Understanding Key Concepts in Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Question 1

Qualitative terms

Answer 1

-Study participants, informants, key informants
-Research, informant
-Phenomena, concepts
-Data
-Patterns of association
-Inductive reasoning

Question 2

Quantitative terms

Answer 2

-Subject, study participants
-Researcher, investigator
-Concepts, constructs, variables
-Data
-Relationships
-Deductive reasoning

Question 3

Concepts, constructs, theories

Answer 3

-Concepts: phenomena
-Construct: an abstraction that is invented
-Theory: explanation of some aspect of reality

Question 4

Variables

Answer 4

-Concepts are called variables
-Building blocks of quantitative studies
-Often inherent human traits but can be created by the researcher
-Independent variable: presumed cause
-Dependent variable: presumed effect
-Variables are not inherently dependent or independent

Question 5

Conceptual and operational definitions

Answer 5

-Conceptual definition: theoretical meaning of a concept (ex: concept of caring)
-Operational definition: specifies what researchers must do to measure the concept

Question 6

Quantitative research: experimental and nonexperimental studies

Answer 6

-Experimental research: intervention to address questions
-Nonexperimental research: researchers are bystanders, collect info w/o interventions
-Clinical trials: experimental studies in medical research
-Observational studies: nonexperimental inquiries in medical research

Question 7

Qualitative research: disciplinary traditions

Answer 7

-Grounded theory: seeks to describe key social psychological processes
-Core variable: major component that is central in explaining what is going on in that social scene

Question 8

Phenomenology

Answer 8

-Concerned w/ the experiences of humans
-Thinks about what people’s life experiences are like and what they mean

Question 9

Ethnography

Answer 9

-Primary research: primary research tradition in anthropology, providing a framework for studying lifeways of defined cultural group in a holistic fashion
-Ethnographers typically engage in extensive fieldwork, often participating to the extent possible in the life of the culture under study

Question 10

Major steps in a quantitative study

Answer 10

1) conceptual phase
2) designing and planning phase
3) empirical phase
4) analytic phase
5) dissemination phase

Question 11

Conceptual phase steps

Answer 11

1) formulating and delimiting the problem
2) reviewing related literature
3) undertaking clinical fieldwork
4) defining framework and developing conceptual definition
5) formulating hypotheses

Question 12

Design and planning steps

Answer 12

1) selecting research design
2) developing protocols for the intervention
3) identifying the population
4) designing the sampling plan
5) specifying methods to measure research variables
6) developing methods to safeguard human/animal rights
7) reviewing and finalizing the research plan

Question 13

Empirical phase steps

Answer 13

1) collecting data
2) preparing data for analysis

Question 14

Analytic phase steps

Answer 14

1) analyzing data
2) interpreting results

Question 15

Dissemination steps

Answer 15

1) communicating the findings
2) putting the evidence into practice

Question 16

Planning a qualitative study

Answer 16

-Identifying problem
-Doing literature review
-Selecting and gaining entry into research sites
-Developing an approach
-Addressing ethical issues

Question 17

Conducting a qualitative study

Answer 17

-Talking w/ people who have 1st hand experience
-Analysis and interpretation
-Clustering related narrative info into coherent scheme
-Thru inductive reasoning, researchers identify themes and categories
-Principle of saturation: participants’ accounts of their experiences become redundant, such that no new thematic development can occur from further data collection
-Qualitative researchers are the main data collection instrument and must take steps to demonstrate the trustworthiness of the data