Qualitative Research Methodology and Ethics Flashcards

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering key methodological issues, ethical considerations, and rigor in qualitative research studies.

Integrating interviews and documents

A methodological issue involving the difficulty of combining micro (experiences) and macro (policies) data.

Lack of triangulation

A situation that results in reduced credibility because findings rely on a single data source.

Snowball sampling

A limitation in research that produces similar participants, leading to a lack of diversity and sampling bias.

Analysis issue

A common problem where identified themes are not clearly supported by data or examples.

Treating all perspectives equally

A research problem that ignores power dynamics and structural inequalities.

Weak integration of findings

Occurs when conclusions are not clearly connected to the data.

Observation in public/semi-public spaces

An activity where the main ethical issue is the lack of informed consent from those being observed.

Confidentiality

The practice of protecting participants’ identities and personal information.

Narrative/life stories risk

A specific research method where participants may be identifiable, posing a confidentiality risk.

Emotional harm

Distress caused to participants by discussing sensitive topics such as eviction.

Power imbalance

An unequal relationship between the researcher and participants that may affect the responses provided.

Credibility

A concept in qualitative research referring to how accurate and believable the findings are.

Methods to improve credibility

Techniques including triangulation, member checking, and providing strong evidence from data.

Transferability

A measure of whether research findings can apply to other contexts.

Thick description

Detailed context provided in research to improve the transferability of findings.

Reflexivity

The researcher’s awareness of their own influence on the study.

Interviews

A data collection tool used for deep insights (strength) but which is subjective and prone to possible bias (limitation).

Observation

A method used to study real behavior (strength) but which cannot be used to access thoughts (limitation).

Documents

Data sources providing access to official discourse or history (strength) that may be biased or incomplete (limitation).

Focus groups

A method providing multiple perspectives (strength) where dominant voices may control the discussion (limitation).