Lec 10 - Understanding Qualitative Research

Qualitative Research

• Captures human experience in more nuanced and contextual ways

• Descriptive, involving data collection through interviews and observations

• About stories and narratives of participants related to a certain topic

Narrative

• Study of 1-2 individuals and their experiences as told to the researcher or found in documents and archival material

  • What happened?

• Reconstruction of someone’s life

Analysis of Narrative

• Use of paradigm thinking to describe themes

Auto Ethnography

• Written or recorded by individuals who are telling their stories

Life History

• Portrays an individual’s entire life

Narrative Analysis

• Description of events, storyline, or events significant to a particular individual

Oral History

• Gathering of personal reflections, events, causes, and effects from an individual

Phenomenology

• Describe the meaning of lived experiences for several individuals about a concept or phenomenon

• Describes common experiences of a phenomenon

  • What and how did they experience the phenomenon?

Grounded Theory

• Researcher moves beyond description

• Generate or discover a theory that relates to a particular situation

• Situation is one in which individuals interact, take actions, or engage in a process to a phenomenon

• Generates an explanation of a process, action, or interaction.

  • How did it happen?

Ethnography

• Originates from Anthropology

• Intent to determine how the culture works rather than understanding a problem

  • What is the culture of this group of people?

• An interpretation of a social or culturalgroup or system’s observable and learned patterns of behavior, habitual customs, ways of life, social structure, and symbolic meaning

Case Study

• A case refers to a program, event, activity, or individual

  • Bounded by time and space

  • Can come from one site or multi-site

  • Appropriate for understanding individuals, institution and culture, and systems within the natural setting

• Study of an issue explored through one or more cases with a bounded system over time through detailed, in-depth data collection, involving multiple sources of information

Saturation

• Point where sufficient information is obtained from the field*

• No new insights is being collected

Maximum Variation

• Get the perspective of individuals with diverse experiences or variations

• Maximizing the different characteristics of the participants

Homogenous Selection

• Get participants with similar experiences

Theory-Based Selection

• Recruit participants who represent a theoretical construct or are known to be able to contribute to an evolving theory

Confirming/Disconfirming

• Recruit participants who can support or challenge the interpretation of the theory

  • Help solidify the theoretical premise that you have

Extreme/Deviant Case

• Recruit participants who represent an extreme example of a phenomenon

Typical Case

• Recruit participants who typify or represent the average

Direct Observation

• Careful watching, listening, and recording of events, behaviors, and activities in the social setting under study

• Noting a phenomenon by a sensitive and trained person

• Researcher keeps an observation record or field notes

• Prolonged and may be obtrusive or unobtrusive

• Researchers may be non-participant or complete participant

• Allows to see how things really are and check with insiders to confirm insights, understandings, and explanations

Qualitative Interview

• Capture informant’s perspectives on topics or issues of relevance in their lives

• Elicit the stories, views, opinions, and perspectives of participants

• Learn about what is important in the mind of the informants

• The interviewee is the expert as the researcher probes and obtains detailed information

• Requires intellect, listening, and interpersonal skills

• Recorded through audio or video, and written notes

Focus Group Interviews

• Bring together small groups to provide data about a specific topic

• Advantage:

  • Data arise from the dynamic interaction of the group

• Pitfall:

  • Groupthink; agree or disagree with whatever is voiced by one or two persons

• Facilitator has a key role of making sure all members of the group are heard

• Conflicting opinions are supported or encouraged

Examining Documents or Objects

• Gather existing and available data

• Considered in context and integrated with findings from other data sources

• Ensure that the objects answer the research purpose and question

• Examples:

  • Field notes, diaries, memos, letters, office records, meeting minutes

Examining Audio or Visual Materials

• Audio and visual materials may also be examined

Data Recording Procedures

• Obtain consent for recording

• Qualitative data can be very large

• Must be systematic and organized in filing, storing, and retrieving data

Trustworthiness

• Counterpart term for validity and reliability.

• Can also be referred as authenticity or credibility

• Come up with the quality of findings

  • Logical connections in research process 

• Increase reader’s confidence in the study’s findings

Credibility

• Produce a true picture of the phenomenon

  • Results should be believable and truthful

  • Done through:

    • Well-developed research methods

    • Operationalizing the phenomenon of interest

    • Clear sampling methods

    • Training and expertise

• Are the findings well-presented and meaningful?

Transferability

• Knowledge that can be evaluated for its potential relevance across setting

• Thick, rich, and detailed descriptions of participant and setting

  • Allows readers to determine if they can apply the findings to a group of people with similar characteristics

• Uses purposive sampling

Dependability or Reliability

• How stable is your data over a span of time?

• Degree that the study can be replicated with similar results

• Consistency between data and findings

• Established through:

  • Checking of transcripts

  • Audit trail

  • Peer review

  • Triangulation 

Confirmability

• Ensures that as much data as possible that findings are due to the experiences, ideas, and perspectives of participants

• Established through:

  • Minimization of bias

  • Reglexivity

  • Asking a colleague to check decision points

  • Audit trail

  • Triangulation

Multiple data gatherers

• 2 or more trained data gatherers

• Allows comparison and reconciliation of differences

Audit Trail

• Part of research field notes

• Explains how results were obtained and the thinking and action processes involved in making decisions

Member checking

• Asking informants to check for accuracy of interpretations, validate findings, and give feedback and critique or offer alternative explanations

Reflexivity

• Self-examination of the researchers

• Describes the extent of the researchers’ knowledge perspective, thinking process on interpretations, and data collection decisions

• Clarifies bias and creates an honest and open narrative that resonates with the readers

Data Triangulation

• Use of different sampling strategies and sources to compare and cross-check the consistency of information, obtaining a diverse view of the phenomenon

  • Time: different intervals

  • Space: 2 or more settings

  • Person: different individuals or groups

• Confirms and captures a broad view of the phenomenon

• Coherent justification for the themes based on the convergence of sources

Researcher Triangulation

• 2 or more researchers are involved in the analysis

Theoretical Triangulation

• 2 or more theoretical perspectives with the same data to understand how the findings are affected by different assumptions and principles

Methodological Triangulation

• 2 or more research methods or approaches in one study

Peer debriefing or review

• More than one investigator

  • Each does independent analysis

  • Together, has an examination of areas of agreement or disagreement

• One investigator

  • External analyzer

  • Panel of experts or advisors