Week 1 Flashcards
1
Q
What are Qualitative Methods
A
- Focuses on qualities that are holistic in nature
- Looks at instances in context
- Interviewing
- Observing with note taking
- Ecinography
- Auto-Ecinography - Focus on self
- Analysing documents, text, data or social media or photovoice
2
Q
Why are Qualitative Methods Valueable
A
- Focuses on Lived Experience
- Honours Local Meaning - Focus on personal viewpoint not externa, imposed researcher viewpoint
- Preserves Chronological Flow - Which events occur in order and how they affect each other
- Bricolage - Makes sense of disparate data
- Rich, Holistic and Accessible\
- Explains Quantative Data
- Interdisciplinary
3
Q
Generalise Qualitative Data
A
- Statistical Generalisation
- Take random sample in a small group
- Then apply the result to the larger population
4
Q
Statistical Resonance
A
- Aesthetic Merit
- Naturalistic Generalisations
- Transferable Findings
- Critical Incidence Sampling
5
Q
Aesthetic Merit
A
- Writing Beautifully
- Evocative Writing
6
Q
Naturalistic Generalisations
A
- Emphasizes practical, functional application of research findings
- Intuitively falls naturally in line with readers’ ordinary experiences.
- Individuals learn from the generalizations mad in everyday experiences; Not just the authors
7
Q
Transferable Findings
A
- Extent to which writing can be applied in other contexts and studies.
- Interchangeable for terms generalisability and external validity.
8
Q
Critical Incident Sampling
A
- Choosing a sample that has the most likely comparison to gen pop
- If it is true about this group then it can be true of a greater group
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9
Q
Bricolage
A
- Making something from nothing.
- Creation from a diverse range of things
- Doesn’t worry about the coherence of the words or ideas it uses
- Improvise a solution to a problem without proper or obvious tools or materials.
- Asking a question after the data has been provided
10
Q
Research Questions as Maps
A
- Often research is conducted without a clear direction
- Having a question can restrain you
- Maps can be a guide and doesn’t need accuracy
11
Q
Targeting Your Audience
A
- Ask “which authors do I really want to capture their attention”
12
Q
Empirical Research Question
A
- Think about Research Problem not Topic
- Who is the audience
- Make question Empirical not Theoretical
13
Q
Why Questions in Interview
A
Adults can get defensive if you ask why
Instead ask . . .
How is it that you came to . . . ? as it can be less invasive
14
Q
5 Tasks of Psychology Research
A
- Examine - how people think, feel and behave
- Discover - what influences feelings, thoughts and behaviours
- Determine - consequences of feelings, thoughts and behaviours
- Exploring - Perspective and meaning of occurrences
- Examine again - how ideas and events are represented in language
15
Q
Nomothetic Research
A
- Predicts future occurrences
- Requires large samples
- More suited to quantitative data
- Trades depth for generality
16
Q
Idiographic Research
A
- Seeks deeper detail understanding
- Requires more descriptive data
- Samples can be smaller and more manageable
- Trade generality for depth
17
Q
What is Qualitative Research
A
- Primarily focused on making sense of context
- Specific human experience
- Not just predicting behaviour
- Need to understand linguistics, history and social context
18
Q
Different Approaches
A
- A blend of approaches is needed
- e.g. Case studies, feminism, naturalistic enquiry
- Have Shared Characteristics
- Description, context, meaning, interpretation, truth, process.
19
Q
Thick Description
A
- Thorough concentrated descriptions
- Contains authors feelings & thoughts
- Also add objective information
20
Q
Research Contexts
A
- Occurs in everyday context
- Accounts for social, political, cultural and historical events
- Immersion to deeply understand a perspective
- Power relations have very real effects
- Theory development happens within this context
21
Q
Importance of Context
A
Objects take on meaning based on what we plan to do with them
22
Q
Importance of Meaning
A
Social experiences are concept-dependent
Unavoidably affected by the meanings attached to them
23
Q
Interpretation
A
- How we see the world
- Quantative screens out interpretation
- Qualitative says this is impossible - Interpretation is who we are
- Bridge between reality and understanding
- Always a gap when we don’t understand
24
Q
Surplus of Meaning
A
- Changes in relation to our understanding
- Understanding is changeable so continually changing
- There is always more to add, with new points of view
25
Q
Truth
A
- Qualitative challenges “what is true?”
- Single events are questionable because:
- One account is governed by one context
- Research by people about people
- One account based on one researchers opinion
26
Q
Aspects of Truth
A
- Reflexive - Researcher is central so they must reflect on themselves and the process
- Fidelity - Be committed to presenting a true representation of the study
- Created from agreed upon meanings as people talk
- Shared meanings become codified for medicine, law, education etc
- Recognised as normal and natural and central to arguements
27
Q
Process
A
- Meaning is negotiable - can change over time
- Need to understand ways meaning can change over time
- Continually revisit data to clarify and confirm understanding and reveal nuances
28
Q
Cycles of Research
A
- Cyclical & Non-Linear process
- Often go back to seek new evidence that might modify existing theory
- Generate new theory and repeat
29
Q
Emergent Design
A
- Nothing is assumed - even theories, and hypotheses can change context
- Theory emerges as we investigate
- Data collection is relativeley unstructured
30
Q
Neumann 1994 - Qualitative/Quantitative Divide
A
Allegedly separate and internal coherent approaches to research and theory
- These methods can be characterised below;
31
Q
Critiquing Definitions
A
- Commonality of Definitions
- need to counterpose methods that reflect quantification
32
Q
Commonality of Definitions
A
Examine & Compare qualitative methods against quantitative methods
33
Q
Negative Definitions
A
- Inevitably begin by stating what qualitative methods are not
- Need to understand both quantitative an qualitative
- Both methods arose as criticism of the other
- Responses address problems of both methodologies
34
Q
Critiquing Definitions
A
- Commonality of definitions - Examine and Compare both methods
- Qualitative - emerge recently as an alternative to mainstream
- Difficult to define and measure separate from Quantification
35
Q
Development of Qualitative Research
A
- Psychology is the science of the mind
- Research follows the hypothetic-deductive model (Scientific Method)
- Seeks to discover relationships with cause and effect
- Empirical testing: if correct it is true, if incorrect then it is rejected
36
Q
Experimentation and Qualitative Research
A
- Theories are adjusted to accommodate new facts
- Eventually, false theories are rejected
- Truth stands as false theories disappear
- Other sciences are the same
43
Q
The Kuhn Cycle - Theory Development
A
- Science does not progress in a piecemeal manner
- Takes leaps in scientific revolutions that lead to paradigm shifts
- Qualitative methods contribute to new theory development
- Particularly in grounded theories with no priori hypothesis
55
Q
POEM Paradigm
A
- Positivist
- Interpretive
- Constructionist
77
Q
Context Shapes . .
A
- Subject of investigation
- Standpoint of the investigators
- How we approach research
- Objects take on meaning in relation to the context in which we use them
