week 10 qualitative methods and interviews

Question 1

methodological purposiveness

Answer 1

the method is selected with consideration of the research question and purpose

Question 2

methodological congruence

Answer 2

the fit between the research question and the method,

Question 3

research approaches

Answer 3

a) phenomenology
b) ethnography
c) grounded theory

Question 4

phenomenology

Answer 4

considers the meaning of things in a subjective manner ie how the individual understands something.
eg “What does it feel like to lose a child?” focuses on experiences

Question 5

grounded theory

Answer 5

a process over time. eg “How do people come to terms with being diagnosed with a chronic illness?focuses on how things change

Question 6

ethnography

Answer 6

the organization or process that and individual undergoes. eg “How do people hide their eating disorder?” ethnography=study of people in their own environment.focuses on behaviours.

Question 7

methods

Answer 7

a) interviews;focus groups, structured interviews, unstructured interviews.
b) observation
c) document analysis.

Question 8

why use qualitative methods?

Answer 8

for the following reasons;

1. area with little knowledge
2. learn how participants understand something
3. discover new theory based on empirical results
4. to understand a phenomenon
5. to inform re how to undertake future quantitative studies

Question 9

focus group

Answer 9

homogenous group undergoes interview together.usually 6-12 participants. more efficient than individual interview but some participants may not contribute due to inhibition/others have covered that ground/don’t want to stand out etc etc Less depth and detail than an individual interview.

Question 10

structured interview

Answer 10

each participant gets same questions in same order. no follow up questions.

Question 11

unstructured interview

Answer 11

more conversational. no rigid question framework.clarification can be sought.

Question 12

observational methods

Answer 12

a) participant observation (researcher participates in the activities of the group being studied.
b) structured observation
c) observational episodes

Question 13

preliminary data analysis

Answer 13

a) initial questioning of data to determine emerging issues/themes
b) analyze data during and post collection to summarise themes
c) at end, all data critiqued to determine if shows broad enough relation/relevance to the research topic.

Question 14

thematic analysis

Answer 14

engage and re-engage with data. question it, discuss it, discover themes, coding to manage large data sets.