RMC, W7

Question 1

What is qualitative data?

Answer 1

• On a basic level, qualitative data is where we use words as data, we do this because we focus on the meaning and impact of those words
• Most common form of qualitative data is talk > Usually generated through purposeful interactions with participants
• Other types of data aside from talks can include
• Self-written documents
• Historical documents
• Public-facing documents
• Advertising > can infer > does it show stereotypical social norms?
• Speeches
• Videos
Images > can infer things from what is presented

Question 2

Qualitative data collection methods

Answer 2

• There are many kinds of data collection methods in qual research > most commonly are interviews + focus groups
• Bear in mind, certain forms of data collection will suit only certain theoretical perspectives + analysis > must make sure it lines up
• Whilst there is no right or wrong method to use, some are more suited to answering particular types of questions and work better particular forms of analysis
• focus is on selecting the most appropriate method > This should be a considered to be a holistic process
• Focus should be on selecting a method that helps answer the research question
○ There are some methods that afford flexibility and others which do not (e.g. field notes cannot be analysed w/ conversation analysis because there is no conversation

Question 3

Deciding what method to use (Braun & Clarke, 2013, p. 43-44)

Answer 3

• What do I want to know?
• Why do I want to know it?
• What are my ontological and epistemological positions?
• What type of data would best answer my question(s)? > focus on IPA/DA etc… questions need to expose the thing you are interested in
• How much data will I need? > is your question very specific in terms of scope of population?
• How will I analyse my data? > you need to have an idea about how you and analyse the data before collecting it as analysis will focus on particular aspects of the data. (e.g. IPA will focus on individual experience + sense-making)
• What ethical concerns are there?

Question 4

Preparing for Qualitative Interviewing Mason (2018)

Answer 4

• What is/are your research question(s)?
• Break this down into ‘mini research questions’
• Convert these into ideas for the interviews
• Research or evidence-led
• Reflect: check whether the interview schedule match your research questions
• Organise the questions in a flow that will enable discussion and allows for flexibility
• Decide on which questions to ask
• Cross-check
- Do not be too rigid

Question 5

What are interviews?

Answer 5

• Interviews are directed conversations between a researcher and a participant with the purpose of exploring that understandings or experiences of a given phenomenon
• Interviews aim to find out as much as possible about the participants’ experiences and meanings
• Importantly, there needs to be an appreciation of the researcher within this context as they are bringing something to the interview and are integral to our an integral part of the insights generated through this type of data collection.
- Puzzle combining intellectual and social skills (Mason 2018)

Question 6

Why use interviews?

Answer 6

• Allows the researcher and participant to explore constructed understandings (Smith & Eatough, 2007)
• they allow us to gain an understanding of how participants talk about human phenomenon. Importantly, the researcher is present in the room meaning that they are also part of the generation of the knowledge developed from the interview.
○ They are inextricable part of the interview transcript and subsequent analysis
• We also use interviews to place participants voice at the forefront of research as it allows their voices to be prioritised within the process. (Willig, 2008)
• Allows for the idiosyncrasies of experiences to be explored (Yeo et al., 2013) as researchers and participants can explore unexpected topics.
• Interviews are also theoretically flexible > e.g. can be used by positivist, emotive, constructionist (Silverman, 1993)

Question 7

4 types of key interviews

Answer 7

• Structured: rigid format + is administered like a questionnaire but verbally > may not be as useful in exploring experiences of the participant compared to other methods
• Semi-structured: Not as rigid as ^ > more flexible for the participant and researcher as they can each add question or information which is not directly related > typically there is a guide of questions which are followed but can explore others too. (most commonly used in qual research)
• Loosely structured: Include fewer specific questions + topics > more useful in focus groups or when other activities are being used too > the questions are not the only way of getting responses here
• Unstructured: No structure in terms of questions, they are asked in terms of whatever the researcher wants to ask > debate as to whether we can really be unstructured as the investigator would have their own intentions + ideas > not really unstructured? (always have some kind of idea of what you want to explore so there is some structure?)

Question 8

Qualities of interviewing: Gathering rich data

Answer 8

○ Detailed, focused, full
○ Help construct what lies beneath the surface: participants’ experiences, views, perceptions, and contexts
○ How? Non-leading questions and encouraging participants to talk as freely as possible and to encourage participants to see themselves as experts of their own experiences.
○ To achieve this researchers need an attitude of ignorance and naivety (Willig, 2001)
- Participants will feel listened to, but also that they are able to tell the researcher something about themselves.

Question 9

Qualities of interviewing: Establishing rapport

Answer 9

○ A relation of mutual understanding and trust
○ rapport seen as a cornerstone of interviewing, as it encourages open dialogue between you and the participant, that this has been criticised (is it manipulative + unethical)
○ How? No recipe!
○ Researchers need an attitude of respect and curiosity
- Not correcting the participants’ accounts
- Comes with practice!

Question 10

Qualities of interviewing: Language and meaning (primarily this is what interviews care about)

Answer 10

○ Accesses meaning through what is said and meaning through pauses, context, silences, non-verbal expressed emotions
- How? Careful ‘listening’

Question 11

Qualities of interviewing: Diversity

Answer 11

○ Differences between interviewer and interviewee are identified which may influence the research environment

- E.g. differences include race, gender, class, race, age, language, religion, sexuality - How? Acknowledge this using a reflexive approach

Question 12

Things to note when conducting interviews - scope:

Answer 12

○ Think about whether you want to gain greater breadth or depth
○ Listen to what participants want to focus on (ppts are experts of their own experiences so do not overlook anything)
○ Active listening will help
- Be alert to the flow of topics > use tactics to change topics instead of just swapping > Researcher must be able to identify when participants are following a positive line of discussion and when the focus has gone off course.

Question 13

Things to note when conducting interviews - Style and demeanour

Answer 13

○ there is a focus on language and manner amongst an approach such as being a very involved researcher or taking a more relaxed approach
○ you need to try to be aware of the questions you want to ask so that you’re not relying too heavily on the interview schedule and can focus more on the participants themselves.
- It will also help you follow the point raised by the participants that set off from the interview schedule
○ Avoid use of jargon so ppts can understand but also if the ppt uses jargon then you can ask them to explain which may produce extra insights
○ Encourage discussion of their own experiences, but do not ask them to talk too far beyond these experiences (but do not interrogate)
○ Be sensitive to the participants + identify when they do not want to answer a question (may become uncomfortable + gives short answers > never coerce an answer)
- Help the flow of conversation by actively listening + ensure you keep the focus on issues you need addressing.

Question 14

Things to note when conducting interviews - Active listening:

Answer 14

○ This is difficult as you may be trying to listen as well as interpreting, relating to other interviews and thinking ahead but be in the room and listening actively
○ Be aware of changes in their demeanour such as excitement, disinterest etc… > adapt interview to address this
○ Remember what they’ve said and what you’ve asked > Try not to repeat any questions that participants have already answered or addressed elsewhere in the interview.
○ Do not interrupt ppts + make notes to bring up questions later
- Avoid interrupting the participants

Question 15

Other forms of interviewing

Answer 15

• Interviewing does not always happen face to face
		○ Skype/zoom/ teams…
		○ Over the phone
		○ Instant messaging
Synchronous/ asynchronous emailing

Question 16

How to conduct online interviews

Answer 16

• More influential in current climate
• What research questions can I use?
○ Similar to f2f though, there may be more scope to explore controversial/sensitive topics which may be awkward to discuss face to face > ppt has more control because they can leave easily
• Recruitment
○ This can be a little broader, and may attract those normally put off by research
○ You may be able to gain access to a more diverse sample
• Process
Very similar to f2f interviewing

Question 17

Benefits of online interviewing

Answer 17

• Flexible scheduling
• Allows for the visuals unlike phone calls
○ Which could improve rapport (Mirick, & Wladkowski, 2019)
○ Understand non-verbal communication (Knapp, Hall, & Hogan, 2013)
○ Only-audio may be preferable, esp. around anonymity (AlKhateeb, 2018)
• Ease of capture to get audio and visuals
• Interview spaces can be a lot more flexible
○ May provide a more empowered experience for the participants (Mirick, & Wladkowski, 2019)
• Participants have greater control as it is easier to leave on skype than it is in person

Question 18

Online interviews: troubleshooting

Answer 18

• Things like poor internet can damage rapport
• Potential issues to consider include:
• You need to determine whether the topic is appropriate to be exposed online.
• You need to think through whether your questions were working on an online environment. > may need piloting + adapting
- the participants fully know the participant what participation will look like.

Question 19

Phone interviews

Answer 19

Benefits:
• Can be helpful when talking to ‘elite’ respondents (Stephens, 2007)
• Can be used when it better meets the needs of the participants (Holt, 2010)
• Telephone interviews can be as appropriate as f2f (Sturges & Hanrahan, 2004)
• If done carefully, it may be more appropriate for sensitive topics (Sturges & Hanrahan, 2004)
Things to consider:
• Participants have been known to talk less in telephone interviews, providing less detail and elaboration (Irvine, 2011)
• There may be a difference in the type of rapport you build > may be more difficult to do + turn-taking in talking may be difficult compared to f2f
• Comprehension and meaning can become lost or confused because you cannot visually see non-verbal cues (if you feel this is the case you should ask for clarification or examples)
• Some of the nuances of interviews may become lost, i.e. silences and non-verbal cues may be hard to identify when they seem confused or are taking time to think
• Some may lose interest > while they can’t provide nonverbal cues for interest, don’t forget small utterances or acknowledgement tokens.
• Phone interviews may be shorter as they can be more emotionally taxing than a f2f interview

Question 20

What is a focus group?

Answer 20

• Focus groups are directed conversation with more than one participant similar to interviews but the focus is often more useful in exploring shared understandings and points of agreement and disparity.
• Aim to find out as much as possible about the participants’ understandings and meanings, with more than one participant!
• Individuals come together to discuss a topic + involves sharing of experiences, ideas, views etc
• Between 3-6 participants (Barbour & Kitzinger, 1999) > “From just three or four groups, to over fifty” groups (Barbour & Kitzinger, 1999, p. 7)
the size and number of focus groups is often influenced by a number of factors, including the homogeneity of participants, the ease of accessing participants to the focus of your topic and research question

Question 21

Why use focus groups?

Answer 21

• Contextualises collective understandings and sense-making (Barbour, 2007) as we are seeing a shared understanding of things being discussed in real time.
• We get more at the shape of the phenomena through bringing a number of voices together to talk about the phenomenon
• Useful in considering peoples’ shared understandings (Kitzinger & Barbour, 1999)
• Sensitive to points of consensus and disparity - can see where ppts may agree on some points but disagree on others
- Types of interviews for focus groups tend to include semi-structured or loosely structured

Question 22

Setting up focus groups

Answer 22

• Focus groups usually rely on ppts having a shared characteristic
• Participant recruitment: may be people known to each other (Friends/Colleagues/Acquaintances) or may be strangers with something in common. How many should you recruit? Generally 4-5
• Create a welcoming environment
• Seating to avoid barriers between ppts (like avoiding tables unless needed)
• Smile to ppts so they feel welcome
• Follow ethical guidelines > Information sheet and consent forms
• Ground rules
• Co-created, respectful
• Encourage pts to create their own pseudonyms
• Useful to get them to state it
Helpful for transcription purposes

Question 23

What happens in focus groups?

Answer 23

• Work through the interview schedule/activities > primarily focussing on promoting an open narrative throughout, but particularly at the beginning.
• Ask for others’ opinions
• Ask for examples for further insight
• Allow participants to question each other, respectfully
• Be willing to follow the conversation + explore topics which ppts raise

Question 24

Closing the focus group

Answer 24

• Keep an eye on the time and wait for a lull in the conversation
• Ask if they have anything to add
• Ask if they have any questions for you
• Thank them for their participation > Ensure they take the information/debrief away with them

Question 25

Troubleshooting + tricky participants

Answer 25

• Thoughts on contribution-does everyone need to contribute, and do so equally?
• Realist/essentialist-equitable contribution
• Relativist/constructionist-they are not simply vessels of information so an equal contribution isn’t considered as necessary.
• You may also get an expert. This is somebody who thinks that they have the knowledge about the topic and that may either dominate and or tell the researcher what effects the project should be > This can be resolved by reminding participants about the importance of insights and encouraging others to participate.
• You may have a chatterbox, somebody who dominates the focus of conversation and this can be resolved by using nonverbal cues, such decreasing eye contact or turning a body away. It can also be resolved by asking others what their views are and encouraging other participants to speak up.
• You may also get shy, quiet participants who say very little, if anything at all. There are differences in the way and you might not overstep the boundaries or force coercive responses that would otherwise not be forthcoming.
• can resolve this by focussing on directly involving them more, but try not to overdo this. If it doesn’t appear to work, such as asking participants if they have anything that they’d like to share, you may also wish to use non-verbal cues such as making eye contact, smiling or turning a body towards them.
• You can also get participants who appear to be bored. They may be showing signs of boredom, such as drumming their fingers, which may be distracting to participants or even making the participants feel like they don’t wish to contribute. > You may wish to resolve this through engaging participants in using similar strategies as you would a shy person.

Question 26

Online focus groups

Answer 26

• The format may be different, but the content seems relatively stable between F2F and online Focus Groups (Woodyatt et al., 2016)
• Asynchronous Online Focus Groups: These are conducted over a period of time, and not all participants need to be present at the same time. (often replicate chat based interactions)
• + more time to think about responses thus a more empowered experience
• - there could be technological issues associated with them
• Synchronous Focus Groups: These are Real-Time discussions that happen online, much in the same way that Face-To-Face focus group would occur (can be video, audio o chat based)
• + technology can provide different types of environments for participants to engage with
• - requires a good, and consistent bandwidth, and reliant on individual schedules
• Groups in the “virtual world”:This is a simulated environment where people communicate through avatars such as second life (can ask why they made an avatar in a certain way) so may provide a different type of data or insight into the project.
• + avatars may lead to greater engagement and co-creation activities
- assumes a certain level of skill/ability is needed

Question 27

Benefits of focus groups

Answer 27

• Useful in considering peoples’ shared understandings (Braun & Clarke, 2013) > You can understand where participants may tend to agree or have similar experiences.
• Sensitive to points of consensus and disparity (Kitzinger, 1994, 1995; Wilkinson, 1998) focus groups are touted as being good at identifying shared experiences but they’re also useful in other aspects of the phenomenon that people vary in.
• Socially-situates social phenomenon; “people do not operate in a social vacuum” (Kitzinger, 1994, p. 112) > focus groups helps bring social elements to research EV
• Flexible to unexpected topics (Braun & Clarke, 2013)
• Participants may be more willing to speak alongside others similar to them (Liamputtong, 2007) > disrupt power imbalance between typical interview.
• Decreases the power of the researcher (Braun & Clarke, 2013)

Question 28

Focus groups and ethics

Answer 28

• Key risk: confidentiality
• anonymity is further reduced in a focus group as other participants will be seeing other participants. This means that there is a risk to participants confidentiality when discussing their experiences within the focus group.
• Whilst there is a risk to participants discussing their experiences of the focus group (Wilkinson, 1998)
• Addressing this risk:
• Create a series of ground rules (Farquar & Das, 1999) to ensure respectful discussion in the focus group, and that no information about other participants is revealed which may make others identifiable
• This would be a established prior to data collection, and you would ask participants to sign a form to this effect.
• Ensure a distress protocol ‘works’ for focus groups, i.e. is it as easy to leave a room?

Question 29

Focus groups on sensitive topics

Answer 29

• Focus groups might appear to be a counterintuitive method for encouraging discussion about sensitive topics due to the presence of others
• However if conducted with respect and reverence for the other participants, focus groups can be a lucrative form of data collection (Braun & Clarke, 2013; Wellings, Branigan, & Mitchell, 2000)
• Focus groups can increase self-disclosure, rather than inhibit it (Farquar & Das, 1999)
• Potentially even disclosing potentially “discrediting experience(s)” (Wilkinson, 1998, p. 192)
• Participants will outnumber researchers in focus groups, so may be more empowering than interviews (Farquar & Das, 1999)
• The presence of others may encourage quieter participants to come forward (Kitzinger, 1995)

Question 30

What are ‘alternative’ qualitative data collection methods?

Answer 30

• Interviews and focus groups are largely seen as the key type of qualitative data collection
- There are several other ways of gaining insight into people’s experiences, sense- and meaning-making practices, and perceptions/constructions/views using prompt methods and methods that elicit storytelling, surveys, diaries, multimedia ethnography and participatory action research.

Question 31

Prompt methods

Answer 31

• Use videos/vignettes/activities/audio to start discussions on a given topic
• Efficacious way in which to encourage discussion and debate (Braun & Clarke, 2013)
• Good for ‘sensitive’ topics (Wellings et al., 2000)
• Discussion becomes participant-led (Speer, 2008) whereby the emphasis falls on what they want to interpret the simple sense stimulus to mean and they discuss their opinions on it and issues around it.

Question 32

Story completion

Answer 32

• Projective test, completing a story stem
• Allows forgreater participant creativity
• Will tap into ways of understanding through overcoming awareness of participants own emotions and barriers of admission (Clarke, Braun, & Wooles, 2015) > you may be able to get the responses that participants may otherwise feel uncomfortable in sharing.
• Explore a range of assumptions of a given phenomenon (Braun & Clarke, 2013)
• Useful for exploring socially sensitive, ambiguous, and contentious issues (Clarke, Braun, & Wooles, 2015)
• Theoretically flexible meaning that researchers from a number of perspectives can use story completion methods to answer a range of questions and address a number of topics.

Question 33

Qualitative surveys

Answer 33

• It is best to think the qualitative survey is a series of predetermined, open ended questions that participants can respond to, but you can’t cannot add additional questions depending on the scope of the answers that the participants may provide.
• Predetermined, open-ended questions
• There is scope to combine this data with quantitative responses, purely qualitative surveys are less common
• Less reliant on researcher craft-skills
• Participants can have more control, and consideration over their responses
• Slightly more scope for possible anonymisation in recruitment
• Can suit broad and specific topics of interest
• Usually suits realist, critical realist, or essentialist perspectives
However, no interaction with subject, nuances of emotion or environment lost

Question 34

Solicited diaries

Answer 34

• Diary writing within pre-defined guidelines, intended for research purposes
• Can be more stringent, e.g. travel practices/food consumption
• (Partial) access to thoughts/feelings of the participants
• More participant control-can be useful for sensitive subjects
• Can feel cathartic for the participants-giving voice.
Can be done by writing, through apps, can include photos.

Question 35

Media data

Answer 35

• when looking at media data, the researcher has no role in its generation (unlike previous methods). It is created by individuals or organisations
• Media data includes newspapers, magazines, tv, films, and reader comments & social medias
• Ubiquitous and easily accessible > This is particularly helpful if you’re wanting to explore a topic that may otherwise be difficult to explore in person.
• Highlights common messages about populations/issues
• Taps into our mediated lives, practices, and beliefs
• Not as straight-forward as you’d assume
• Focus on sampling strategy and justifications > Researchers need to focus on sampling strategy and have a clear justification for their sampling > their inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Question 36

Observations: Ethnography

Answer 36

• Studies behaviour in context
• Ethnography
• Researcher is part of the group while observing their behaviour
• Flexible participation, natural behaviour > This can mean that you get very rich insights into the lives of participants and you can see more of the natural behaviour.
• But – ethical issues? Influence on others? However, it’s important to remember that this ethical implications if you covertly integrate itself into a social group, you might run the risk of harm to yourself. It’s only also means that the participants have been unable to fully consent in doing this
• In doing this more overtly, there can still be a greater influence over the behaviour of participants than you imagined, and you may still observe a more affected behaviour

Question 37

Observations: Non-participant observation

Answer 37

• Researcher observes participant behaviour at a distance and is not part of the interaction > For example, a researcher may observe how children interact with each other over lunch time.
• Good at replicating a more positivistic stance (e.g. through coding schemes, etc) But – false assumptions about behaviour can be made, halo/horns effect
• Pros: gain understanding of environment without interfering with subject
• Cons: very little interaction with subject, no insight into subject’s mental processes
- Generally, observational methods are good at gaining and understanding of the participants within their environment without as much interferences as other types of data collection such as interviews. However, because of the limited interactions, there may also be less opportunity to explore issues in depth and explore individuals sense making, or to direct the focus of this behaviour.

Question 38

Action research

Answer 38

• (Qualitative) research has been criticised for marginalising the voices of those who the research aims to ‘empower’
• Critical Qualitative researchers need to be aware of issues of power; who has power, who is empowered, and who are disempowered
• For example, in an interview, the researcher is in a position of power. It is them who leads the discussion then who chooses the interpretation and those who proceed to get the insights at best the participants are included in the process of either the interview stage or possibly member checking their transcript or any themes that may have been developed.
• Action research troubles the notion of power and researchers as enactors of change and instead, centralises the populations of focus in the research process
• The researcher merely facilitates and aids change whilst populations work to find resolutions for particular issues that affect them.
• Systematic approach to investigation that enables people to find effective solutions to problems they confront in their everyday lives (Stringer, 2007)
• Action research would aim to work with the populations in identifying issues and bring in about resolutions. And in that process, the population becomes empowered. They have an enacted change and they are capable of doing it.
(so the researcher does not enact things based on what they think, but the people enact their own change based from their own experience + what is best for them)
• Informed by the theory of Paulo Freire, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, whose work looked at challenging oppression and empower those who are systematically oppressed, meaning that action research tends to focus on working with people who may sit in oppressed social or environmental positions.
- The process encourages critical thinking by allowing the community to take an active role in the process of generating knowledge

Question 39

Action research: method and applications

Answer 39

• Use all the below, across all the methods the intent is that they use in the process of participant empowerment

Question 40

Action research: photovoice

Answer 40

• Photography to explore people’s worlds and make them accessible to others
• Participants were often asked to take photographs that are meaningful to them about a given topic
• Can encourage documentation and reflection
• Empowerment though personal and shared experiences
• To encourage critical dialogue
• It can also be useful for participants who might otherwise struggle to communicate their experiences go speak to those in powerful positions, i.e. policy makers
- The images participants take are often used in interviews as a way to promote discussion and to provide participants with an opportunity to share more of their world with the researcher in order to encourage critical dialogue.