Chapter 17: The Nature of Qualitative Research Flashcards
(15 cards)
What is qualitative research?
Research focused on meaning and experience.
Example: Studying employee stories about job stress.
What is inductive reasoning?
Building theory from data.
Example: Noticing patterns in interview responses.
What is grounded theory?
Developing theory directly from data analysis.
Example: Identifying a new leadership style from interviews.
What is reflexivity in qualitative research?
Acknowledging your own role in shaping data.
Example: Recognizing how your questions influence answers.
What is “thick description”?
Detailed, rich descriptions of context and behavior.
Example: A vivid narrative of a team meeting.
What is an emic perspective?
Understanding behavior from the participant’s viewpoint.
Example: Seeing “overtime” as pride, not burden.
What is context in qualitative research?
The environment shaping participant experiences.
Example: A startup vs. corporate office culture.
What is interpretivism?
Understanding meaning through participants’ eyes.
Example: Exploring what “leadership” means to different workers.
What is triangulation?
Using multiple data sources/methods for credibility.
Example: Combining interviews and observations.
What are themes in qualitative analysis?
Recurring patterns or topics in data.
Example: “Lack of trust” as a common theme.
What is purposive sampling?
Choosing participants for their relevance to the topic.
Example: Interviewing only HR managers.
What is credibility in qualitative research?
Trustworthiness of findings.
Example: Using participant quotes as evidence.
What is transferability?
Applicability of findings to other settings.
Example: From a hospital to another public service.
What is dependability?
Consistency and transparency in research process.
Example: Documenting how you coded interviews.
What is confirmability?
Neutrality and objectivity in findings.
Example: Avoiding cherry-picking data.
