Week 2

Question 1

12 core strategies of qualitative inquiry

Answer 1

Design:
1. Naturalistic Inquiry
2. Emergent design flexibility
3. Purposeful sampling
Data collection and fieldwork:
4. Qualitative data 
5. Personal experience and engagement 
6. Empathic neutrality and mindfulness 
7. Dynamic systems perspective
Analysis and reporting strategies:
8. Unique case orientation
9. Inducive analysis and creative synthesis
10. Holistic perspective
11. Context sensitivity 
12. Reflexivity: perspective and voice

Question 2

Naturalistic Inquiry

Answer 2

context is essential for understanding human behaviour, must be in participant’s natural environment, researcher becomes instrument for data collection, research design flexibility because of open ended nature

Question 3

Emergent design flexibility

Answer 3

research design flexibility due to open ended nature of naturalistic study and pragmatic decisions

Question 4

Qualitative genres

Answer 4

phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, narrative enquiry, action research, pragmatism and generic qualitative enquiry: qualitative description

Question 5

Phenomenology

Answer 5

investigates the meaning of lived experience of a phenomenon, data as interviews describing experiences of several informants to central meaning

Question 6

Ethnography

Answer 6

Aims to describe and interpret a culture or subgroup, involves observation and note taking

Question 7

Grounded theory

Answer 7

Explore social processes and generate explanatory theories of human behaviour which are grounded in data, data collection and analysis occur simultaneously, analysis includes comparison and systematic coding

Question 8

Narrative Inquiry

Answer 8

Life story research, data analysis focuses on structure, use of metaphors and linguistic devices, and influence of listener

Question 9

Action research

Answer 9

Aims to change something through systematic cycles of action and reflection, pursues action and research with local stakeholder involvement

Question 10

Pragmatic and generic qualitative research

Answer 10

stay close to data and surface of words and events, typically a combination of sampling, data collection, analysis and representation techniques

Question 11

Purposeful sampling

Answer 11

recruitment by non-probability sampling, intentionally selecting data sources that can inform the phenomenon being investigated

Question 12

Qualitative research data collection methods

Answer 12

interviews, naturalistic observation, physical and virtual documentary sources

Question 13

Qualitative research interview types

Answer 13

means: face to face, skype, telephone
style: unstructured, semi-structured, structured
number interviewed: individual, focus group

Question 14

Face to face interview advantages and disadvantages

Answer 14

A: better rapport, can collect data from facial expression and body language, can also note context
D: can’t always find quiet, accessible place, extra resources required for travel

Question 15

Telephone interviews advantages and disadvantages

Answer 15

A: convenience, flexibility, increases number of participants, geographical range of recruitment
D: less rapport, no face to face cues/responses, recording problematic/unethical, connection quality varies, can be costly

Question 16

Skype interview: advantages and disadvantages

Answer 16

A: free, reduced time travelling, participant can relax in own space
D: connection quality varies

Question 17

Unstructured interview

Answer 17

participant’s discuss what is important to them, useful when little is known/want to avoid leading questions, only one or two open questions, goes with flow of conversation and creates impromptu questions

Question 18

Semi-structured interview

Answer 18

open-ended questions with prompts for interviewer, allows structure and flexibility

Question 19

Structured interview

Answer 19

same set of predetermined questions asked in the same way, useful for comparing answers between participants`

Question 20

Focus group interviews

Answer 20

6-8 participants, researcher is moderator, sharing of ideas, ensure all get opportunity to input

Question 21

Empathetic neutrality and mindfulness

Answer 21

middle ground between becoming too involved and being too distant, mindfulness is being focused in the moment, attentive to what is going on, without distraction

Question 22

Trustworthiness of Data (4)

Answer 22

credibility, dependability, confirmability, transferability

Question 23

Ways to enhance rigour (4)

Answer 23

reflexivity, member checking, peer review, triangulation

Question 24

Reflexivity

Answer 24

reflection on biases and understanding how they affect results, keep reflective journal