Qualitative Research TWO Flashcards
What was the development of field research?
Field research development:
Academic field research began in the late 19th century with anthropology (the study of humanity).
In the 1890s European anthropologists began to travel to distant places to learn about other cultures.
What are the 5 qualitative approaches to research?
5 qualitative approaches:
Ethnography
Descriptive Interpretive
Phenomenology
Grounded theory
Narrative analysis
What is field research?
Field research
Currently observes ordinary events and daily activities in natural settings and focuses on the discovery and description of the culture of a group of people
different societies, groups, institutions, settings, situations
Directly involved with people, acquire an insider’s point of view, observe ongoing social processes without disturbing events
Produce extensive written notes, diagrams, maps, pictures
What is Ethnography?
What are examples of ethnographic research?
Immersion of researcher in the field to study groups and organizations in order to understand their cultures.
Examples of ethnographic research:
❖ Use of public space
❖ Drug and drinking culture
❖ Deviance and criminal activity
❖ Homeless shelters
❖ Child-care facilities
❖ Education
❖ Surfing
❖ Blogs and online forums
How do you conduct ethnographic research?
Understand the background!
- Read the literature
Collect data!
-Select a field site and gain access
-Enter the field and establish social relations
-watch, listen, and collect data
-Analyse (interpret) data and start making tentative hypotheses (possible explanations for outcome)
-Continue to conduct field interviews or make observations
-Leave the field
Conduct data analysis and write report!
- Analyse information and write the research report
Descriptive Interpretive + Phenomenology + Grounded theory
Use similar data collection methods but frame questions slightly differently
What are these?
Interviews
Focus Groups
What is an interview?
What is a structured interview?
What is a semi-structured interview?
Interviews
-Asks questions relevant to the research question
-Seek to understand people’s thoughts, feelings and intentions which are not observable (i.e., experiences of living in a refugee camp)
- Structured interview
-Questions are predetermined and asked in an order
-Question order maintained
-Easier to compare between respondents
-Questions may have limited relevance to interviewees - Semi-structured interview
-Questions set in advance but flexibility to adapt slightly or change order
-Interview may be more conversational
-Some flexibility to explore ideas relevant to interviewee
What is an informal or retrospective interview?
- Informal (unstructured)
-Topics decided in advance
-Participant has some control over the conversation
-Ideas most relevant to the participant can be explored; less limited by what researchers expects
-But difficult to compare participants responses - Retrospective (can be structured, semi, informal)
-Recall a behaviour or event that occurred in the past -
-Limited to participant’s memory for an event
Outline of good interview technique - 1
❖ Develop RAPPORT
- Be natural and welcoming
- Successful interviewing also depends on factors such as:
✓the researcher’s interpersonal skills
✓fluency in the language used by the participants
✓prior knowledge the researcher brings to the topics of discussion
❖ Ask the same question in different ways - Get people to repeat a statement if unsure what it means
❖ Get used to silence & think through tricky situations
Outline of good interview technique – 2
PROBING
Probing is about encouraging the p to talk and to give a full response (and clarifying ambiguity) and being neutral while displaying interest:
Active listening
Ask for clarification, more examples, elaboration
Don’t rush, probe them to continue
What are focus groups?
-Often considered a type of interview or discussion
-Group are asked a series of questions and participants can build on each other’s remarks
-4 – 8 people per group (Fraenkel, 2005)
-Homogeneous group with similar characteristics (usually) favored
-About interaction between participants not necessarily interviewer
Strengths of focus groups?
Focus Groups have the potential to access knowledge other methods cannot (including unexpected/novel knowledge).
Interaction between participants allows for elaborated and detailed accounts.
Allow for a wide range of views to be discussed in detail.
Good for accessing views of under-represented or marginalised groups
What are the different types of focus group questions?
What questions should be avoided?
Focus group questions
-Opinion or values questions
-Feelings questions
-Sensory questions
-Background or demographic questions
-Knowledge questions
-Experience or behavior questions
Questions to avoid:
-Leading questions
-Dichotomous questions
-Rhetorical question
-Double barrelled questions
In both interviews and focus groups, how can data be collected?
Data collection
- Audio recordings (or video)
- Audio recording is then ‘transcribed’
- Supplemented by notes made during the interview
- Transcriptions analysed
What are ethical considerations that must be taken into account?
Ethical considerations
- Informed consent
- Researchers role (& relationships with people)
- Respect for participants’ group i.e. culture, SES
- Respect for the individual’s time and perspectives
- Confidentiality/anonymity
