Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methodologies

Epistemology

Study of knowledge and how we know.

What is knowable? What is worth knowing? How do we know what we know?

The study of how we go about knowing things,

how we know whether things are true or false, and what steps we need to take to gain knowledge of the world.

• Any view of the relationship between theory and practice implies an epistemological position

Ontology

the study of being and existence

Social scientists might ask ontological questions like

- Do social groups exist at all? How are they created?

- What is the nature of time in the social world? Is time experienced and conceptualized differently across cultures and societies

Methodology

Study of research methods and their application.

4 Elements in Research Project

- Methods

- Methodology

- Epistemology

- Ontology

Power Relations

- Reciprocal Relationships

- Asymmetrical Relationships

- Potentially Exploitative relationships

Reciprocal Relationships

• The researcher and the researched are in comparable social positions and have relatively equal benefits and costs from participating in the research.

Asymmetrical Relationships

• Those being studied are in positions of influence in comparison to the researcher.

Potentially Exploitative Relationships

• The researcher is in a position of greater power than the research participants.

Objectivity

1. Personal involvement between the researcher and other participants in the study.

2. Refers to the researcher's independence from the object of research.

-This implies that there can be no interactive relationship between the researcher and the process of data collection and interpretation.

Subjectivity

-Involves the insertion of personal opinions and characteristics into research practice.

-• Qualitative research gives emphasis to subjectivity because the methods involve social interactions.

Intersubjectivity

-the meanings and interpretations of the world created, confirmed, and disconfirmed as a result of interactions with other people.

• Collecting and interpreting qualitative information relies upon a dialogue between you and your participants.

• Critical reflexivity

Tearoom Trade Study

Laud Humphreys' controversial research on male sexual behavior.

Tuskegee Study

Unethical research on untreated syphilis in African American men.

Critical Reflexivity

Ongoing self-scrutiny of ethical research practices; Awareness of biases during research interactions.

Research Diary

Documenting reflexive observations during research.

Types of interviews

structured, semi-structured, unstructured

Structured Interviews

Standardized questions asked in a fixed order.

-Follow a predetermined and standardized list of questions. The questions are asked in almost the same way and in the same order.

• Question focused

Unstructured Interviews

• The conversation in these interviews is directed by the participant rather than by set questions.

• Content / participant focused

Semi-Structured Interviews

Flexible questions with some predetermined order.

- some degree of predetermined order but still ensures flexibility in the way issues are addressed by the participant.

• Informant focused

When to use structured interviews

-Comparability is crucial

->• Compare responses across multiple participants

->• Consistency

-Data collection needs to be systematic

->• You are working with a large sample and require standardized responses for analysis

-Reduce interviewer influence

->• Because all participants receive the same questions, there is less risk that the interviewer's tone or phrasing will shape responses

When to use Semi-structured interviews

-Exploring new or complex topics

->• The research area is not fully understood or you need in-depth insights

-Understanding individual perspectives is key

->• Participants have diverse experiences and / or positionalities

->• When rapport matters

-Flexibility is needed to follow up on emerging themes

->• If unexpected themes arise during the interview, the researcher can adjust questions to explore them further

Strengths of Interviewing

-fill a gap in knowledge that other methods, such as observation, are unable to bridge

-To investigate complex behaviours and motivations

-To collect a diversity of meaning, opinion, and experiences.

-When a method is required that shows respect for and empowers those people who provide the data.

Interview Guides

-A list of general issues you want to cover

• Usually associated with semi-structured forms of interviewing.

• A list of key words or concepts intended to remind you of discussion topics

• Advantages in its flexibility

• Disadvantage is that you must formulate coherent questions on the spot.

• Requires good communication skills and a great deal of confidence

• Some suggest that it isn't ideal for first time interviewers

- Oral history

-> Method of collecting historical information through interviews.

Interview Schedule

List of pre-prepared questions for structured interviews.

-A list of carefully worded questions

• Usually associated with structured, and sometimes, semi-structured interviewing.

• May be necessary to ask each question in the same way and in the same order to each participant.

• Greater confidence to the researcher

• Better comparisons between participants answers.

• Questions that are prepared before the interview and then read out formally may sound insincere, stilted, and out of place.

Good Interview Questions

-Use easily understood language that is appropriate to your participant

• Use non-offensive language

• Use words with commonly and uniformly accepted meanings.

• Avoid ambiguity

• Phase each question carefully

• Avoid leading questions

Types of Questions

Primary questions, secondary questions

Primary question types

- descriptive

- storytelling

- opinion

- structural

- contrast

- devil's advocate

Primary Questions

Opening questions used to initiate discussion on a new theme or topic.

Descriptive Questions

Inquire about factual information or experiences.

Storytelling Questions

Encourage participants to share personal narratives.

Opinion Questions

Ask for participant's thoughts or beliefs on topics.

Structural Questions

Explore different aspects of participant's experiences.

Contrast Questions

Compare hypothetical scenarios to elicit responses.

Devil's Advocate Questions

Challenge participant's views to provoke deeper thought.

Secondary Questions

Prompts for participants to elaborate on previous answers.

Order of questions

funnelling, pyramid

Funneling Order

Start general, then move to specific personal issues.

- Involves an initial focus on general issues, followed by a gradual movement towards more personal matters and issues specific to the participant.

Pyramid Order

Begin with easy questions, end with abstract ones.

Types of Prompts

- Formal secondary question

- Clarification

- Nudging

- Summary

- Receptive cues

Focus group

a carefully planned series of discussions designed to obtain perceptions on a defined area of interest in a permissive, non-threatening environment

- group interaction

- synergistic effect- Collective interaction enhances individual responses.

- Spontaneous responses

-Patterns

-Issue based discussion

-Participants usually have shared social and cultural experiences or shared particular areas of concern

Focus group Advantages

-Allows participants to explore different points of view and formulate and reconsider their own ideas and understandings

-May reduce the imbalance in power relationships btw the researcher and participants

-Allows researchers to access different forms of communication

-Offer possibilities to explore the gap btw what ppl say and what they do

Focus group limitations

-Doesn't allow each individual's perspective to come through equally

-Filtering

-Censoring

-Logistics

-Shallow

Sharing Circles

Sharing circles is an open-structured, conversational style methodology that respects story sharing within a Tribal cultural protocol context

Disadvantages/challenges of focus groups

-Silencing of individual voices

-Restricts ppl from disclosing personal info

-Lack of Indigenous examples and experiences

-Building rapport

-Risk limiting time spent storytelling

Participant Observation

-researcher actively engages in and observes the activities, behaviors, and interactions of a group or community to gain deeper insights into their culture, social dynamics, and experiences.

-Researcher's presence changes that setting

->Hawthorne effect

-If you see it w your own eyes, gives it its validity

Bernard's Five Reasons to use Participant Observation

1. Opening up the areas of inquiry to collect a wider range of data.

2. Reducing the problem of reactivity

3. Enabling researchers to know what questions to ask

4. Gaining intuitive understanding of the meaning of your data.

5. Addressing problems that are unavailable with other data collection techniques

Participant observation drawbacks

- Potentially and unpredictably time consuming.

- Highly 'practitioner- sensitive'

- Sometimes difficult to generalize from

Research Roles

1. Complete observer

2. Observer-as-participant

3. Participant-as-observer

4. Complete participation

Complete Observer

Researcher observes without participating.; behind a mirror

Observer-as-Participant

Presence of being there makes you a participant

E.g observing a protest from across the street

Participant-as-Observer

Researcher actively participates in the setting.

e.g being in the protest

Complete Participation

Researcher fully immerses in the environ/community; live amongst the ppl

Types of data collection

- observation notes

-> Very open to emergent data. Can be difficult to capture in some venues

- counts of specific observations

-> Provides data that can be used to identify norms, or make comparisons between events, times, individuals

- semi structured or structured interviews

-> Provides relevant data. Takes encounter into "research" mode and out of natural context

- casual conversations/informal interviews

-> Captures the data in vernacular and in context. May not be relevant

Strengths of ChatGPT in Academic Research

-ChatGPT's ability to process vast amounts of textual data in a short period

-ChatGPT can be utilized to analyse academic papers by scanning them and extracting important details such as the author(s), publication date, and significant findings

-Creation of summaries

-Generate research questions

Limitations & Ethical Concerns of AI

-Integration of false or biased information into papers, potentially leading to unintentional plagiarism or misattribution of concepts.

• Concerns persist that GAI can be influenced by the biases of their developers and training data, resulting in inaccuracies and incomplete knowledge.

• Income and privilege

• Lack of transparency