Unit 5 - Qualitative research

what is qualitative research

- describes the complex nature of humans

- how individuals perceive their own experience

- use the participants' own words and narratives

overall goal of qualitative research

understand the human experience, obtaining descriptions from research participants (not numerical)

setting can be

natural = school or workplace

hypothesis

research (not statistical)

questions are

open-ended...no fixed selection of answers...not constrained to limited set of options

advantage

research participants provide own perspectives

limitations

- does not establish cause and effect

- does not generalize to a population (small sample size)

- less researcher control of variables...participant defined

- responses not categorized

quantitative research

- larger sample size-> more convenient

- little collection of subjective info

- well controlled setting (researcher could still apply numerical in natural setting tho too)

aim of quantitative

generalize findings to larger group

- little influence by research participant

research questions quant are

driver by researcher

qualitative must still be valid meaning they are not leading to a particular

answer

reflexivity

analyzing and critically considering our own role in, and effect on, our research

- the researcher self-monitors role in information gathering

- why? maintain objectivity, ethical standards, research integrity

- less of a risk with quantitative research

qualitative research concerns

- non-genuine responses (truthfulness) responses from participants

- validity

how to address reflexivity concerns

triangulation

triangula

the use of multiple methods to study one research question

- obtain same information form different approachers

triangulation confirms concepts using more than one

- source of info

- data collection method

- set of researchers

- conclusions should be the same

bottom up =

inductive reasoning

in bottom up researcher uses

personal experiences and observations for problem identification

bottom up examples

domestic abuse, eating disorders, academic success

inductive reasoning

- formulate research questions from empirical information....direct observation

- generalize to population

inductive example

"I earned a BSc degree and can't find a job, so BSc degrees do not help in finding jobs"

inductive process

formulate theory->explore themes/patterns->gather info

top-down =

deductive reasoning

in top-down researcher uses

theory or generalized research findings for problem identification

deductuve reasoning

- formulate question from theory

- generalizing to the individual

deductive reasoning example

"in theory, or generalized pattern, show that obtaining a BSc degree leads to higher level employment, so i will have a high level employment if I earn a BSc degree"

deductive process

make theory-based prediction->gather info->confirm/reject

can combine deductive->inductive then generalize

conclusions to population

naturalistic inquiry

- substantial observation in the subjects natural environment

- phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory

ex. jane Goodall, dian Fossey

phenomenology

- drawing meaning from complex realities

- info gathered from 1st person narratives

first identify key terms to investigate

second narrow specific types of the major items

ethnography

- study of attitudes, beliefs, behaviours

- examining a specific group of people within a social context

role of reasearcher in ethnography

- immerse into the participants way of life

- examining social factors that shape behaviour

- new questions emerge as information is collected

ex. writer posed as high school student

grounded theory

- developping theories from direct observations

- uses inductive reasoning..theories "grounded" in observations

process of grounded theory

- collection, coding (transcribing notes), and analysis

- involvement of...quantitative approaches

- concepts not based on preconvceived hypotheses

- constant comparative analysis

- as info is gatherd...examined for agreement or disagreement with other ideas

- ongoing theory refinement...as more info is gathered-not haphazard approach just keep open mind

what constitutes expert practive in psychotherapy

virtue, clinical reasoning, knowledge...establishes competency to expert practice

for quantitative establish measurement

error (data variability)

qualitative research establish "judgements".. how variable are peoples

perceptions, attitudes, etc.

internal validity

credibility and truth

external validity

transferability

reliablity

consistency, dependability

be wary if exactly the same cuz could be problem w

tool

participant observations

- describing the individual experience as it is lived by the individual

- researcher..embedded into a group or environment

- researcher..becomes a participant

problems with participant observations

- observations may be inherently biased

- researchers own pre-conveived notions, philosophy, attitudes

- sub-conscious focus on events, occurrences that align with own attitudes

interviews

- direct contact between researcher and participant

- focus groups

- structured interview..broad script, guiding discussions through questions..knowledgeable and skilled researcher