qualitative studies and qualitative design

interactive interviewing

individual interviews, focus groups

collection of artifacts

the values, beliefs, and behaviors of the group that produced them.

written descriptions by participants

people are asked to write descriptions of their experiences of the phenomenon

observation

descriptive observations of verbal and nonverbal behavior

coding qualitative data

includes ongoing/reflection on ideas, insights, feelings of participants

naturalistic setting

spend bulk of time in the field observing and interviewing subjects in THEIR OWN environment

• identifies intangible factors: social norms, gender roles, social context of events

prolonged engagement

researcher spends A LOT OF TIME in the field developing a deep understanding of the environment and forming a bond with the participants

persistent observation

gathering data at different times, in different places, from different people

Lincoln and Guba

if prolonged engagement provides scope, persistent observation provides depth

intrinsic case study research design

explores UNIQUE case about that exact thing

ex: studying your own dog to learn about his behavior

collective case study research design

elements from several similar cases are combined to create the case

• allows an even more in-depth understanding of the issue to be developed

ex: studying habits of family dog, plus friends dog, plus my neighbors dog, all at the same time

instrumental case study research design

selects a single case from a group of cases that when explored will help develop general understanding of the group

ex: studying your dog to learn about ALL dog behaviors

focused ethnography research design

study culture from member’s POV to gain subjective understanding of behavior

gatekeeper

often used to gain entrance into this group; researcher must find a member of the group who will guide the researcher and make an introduction to the group—takes time to build trust with the group

key informant

someone that has special knowledge of the group or a special relationship withthe group-researcher would use the key informant to EXPLAIN certain aspects of the groups behavior and communication patterns in more detail

triangulation of data

used TO VERIFY the information the key informant shares-combines varying sources of evidence, the data yields credible findings

phenomenological research design

researcher’s goal is to develop understanding of through the people who have lived through certain event/situation/experience

reflective bracketing

researchers INTENTIONALLY put aside their own knowledge, experiences and feelings to allow only the participants’ experiences and interpretation to guide the research process

lived experiences

heavily focused on collecting data from first person experiences

• researcher combines the shared understanding and the multiple perceptions of the individual to uncover the meaning of event, life, situation or experience

low inference data

raw, objective, and observable information recorded without interpretations, judgment, or subjective bias

ex: low inference ‘10 students were present’ vs high inference ‘the class was engaged’

grounded theory research design

develop a theory about a process, action or interaction, shaped by the views of participants while observing

ex: learning how to play UNO while watching them play instead of reading the manual

open coding

reading through information, then breaking it down to smaller pieces through organization

ex: ‘running’, ‘swings’, ‘talking’, ‘tag’, ‘friends’

axial coding

organized themes and catergories, making it easier to understand the big picture of the reserach

ex:

group 1: physical activities (running, swings, tag)

group 2: socializing (talking, friends)

selective coding

overall picture of the data

ex: activities kids do during reccess