Flashcards
Qualitative Research Methods
Flashcards do conjunto (97)
- 1Epistemologyepistemology, the philosophical study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. The term is derived from the Greek epistēmē (“knowledge”) and logos (“reason”), and accordingly the field is sometimes referred to as the theory of knowledge.
- 2empiricismempiricism claims that knowledge is based on observation, and build up large number of observations of a phenomena and develop a theory based on our observations (e.g., bystander effect in social psychology).
- 3Empiricism: Scientific MethodIn psychology, we generally manipulate variables (independent variables-e.g., number of bystanders) and measure the effect of the IV on the dependent variable (e.g., helping behaviour). We have a prior hypothesis that we test (e.g., as bystanders increase, helping decreases) and we state whether the hypothesis is supported or rejected) based on our findings.
For the scientific method to be accurate, we first have to assume there is a real world out there and that we can find out about reality through empirical observation. - 4PositivismThis assumption is called positivism –essentially that the truth is out there-and we can discover the truth through empirical observation. And that our interpretations of these observations are objective and unbiased
- 5Can we use observation to discover the “truth”?More recently scientists recognise that researchers are influenced by their contexts (e.g., in use of WEIRD populations) and this influences their findings and that facts are not wholly the “truth” that knowledge is influenced by theoretical frameworks and contextual factors. But researchers taking this approach still believe that there is one singular “truth” and try and control for /measure contextual factors (e.g., replicating a study using participants from different cultural groups) and subjective influences.
- 6Post-Positivismthe truth is out there we just need to design a good experiment to find it. sometimes this is used in qualitative methods but debate around this.
- 7PositivismThe Scientific approach to psychology, essentially studying the mind using scientific methods. This positivist approach lends itself to quantitative measures (numbers) and this is steeped in the tradition of the natural sciences. So quantitative methods involve measurement and the manipulation of variables studied in isolation. (e.g., the effect of exercise on mood-we quantify these variables by measuring them).
- 8Measuring experienceWe can measure our mood numerically (e.g., State/trait anxiety scale, BDI etc) but will these measures capture our experience of feeling anxious and depressed? What was the context of our experience? So in addition to these measures some researchers argue that we should also record how a particular mood state feels to an individual, and how that experience interacts with other aspects of a persons’ life
- 9Laboratory ExperimentsOne of the major criticisms of lab experiments is that they are highly controlled and set in artificial environments, and that the tasks are abstract-e.g. word recognition, viewing faces or parts of faces. Do these tasks actually reflect memory, perception or problem solving in real life?
- 10Assumptions about people.The quantitative approach also makes assumptions that the psychological phenomena being studied are universal across a population. How participants interpret instructions or the meaning they attach to a questionnaire item may vary across cultures and social backgrounds.
Qualitative research tries to address this point by including the context in which the research is done. - 11social constructivistpoint of view investigates how our psychological reality is constructed within a particular social or historical context. Questions that knowledge can be objective instead our knowledge of the world as tied to the social world in which we live.
- 12(individualistic cultures) vs japanese (collectivist) cultures perceive emotionsExample-When viewing olympic athletes westerners infer more emotions when they see a photo of the athlete alone, whereas Japanese infer more emotion when they see the athlete in the context of other people. Rather than experiencing emotions as an innate and universal phenomenon (traditional psychological approach) , thinking about how emotions are experienced as part of the relationship, society or culture that we live in.
- 13contextualismKnowledge emerges from contexts and reflect the researchers’ position so it is local, situated and always provisional . But contextualism does aim to understand the truth, and argues that while no single method will get to the truth, knowledge will be true in certain contexts.
- 14What is Qualitative ResearchShift away from positivism/causal explanations in quantitative research.
Seeing through the eyes of those studies
Using a “bottom up” approach
Unexpected findings
Rich descriptions
Context of natural setting –interviews, focus groups, diaries etc.
Social context/Cultural context - 15Quantitative ApproachesHypothesis Driven (Deductive Research
Standardised and structured measures (questionnaires)
Cause and effect relationships, manipulation of variables
Rapid analysis and data collection
Specific hypotheses limits exploration of topic area - 16Qualitative ApproachesExploration, Research Questions (Inductive Research)
Interviews, focus groups, diaries
Takes as long as necessary
Rich, detailed knowledge of topic area (no strict or predefined limits set) - 17Different types of Research QuestionExperience
Accounts of Practice
Understanding/Perceptions
Influencing Factors - 18Developing a rationale “How” are we doing the researchHow will a qualitative approach help explore your idea?
What are the limitations of quantitative methods in the context of your topic –difficult to draw conclusions across subgroups
Think about ethics: Are your questions on a sensitive topic? Will participants feel comfortable and included in the discussion? - 19Developing a rationale Whythink about how your topic and methods are supported by previous research
Think about what are the key points in the literature that are relevant to your question?
Topic
Wider context
Implications - 20Research Process QualitativePlanning
Data Collection
Data Analysis & Write up - 21Research Process PlanningLiterature review
Rationale
Research Question(s)
Ethical Approval - 22Research Process Data CollectionInterview schedule
Recruitment
Organise interviews/focus groups
Transcription - 23Research Process Data Analysis & Write upCoding
Data Analysis
Reflective analysis
Full Report - 24Planning and Designing a Qualitative Research ProjectWhat do I want to know?
Why do I want to know it?
What assumptions am I making?
What type of data will best answer my questions?
How much data will I need?
How will I collect my data? - 25PhenomenologyConcerned with an individual’s personal perception or account of an object or event.
This theoretical approach underpins qualitative techniques such as Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis(IPA) and grounded theory. - 26Grounded TheoryInductive: the theory arises from the data. Data collection and data analysis can occur simultaneously just focusing on the experience and coding initial data (with no pre existing themes in mind)-different from IPA which tries to extract individual meaning-grounded theory assumes no prior knowledge of this experience
- 27Discourse AnalysisAnalysis of the conversational features-uses Jeffersonian notation. Using this detailed analysis to develop themes around the topic
Focus on content and organisation of language.
Language constructs social reality - 28Big Qopen ended inductive, exploration of experience
- 29Small qnon-numerical data collection.
- 30Why are qualitative methods important in psychology? Clinical PsychologyTraditionally this research has used questionnaires and structured interviews , but there has been a recent move towards qualitative approach to study their life experiences in relation to the development of their disorder
- 31Why are qualitative methods important in psychology? Health PsychologyUsed in documenting patients experience of / recovery from illness, and also in attitudes and awareness of health related issues such as diet or exercise. For example, qualitative study of the stigma attached to obesity and its impact on wellbeing-more suited to qualitative methods to investigate the context of the stigma and individual
- 32Why are qualitative methods important in psychology? Developmental psychologyUsed to investigate children’s knowledge and perceptions, and to documents parents’ attitudes and experiences.
- 33Why are qualitative methods important in psychology? Training for dissertationIt may be that your research question for your dissertation requires a qualitative approach-in which case this course will provide you with the basic principles and resources to get started on your project. Or if your research question is not suited to qualitative methods- you will be aware of the range of methodologies that exist and the benefits and challenges of each approach- either way you will have made an informed choice on your methods.
- 34Why are qualitative methods important in psychology? Experience & perceptions of the individualWhile we gain a huge amount of information from collecting numerical data in the form of experiments, brain imaging studies and questionnaires, individual differences in experience of a phenomena are crucial…in providing a rich description of psychological phenonmena.
- 35Process with research questionsUses different methods to update you research questions to get a full picture
- 36Interview Sampling approachSampling approach (Who do you interview and what is the criteria, how do you make it approach able)
- 37Interview“A conversation with a purpose”
Sampling approach
Interview schedule
Ethical Issues
Recorded
Transcription-word for word.
Reflexivity - 38Qualitative/Quantitative InterviewsSemi-Structured|Unstructured/Structured
Can depart from set questions/Standardised
Answers are detailed/Answers are coded - 39Interview QuestionsIntroducing (“Tell me about…”)
Follow-up
Probing
Specifying (“What happened next?”)
Direct
Indirect (“What do most people think about…?”)
Structuring (“Let’s move on to…”)
Interpreting (“Do you mean that…?”) - 40Interview techniquesUse of Photo elicitation (Images, the participants in)
Vignettes
Silence - 41Problem RQ &Focus is not clearSolution
Decide on the focus of the the research Q and design the interview around this. - 42Problem Closed questions/invite a short responseSolution
Open questions. Invite detail using prompts. Use silence. Make P’s comfortable. - 43Problem Non-inclusive/makes assumptionsSolution
Define key terms. Remove ambiguity and bias. P’s are the “expert”. - 44Problem Leading questionsSolution
Ask for one bit of info at a time. Interest vs Empathy - 45Problem Very sensitive questionsSolution
Questions flow logically-start with gentle opening questions –build up to sensitive Qs later - 46Evaluation of Interviews AdvantagesAllows reconstruction of events
More detailed data
Allows longitudinal research
Specific focus
Easier to transcribe - 47Evaluation of Interviews DisadvantagesLess naturalistic
Interaction ignored (Potter & Hepburn 2005)
Time consuming
Agenda of interviewer/interviewee
Overused (Potter & Hepburn 2005) - 48Focus GroupsRecorded group interview
Several participants (6-10) and a moderator
Individuals in a social context
Discussion of specific issue
Study interaction between group members
How are opinions expressed and modified through group discussions?
Conducted online or face to face - 49Advantages Focus Groups: EvaluatedNaturalistic Social Interaction
"Collective Sense-Making" (Frith, 2000))
Empowering
Efficient - 50Disadvantages Focus Groups: EvaluatedResearcher has less control
Tendency for more agreement than disagreement
Potential for participant discomfort
Transcription - 51Synchronous Online Interviews & Focus GroupsMore immediate
Organisation - 52Asynchronous Online Interviews & Focus GroupsTime for reflection
Participant drop out - 53Audio/Visual Online Interviews & Focus GroupsNaturalistic
Technical constraints - 54Text Online Interviews & Focus GroupsAnonymity
No visual cues - 55DiariesRecord of experiences over a period of time
Clear instructions & completed at:
specific intervals
response to events - 56Diaries AdvantagesEvents as they happen
personal account - 57Diaries DisadvantagesTrue reflection?
Varied completion/information
Drop out rates - 58Web based dataDiscussion boards, chat rooms, blogs
Online questionnaires, focus groups - 59Web based data AdvantagesAnonymous
Volume of data - 60Web based data DisadvantagesUnrepresentative sample
Trustworthiness
Consent - 61Social MediaSM Discussion analysis
Familiarise with the context & users
Saving text for analysis
Analysed as a static text
Dynamic interactions with the researcher
Lynch & Mah (2017)
Nursery teachers experiences
Teachers more open to discussing challenges in SM and email interviews than F to F - 62Ethics and Qualitative Research Participatory ApproachQualitative researchers argue that rather than framing participants as passive, whose contributions require interpretation by ‘expert researchers’, that participants are experts in their field of knowing themselves and their social context.
- 63Ethics and Qualitative Research AnonymityAnon..P’s will be talking about personal experiences, especially if you will know them course mates/friends…When transcribing –change the initials/name s and don’t refer to the P’s by their real name in the data analysis.
- 64Ethics and Qualitative Research ConfidentialityTranscriber-Keep transcripts in password protected computer. Don’t discuss findings outside of your lab group
- 65Ethics and Qualitative Research Informed ConsentConsent as a continuous process-P’s might regret saying things afterwards-give them the option of withdrawing part/all of their contributions at the end of interview. Best to get signed consent after FG.
Use of web based data –is it in the public domain? If not, individuals have to be contacted for consent. - 66Ethics and open science in qualitative researchArchiving of research data in public repositories
Used in secondary analysis
Qualitative Data Archives
Issue of “Post consent” data archiving
Branney, Woolhouse & Reid (2017)
Risk to anonymity and confidentiality
Managing data
Considering data management in the design & ethics stages
Include explicit agreement with participants.
Guidelines on anonymising qualitative data - 67Preparing data for analysis: Transcription OrthographicWhat is said and who is speaking
- 68Preparing data for analysis: Transcription JeffersonianWhat is being said and how it was said.
- 69Preparing data for analysis: TranscriptionInclude non-words
Don’t correct spelling/punctuation
Overlapping speech.
Transcribe: as soon as possible after the interview
Anonymity: Use Pseudonyms
Software to start/stop the recording. - 70Thematic analysis
- 71Grounded theoryAn inductive approach-the extreme version there is no prior RQ-these arise from coding the data and then going back and forming RQs. Other versions of grounded theory can be more strategic, and look to answer specific questions. Key to this process is coding of the data (transcripts). data collection and analysis can occur at the same time. Can be used with a wide variety of data including interviews, focus groups, and diaries.
- 72Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)Individuals personal perception or account of an object or an event. Naturally lends it self to psychological research, experience of illness etc, that is not captured by quantitative measures
- 73Grounded theory analysis
- 74Grounded theory analysis open codingCode each line using a description-e.g., describing an event (e.g., noise or a bright light), or a feeling
These labels should come from the data itself (i.e not something the researcher is looking for) - 75Grounded theory analysis Focused codesThen you start to identify the most frequent codes that emerge, and then go through the data again to produce a more focused set of codes (e.g., if feeling angry comes up a few times in response to an event, code “anger”.), If you find other focused codes that describe fear in relation to a specific event, then you have the code “fear”.
- 76Grounded theory analysis Higher level categoriesThen you can start to synthesise and integrate the data using these focused codes to produce higher level categories (e.g., “ reactions to stressful event”). These are the building blocks of your theory.
- 77Grounded theory analysis Constant comparative analysisYou then go onto compare these focused codes and categories across data from different participants or interview transcripts do the same codes emerge here?
- 78Grounded theory analysis Negative samplingsampling-looking for cases that don’t fit the categories-do you need to develop new ones?
Using notes to jot down your ideas in the process - 79Grounded theory analysis Theoretical samplingAs the categories develop you should then collect further data e.g., if quotes related to a particular category were a bit thin, participants were re-interviewed or new participants were found. Not always possible to include more sampling.
- 80Grounded theory analysis Theoretical SaturationPoint where collecting and coding the data doesn’t produce any new codes or categories. It is more of a goal, rather than a reality-more about theoretical sufficiency-where you are clear about what the high level categories are, and how they link together to form a theory.
- 81Grounded theory analysis Credibility Checking-this can be done by letting the participants view the categories ask them if they are representative of their experiences,
-asking colleagues, fellow researchers to provide FB on categories and the quotes that represent them .
Researcher should also keep a diary of reflections throughout the process. - 82IPA (Smith & Osborn, 2003)
- 83Limitations of Qualitative ResearchToo subjective
Researcher decides what to focus on
Difficult to replicate
Unstructured format
Problems of generalization
Samples not ‘representative’ of all cases
Lack of transparency
Often unclear what researcher actually did
Practical challenges
Time consuming
Willing and articulate participants - 84ValidityDoes a measure capture reality?
Are the effects being cause by a variable?
Can the results be generalised?
These aren’t so relevant in qualitative research - 85flexible generalisabilityWhere qualitative results can be transferred to other groups and contexts, the key thing is describing the specific people and contexts in the study, and the reader can apply these findings to other groups and context.
- 86ReliabilityIs the process of generating the same results when the same measures/experiments are administered by different researcher. Yet qualitative researchers acknowledge that the researcher will influence the research process , for example in how the researcher facilitates a discussion, the themes and categories identified in the analysis
- 87Sensitivity to contextRelevant Literature
Socio-cultural setting
P's perspective
Ethical issues
Empirical data - 88Commitment & RigourThrough data collection
Depth/breadth of analysis
Methodological competence - 89Impact & ImportancePractical/applied
Theoretical
Socio-cultural - 90Coherence & TransparencyClarify of argument
Fit between theory and method
Transparent nent methods and data
Reflexivity - 91Yardley (2000) developed criteria based on Health Psychology Research. Sensitivity to context
- 92IPA (Smith & Osborn, 2003) Main FeaturesWhat events/phenomena mean to the people experiencing them. A bottom up approach like grounded theory, but focuses on what experiences, events and emotional states mean to individuals-often used in health psychology. Also interpretative , in that it recognises that the researcher interprets what the participants are saying too. Tends to use closely defined samples, (e.g., a group experiencing a particular illness, or in the same situation/event), and semi-structured interviews.
- 93IPA (Smith & Osborn, 2003) MethodsNo single definitive way of doing IPA.
- 94IPA (Smith & Osborn, 2003) Processing transcriptsProcess similar to GT in that you make notes on each transcript, but you don’t need to do line by line coding-focus is on how each P’ interprets the experience
So start with P1, make notes and look for emergent themes. - 95IPA (Smith & Osborn, 2003) Method of Processing transcriptsLooking for anything interesting and relevant and writing comments on it. Can be done by paper and pencil, or highlighting sections of text. Summarise, para-phrase, look for similarities and differences.
- 96IPA (Smith & Osborn, 2003) ThemesThen write theme titles-should be higher level/more abstract, So looking at how themes connect with one another to form superordinate and subordinate themes- how themes cluster together.
Then go to the next participant do the same themes come up here (do more than half of Ps report this theme?), do we need to review them, add new ones? - 97IPA (Smith & Osborn, 2003) Table of themes and sourcesGoal is a final table, of themes, sub themes, and sources (quotes, referred to by page/line number). Present results as a narrative, discuss what this tells us about an individual’s experience of the world , relate to previous research. Tends to be more appropriate for interview or diaries because of the level of detail on personal experience that is required.
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- Year 1 Psychology-1B FlashCards sobre Qualitative Research Methods, criado por Isaac Gilbert em 28-02-2022.
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- Isaac Gilbert
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