader themes
Review - do all the quotes fit the theme,, re-code if needed
define and name themes - summarise each theme to make it clear how you developed them
report - use quotes to support
what does objective mean
no bias - quatitative data
what does reflexive mean
acknowledge position as researcher
what does deductive mean
test theories with observations - quant
what does inductive mean
get observations - develop themes - then theories - qual
