Revision Flashcards
What are some characteristics of qualitative research?
- Often takes place in naturally-occurring settings
- Structure is flexible and emergent
- Seeks to understand an individuals experience
- Often subjective, and biased
- Often N = small
- Data is collected with general forms, and emerging questions
- Is often text analysis – with a focus on describing themes
Strengths of qualitative research?
- May identify the variables or suggest the hypotheses to be tested in subsequent research
- May develop new theories
- May challenge the status quo and identify new directions of inquiry
- Provides rich descriptions of complex phenomena
Limitations of qualitative research?
- May be seen as less credible by administrators/funding bodies
- Longer time for both data collection and analysis
- More difficult to compare findings across studies
- Can’t account for cause and effect relationships
What are some characteristics of quantitative methodologies?
- Description of relationships between variables, or group differences
- Asks narrow questions
- Analyses numbers using statistics
- Often N = large
- Often conducted in laboratory or tightly controlled circumstances
What are some strengths of quantitative methodologies?
- Test and validate theories
- Establish hypotheses before collecting data
- Can generalise findings
- Can make predictions from findings
What are some limitations of quantitative methodologies?
- May not reflect the ‘real world’
- Miss phenomena
- Findings may be too abstract to be useful
What is mixed methods research?
“the class of research where the researcher mixes or combines quantitative and qualitative research techniques, methods, approaches, concepts or language into a single study”
Characteristics of mixed methods research?
- collects and analyzes persuasively and rigorously both qualitative and quantitative data (based on research questions)
- mixes the two forms of data concurrently, sequentially, or embedding one
within the other - gives priority to one or to both forms of data
- uses these procedures in a single study or in multiple phases of a program of study
What research problems fit mixed methods?
- One data source may be insufficient
- Initial quantitative results need to be explained
- Exploratory findings need to be generalized
- A secondary method is needed to enhance a study’s primary method
What are some strengths of the mixed methods design?
• Provides strengths that offset the weaknesses of both quantitative and
qualitative research
• Provides more evidence
• Helps answer questions that cannot be answered by one approach alone
• Provides a bridge between quantitative and qualitative researchers
What are some challenges of the mixed methods design?
The Question of Skills
- Experience with quantitative research
- Experience with qualitative research
- Solid grounding in mixed methods research
2. The Question of Time and Resources - Time to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data
- Resources to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data
- Personnel and skills to complete the study
3. . The Question of Convincing Others
Best world view for mixed methods?
Pragmatism
5 reasons for employing a mixed methods design?
- Triangulation
- Complementarity
- Development
- Initiation
- Expansion
What are the major 6 mm design?
- Convergent parallel design
- Explanatory sequential design
- Exploratory sequential design
- Embedded design
- Transformative design
- Multiphase design
What is a Convergent Parallel Design? What does the researcher do? What is its purpose and when should you choose this design?
The researcher:
- Collects quantitative and qualitative data concurrently
- Analyses the two data sets separately
- Mixes the two databases by merging the results during interpretation (and sometimes
during data analysis)
Purposes:
- Obtain a more complete understanding from two databases
- Corroborate results from different method
Choose this design if: - Need to collect both types of data in one visit to the field - Both types of data have equal value for understanding the research problem - Have quantitative and qualitative research skills
What is a Explanatory Sequential? What does the researcher do? What is its purpose and when should you choose this design?
The researcher:
- Starts by collecting and analysing quantitative data
- Collects and analyses qualitative data in a second phase as a follow-up to the quantitative results
- Connects the phases by using the quantitative results to shape the qualitative research
questions, sampling, and data collection
Purposes:
- To use qualitative data to help explain quantitative results that need further exploration
- To use quantitative results to purposefully
select best participants for qualitative study
Choose this design if: - Researcher and research problem are quantitatively oriented - Know important variables and instruments are available - Participants available for second data collection - Have time to conduct two phases
Strengths and Challenges of Convergent Parallel design?
Strengths:
- Intuitive
- Efficient
- Lends itself to teams
Challenges: - Requires substantial effort and expertise - Issues related to the samples and sample sizes - Difficult to converge two sets of different data - How to resolve discrepant results?
Strengths and challenges of the Explanatory
Design?
Strengths: - Appealing to quantitative researchers - Straightforward to implement two phases - Final report can be written in two phases
Chellenges:
- Two phases require lengthy time to implement
- Difficult to secure approval when second phase cannot be specified before first phase complete
- Need to decide what results to follow
up
What is a Exploratory Sequential? What does the researcher do? What is its purpose and when should you choose this design?
The researcher:
-Collects and analyses qualitative data first followed by quantitative data
- Analyses the qualitative data and uses results to build to the subsequent quantitative phase
- Connects the phases by using the qualitative results to shape the quantitative phase by specifying research questions and variables, developing an instrument,
and/or generating a typology
Purposes:
- To first explore because variables, theories, hypotheses not known
- To develop an instrument or typology that is not available
- To assess whether qualitative themes generalize to a population
Choose this design if:
- Researcher and research problem
are qualitatively oriented
- Important variables not known and instruments not available
- Have time to conduct two phases
- Have limited resources and need to collect and analyse one data type at a time
Strengths and challenges of a Exploratory Sequential design?
STRENGTHS:
- Straightforward to design, implement, and report
- Quantitative component can make the qualitative approach more acceptable to quantitative-biased
audiences
- Researcher produces a product,
such as an instrument
CHALLENGES:
-Two phases require lengthy time
to implement
- Difficult to specify quantitative procedures when applying for initial approval; may have to apply
twice
- Deciding the qualitative findings to use for quantitative phase
What is a Embedded design? What does the researcher do? What is its purpose and when should you choose this design?
The researcher:
- Collects and analyses quantitative and qualitative data within a quantitative research design, qualitative research design, or research procedure
- Collection and analysis of secondary data set occurs before, during, and/or after the primary methods
Purposes:
- To address different questions that call for different methods
- To enhance an experiment such as by examining the intervention process
- explaining reactions to participation
- get a more complete understanding
Choose this design if:
- Have expertise with the primary design
- Are comfortable with the primary orientation
- Have little prior experience with the supplemental method
What are some strengths and limitations of an embedded design?
STRENGTHS:
- May require less time and fewer resources
- Improve the larger design with supplemental data
- Fits team approach well (different qs)
- May be able to publish results
separately
CHALLENGES:
- Need expertise in primary design and mixed methods
- Must specify purpose for collecting the supplemental data
- Must decide when to collect supplemental data
- Results are difficult to integrate
What is a transformative design? What does the researcher do? What is its purpose and when should you choose this design?
The researcher:
- Uses a theoretical-based framework to advance needs of underrepresented or marginalised populations
- Collects and analyzes quantitative and qualitative data concurrently or sequentially
Purpose:
- To conduct research that is change oriented and seeks to advance social justice causes
Choose this design if:
- Seeking to address issues of social justice and call for change
- Focused on the needs of underrepresented or marginalised populations
- Have a good working knowledge of theoretical framework
Strengths and challenges of a Transformative
Design?
STRENGTHS:
- Study positioned within a transformative framework
- Help to empower individuals and bring about change
- Participants play a participatory role
- Produce results useful to
community members and credible
to stakeholders
CHALLENGES: -Little guidance in the literature - Approach may need to be justified - Must develop trust with participants and conduct research in a culturally sensitive way
