L6, 7 & 8 - Qualitative Research - Approaches, Methods and Analysis Flashcards

1
Q

What is a mixed methods approach?

A

Combining qualitative and quantitative research to reach a position.

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2
Q

What is convergence/triangulation?

A

Combining approaches of data collection, increasing the reliability/validity of a finding or answering a broader question.

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3
Q

What is an embedded, mixed method approach?

A

Qualitative and quantitative research occur simultaneously. Aims to increase the validity of the findings.

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4
Q

What is an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach?

A

Starts with quantitative research then switches to qualitative research.

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5
Q

What is an exploratory mixed methods approach?

A

Start with qualitative research, explore a theory and then test it with quantitative.

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6
Q

Why would you take a mixed methods approach?

A
  • Emancipation - raising qualitative research to allow their ‘voice to be heard’
  • Practicality - which is logistically more convenient/fits best in the available time or resources/won’t recruit a big enough group.
  • Salvaging - switching methods because its ‘gone wrong’ - i.e. switching from quant to qual if you don’t have enough responses.
  • Increase validity
  • Development
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7
Q

Social Constructionism - Methodology

A
  • Looks at how people use language and discourse to construct knowledge
  • Not concerned with what people think
  • Examines how acts are constructed through talk
  • Identify the ways that participants construct categories in their talk
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8
Q

Phenomenology - Methodology

A
  • Linked to psychology and the individual human experience
  • How has their experiences influenced their understanding of the world
  • Uses small samples
  • Takes only the perspective of the participant - the interviewers experiences should be ‘bracketed out’
  • Heidegger - advanced theory by rejecting bracketing out/reduction, stating the experience has to be interpreted through the interviewers experience
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9
Q

Ethnography - Methodology

A
  • Used when studying a subgroup or culture
  • Has an appreciation of social activity that is constructed through relationships
  • Observe how people live/work to understand their way of life
  • Describes groups/situations behaviours and beliefs - how and why they are this way
  • Analysis can be transferred to wider socio-political agendas and power/class
  • Researcher joins group to discover the most over a period of time in the natural environment
  • Stems from social constructional approach, but takes a broader approach than just language
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10
Q

Grounded Theory - Methodology

A
  • Inductive as an approach - means no preconceived ideas
  • Examines the emphasis on the meaning people attribute to events
  • Interview people to gather data about their views and how they see theirselves in relation to the phenomenon being investigated
  • Grounded Theory Cycle - switch between data collection and analysis to expand and validate theory, until theoretical saturation is achieved - nothing new can emerge
  • Analysis is ongoing so that patterns/themes can be checked/rechecked, then more interviews, etc, and a final theory emerges from the data
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11
Q

What are the 6 sample strategies that could be used?

A
  • Purposive sampling
  • Convinience sampling
  • Maximum variation
  • Deviant case sampling
  • Theoretical sampling (grounded theory)
  • Systematic sampling
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12
Q

What is purposive sampling?

A
  • Can be used in qual or quant
  • Specific sub group in mind to target, and why
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13
Q

What is convinience sampling?

A
  • Can be used in qual or quant
  • aka opportunity sampling
  • Who is there? Who is logistically easiest?
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14
Q

What is maximum variation sampling?

A
  • Used in qual
  • Try to sample people who are maximally difference (like in grounded theory to achieve theoretical saturation)
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15
Q

What is deviant case sampling?

A
  • Can be combined with purposive sampling
  • Looks for sub-groups with ‘different’ experiences - maybe looking for a group that say something very different
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16
Q

What is theoretical sampling?

A
  • Used in grounded theory
  • There is a cycle on ongoing analysis/data collection
  • Like a combination of maximum variation, purposive sampling and deviant case sampling
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17
Q

What is systematic sampling?

A
  • A random sub-group of people are taken from a larger population
  • More systematic
  • Used in quant. research
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18
Q

How can you determine sample sizes?

A
  • Pragmatic approach - take into account logistics, time, funding
  • Phenomonology - smaller group, typically more detailed data is taken. V. time consuming
  • Grounded theory - needs people to validate the theory and achieve theoretical saturation
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19
Q

What is participant observation?

A
  • Type of data collection linked to ethnography
  • Uses systematic observation - links with obs. schedules, quant checklists, frequency basis etc
  • More in-depth than just counting observations
  • Observe:
    • verbal/non verbal behaviour
    • on going behaviour/relationships with others
    • contexts
    • group status
  • Observations should continue over time/across situations
  • Relationships should be developed overtime to allow for obs of organic contexts
  • Use field notes/transcriptions of interviews/conversational analysis
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20
Q

What are the types of participants in Participant Observation?

A
  • Complete participant - take time to be accepted, can be covert
  • Participant as observer
  • Observer as a participant
  • Complete observer - covert - no participation/interaction with the group
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21
Q

Observations:

A
  • Taking notes with full quotes/obs/reflections
  • Full field notes > more details re environment
  • Goes beyond surface level
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22
Q

Why use interviews:

A
  • Can give more detail about an experience
  • Can give more information about sensitive topics such as emotions, feelings, experiences etc
  • May supplement information obtained in a questionnaire
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23
Q

What is a focus group?

A
  • 6-10 people
  • homogenous group - all the same phenomenon
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24
Q

What are the benefits of focus groups?

A
  • snowballing of comments and discussion
  • witness change of beliefs because of the group interaction
  • witness different viewpoints in one interview
  • efficient use of time
  • social interaction is the data
25
Q

What are the considerations of focus groups?

A
  • how can you begin?
  • setting ground rules
  • consider using ice breakers
  • reliance on the researcher running the group should decrease over time
  • everyone should be encouraged/allowed to input
  • researcher can play devils advocate to encourage discussion and openness
26
Q

What is ontology?

A
  • What the researcher considers to be real
  • How we exist in the world
  • What we know about the world (reality and truth)
  • Linked to methodology
27
Q

What is epistemology?

A
  • The way in which we obtain knowledge through our relationship with reality and truth
  • Concerned with getting the truth about the nature of knowledge, and what it is possible to know
28
Q

What are the 2 ontological positions?

A
  • Qualitative - our reality and view of the world is subjective, individual perception
  • Quantitative - reality is just observable variables. There is only one reality, and is independent of subjective interpretation. Involves the laws of cause and effect.
29
Q

What is interpretivism?

A
  • epistemological position of qualitative research
  • aka constructivism
  • states that human behaviour is based upon meanings that people attribute to and bring to situations
  • behavious is continously constructed/reconstructed on the basis of people’s own interpretations of situations they are in
  • Understanding people’s views on reality
30
Q

What are the 2 epistemological positions?

A
  • Qualititative - Interpretivist
  • Quantitative - Positivist
31
Q

What is the aim of the interpretivist approach?

A
  • Aims to understand social phenomena
32
Q

What is the view of an interpretivist researcher?

A
  • Involved in the situation they are investigating
33
Q

What is the status of an interpretivist researcher?

A
  • Democratic
  • Equal status between them and the participant/s
34
Q

What is the participant selection like in interpretivist/ql approach?

A
  • Opportunistic
  • Purposive
  • Small cases > thick, rich data
35
Q

What is data analysis/theory like in the interpretivist/ql approach?

A
  • Theory emerges from the observation/data/analysis
  • INDUCTIVE
36
Q

What is the aim of the positivist/qn approach?

A
  • Explain/predict/controlling social phenomena
37
Q

What is the view of the researcher in the positivist approach?

A
  • neutral/objective/independent of the investigation
38
Q

What is the status of a positivist/qn researcher?

A
  • researcher is seen as the expert and of a higher status
39
Q

What is the participant selection like in positivist/qn approach?

A
  • Ideally uses large, random samples to allow for generalisation of results
40
Q

What is data analysis/theory like in the positivist/qn approach?

A
  • Theory leads to data collection/analysis, aiming to verify specific hypothesis from the theory
  • DEDUCTIVE
41
Q

Draw the Inductive/Deductive Reasoning Cycle:

A
42
Q

Ethnography: What are the aims of the researcher?

A
  • Observe, describe and classify patterns of behaviour in the natural setting
  • Gather data - obs, field notes, interviews, documents, photos, papers
  • Code, categorise and interpret the data into a narrative report
  • Derive a holistic idea/theory from the data they’ve collected
43
Q

What is action research?

A
  • Constructivist methodology
  • Co-operative enquiry
  • Participants are researchers
  • Research is acted on, and constantly reflected on
  • Less about generating a theory - more about improving lives and enabling powerless through collaborative enquiry
  • action - doing, research - inquiring
  • Inquiry triggered by a specific problem
  • Purpose - lead to action to solve the problem
  • Can rely on quant as well as qual
44
Q

How does action research differ from ethnography?

A
  • Changes are implemented
  • Effects are evaluated during the research period
45
Q

What is the action research cycle?

A
  1. Define the enquiry
  2. Describing the education situation
  3. Collecting and analysing/evaluating data
  4. Reviewing the data & looking for contradictions
  5. Tacle a contradiction by introducing change
  6. Monitoring the change
  7. Analysing the data about the change
  8. Reviewing the change and deciding what to do next
46
Q

What are the challenges with action research?

A
  • High demand on resources and time
  • Staff require training
  • Can be difficulties managing conflict between different parties
  • How much of a voice/opportunity to be involved is there for the participant/s?
47
Q

What are the 6 evaluation criteria in qualitative research?

A
  1. Credibility
  2. Confirmability
  3. Meaning in context
  4. Recurrent patterning
  5. Saturation
  6. Transferability
48
Q

Why do we do triangulation?

A
  • To increase the rigour of qualitative research
  • To verify and enhance the validity of the conclusions drawn
49
Q

What are the 3 types of triangulation?

A
  1. Methods triangulation
  2. Trianguation of sources
  3. Analyst triangulation
50
Q

What is methods triangulation?

A
  • Using a variety of data sources to verify findings
  • Could compare 2 data sets in mixed methods approach
51
Q

What is triangulation of sources?

A
  • compare data from different sources within one data collection method (e.g. all interviews but with different people)
52
Q

What is analyst triangulation?

A
  • Data collection/data analysis is carried out by 2+ researchers
53
Q

What is data analysis?

A
  • Breaking down/segmenting data
  • Identifying patterns
  • Reconstructing data in a meaningful way
54
Q

What type of data analysis?

A
  • Depends on the theoretical position/methodology
55
Q

What are the approaches to data analysis?

A
  • Grounded theory
    • grounded theory
  • Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
    • Phenomenologists using an interpretive approach
  • Discourse Analysis
    • Social Constructionism
  • Framework Analysis
    • Not related to a specific methodology
  • Content Analysis
    • Borders quant & qual approaches
  • Thematic Analysis
    • Not related to a specific methodology but must be able to justify choice if not using IPA.
  • Conversational Analysis
    • Symbolic Interactionism Background
56
Q

What is thematic analysis and how do you do it?

A
  • Uses transcription from an interview
  • Read/reread the data
  • Generate initial codes
  • Link them together to form themes
  • Themes must be grounded in the data
57
Q

Summarise the positivist/qn:

Aim:

Position:

Status:

Selection:

Analysis/Theory Testing:

A
  • Predict/control social phenomena
  • Neutral/objective/independent of the investigation
  • Expert, and of higher status that participants
  • Ideally select large, random samples so results can be generalised
  • Deductive theory testing - driven by a previous theory, and aims to verify a specific hypothesis from that theory
  • Can be measured and tested quantitatively
58
Q

Summarise the interpretivist:

Aim:

Position:

Status:

Selection:

Analysis/Theory Testing:

A
  • Understand a social phenomena
  • Involved in the situation/part of the situation being investigated
  • See status between them and the participants as equal
  • Participation recruitment varies - opportunistic/purposive. Small cases to give rich data
  • Analysis - inductive interpretation