psych research 2

what is qualitative research?

• aims to understand phenomena and uncover meaning

• e.g. exploring experiences or perceptions

• the data are non-numerical with a focus on answering open questions

what are qualitative methods useful for?

• a focus on language, the way things are represented in text or images

• interest in the persepctives, thoughts, feelings, sesnse making and individual experiences of people

• involves generating theories that are localised, context-specific and often emergent from the field

• allows in depth undersatnding of attitudes, emotions, opinions,experiences and arguments

what are the types of data generation and collection?

• interviews

• focus groups

• observation

• naturally occuring intercations

differnt qualitative analytic methods

• grounded theory

• content analysis

• thematic analysis

• IPA- interpreative phenomological analysis

• narrative analysis

• discourse anlaysis

• discursive psychology

• conversation analysis

methodological rigour in qualitative research

• trustworthiness- confidence in the data, interpretation and methods used

• credibility- trustworthy, comprehensive, and sesnible explanations

• dependability- coherence between methods and findings, and level of transparancy throughout research

• transferability- can the findings be transferred to other settings

• conformability- do findings and interpretations match views of the participants

‘small q’ qualitative research

• use of qualitative techniques but within a hypothetical-deductive framework

• a focus on objectivity and avoiding researcher bias

• concern with accuracy and reliability of coding

• strcutured codebooks of coding frames-which are then applied to the data

• multiple coders working independtly to code the data

‘big q’ qualitative research

• embraces resaercher subjectivity

• knowledge is bound by context

• processes tend to be flexible, interpreative and reflexive

• big q rejects notions of objectivity and context/researcher independent truths

• qualitiative resaerch is interpretative and therefore “coder relaibility” is reductive

what is reflexivity?

questioning how your own identities and experiences shape the research, how the methodology you have adopted shapes the project and reflection on the impact of your philosophical/theoretical beliefs

researchers must therefore understand their positioning or stance they are taking during their research.

philosophical positioning

• resaerchers need to reflect on how they view the world and understand reality

• your philosophical positioning relates to the lens through which you view and undertsand the world

• it impacts everything from your research question, to the methods you use, to the data collect, and how we interpret the data

what is ontology?

= what is reality?

• a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the assumptions we make about the nature of being, exsistence or reality.

• ontological assumptions shape the resaerch methods we choose and influence what we can explore

what is epistemology?

a brnach of philosophy that is concerned with questions about ehat consitutes valid knowledge and how we can obtain it- how we can know and what we can know

what is posistivism?

• Knowledge should come from observable, measurable facts

• Reality exists independently of us

• Science is the best way to discover truth

• Researchers should remain objective and unbiased

what is post-positivism?

developed as a critique of strict positivism

• humans can never know reality perfectly

• all observation is influenced by theories, culture, and bias

• scientific knowledge is always provisional and revisable

what is interpretivism?

algins with the ontological persepctive of relativism

• reality and meaning is understood from an individuals perspective

• knowleadge is subjective and formed at an individual level

what is constructivism?

aligns with the ontology of relativism

• there are knowledges NOT one knowledge of reality

• knowledge is constructed through social processes

• social and cultural processes influence what we know and the knowledge that is constructed:

• social

• cultural

• moral

• ideological

• political

what is social constructIONISM

• reality is a construct of social processes-laguage, culture and society

• knowledge is based on these social processes.

• focus on the social process

what is social constructIVISM?

• reality is based in social context- reciprocal between a person and their social context

• knowledge is grounded in social interactions, culture and history

• focus on the individual process

the research paradigm

ontology—>epistemology—>methodology—>methods

• methology- the research framework: the what, how and why of research

• the method used in research to collect and analyse the data.

how is sample sized determind?

In qualitative research sample size is determined by the researchers philospohical positioning or the philosophical underpinnings of the method

what are the types of reflexivity ?

• personal reflexivity - the researchers values

• functional reflexivity- methods and other aspects of design

• disciplinary reflexivity- pyschology, sociology, anthropology..

• discursive reflexivity- the role of the researcher

• epistemological reflexivity- theoretical assumptions, research questions, methods of data collection

how to demonstrate reflexivity?

• data triangulation: use multiple sources of data or multiple approaches to analysing data

• peer review, forming of a peer support network

• keep a diary or research journal for self supervisison

examples of relevant researcher positioning

• gender, ethnic background, affiliation, age, sexual orienttaion

• immigration status

• beliefs, biases, preferences

• theoretical, political and ideological stances

code of human research ethics

1. respect for the autonomy, privacy and dignity of indivual, groups and communities

2. scientific integrrity

3. social responsibility

4. maximising benefit and minimising harm

risks in qualitative research

• physical safety- loaction of study, nature of partciipant, threats posed by the findings

• emotional safety- sensitive topics, consider a care plan