research skills A qualitative

Question 1

wundt - history of qual data

Answer 1

*Established the first psychology lab at the University of Leipzig 1879
*The ‘founding father’ of experimental psychology
*Viewed qualitative research as equally important to lab research in the science of psychology

Question 2

Critical incident technique

Answer 2

*Collection and inductive analysis of detailed descriptions of human behaviour
*Obtained from groups or individuals through written means or interviews
*The CIT offers application of qualitative methods to real life situations
*Used in the development of ethical principles and standards for psychologists

Question 2

Flanaghan

Answer 2

*Critical incident technique
*First qualitative research method
*The critical technique (CIT) is a research method that relies on a set of procedures to collect analyse and classify observations of human behaviour

Question 3

the rise of qual research

Answer 3

Late 1960s through to 1980s sociologists established qualitative methods - The discovery of grounded theory Glaser & Strauss
Psychologists called for a greater use of qualitative methods:
*Amedeo P Giorgi is known for contributions to phenomenological and humanistic psychology – developed usable qualitative methods of psych
*Discourse analysis developed through Potter & Wetherell
*Narrative inquiry (the experiences of an individual or small group revealing the lived experience or perspective of that individual, usually primarily through interview) advanced by Polkinghorne

Question 4

key modern events for qual research

Answer 4

*2006 qualitative methods in psychology section are formed
*Qualitative methods section of the BPS was established and now has 1000 members
*The ESRC require doctoral students in psych are trained in both qualitative and quantitative research methods
*Specialist qualitative method-based journals

Question 5

ontology

Answer 5

*Concerned with the nature of the world
*What we believe exists, what we believe there is to know. eg stars exist as we can see them, but we cannot see unicorns
*Interpretivist/Constructionism – you construct your own ideas of the world

*But the very nature of our world is changing, reality keeps changing eg new discoveries and new technology

Question 6

epistemology

Answer 6

*Concerned with how we know about what is real
* objectivist (quantitative) – stable laws exist
* positivist

Question 7

objectivism

Answer 7

reality exists independently of consciousness, reality is an absolute

Question 8

positivism

Answer 8

*Reality consists of what is available to the senses
*Inquiry should be based upon scientific observation
*Objective, value-free discovery
*Dominant approach in psych

Question 9

interpretivism

Answer 9

*humans generate knowledge and meaning from their interactions with the world
*Meanings exist in our interpretations of the world
*Knowledge is interpretation
*Importance of the researcher’s perspective and the interpretive nature of social reality
* subjective

Question 10

critique of the scientific method (positivism)

Answer 10

*Quantitative research involves designs that disengage researcher from participants (little or no contact with people or field settings)
*Quantitative research excludes ‘outliers’
*If we are always testing someone else’s theory, how do we generate new theories?
*The pursuit of ‘measurable’ phenomena means that difficult concepts such as criminality or intelligence are treated unproblematically

Question 11

characteristics of qual research

Answer 11

• A preference for qualitative data – the analysis of words and images rather than numbers
• A preference for naturally occurring data – observation rather than experiment
• A preference for meanings rather than behaviour
• A rejection of natural science as a model
• A preference for inductive, hypothesis-generating research rather than hypothesis testing