HLSC 3P37 Term Test Review

How does mindfulness help as a qualitative researcher?**

it improves awareness, focus, and ethical sensitivity

What is qualitative research?

an approach to research that aims to understand and explain the meaning of things and their interrelationships in non-numeric terms

What are the eight characteristics of qualitative research?**

1) natural setting

2) researcher is the key instrument (data is co-produced)

3) multiple methods for data collection

4) complex reasoning (inductive/deductive)

5) focuses on participants meanings

6) emergent design (evolving)

7) researcher is reflexive

8) holistic account

What is inductive and deductive?

Inductive: starts with data then builds a theory (qualitative)

Deductive: starts with a theory, then tests it with data (quantitative)

What are 2-3 differences between qualitative and quantitative data? Give examples

Qualitative – words, images, the subjective

ex: I feel stressed when I use social media

Quantitative – numbers, logic, the objective

ex: I spend 3 hours per day on social media

What is objective and subjective?

Objective: information based on verifiable facts, data and evidence

Subjective: information based on personal opinions, emotions, and individual experiences (variable from person to person)

When do we use qualitative research?

Exploring an issue/problem

You need rich data/complex details

Understand why and how

Empower individuals

Explain how things work (mechanisms/processes)

Understand context

Develop theories

Why is qualitative research essential for public health?

Because public health is complex and requires methods that can capture that complexity

Qualitative research helps understand factors that influence human behaviour (to design interventions and policies)

Listening and understanding the people in the community who experience health inequalities and making sure they are prioritized

Sum: complex, behaviour, inequality

What is reflexivity?**

1) reflecting on our own assumptions, values, beliefs, experiences – including what they are and where they came from

2) the implications of these assumptions – on our thinking and our actions including how they affect our research

Why is reflexivity important as a qualitative researcher?**

it helps the researcher recognize their own biases and influence, improving credibility, ethical awareness, and the depth of understanding

What are the benefits of being reflexive before an interview?**

helps to recognize biases, ask clear and neutral questions, build rapport with participants, and prepare for ethical challenges

What is ontology, epistemology and methodology?

ontology: it questions “what is reality?” (what exists, what is real)

epistemology: it questions “how we know it?” (what exists, how do we gain knowledge)

methodology: it questions “how we study it?” (what methods should we use to understand reality and gain knowledge)

What are the four paradigms/worldview/philosophical perspectives

Positivist:

there is only one real truth out there and we can find it using science, facts, and measurements

knowledge comes from measurement

research aims for objectivity (it exists whether you believe it or nah)

the researcher is unbiased/external

Postpositivist: there is only one real truth but we can never actually know it perfectly (because of mistakes, inaccurate measurements, and biases)

Interpretive:

there is more than one truth/reality, people experience the world differently

reality is socially constructed (it depends on culture, feelings and experiences)

knowledge is created through experience

the researcher is apart of the process (knowledge is co-produced)

Critical:

reality and knowledge is shaped by power and inequality

research aims for social justice, not just understanding

the researcher takes a position

Postmodern:

the truth is unstable and shaped by language and power

they question who decided this truth, why do people believe it, and if reality is even stable

they think the truth is messy, and everything can be questioned

What is your worldview/paradigm? Where does it come from?**

I used to have a post positivist worldview, because

What’s the difference between methodology and methods? Give examples**

Methodology: the roadmap (ex: narrative study, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, case study, PAR)

Methods: the data collection tool (ex: interview, focus group, observation, document analysis?)

What are the six methodologies? Explain when to use them.

Narrative study: explores peoples stories

Phenomenology: to understand the essence of the experience

Grounded theory: to build a theory about a phenomenon of interest

Ethnography: to describe and interpret the shared patterns of a group or culture

Case study: to develop an in-depth analysis of a case or multiple cases in a bounded system

PAR: to engage participants in research process to study what’s important to them

What are the limitations of each methodology?

Narrative study

L: clearly understand participant’s multiple context, active collaboration with participants, reflects on the researchers own personal/political background

Phenomenology

L: understanding broader philosophical assumptions, its complicated, bracketing personal experiences in analysis, suspending researchers own assumptions

Grounded theory

L: set aside pre-existing theoretical ideas, allow substantive theory to emerge, determine when categories saturated, producing a theory

Ethnography

L: understanding, time consuming, researcher may become too involved

Case study

L: consider single or multiple cases, rationale for sampling strategy, decide boundaries or constraints of case

PAR

L: conflicts are unavoidable in community-engaged work, difficult to negotiate power imbalance in research process - who is the expert, time consuming

If you are interested in exploring the cultural practices of older adults living in a long term care home, what methodology would you use?

Ethnography

Which qualitative methodology is best suited when we know very little about something and will use the study to identify new concepts and theories that emerge from the data.  

Grounded theory

Which qualitative methodology is most suitable for the following study?
The purpose of this study is to understand the essence of the lived experience of stress among university students.

Phenomenology

Which approach/methodology best suited for studying the life history of an older person?

Narrative study

What does the term saturated mean?

when no new information is drawn out during data collection

What is emic and etic?

Emic: insiders, understanding a group from the perspective of the people in it

Etic: outsiders, studying a group from the researcher’s point of view

What is confirmation bias?

the researchers tendency to seek out and interpret information that confirms their own pre-existing beliefs

What is social desirability bias?

the participant says what they think the researchers want to hear

What are the elements of a research study?

1) Background factors: needs (problems, purpose, questions) + research paradigms/worldview

2) Selection of methodology: quantitative / qualitative(6) / mixed methods

3) Conducting research: designing research

What are the six steps of the qualitative research process?

1) general topic: the research topic is generally selected by personal/social interest, an issue/group that is poorly misunderstood, from the community, gaps in literature, and advisors research agenda.

2) literature review: the literature review typically gives a background of what we already know (prevalences, seriousness, etc.), any existing theories and any useful topics.

3) design: the design includes a detailed outline of how the research study will take place. This includes the research purpose, research questions, methodology, methods, and analysis strategy.

4) data collection

5) analysis and results

6) writing and dissemination (revise the literature)

How do you write a purpose statement?

The purpose of this ____tradition of inquiry (methodology/paradigm)____ study is to ____understand/describe/develop/discover/explore____ the ____central phenomenon/topic of the study____ for ____unit of analysis(participant).

Ex: the purpose of this narrative study is to describe students journey from studying public health to working in the field.

Ex: the purpose of this case study is to understand the experience of mindfulness training on university students.

What’s the difference between a purpose statement, research question and an interview question?**

Purpose Statement – Explains the overall goal of the study and what the research intends to accomplish.

• It is broad, usually 1–2 sentences, and often begins with “The purpose of this study is…”.

Research Question – The main question the study aims to answer.

• It is more specific, guides data collection and analysis, and there may be one or multiple research questions.

Interview Questions – The questions asked to participants in order to collect data that will help answer the research question.

• These are usually open-ended so participants can describe their experiences in detail.

What should be considered at the start of a research question?

Is this a problem that research can address?

Is a qualitative approach appropriate?

What are the key concepts of interest?

Refine to ensure answerable within proposed project

What are the two kinds of research questions?

Central question (one): the broadest question

Sub-questions (multiple): more narrow - break down major issue into subtopics

What are major areas of ethical concern in qualitative research?

Unpredictable research – unexpected situations can arise.

Researcher–participant relationship – boundaries and power dynamics.

Study design – ethical issues with methods (e.g., covert observation).

Participant disclosures – participants may reveal abuse or crimes.

Witnessing unethical behaviour – researcher observes wrongdoing (e.g., by staff).

What are the three key ethical principals?**

Autonomy: respect for persons, protecting human rights

Beneficence: doing good for others and preventing harm

Justice: obligation to treat people fairly and equitably

What is research ethics board’s (REB) main focus/concern?**

Recruitment

Letter of consent

Risks

Confidentiality

What is snowball sampling?

when the researcher asks participants to refer other people they know who would help answer the research question.

What is a pseudonym?

a participant is assigned a fake name (a pseudonym) to help with confidentiality and support the ethical principle of beneficence

What is an interview?

A one on one interview between the participant and the researcher often to gain insight of the participants experiences, thoughts, or perspectives

What are strengths and limitations of interviews?**

S: provides rich data, can generate new/previously unconsidered insights, and is a flexible/conversational style (trusting)

L: rely’s on what people say, not the actual behaviour, doesn’t show how people interact, and can be time consuming

What are four types of interview questions?

Essential questions: the central focus of the study developed from the research questions

Extra questions: similar to the essential questions but worded in a different way to ensure reliability of the responses

Probing questions: to draw out more in-depth information

Rapport building questions: used to build a relationship at the beginning and cool down at the end

What types of interview questions should be avoided?

Closed ended

Leading

Double barreled

Emotionally worded

What are some challenges of interviews?

Dealing with sensitive topics

Unexpected behaviour

Researchers own position and actions

Question phrasing

Keeping the interview on track

What are the four types of probing?

“What” questions

Silent probe

Echo probe

The uh-huh probe

What’s a focus group?

Similar to an interview but there is usually 5-10 participants and one researcher which uses the interactions between participants to understand something.

What are strengths and limitations of focus groups?**

S: quick and convenient, identifies social/cultural norms, to get more clarity on topics, to observe relationships ad power dynamics within the group, allows some sensitive topics to easily discussed, and are more natural then interviews

L: self serving response, social desirability bias, recall error, lack of awareness, need to explain verbally

What are the challenges of focus groups?

Power dynamics within the group

Confidentiality

Managing conflict

Timing

Staying on topic

What are recommended skills of a moderator?

People person

Patience

Open-minded

An active listener

Isn’t a expert on the topic

flexible and spontaneous

Humorous

What’s the difference between an interview and a focus group?**

Interview = one person, deep individual answers

Focus group = several people, group discussion and interaction

What is observation?

a research method where the researcher watches and records people’s behaviors, actions, or interactions in their natural setting.

What are strengths and limitations of observations?**

S: shows people behaviour, occurs in the natural setting, captures rich and detailed data

L: observation bias, people may change their behaviour if they know they’re being watched, time-consuming, ethical concerns

What are the three stages of observation?

1) Entry

2) Data collection

3) Exit

What do we want to observe?**

The physical setting

The participants

Activities and interactions

Conversations

Subtle factors

Researchers behaviour

What are three ways to record observation?

Systematically

On-site and post observation

Written field notes

When do we start analyzing data in qualitative research?

As soon as we start the data collection process

What’s the purpose of organizing and reorganizing data?

To really familiarize yourself with the data

To reduce the volume of data (by categorizing it)

To find significant patterns

To identify/examine the meanings

To develop an explanation – the essence what the data revealed

To answer your research question

What is data analysis?

a process of meaning-making used to generate findings and answer a research question

What are the three phases of data analysis?

1) Open Coding: to identify major themes (sort into large groups)

2) Focused/Axial Coding: to look at each major theme to find sub themes (break down the large groups into smaller groups)

3) Interpretation/Conceptualization: to make connections to explain what data reveals/means (interpret and hypothesize the meanings of the findings)

What are the two types on concepts we look for when analyzing data? Explain.

Sensitizing concepts: concepts the researcher brings to the data based on theories or literature review at the beginning of the study. Essential points that you asked with your research and interview questions. More deductive.

Indigenous concepts: concepts that were brought by theparticipants, emerge during analysis, capture essence of their experiences. Don’t ignore unexpected/surprising concepts emerged from the data. Moreinductive.

What are codes?

labels, keywords, or tags of data attached to words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs (mostly descriptive)

What are three types of codes? Explain

1) In-vivo codes: coding the exact words of the participants

2) Priori codes: codes based on pre-existing concepts and from research questions (sensitizing concepts)

3) Researcher-generated codes: created by the researcher (indigenous concepts)

What is memoing?

The researchers record on analysis, thoughts, interpretations, questioning and directions for further data collection

What is context?

the circumstances that form the setting of the phenomenon (where, what, when)

What should you look for when interpreting the data?

Search for both manifest and latent content. Search for recurrent patterns, multiple layers of meanings, variations and interconnections. Then carefully interpret what it really means in this context.

Manifest: on the surface/easy observable

Latent: below the surface

-  Sometimes, what people say and what they mean might be different, so we need to interpret the meaning conveyed by the message in context.

-  Ex: she said “yes”, but after a long pause and a big sigh…

What is conceptualization (aka phase 3)?

Moving beyond description to explanation

It involves interpretation of data and making inferences by shifting yourself into a speculative mode of thinking (what, why, how)

What’s the difference between qualitative and quantitative INTERPRETATION?

Quantitative: linear assumptions to specify isolated independent and dependent variables (A causes B, B causes C, etc.)

Qualitative: holistic assumptions to understand activities in a specific context (A and B came together to create C in case 1, but A and B came together to create D in case 2, etc.)

What are 6 ways to create a visual representation of your findings?

Tree diagrams

Concept charting

Flow chart

Modeling

Conditional matrix

Multi-level typology

What is triangulation?

using other data to cross check data and findings

What are gatekeepers?

Individuals or groups who hold the power to grant or deny access to a research setting or to specific participants

What does the book “the immortal life of Henrietta lacks” teach out about qualitative research?**

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” teaches important lessons for qualitative research. It highlights the need for ethical practices, including informed consent, and shows how researchers’ actions impact participants and their families. The book demonstrates the value of understanding participants’ personal, social, and cultural contexts to collect rich, meaningful data. It also emphasizes being aware of power dynamics and building trust, reminding researchers to approach their work with empathy and responsibility.