Chapter 14

The focus of case study design is which of the following? A) Understanding why an individual thinks or behaves in a particular manner B) Focusing on a story as the object of inquiry C) Emergence of content analysis D) Presentation of pentadic dramatism

Ans: A Feedback: Case studies are in-depth investigations of a single entity or small number of entities. The entity may be an individual, family, institution, community, or other social unit. Case study researchers attempt to analyze and understand issues that are important to the history, development, or circumstances of the entity under study. Case studies do not prioritize the story (which is the focus of narrative analysis) and content analysis is not central to this tradition. Pentadic dramatism is associated with narrative analysis.

Critical research differs from traditional qualitative research in which of the following? A) Its goal to be transformative B) Its use of interviews as a data source C) Its use of reflexivity D) Its desire to gain an in-depth understanding of phenomena

Ans: A Feedback: Critical theory is concerned with a critique of existing social structures. Critical researchers conduct studies that involve collaboration with participants and that foster enlightened self-knowledge and transformation. This differs from traditional qualitative research. All of the other answers are true of qualitative research, in general.

Participant observation is a data collection strategy used in almost all of which of the following? A) Ethnographic studies B) Case studies C) Phenomenological studies D) Descriptive qualitative studies

Ans: A Feedback: Ethnography focuses on the culture of a group of people and relies on extensive field work that usually includes participant observation and in-depth interviews with key informants. Case studies are intensive investigations of a single entity or a small number of entities, such as individuals, groups, families, or communities. Phenomenologists seek to discover the essence and meaning of a phenomenon as it is experienced by people, mainly through in-depth interviews with people who have had the relevant experience. Descriptive qualitative studies are not embedded in a disciplinary tradition. Such studies may be referred to as qualitative studies, naturalistic inquiries, or as qualitative content analyses.

Ethnographers strive to do which of the following? A) Understand human cultures B) Develop an etic perspective C) Link the etic and emic perspectives into a unified whole D) Understand the essence of a phenomenon

Ans: A Feedback: Ethnography focuses on the culture of a group of people and relies on extensive field work that usually includes participant observation and in-depth interviews with key informants. Ethnographers strive to acquire an emic (insider's) perspective of a culture rather than an etic (outsider's) perspective. Phenomenologists seek to discover the essence and meaning of a phenomenon as it is experienced by people, mainly through in-depth interviews with people who have had the relevant experience.

The question, ìWhat are the basic social processes women use to maintain balance through their menopausal transition?î is an example of a research question within which of the following traditions? A) Grounded theory B) Ethnography C) Phenomenology D) Qualitative description

Ans: A Feedback: Grounded theory researchers try to account for people's actions by focusing on the main concern that their behavior is designed to resolve. Phenomenologists seek to discover the essence and meaning of a phenomenon as it is experienced by people, mainly through in-depth interviews with people who have had the relevant experience. Ethnography focuses on the culture of a group of people and relies on extensive field work that usually includes participant observation and in-depth interviews with key informants. Descriptive qualitative studies are not embedded in a disciplinary tradition. Such studies may be referred to as qualitative studies, naturalistic inquiries, or as qualitative content analyses.

Which of the following approaches involves the use of a procedure known as constant comparison? A) Grounded theory B) Ethnography C) Phenomenology D) Historical

Ans: A Feedback: Grounded theory researchers try to account for people's actions by focusing on the main concern that their behavior is designed to resolve; a procedure in grounded theory called constant comparison is used to develop and refine theoretically relevant concepts and categories. Ethnography focuses on the culture of a group of people and relies on extensive field work that usually includes participant observation and in-depth interviews with key informants. Phenomenologists seek to discover the essence and meaning of a phenomenon as it is experienced by people, mainly through in-depth interviews with people who have had the relevant experience. Historical research is the systematic collection and critical evaluation of data relating to past occurrences.

Which of the following names does not belong with the others? A) Heidegger B) Corbin C) Strauss D) Glaser

Ans: A Feedback: Heidegger, a student of Husserl, is the founder of interpretive phenomenology or hermeneutics. In 1990, Strauss and Corbin published the first edition of a controversial book, Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Glaser, however, disagreed with some procedures advocated by Strauss (his original co-author) and Corbin (a nurse researcher).

Which characteristic of qualitative research design is similar to quantitative research design? A) Use of both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs to observe the evolution of a phenomenon B) Generalizing the finding of a study C) Use of power analysis for determining sample size D) Avoidance of using field notes during the data collection process, to prevent bias

Ans: A Feedback: Qualitative research, like quantitative research, can be either cross-sectional, with one data collection point, or longitudinal, with multiple data collection points designed to observe the evolution of a phenomenon. Much qualitative research is not directly generalizable. Power analysis is performed solely in quantitative research. Field notes are an integral part of qualitative research.

Which of the following is characteristic of qualitative research? A) It is capable of adjusting to what is being learned during data collection. B) It depends on the robust nature of statistical analysis. C) It does not have to obtain Institutional Review Board approval before conducting the study. D) It involves survey research design.

Ans: A Feedback: Quantitative researchers specify a research design before collecting even one piece of data, and rarely depart from that design once the study is underway: they design and then they do. In qualitative research, by contrast, the study design typically evolves during the project: qualitative researchers design as they do. Statistical analysis is not performed and ethics approval is necessary. Surveys are sometimes, but not always, used.

A critical researcher is concerned with which of the following? Select all that apply. A) A critique of society and envisioning new possibilities B) An aim to make people aware of contradictions and disparities in beliefs and social practices C) Understanding how individuals construct and narrate stories to make sense of their world D) Fostering enlightened self-knowledge

Ans: A, B, D Feedback: A critical researcher is concerned with a critique of society and with envisioning new possibilities, making people aware of contraindications and disparities in their beliefs and social practices, and fostering enlightened self-knowledge. It is researchers in narrative analysis, not critical researchers, who are concerned with understanding how individuals construct and narrate stories to make sense of their world.

Which of the following statements are true? Select all that apply. A) Reflexive journals can be used in the bracketing process. B) Hermeneutics focuses on interpreting the meaning of experiences. C) Descriptive phenomenology aims at understanding tacit knowledge. D) Interpretive phenomenologists often supplement in-depth interviews with an analysis of texts (e.g., novels, poetry).

Ans: A, B, D Feedback: It is ethnography, not descriptive phenomenology, that aims at understanding tacit knowledge. In descriptive phenomenology, which seeks to describe lived experiences, researchers strive to bracket out preconceived views, often using reflexive journals to do so, and to intuit the essence of the phenomenon by remaining open to meanings attributed to it by those who have experienced it. Interpretive phenomenology (hermeneutics) focuses on interpreting the meaning of experiences, rather than just describing them. Interpretive phenomenologists, like descriptive phenomenologists, rely primarily on in-depth interviews with individuals who have experienced the phenomenon of interest, but they may go beyond a traditional approach to gathering and analyzing data. For example, interpretive phenomenologists sometimes augment their understandings of the phenomenon through an analysis of supplementary texts, such as novels, poetry, or other artistic expressionsóor they use such materials in their conversations with study participants.

Which of the following is an issue that a qualitative researcher attends to in planning a study? Select all that apply. A) Selecting a site B) Identifying needed equipment for field work C) Selecting research instruments D) Determining the maximum amount of time available for field work

Ans: A, B, D Feedback: Qualitative researchers make advance decisions with regard to their research tradition, the study site, and the maximum amount of time available for the study, a broad data collection strategy, and the equipment they will need in the field. They do not select research instruments in planning a study.

Which of the following is a type of research with an ideological perspective? Select all that apply. A) Critical ethnography B) Symbolic interaction C) Participatory action research D) Feminist research

Ans: A, C, D Feedback: Grounded theory has its theoretical roots in symbolic interaction, which focuses on the manner in which people make sense of social interactions. This is not an ideological perspective; all of the other answers are. Critical ethnography focuses on raising consciousness in the hope of effecting social change. Feminist research, like critical research, aims at being transformative, but the focus is on how gender domination and discrimination shape women's lives and their consciousness. Participatory action research (PAR) produces knowledge through close collaboration with groups that are vulnerable to control or oppression by a dominant culture; in PAR research, methods take second place to emergent processes that can motivate people and generate community solidarity.

Which of the following is a step in descriptive phenomenology? Select all that apply. A) Bracketing B) Inferring C) Analyzing D) Describing

Ans: A, C, D Feedback: In descriptive phenomenology, which seeks to describe lived experiences, researchers strive to bracket out preconceived views and to intuit the essence of the phenomenon by remaining open to meanings attributed to it by those who have experienced it, and then to analyze and describe them. Inferring is not a step in descriptive phenomenology.

Which of the following characteristics refers to qualitative nursing research design? Select all that apply. A) The focus is to develop a rich understanding of a phenomenon. B) Researchers strive to eliminate extraneous variables. C) It is critical to maintain constancy of conditions. D) Most studies are retrospective.

Ans: A, D Feedback: In qualitative research, the goal is to develop a rich understanding of a phenomenon, and most studies are retrospective. The elimination of extraneous variables and the maintaining of constancy of conditions are primarily undertaken in quantitative research, not in qualitative research.

Ethnographers seek to learn from members of a cultural group to understand their world view. Ethnographic researchers refer to which of the following two perspectives? A) Ying and yang B) Emic and etic C) Data saturation and generalization D) Significant and nonsignificant

Ans: B Feedback: Ethnographers seek to learn from (rather than to study) members of a cultural groupóto understand their world view. Ethnographic researchers refer to ìemicî and ìeticî perspectives. An emic perspective refers to the way the members of the culture regard their worldóthe insiders' view. The emic is the local language, concepts, or means of expression that are used by the members of the group under study to name and characterize their experiences. The etic perspective, by contrast, is the outsiders' interpretation of the experiences of that culture. The other listed terms are not specific to ethnography.

Ethnographers use a very specific strategy for making observations of the culture under study while being involved in activities. This is referred to as which of the following? A) Surveys B) Participant observation C) Hermeneutics D) Bracketing

Ans: B Feedback: Ethnographers typically use a strategy called participant observation in which they make observations of the culture under study while participating in its activities. Ethnographers observe people day after day in their natural environments to observe behavior in a wide array of circumstances. Bracketing refers to the process of identifying and holding in abeyance preconceived beliefs and opinions about the phenomenon under study. Researchers strive to bracket out presuppositions in an effort to confront their data in pure form. The term hermeneutics refers to the art and philosophy of interpreting the meaning of an object, such as a text or work of art. Surveys do not include involvement in the activities of a culture.

The qualitative method that uses an inductive approach using a systematic set of procedures to create a theory about social processes is known which of the following? A) Phenomenology B) Grounded Theory C) Ethnography D) Historical Method

Ans: B Feedback: Grounded theory tries to account for people's actions from the perspective of those involved. Grounded theory researchers seek to understand the actions by first discovering the main concern or problem, and then the behavior that is designed to resolve it. Social processes are the major focus of this research tradition.

Hermeneutics is closely allied with which research tradition? A) Ethnography B) Phenomenology C) Grounded theory D) Symbolic Interaction

Ans: B Feedback: Interpretive phenomenology (hermeneutics) focuses on interpreting the meaning of experiences, rather than just describing them. Ethnography focuses on the culture of a group of people and relies on extensive field work that usually includes participant observation and in-depth interviews with key informants. Grounded theory researchers try to account for people's actions by focusing on the main concern that their behavior is designed to resolve. Grounded theory has its theoretical roots in symbolic interaction, which focuses on the manner in which people make sense of social interactions.

Which of the following design features can apply to both a qualitative and quantitative study? A) Manipulation of the independent variable B) Cross-sectional versus longitudinal data collection C) Control over confounding variables D) Random assignment of study participants

Ans: B Feedback: Qualitative research, like quantitative research, can be either cross-sectional, with one data collection point, or longitudinal, with multiple data collection points designed to observe the evolution of a phenomenon. Qualitative research is almost always nonexperimentalóalthough a qualitative substudy may be embedded in an experiment (see Chapter 18). Qualitative researchers do not conceptualize their studies as having independent and dependent variables, and they rarely control any aspect of the people or environment under study. Blinding is rarely used by qualitative researchers. The goal is to develop a rich understanding of a phenomenon as it exists and as it is constructed by individuals within their own context.

Which of the following is most likely to be at ìcenter stageî in a case study? A) A phenomenon such as attempted suicide B) The culture within an organization such as a diabetic clinic C) A person, such as a person who repeatedly self-harms D) A story, such as the life story about chronic health problems of political refugees

Ans: C Feedback: Case studies are intensive investigations of a single entity or a small number of entities, such as individuals, groups, families, or communities. Phenomenologists seek to discover the essence and meaning of a phenomenon as it is experienced by people, mainly through in-depth interviews with people who have had the relevant experience. Ethnography focuses on the culture of a group of people and relies on extensive field work that usually includes participant observation and in-depth interviews with key informants. Narrative analysis focuses on story in studies in which the purpose is to determine how individuals make sense of events in their lives.

An ethnographic study of a clinic that specialized in abortion services by someone from outside that culture would most likely be an example of which of the following? A) An auto-ethnography B) A critical ethnography C) A microethnography D) A macroethnography

Ans: C Feedback: Ethnographic research sometimes concerns broadly defined cultures, in what is sometimes referred to as a macroethnography. However, ethnographies sometimes focus on more narrowly defined cultures in a microethnography or focused ethnography. Ethnographers are often, but not always, ìoutsidersî to the culture under study. A type of ethnography that involves self-scrutiny (including scrutiny of groups or cultures to which researchers themselves belong) is called auto-ethnography or insider research. Critical ethnography focuses on raising consciousness in the hope of effecting social change.

Grounded theory tries to account for people's actions from the perspective of those involved. It seeks to discover this main concern or problem and the behavior that is designed to resolve it. The manner in which people resolve this main concern is known as which of the following? A) Participatory action research B) Constant comparison C) The core variable D) A single entity

Ans: C Feedback: Grounded theory researchers seek to understand the actions by first discovering the main concern or problem, and then the behavior that is designed to resolve it. The manner in which people resolve this main concern is called the core variable. A single entity is the subject of investigation in a case study. Participatory action research (PAR) is based on a recognition that the production of knowledge can be political and used to exert power. Researchers in this approach typically work with groups or communities that are vulnerable to the control or oppression of a dominant group. A procedure called constant comparison is used to develop and refine theoretically relevant concepts and categories. Categories elicited from the data are constantly compared with data obtained earlier so that commonalities and variations can be detected.

The question, ìWhat is the essence of men's experiences of chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer?î is an example of a research question within which of the following traditions? A) Grounded theory B) Ethnography C) Phenomenology D) Qualitative description

Ans: C Feedback: Phenomenologists seek to discover the essence and meaning of a phenomenon as it is experienced by people, mainly through in-depth interviews with people who have had the relevant experience. Grounded theory researchers try to account for people's actions by focusing on the main concern that their behavior is designed to resolve. Ethnography focuses on the culture of a group of people and relies on extensive field work that usually includes participant observation and in-depth interviews with key informants. Descriptive qualitative studies are not embedded in a disciplinary tradition. Such studies may be referred to as qualitative studies, naturalistic inquiries, or as qualitative content analyses.

Emergent design is used in qualitative research and is described as a research design that does which of the following? A) Is specified before data is collected B) Tends to be reductionistic C) Evolves during the study D) Involves a short period of time to collect data

Ans: C Feedback: Qualitative studies use an emergent design that evolves as researchers make ongoing decisions based on what they have already learned. An emergent design in qualitative studies is a reflection of the researchers' desire to have the inquiry based on the realities and viewpoints of those under studyórealities and viewpoints that are not known at the outset. It tends to be holistic, striving for an understanding of the whole, rather than reductionistic. Data collection is typically time-consuming.

When considering the evidence that men in nursing had an important role in the evolution of nursing as a profession, what qualitative research design is appropriate to study this phenomenon of interest? A) Phenomenology B) Grounded theory C) Ethnography D) Historical

Ans: D Feedback: Historical research is the systematic collection and critical evaluation of data relating to past occurrences. Phenomenology, grounded theory, and ethnography are not normally used to examine past events of broad significance.

A study that focused on the meaning of sacrifice among wounded military personnel during war time would likely use which of the following? A) A descriptive phenomenological approach B) A grounded theory approach C) An ethnography D) A hermeneutic approach

Ans: D Feedback: Interpretive phenomenology (hermeneutics) focuses on interpreting the meaning of experiences, rather than just describing them. In descriptive phenomenology, which seeks to describe lived experiences, researchers strive to bracket out preconceived views and to intuit the essence of the phenomenon by remaining open to meanings attributed to it by those who have experienced it. Grounded theory researchers try to account for people's actions by focusing on the main concern that their behavior is designed to resolve. Ethnography focuses on the culture of a group of people and relies on extensive field work that usually includes participant observation and in-depth interviews with key informants.

A researcher who used Burke's pentadic dramatism approach would be undertaking which of the following? A) Historical research B) Qualitative description C) A case study D) A narrative analysis

Ans: D Feedback: Narrative analysis focuses on story in studies in which the purpose is to determine how individuals make sense of events in their lives. Burke's (1969) pentadic dramatism is one approach for narrative analysis. Historical research is the systematic collection and critical evaluation of data relating to past occurrences. Descriptive qualitative studies are not embedded in a disciplinary tradition. Such studies may be referred to as qualitative studies, naturalistic inquiries, or as qualitative content analyses. Case studies are intensive investigations of a single entity or a small number of entities, such as individuals, groups, families, or communities.

The term emergent design in qualitative inquiry refers to a research design that emerges at which of the following times? A) During the conduct of a literature review B) While the researcher develops a conceptual framework C) Before the study is begun D) While the researcher is in the field collecting data

Ans: D Feedback: Qualitative research involves an emergent designóa design that emerges in the field as the study unfolds not during the conduct of a literature review, while the researcher develops a conceptual framework, or before the study is begun.

Participatory action research aims to produce which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Knowledge B) Action C) Empowerment D) Stability

Ans: A, B, C Feedback: The aim of PAR is to produce not only knowledge, but action, empowerment, and consciousness-raising as well. Stability is not a goal of this research tradition.

In a qualitative study, the researcher becomes involved with the research process and must ensure that his or her own preconceived beliefs and opinions do not influence the data that is emerging from the study. The way the researcher does this is by which of the following? A) Bracketing B) Hermeneutics C) Narrative analysis D) Pentadic dramatism

Ans: A Feedback: Bracketing refers to the process of identifying and holding in abeyance preconceived beliefs and opinions about the phenomenon under study. Researchers strive to bracket out presuppositions in an effort to confront their data in pure form. Narrative analysis focuses on story as the object of inquiry, to understand how individuals make sense of events in their lives. Burke's (1969) pentadic dramatism is one approach for narrative analysis. For Burke there are five key elements of a story: act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose. The term hermeneutics refers to the art and philosophy of interpreting the meaning of an object, such as a text or work of art.