Research Methods - Qual Flashcards
what is purposeful sampling
- selecting ‘useful, information rich’ cases
- involves sampling of events, concepts, time, processes & place
what’re the characteristics of qualitative research (x6)
- ethnography
- phenomenology
- case study
- critical
- grounded theory
- mixed methods
Ontological position typically adapted by qualitative researchers?
considering reality between concepts, categories & multiple realities
Epistemological position typically adapted by qualitative researchers?
knowledge is co-constructed between researcher & researched
Axiological position typically adapted by qualitative researchers?
individual values honoured, negotiated among individuals
Methodological position typically adapted by qualitative researchers?
inductive methods most common, understanding & interpretation
Ethnography is one tradition within qualitative research. Identify two distinguishing characteristics.
- being within the group & learning the culture
- living through research & gathering data as it happens/gaining some experiences
Phenomenology is one tradition within qualitative research. Identify two distinguishing characteristics.
- looking at the nature of events/meanings instead of just what they are
- study of phenomena and how they’re consciously perceived
Grounded theory is one tradition within qualitative research. Identify two distinguishing characteristics.
- has 6 pointers for creating ‘optimal conditions’
- flexible methodology for collecting & analysing qualitative data to construct theories
Critically/openly ideological research is one tradition within qualitative research. Identify two distinguishing characteristics.
- provides knowledge which engages prevailing social structures
- challenges those, seen by critical researchers, as oppressive in nature
Life history & narrative (biographical method) is one tradition within qualitative research. Identify two distinguishing characteristics.
- focuses on the generation analysis & presentation of the data of a life history, life story, personal experiences
- data generated from interviews & personal documents
strengths of semi-structured interviews (x3)
- greater control to participants than structured
- allows participants degree of flexibility to express opinions/feelings/attitudes/ideas
- reveal more about meanings they attach experiences to
limitations of semi-structured interviews (x4)
- barriers between interviewer & participant = experiences not shared
- difficult to conduct
- risks losing complexity of people’s lives
- more difficult to analyse than structured
strengths of unstructured interviews (x4)
- good at eliciting & inviting stories/meanings
- useful for exploring a topic in broad terms
- often allows for more spontaneous dialogue
- allows for unanticipated ideas/phenomena/affects to emerge
limitations of unstructured interviews (x4)
- data is more difficult to analyse & to compare
- time consuming
- (can) produce large amounts of data not useful to study
- need experienced researcher to conduct
strengths of focus groups (x3)
- good for exploratory studies (spontaneous views)
- allows dynamic dialogue (social interactions examined)
- participants have high degree of control over direction & content of discussions
limitations of focus groups (x5)
- people might not share intimate details with groups
- one individual may dominate discussions
- getting people together may be difficult
- difficult to transcribe
- maintaining anonymity of those involved difficult
what are the four roles available to a researcher when conducting observations in the field?
- complete observer
- researcher does not actively participate but observes what occurs & how - observer as a participant
- researcher mostly observes but may have a minor role in participating in the field - participant as observer
- researcher participates in the daily activities of the social group whilst still observing - complete participant
- researcher immerses fully into the culture of the social group & observes whilst fully participating
ways in which visual data can be generated in qualitative research (x4)
- timelining
- meaningful objects
- media articles
- blogs
list ways qualitative data can be analysed (analytical approaches) (x4)
- content analysis
- thematic analysis
- narrative analysis
- discourse analysis
describe one strength & one limitation of member reflections
Strengths -generate additional data/insights -helps improve efficacy of data Limitations -risk of causing harm to participant (the interpretations) as looking back on experiences could be traumatic
strength & limitation of complete observer (one of the roles available to researcher in observations)
Strength
-no impact on behaviour
Limitations
-too far out, not involved therefore miss important data
strength & limitation of participant as observer (one of the roles available to researcher in observations)
Strength
-(over time) become ignored therefore increases depth of analysis
Limitation
-can change the behaviour of those being observed (influence conversations for example)
strength & limitation of complete participant (one of the roles available to researcher in observations)
Strength
-embedded totally within field therefore improving insights into behaviour
Limitation
-too close (due to embedding in culture), become friends and miss things
-ethical considerations
How diaires used to collect qualitative data + strengths & limitations of this method (x2 each)
Participants asked to record thoughts, feeling & ideas about personal experiences/observations
Strengths
-deeper insight into experiences
-reduced retrospective recall
Limitations
-participant doing data collection too often = burden
-might have to prompt to remind to complete
How timelining used to collect qualitative data + strengths of this method (x2)
Graphical elicitation plotting critical incidents of experiences that visually represents how participants make sense of experiences over time
Strengths
-helps build rapport during interviews/facilitates sense of comfort
-helps engage through reflections on life events
How visual methods used to collect qualitative data + strengths & limitations of this method (x3 each)
Utilise photos, paintings, drawings etc. that the participant interprets & communicates knowledge
Strengths
-easily accessible (out there to be studied)
-engaging for participants/cultures/children
-alternative for dominant language-based research
Limitations
-assumes access to equipment e.g phones/cameras
-assumes ability to draw e.g. disabilities
-consent for photos, difficult to get EVERYONE
How digital methods (the internet) used to collect qualitative data + strengths & limitations of this method (x3 & 1)
Unique (re)presentation of an individual/group’s self as it is lived through & reconstructed by people
Strengths
-easily accessible (out there to be studied)
-archived, worldwide
-instantaneously provide substantial amounts of data
Limitations
-ethics… people may post photos/blogs but don’t want these analysed (are they public or in closed groups)
(Analytical Approaches) What is Grounded theory + the 3 steps? (with a small description of each)
Is the process of analysis building up to create & test a theory
Step 1: Open Coding
-intense line-by-line coding (each line), link similar codes together
Step 2: Axial Coding
-‘put back together’ data into categories, relate to a core category
Step 3: Selective Coding (Theoretical Integration)
-links all categories to the core category so theoretical proposition achieved
Limitations of Grounded Theory (x4)
- very time consuming
- open coding not easily learnt
- can lose ‘whole picture’ of research if data too fragmented
- problems explaining lived experience
(Analytical Approaches) What is Discourse Analysis + the 3 steps? (with a small description of each)
Analysis of language/meanings that are achieved through methods such as posters in relation to culture
Step 1: describe the context of the text
-focus on vocab/wording/grammar etc (written) or clothing, groupings, contexts, camera shots etc (visual)
Step 2: engage in intertextual analysis
-examine how/when/where people use/respond to the text/images
Step 3: connect findings to ideology
-such as healthism, sexism etc
Strengths (x1) & limitations (x2) of Discourse Analysis
Strength
-useful for how power works in society/what effects for certain people
Limitations
-predominant negative focus, rarely social action reconstructed in positive way
-knows researchers interpretations but not reflective on everyone
(Analytical Approaches) The 6 phases with Thematic Analysis? (with a small description of each)
Phase 1: Immersion
-transcribing & looking for potential themes
Phase 2: Generating initial codes
-code across entire data in systematic fashion, producing long list of codes
Phase 3: Searching for & identifying (developing) themes
-organising coded data into candidate themes
Phase 4: Reviewing themes
-two levels: 1) check if themes work in relation to coded extracts & 2) code across data set any additional themes potential missed
Phase 5: Defining & narrowing themes
-identify what each theme is about & determine what aspects of data each theme capture
Phase 6: Writing the report
-refine analysis (last chance) & report enough data extracts to demonstrate prevalence of themes
(Analytical Approaches) What is narrative analysis?
- Examines content, structure, performance or contexts of entire stories (no breaking down/coding)
- e.g. ‘exercise as restitution’ or ‘exercise as medicine’
Approaches when preparing for qualitative analysis… differences between deductive & inductive analysis?
Deductive
-start with a theory being researched
-look for codes/data that matches/supports the theory
Inductive
-not imposing theory onto data
-construct themes, then try relate to a theory
-match then develop theories
(Tracy, 2010) Criteria for excellent qualitative research with short description (x8)
Worthy Topic
-relevant, timely, significant, interesting
Rich Rigor
-sufficient & complex theoretical constructs
Sincerity
-self-reflexivity about subjective values/biases
Credibility
-thick description, triangulation, member reflections
Resonance
-Transferable findings
Significant Contribution
-conceptually/theoretically/morally/methodologically etc
Ethical
-procedural, cultural, relational etc
Meaningful Coherence
-achieves purpose, methods/procedures fit goals
Methods of Reflexivity
- critical self-reflection
- reflect on how the researcher’s age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and/or (dis)ability may have affect analysis
- how it may influence interactions/observations
- ‘critical distance’ to observe/question practices
Characteristics of the Parallel Perspective/Criteria
-set of criteria for judging trustworthiness (credibility, transferability, dependability & confirmability)
-these are parallel to validity, reliability, objectivity & (statistical) generalizability
-recognises qualitative & quantitative research differ, thus different criteria needed to judge
-suggest technique to achieve goal of credibility
(Limitation)
-PP not suitable for judging qualitative inquiry as its philosophically contradictory
Characteristics of Letting Go Perspective (relativist approach)
- judgements should be made based upon list of criteria that are appropriate to form of inquiry
- criteria not universal or static in nature
- list of characterising traits can change over time/in different contexts
- studies guided by a relativist approach (rather than realist) should draw upon appropriate criteria to judge the quality of their research
How is reliability ensured within qualitative research?
- acknowledged that qualitative research doesn’t fit normal assumptions of reliability
- therefore, an audit trail included
- this is giving detailed descriptions of the path of their research
Methods of generalising data (Smith, 2017) (x5)
Statistical-probabilistic generalisability
Naturalistic generalisability
-findings resonate with reader’s personal engagement
Transferability
-transferable to other settings
Analytical generalisability
-concept/theory makes sense over different contexts
Intersectional generalisability
-historically oppressed communities
Characteristics of autoethnography
- highly personal, revealing writing where researcher focuses on own lived experiences
- provide insights into cultural and/or political through grounding the personal
- often destabilises culturally dominant stories or assumptions
Strategies for enhancing trustworthiness of research (x8)
- reflective diary
- prolonged researcher engagement
- reciprocal engagement with participants
- rich detail & information (thick description)
- triangulation
- audit trail
- purposive sampling
- peer/stakeholder/public debrief or review
