Quali Philosophy, Strategy And Design

Question 1

Definitions: method, methodology, ontology, epistemology

Answer 1

Method: details of how exactly we collect data

Methodology: how we should best collect data

Ontology: how we view the world

Epistemology: how we should investigate the world

Question 2

Positivism — ontology, epistemology, methodology, method

Answer 2

Positivism — scientifically verified through logical and/or mathematical proof; independent of the observer

Ontology: think there is one single truth
Epistemology: reality can be measured hence the focus is on reliable and valid tools to obtain that
Methodology: experimental research, survey research
Method: usually quantitative, could include measurement and scaling, statistical analysis, questionnaires, focus groups, interviews…

Eg. The relationship between smoking and health problems

Question 3

Constructivist/interpretive: ontology, epistemology, methodology, method

Answer 3

Constructivist/interpretive — reality constructed between the researcher and research participants

Ontology: no single truth or reality. Reality is created by individuals in groups
Epistemology: reality needs to be interpreted, used to discover underlying meaning of events and activities
Methodology: ethnography, grounded theory, phenomenological research, heuristic inquiry…
Method: usually quali, could include quali interviews, observation, case study, life history…

Eg. Lived experiences of children raised by parents with substance use disorders

Question 4

Critical paradigm: ontology, epistemology, methodology, method

Answer 4

Critical paradigm — critical of existing status quo in order to provide alternative knowledge

Ontology: realities are socially constructed entities that are under constant internal influence
Epistemology: reality and knowledge are both socially constructed and influenced by power relations from within society
Methodology: critical discourse analysis, critical ethnography, ideology critique…
Method: ideological review, focus groups, open-ended questionnaires, open-ended interviews…

Question 5

Research strategy, design and method (theory)

Answer 5

Research strategy — broad orientation to conduct of social research (ie. Quantitative, qualitative or both)

Research design — structure that guides execution of research methods and analysis

Research methods — what you actually ‘do’ (ie. Survey, interview, content analysis…)

Question 6

Research strategy quantitative vs qualitative

Answer 6

Quantitative:
* principal orientation to role of theory in research — deductive, emphasis on testing theory
* epistemological orientation — natural sciences
* ontological orientation — objectivism
* preoccupation — measurement, causality, generalisation, replication
* critiques — treat social world like natural world, measurement is artificial, precision/accuracy is spurious (not genuine), presents static view of social world

Qualitative:
* principal orientation to role of theory in research: inductive, emphasis on generation of theory
* epistemological orientation: interpretive
* ontological orientation: constructivism
* preoccupation: seeing through eyes of people studied, description and emphasis on context, emphasis on process, concepts and theory grounded in data
* critiques: too subjective, difficult to replicate, difficult to generalise

Question 7

Research design and strategy examples

Answer 7

Experimental — comparative outcomes for 2 groups (intervention vs ‘control’)
* quanti strategy: randomised control trials
* quali strategy: none

Cross sectional — collects data on >1 case at same point in time
* quanti strategy: surveys, structured observations, and content analysis
* quali strategy: interviews, focus groups, and discourse analysis Research

Longitudinal — collects data at 2+ points in time
* quanti strategy: repeat surveys, and content analysis at different time periods
* quali strategy: repeat interviews, ethnography over time, and discourse analysis at different time points

Case study — detailed analysis of single ‘case’ (a neighbourhood, organisation, family, person, events, etc…)
* quanti strategy: survey on single case
* quali strategy: interview or ethnography of single case

Comparative — study of 2+ contrasting cases using identical methods (eg. Cross national)
* quanti strategy: survey of 2+ cases
* quali strategy: interviews or ethnography of 2+ cases