qualitative research w chris Flashcards
what is qualitative research
investigated subjective phenomena usually. follows a research process and does not use statistics
why is context important
interviews are representations of a person’s truth. you don’t get inside someone’s head in an interview so you need to look at the statement made in a context
what are the different ways of seeing
positivism: The interviewee gives us facts are reliable and valid
emotionalism: interviewee is constructing their social world and we can access data that gives us an insight into that authentic world
constructionism: interviewee is constructing meaning so researcher is attempting to understand how meaning is mutually constructed
is there a hierarchy in qualitative research
no hierarchy based on design and internal validity. choice of design depends on the question
what do we want to know in qualitative research?
anything to do with making sense of people’s experiences, usually in a natural setting. where little is usually known and carried out prior to quantitative studies
in what ways is qualitaitve research useful
- listening to patients who are ill to better care for them
- biologically define illnesses
advantages of qualitative research
- patient perspectives
- uncovering nuances
- meaning and context
- exploring unknowns
- improving interventions
- inform policy
- understand patient barriers
- explore patient satisfaction
what can interviews find?
- ‘a lot about a little problem’
- different views of people about a topic
- why they have these views
- what is the difference between what people say they do and how they really act
what are the different types of interviews
- structured so neutrality, no prompting, no improvisation and training to ensure consistency
- semi-structured so some probing, report, understanding aims of project
- open ended interviews: flexibility, rapport, active listening
- focus group:
facilitation skills, flexibility, ability to stand back, allowing group dynamics to emerge
key features of a focus group
- collective conversation about the per-determined topic
-aim is to describe and understand meaning and interpretation of that group - usually 6-8 people from similar backgrounds who feel comfortable with each other
what is the role of a moderator?
- highly structured: plays prominent role, seeks specific answers, part of discussions and asks qs
- loose: moderator sits back, allows group to choose direction less likely to speak, the moderator doesn’t ask questions
skills need to run a focus group well?
- active listening skills
- good communication skills
- be yourself
- dont dominate convo and dont fade into the background either
what is phenomology
understand the lived experiences of participants. can be descriptive so describing the views given by participants. can be interpretive so making sense of the participants making sense of their experience
What challenged the credibility of qualitative research?
-researcher bias
- subjectivity
- poorer generalisability (usually smaller sample size)
What is researcher bias?
Intentionally or unintentionally bias of the analysis through acting/ behaving/ thinking in a bias way
Selecting data to fit pre-existing beliefs
How can you reduce researcher bias?
- maintain reflexivity
- think about perspective
- be open/ transparent
- be prepared to be wrong
- cases that contradict your theory
- triangulate
How can you check credibility?
- does the interpretation/ description match what the results show/ the participants said
- is the researcher describing their own biases
- did the participants read/ agree to the findings
What is dependability?
- can the study be followed easily by another researcher and get the same conclusions
- did the researcher make all of the decisions clear e.g. when to stop recruiting/ picking the design
What is Transferability?
Can the results be transferred to similar people in similar situations
