RHMS - lecture 5 - qualitative design and data collection

what is qualitative research

• form of social inquiry that focuses on the way people make sense of their experiences of life and the world in which they live.

  • behaviour

  • feelings

  • experiences

  • perspectives

difference quantitative and qualitative research

• hypothesis is only in quantitative research, not in qualitative! (do not know before what you will find)

four aims of qualitative research

• explore - seeks to explore what is happening

• describe - to provide a picture of a phenomena as it naturally occurs

• explain - explains and accounts for the descriptive information

• interprete - explores peoples experiences and views

deductive and inductive reasoning

what 4 steps are supposed to be in your research proposal

• epistemology → definition; the study of knowledge itsef. how we know what we know 

• theoretical perspectives → the overarching stance that guides the research (which lens are you looking through) 

• methodology → the plan that links the theoretical perspective to the actual methods (what strategy will you use)

• methods → specific techniques and tools that will be used

wheel of critical choices 

• 1st circle epistomology (represent your epistemological stance

• 2nd ring theoretical perspectives 

• 3rd circle is the methods

• 4rth circle is the analysis 

major research paradigms to know (positivism, interpretivism, critical enquiry, pragmatism) 

• positivism → the world is external and objective (can be measured)

• interpretivism → the world is socially constructed and subjective

• critical enquiry → need to questions values and assumptions 

• pragmatism → reality is complex, and what matters is what works in practice

cascade when choosiing a research approach

sampling in qualitative data 

• not randomized

• purposeful and criterion based

• choose target population → study population → then choose the sampling frame

  • target population →

  • study population →

  • sampling frame →

differnet sampling

• availability / convenience sampling → just ask on instagram, if someone wants to participate

• purposive sampling → researcher purposely selects the respondents because they satisfy specific inclusion and exclusion criteria.

• quota sampling → try to get the same kind of population (age, sex, ect.)

• respondent-assisted sampling / snowball → from one patient to another.

examples purposive sampling

• typical case sampling

• extreme or deviant case sampling

• maximum variation sampling

• intensity sampling

• homogenous sampling

• snowball sampling

• statified purposeful sampling

• random purposeful sampling

• critical case sampling

• sampling politically important cases

• criterion sampling

• theoretical sampling

• confirming or disconfirming case sampling

• opportunistic samplig

survey study

• questionnaire → open questions

• drawing a representative sample from the population

• generating both qualitative and quantitative data

• generalizability of results

how a survey study should look

interview study

• To understand experiences, attitudes, values and processes

• To attain highly personalized data

• When opportunities for probing are required

• When a good return rate is important

• When respondents are not fluent in the native language of the country, or where they have difficulties with written language

various interview studies

• open → flexible, no fixed questions

• semi-open → has guiding questions but allows flexibility

• structured → highly standardized, fixed set of questions in the same order

• in depth → long, detailed one on one conversations

• narrative → encourages participants to tell their story in their own words

how does interview fit the phenomological approach

• phenomological → philosophy of experience 

• Producing thick descriptions of participants experiences

• Seeks subjective accounts and interpretations of participants

• Constructivist, using qualitative data

• Relatively less structured, inductive (although thorough understanding of related theories and concepts gives structured guidelines)

narrative studies

• a qualitative research method that explores how people make sense of their experiences by analyzing stories, or narratives.

• type of interview study

observational study methods

• observational methods provide data on phenomena (such as behaviour), as well as on people’s accounts of those phenomena

• can be purely observational or actively involve the researcher

• can be covert or overt

covert versus overt observational observation

• overt → those being observed are aware the observation is taking place

• covert → those being observed are unaware the observation is taking place

what is non-participant (naturalistic) observation

• often a deep and long term engagement in the field

• field notes are most common data tool

• researcher hidden

data gathering process

what is ethnography

• A qualitative research method that seeks to understand cultural phenomena that reflect the knowledge and meanings that guide the life of cultural groups within their own environment.

• focuses more on culture instead of individual

• old way of doing research

• both descriptive and interpretive

• data may involve observation, interviews and documents

• an outsider perspectives for insider knowledge.

guidelines for ethnography (for fieldwrok)

• be invisible

• data collection is co-prodcution between researvher and participant

• researcher is a miner (data already there), or a traveller (data will emerge through the journey)

  1. Select the field: nature of the setting may define before the start, but ethnographic data can help define the research problem

  2. Gain access: consider gatekeepers & hurdles

  3. Gain informed consent

  4. Become ‘invisible’ for full immersion

  5. Build rapport with key informants

  6. Maintain a balance between ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ status

  7. Get out: physically and emotionally disengage

ethnographic data collection

• phase 1 → In-depth interviews to patients focused on obtaining insights regarding patients’ attitudes to cope with the disease

• phase 2 → Ethnographic interviews to patients and healthcare professionals focused on understanding the patients’ journey and unmet needs throughout the disease according to differ-ent attitudinal profiles.

ethonographic interviewing tips

• listen well and respectfully → develop ethical engagement with participants 

• acquire a self awareness of your role in the construction of meaning within the interview process 

• be aware of the ways in which both the ongoing relationship and broader social contexts affect participants

• recognize that what emerges from the interview is only partial knowledge.

what is a focus group

• An organized discussion with a selected group of individuals with the aim of eliciting information about their views

• Generate a range of views and stimulate interactions and discussions between participants

key to succesful focus grouo

• participants contribute equally

• participants feel comforable

• the moderators questions mimic a natural exchange

aim of focus group

• Consolidating old knowledge

• Gaining insight on different perspectives & interaction within a group

• First diverge (looking for contrast) and then converge

• handy when you want to generate new ideas

positives of doing a focus group

• the low-cost way of collecting data, but require a considerable amount of cooperation and enthusiasm from participants

funneling approach of focus groups

start very broad

limitations focus groups

• Moderators have less control or influence over processes and outcomes

• Challenging to locate participants and persuade them to respond

• Sample is often one of convenience

• Not conducive to confidentiality

• Moderators can contaminate results

what is visual research

• capacity to interpret the world through our sense of sight. help to provide insights into difficult, emotional, sensitive issues and experiences 

• photographs

• video

• websites

• images

• podcast

when do you use visual data

• Be used at any stage of research

• Provide a means of getting inside a programme

• Bridge psychological and physical realities

• Allow for combining visual and verbal language

• Assist in building trust and rapport

• Produce unpredictable data

• Promote longer and more detailed interviews

• Be used in conjunction with other methods

advantage visual data

• Allows for a more sophisticated understanding of the nature of cultures and their complex networks of interrelationships

• It may be less restrictive than other methods where faulty recall may generate bias

• Capture a wide range of voices in real-time

• Draw attention to the embodied identity of the researcher and force the researcher to empathize

challenges visual data

• Significant resource requirements (time, money and technical expertise)

• The danger of respondent fatigue/withdrawal

• Ethical issues around the covert observation

• May only capture a version of reality, not objective reality → challenging to determine meaning and context