Week 12 (Qualitative Methods) Flashcards
What are some criticisms of the quantitative approach to psychological research?
Can be artificial
Can over-simplify complex phenomena
Can be of limited use for some topics
Does qualitative research involve hypotheses construction?
Does not work by constructing and testing hypotheses
What is the emphasis of qualitative data?
Drawing theory from data rather than testing theory
What kind of information does the explorative approach to qualitative research produce?
Much richer information
What is the aim of qualitative data?
Aims to understand the individuals experience of the world and how this view is constructed
What concepts are used to determine the quality of qualitative research? (4)
Dependability
Auditable
Transferable
Idiographic
What is dependability?
The knowledge from the real search is obtained in a rigorous and systematic way
What does auditable mean?
The research process has been recorded in detail
What does transferable mean in relation to data quality?
The extent to which the research finding can be transferred to other findings and groups
What does idiographic mean in relation to quality of research?
Findings have an intrinsic worth even if they are not transferable
Where might qualitative data come from?
Interviews Focus groups Participant observation Newspapers Diaries blogs Children’s drawings Many more...
Why are interviews a common way of collecting qualitative information?
Can provide a very naturalistic way of gaining insight into a participants experience and perceptions
What are some difficulties with conducting interviews?
Difficult to conduct in a way in which the researchers focus on the topics they wish to learn about while also keeping the participant relaxed and engaged
What is a structured interview?
Researcher has a pre-set list of questions
Often used in conjunction with set response options
What are the pros of a structured interview?
Questions are prepared in advance so are likely to be well formulated
It is easier to compare responses among participants, especially if set response questions are used
What are some cons of structured interviews?
Questions are inflexible with no opportunity to follow up on unexpected but interesting comments
Questions may not be applicable to every participant
What is a semi-structured interview? (Also know as qualitative or in depth interviews)
Researcher has an interview schedule and work from a list of questions but will also deviate from these questions if it is appropriate
Creates a more conversational feel to the interview
What are some pros for a semi-structures interview?
The participant is free to raise important issues that the researcher may not have anticipated which in turn provides richer information
What are some cons of semi-structured interviews?
It becomes more difficult to generalise the outcome of the research to different populations
Can be difficult to keep interview on track
The researcher has to come up with questions on the spot
What are the different type of interview probes? (3)
Detail orientated probe
Elaboration probe
Clarification probe
What is a detail orientated probe in an interview?
Asking the participant for more detail
What is an elaboration probe in an interview?
Using either a question or a gesture to encourage a participant to reveal more information about a topic or to ask for an example
What is a clarification probe in an interview?
These are used when interviewer has misunderstood something
Should be phrased as being a mistake of the researcher and not the participant
Explain the structure of an interview
Establish a rapport - spend few minutes talking to make feel relaxed
Describe the purpose and nature of the interview - talk about project, explain how will be recorded and info consent
Conducting the interview
End the interview - is all info provided? Summarise points made, thank for time and provide contact details if appropriate
Transcription
Analysis
What are some good interviewer attributes?
Familiarity with the topic
Clear and friendly manner of speaking
No jargon
Flexibility and willingness to change the direction of the interview
Challenge participants on what is burnt said and identifying inconsistencies
An ability to remember what has been said
Knowing when to stay quiet and when to speak
What is a focus group?
Speaking to several participants at once
Emphasis on interaction between individuals
What are some common problems with participant interactions in focus groups?
Individuals may dominate conversation, discourage other members
Some may be quieter and not want to contribute
Participants direct comments to the facilitator and not each other
How can we counteract the issues with participant interactions in focus groups?
Ask other people what they think - thank the other person to show appreciation for input
Direct questions to group members who haven’t spoken by using their names
Avoid eye contact with members who direct comments to you and push chair back from group slightly
What are the issues with recording the focus group?
A video camera can be distracting
Transcribing focus groups can be very challenging as more than one person will often be speaking and isn’t always clear if just audio
Which is the most accurate way to transcribe?
Recording conversation and transcribing it afterwards
How long does it take to transcribe a single hour of interviewing and what does this cause?
Roughly 10 hours as pauses and hesitations etc also need to be reported
Reason why tend to have smaller samples
Who should do the transcribing?
The interviewer
Lead researcher
Research assistant
What is the issue with the interviewer transcribing?
May struggle to recognise the gaps and idiosyncrasies in their own speech
What happens in the process of transcribing?
We inevitably lose some information
Need to decide how much we are willing to lose
What is the Jefferson system?
One of the most popular methods of transcribing
Allows the researcher to record not what was said but how it was said
What is the advantage of the Jefferson system?
It doesn’t use any special symbols meaning that can use with a normal keyboard and don’t need special software
Why is thematic analysis resurfacing in usage?
It is relatively straightforward to apply and produces results that can be communicated to non-academics
What is the criticism towards thematic analysis?
Criticised for lacking consistency
When is thematic analysis useful?
There is no strong theoretical perspective to drive analysis
The data consists of written transcripts or documents
The data is rich - contains a lot of detail and covers a lot of ground
There are several types of thematic analysis, what do they all operate on?
They all operate on the basis of identifying themes
What is a theme?
A theme frees to a word or phrase that represents a pattern of issues raised across transcripts
What are the six stages of thematic analysis according the Brain and Clarke?
Data familiarisation Initial coding generation Search for themes based on initial coding Review of themes Theme definition and labelling Report writing
Explain the data familiarisation stage of thematic analysis
Researcher must be familiar with data
Ideally done by writing the transcription to give deepest understanding
Explain the initial coding generation stage of thematic analysis
Going through transcript and adding one or two word LABELS to sum up what is being said in that line
Explain the searching for themes based on initial coding stage of thematic analysis
Certain codes are repeated as you work through the transcript. Some will appear to be linked together
These codes could be grouped together as the following themes
Need to be willing to revise codes as you group them
Explain the review of themes stage in thematic processing
It is unlikely that the first list of themes you generate will be the final one that you will report
Themes need to be supported by codes and the codes need to be supported by evidence
Explain the theme definition and labelling stage of thematic analysis
Once themes have been identified they need to be examined and clearly defines
Involves identifying the word that is the most accurate description of a theme
Need to ensure there is no overlap between themes. This is where we are likely to identify sub themes
Explain the report writing stage of thematic analysis
It can be useful to create a diagram to show the codes and how these support the themes
We use a much more reflective approach, keeping track of thoughts during analysis process
Much more selective
Individual quotes can be included to illustrate the codes and themes identified
What are the strengths of thematic analysis?
More flexible - used for a variety of sources
Most easily learned - novice can use
The outcome can be understood by non-academics and by members of the target population
Can be used for larger amounts of data - quicker and simpler process
More likely to produce results that will be read and used by policy makers
What are the limitations of thematic analysis?
Difficult to distinguish between themes
Need for caution when interpreting - more interpretation means the more analysis becomes removed from the speakers original words and meaning
Codes that do not contribute to a specific theme or codes that contradict the others may be ignored or minimised
Not comparable with the Jefferson system
