Qualitative Research Methods — Comprehensive Study Notes

Instructor and Context

  • Presenter: Cheryl Brewster, EdD, Professor and Senior Executive Dean, Access, Opportunity & Collaboration, College of Medicine, Roseman University of Health Sciences.
  • Session focus: Qualitative Research Methods and how QR differs from quantitative approaches.

Class Engagement

  • Slide shows a live poll: "One thing you do to safeguard your mental or physical health?" with options: Mental Health, SOLVE, DISCUSS, LOVE.
  • Response status: Nobody had responded yet at the moment shown; prompts to start the presentation to view live content.

Learning Objectives

  • Define what qualitative research is and what it isn’t.
  • Identify and discuss multiple data collection strategies.
  • Describe the most important features of qualitative research design.

Notable Quote

  • Quote by Albert Einstein:
    "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
    (Famous reflection on limits of measurement in research and understanding.)

What is Qualitative Method Research (QR): Methodology Overview

  • Qualitative research (QR) aims to explore, discover, understand or describe phenomena that have already been identified but are not well understood.
  • Seeks answers to a question.
  • Systematically uses a predefined set of procedures to answer the question.
  • Collects evidence.
  • Produces findings that were not determined in advance.
  • Produces findings that are applicable beyond the immediate boundaries of the study.

Key Characteristics of Qualitative Research

  • Typically uses words rather than numbers to describe findings; may include numbers but not required.
  • Assumes a dynamic reality.
  • Emphasizes seeing the world from the perspective of participants.
  • Emphasizes understanding rather than prediction.
  • Acknowledges subjective dimensions of human experiences.
  • Holistic rather than reductionistic.
  • Associated with the interpretive approach, which is discovery-oriented, explanatory, descriptive, and inductive in nature.

Methods of Data Collection

  • In-depth interviewing
    • Structured, semi-structured, or conversational.
    • Useful for follow-up and probing questions.
    • If unstructured, can generate large amounts of data.
  • Focus Groups
    • Qualitative approach where a group of respondents are interviewed together.
    • Aims to gain an in-depth understanding of social issues.
    • Data gathered from a purposely selected group rather than a statistically representative sample.
  • Additional Methods
    • Observation: data collection in a natural setting (e.g., community, workplace); overt or covert; researcher may be involved in the setting.
    • Visual sources: photos, film, video.
    • Documents: non-reactive data (newspapers, handwritten notes, websites, reports, diaries).
    • Diaries: kept in real time.
    • Historical data sources (e.g., StoryCorps on NPR).

Role of the Researcher

  • Maintain physical (and potentially emotional) proximity to research participants.
  • Demonstrate ‘theoretical sensitivity’; be insightful.
  • Perceive situations holistically.
  • Be sensitive to personal bias (reflexivity).

Qualitative vs Quantitative: Key Differences (Overview)

  • Types of questions:
    • Qualitative: Probing, open-ended.
    • Quantitative: Closed-ended, pre-defined answers.
  • Sample size:
    • Qualitative: Small/purposive.
    • Quantitative: Large/random.
  • Data per respondent:
    • Qualitative: Large quantities (rich, detailed data).
    • Quantitative: Smaller quantities (numerical data per respondent).
  • Analysis:
    • Qualitative: Subjective/interpretive.
    • Quantitative: Describes variation; describes and explains relationships; often statistical.
  • Type of Research:
    • Qualitative: Exploratory.
    • Quantitative: Descriptive or causal.
  • Data format:
    • Qualitative: Textual (from audiotapes, videotapes, field notes).
    • Quantitative: Numerical (responses assigned numerical values).

Example: Dolphins Case—Qualitative vs Quantitative Data

A marine biologist observes dolphins and records detailed observations over a month. Some observations are qualitative data, some are quantitative data. Which are qualitative?

  • Qualitative items:
    • Dolphin colors range from gray to white.
    • Dolphins have smooth skin.
    • Dolphins in a pod engage in play behavior.
  • Quantitative items:
    • There are nine dolphins in this pod. N = 9
    • Dolphins eat the equivalent of 4-5\% of their body mass each day. 4-5\%
    • The sonar frequency most often used by the dolphins is around 100\,\text{kHz}. 100\,\text{kHz}

Qualitative Cycle (Conceptual Model)

  • Elements shown: Question → Collect → Lit review → data → subjects (cycle is iterative and non-linear)
  • This cycle emphasizes the iterative nature of qualitative research where data collection and analysis influence each other and inform subsequent questions and sampling.

Reliability in Qualitative Research

  • Data triangulation: data are gathered using multiple sampling strategies.
  • Investigator triangulation: more than one observer in field situations.
  • Multiple triangulation: combination of multiple methods, data types, observers, and theories.
  • Methodological triangulation:
    • Within-method: varieties of data gathering techniques within the same method.
    • Between-method: different methods used.

Validity and Trustworthiness in Qualitative Research

  • Transferability: purposive sampling to illustrate pertinent issues and factors when comparing two contexts for similarity; thick descriptions to provide evidence for making judgments about similarities between cases.
  • Dependability: audit trails through the data.
  • Confirmability: audit shows connections between data and the researcher's interpretations.
  • Credibility: persistent observations; triangulation (data, methods, theories, investigations); member checks (data and interpretations tested with research participants).

Ethics of Qualitative Research

  • Core focus: interaction between researchers and the people studied.
  • Professional ethics additionally cover collaboration, mentoring, intellectual property, fabrication, and plagiarism.
  • NIH Clinical Center principles guiding ethical research:
    • Social and clinical value
    • Scientific validity
    • Fair subject selection
    • Favorable risk-benefit ratio
    • Independent review
    • Informed consent
    • Respect for potential and enrolled subjects

Ethical Checklist in Qualitative Research

  • Have I honored commitments about confidentiality and privacy?
  • Have I acted in the spirit of informed consent?
  • Have I used my research effectively and morally?
  • Have I generalized appropriately?
  • Do I have a responsibility to anticipate how others might use my research and explanations?

Informed Consent: Written and Oral

  • Written informed consent: a written form describing the research, signed to document consent to participate.
    • For illiterate participants: the form is read aloud, a mark is made, and a witness signs to attest authenticity.
    • Written consent may be described as documented informed consent.
  • Oral consent: consent is given verbally or in writing and then verbally; the participant does not sign a written form, often described as waiving documentation of informed consent. This does not waive the requirement for informed consent.

Pros and Cons of Qualitative Research

  • Advantages:
    • Understand in-depth motivations and feelings of the whole human experience as expressed by participants.
    • Complementary to quantitative approaches for answering the "why" questions.
    • Participants' reality is likely reflected in findings.
  • Limitations:
    • Perceived lack of objectivity and generalizability to the broader population.
    • Researchers become part of the research and may introduce bias.
    • Many qualitative studies cannot be easily replicated for various reasons (context, participants, methods).

Summary and Takeaways

  • Qualitative research is closer to the field and highly contextual.
  • It is not built on a single unified theory or method; there is variety and flexibility.
  • Data analysis can be iterative and may not strictly follow data collection; iterations are common between data gathering and analysis.
  • Major schools include grounded theory, ethnomethodology, narrative analysis, and ethnography; common element is an inductive approach (though deduction or prior questions are not ruled out).
  • Data collection methods include interviews, field notes, photographs, video, and unobtrusive data.
  • Generalization decisions should be planned in the research design with attention to sampling strategies.
  • Rigor in qualitative research is pursued through trustworthiness, authenticity, credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.