Wk 4 Part 2: Naturalistic Observation and Physical and Virtual Documentary Sources (Online Lecture)

Question 1

What are the 3 collection methods of qualitative data?

Answer 1

1. Interviews - audiotaped
   
   • Means: Face-to-face, telephone, Skype
   • Style: Semi-structured, unstructured, structured
   • Number interviewed: Individual, focus group
2. Naturalistic Observation
   
   • Participant or non-participant
3. Physical and Virtual Documentary Sources
   
   • Books, on-line websites, policy documents, graphics, artefacts

Question 2

What are physical and virtual documentary sources?

Question 3

Documented or recorded data in informant voice/s be it through physical or virtual documentary sources may shed light on research question, if (5)?

Answer 3

1. They incorporate subjective or “lived experience”
2. An informant cannot be interviewed (e.g., too ill, too far away,
3. deceased)
4. An event or situation can not be observed easily (e.g., supervision of a health professional)
5. Artefacts and graphic sources are accompanied by meaningful text to enrich data collection
6. Existing “unmined” data sources may be able to answer research question economically

Question 4

What ar 3 scopes of physical and virtual documentary sources?

Answer 4

1. Mass media sources (e.g., newspaper columns, health magazines, TV programs), internet websites (e.g., disability specific, blogs), photos, audio and video recordings, movies, minutes of meetings, official reports, medical records, books, research publications, archived research data, artefacts (e.g., professional therapeutic equipment, assessments).
2. Public (e.g., magazines, British Mass-Observation archive) or Private (e.g., diary, letters, journals)
3. Text ready for analysis (e.g., therapy reports in pdf or word format) or Needing to be converted to or accompanied by Text before analysis (e.g., photos, handmwritten notes)

Question 5

What are 3 characteristics of online sources?

Answer 5

1. There are many rich sources of data online, and qualitative researchers make good use of these sources.
2. Interviews with people on YouTube, restaurant diners post their favourite food pictures and commentary on social media –> rich data that can be analysed using qualitative methods
3. These sources may be used alone or they may complement original data collection conducted by the researcher as part of a larger study.

Question 6

Do you need to apply for ethics approval to access and analyse online data sources on social media?

Answer 6

1. In many cases, these data will not require ethics review, where materials are in the public domain, for example, they can be accessed and analysed in ways similar to the way researchers would use materials in a public archive or when published in the newspaper.
2. Where data are housed within a private website, or where a social media tool requires membership to view content, ethics review is likely to be required prior to data collection and analysis.
   
   • Even if you are a member as it is not in the public domain

Question 7

If the purpose of your research question is to understand a culture/organisation, activities within a culture, organisation, or services delivered by an organisation, what are the 3 sources?

Answer 7

1. Policy documents
2. Reports
3. Medical records

Question 8

If the purpose of your research question is to understand the perceptions, experiences of individuals, what are 5 sources?

Answer 8

1. Written narratives
2. Reflections
3. Stories
4. Diaries, blogs, tweets, emails
5. Photos

Question 9

What are 6 advantages of physical and virtual documentary sources?

Answer 9

1. Data are in the words of individuals or organisations already
2. Copious amount readily available
3. Convenient to access in own time and space
4. Saves time and costs of participant recruitment, data collection and transcription
5. No need to develop interview skills
6. Provides data about events, settings and situations not easily obtained

Question 10

What are 5 disadvantages of physical and virtual documentary sources?

Answer 10

1. Some data are not readily available or may be difficult to access
2. Documents may not be full accounts or accurate
3. May not have been documented for your research purposes or directly answer your research question
4. Uncertainty about ethical use of some data
5. Sites may disappear

Question 11

What are 2 main categories of arts based approaches in naturalistic data?

Answer 11

1. Participant-response activities
   
   • Use of various media (videos, photos, excerpts of text) to engage participants in discussion
2. Participant-generated activities
   
   • Often used to enhance a range of qualitative methods – e.g., young children being asked to draw a picture of their family life as part of an interview, teens asked to take a photo to discuss safety issues in their school environment, older adults living in aged care being asked to draw maps of their social networks.

Question 12

What are 5 advantages of participant-response and participant-generated, artsbased approaches?

Answer 12

1. Put participants at ease by providing a focus for the discussion.
2. Provide concrete examples to participants to promote brainstorming.
3. Break up the monotony of another lengthy method (e.g., a long interview)
4. Personalise the activity by providing participants with the opportunity to share or create photographs, diaries, and other artefacts themselves.
5. Engage with particular populations in ways that best suit their stage of
6. development or personal circumstances.

Question 13

What are 5 advantages of audio visual materials in data?

Answer 13

1. Unobtrusive collection possible
2. Provides novel data collection sources which can support other data sources or stand alone
3. Cultural way for individuals and groups to capture and express their opinions, perceptions, feelings, experiences.

Question 14

What are 4 disadvantages of audio visual materials in data?

Answer 14

1. May be difficult to interpret
2. May not be accessible
3. May need publisher’s permission
4. Need to get advice about legal aspects (e.g., invasion of privacy, breach of copyright)

Question 15

What are 3 characteristics of presenting and analysing audio visual material as qualitative research data?

Answer 15

1. Reflect on research question
2. Immerse yourself in the media
   
   • repeatedly view and/or listen to AV material to familiarise self with key features and meaning
   • Write text of your insights about how the AV material contributes to answering the research question
   • Upload the text and AV
3. Apply qualitative analyses methods to the AV material (e.g. content analysis, thematic analysis)