W9 Qualitative Research Methods

Flashcards for Qualitative Research Methods Lecture 1

Qualitative

An approach to research methods focused on exploration, using interviews, focus groups, and diaries to understand experiences, beliefs, behaviors, and narratives.

Quantitative

An approach to research methods that is hypothesis-driven, uses standardized and structured measures like questionnaires, and focuses on cause and effect relationships through the manipulation of variables.

Epistemology

The study of knowledge and how we know what we know.

Empiricism

A philosophical approach emphasizing the importance of observation and experimentation in acquiring knowledge; often associated with the scientific method.

Positivism

A perspective that our observations reflect reality and that objective truth can be discovered through scientific methods.

Social Constructivism

A perspective that knowledge and reality are constructed through social interactions and cultural contexts.

Phenomenology

A qualitative research approach focused on understanding the lived experience of individuals regarding a particular phenomenon.

Grounded Theory

An inductive research approach where theory emerges directly from the data collected.

Discourse Analysis

A qualitative research method that focuses on the content and organization of language, recognizing that language constructs social reality.

Experiential

Relating to or derived from experience.

Constructionism

The perspective that reality is mediated by social factors.

Contextualism

The understanding that truth is not universal but relative to context.

Big Q

An approach characterized by open-ended, inductive exploration of experience.

Small q

Non-numerical data collection.