Research Final

member checking

This is a common procedure with qualitative interviewing Involves transcribing and coding the qualitative interviews. After first round of coding is complete, you contact the respondents and give them your summary of their responses. Ask them if they feel these statements accurately reflect their intentions. If statements are not accurately depicted, ask for clarification and re-tape their responses. Repeat this step until you've accurately depicted their responses. This enables you to state that what you recorded was the respondent's authentic voice and intent.

audit trail

This technique involves making a trail of where decisions were made or themes were categorized. I.e.: From respondents 2, 3, and 4 this theme emerged from question 1 When developing themes put parenthesis underneath themes with a coded system to indicate which interview it came from and which line (1:20, 2: 25-26, 3:40-42). This indicates that participants 1, 2 and 3 all reflected on a similar theme in their respective lines of the interview. This helps you keep track of where you started condensing information Can be helpful if you start uncovering different themes, so you can know where to go back to and reanalyze themes to be all inclusive

Phenomenology

To discover meaning of a lived experience. Researcher identifies the essence of human experiences regarding a phenomenon Answers the question, "What is the meaning, structure, and essence of the lived experience of this phenomenon for this person or group of people?" Focuses on exploring how human beings make sense of an experience and transform that experience into consciousness both individually and as shared meaning. How humans perceive, feel, describe, remember, and make sense of an experience What is important to know is _what people experience_______________ and _how they interpret the world_______________. The only way for us to really know what another person experiences is to experience the phenomenon as directly possible for ourselves. In-depth interviews Participant observation

Participatory action

To generate knowledge to inform action. Research should be dedicated to solving practical problems Stakeholders should play an active role in and shape the research process Takes place in practice contexts Involves innovation and experimentation Research should involve dialogue between researchers, stakeholders and consumers (focus groups, public forums, team meetings) Aims to address local social issues Generates knowledge that is intended to be used Discovery of knowledge that transcends current situation-generalizable knowledge Creation of practical knowledge and capacity building Practice innovation with new possibilities and means to achieve this

Observation

Ethnographic studies, see what a culture is like Participant observation: Observer takes on the role similar to the people that they are observing Non-participant observation: Observer observes from the outside looking in on what the participants are doing.

multiple theories

Examining the data from more than one theoretical perspective i.e.: Katie's dissertation- evaluated play from a developmental perspective and also a diagnostic perspective

Ten-strengths of High Quality Observations

1. Rich descriptions- detailed rich descriptions take readers into the setting observed, providing a vicarious experience and deepened understanding. 2. Contextual sensitivity- being in a setting allows observation of the context and the environment that is likely to affect what happens in the setting. 3. Being open to what emerges- direct observation supports being open, discovery oriented and inductive, taking in whatever is there in addition to and beyond any predetermined observational protocol. 4. Seeing the unseen: In the field the inquirer has the opportunity to see things that may routinely escape awareness among the people in the setting. (fish doesn't know it's swimming in water). 5. Testing old assumptions and generating new insights- The participant-observer can discover things no one else has ever really paid attention to. 6. Opening up new areas of inquiry- observations generate questions that can be pursued in interviews to help understand and interpret what has been observed. 7. Delving into sensitive issues: Field work provides an opportunity to learn things that people may be unwilling to bring up in an interview. 8. Getting beyond selective perceptions of others: direct observation provides the opportunities to move beyond the selected perceptions of others. And see for oneself. Interview data alone do not allow the comparison of what is said to a fieldworker and what is directly observed. 9. Getting beyond one's own selective perceptions: by reflecting on the bias for their perceptions and making their own perceptions part of the data-a matter of training, discipline, and self awareness- observers can arrive at a more comprehensive view of the setting being studied and move beyond their own preconceptions. 10. Experiencing empathy- Observers come to understand a setting and its people not just intellectually but emotionally, what it feel like to be there, in that place doing those things with those people.

Narrative

A tradition that is considered, "storytelling" which can include remembrances, retrospectives, constructions, on the recounting of an event or series of events usually in chronological manner. Can be storytelling from one or from several individuals that all experienced a common Life history is an extension of a narrative in that depicts one's life story overtime.

Triangulation

Adds rigor to qualitative analysis. Multiple sources of data: ex. Archival, interviews, observation Multiple investigators: not just principal investigator, bringing in expert reviewers Multiple theories: look at data from different set of eyes (occupational vs. diagnostic approach) Member checking: report findings to participants and make sure they agree with the findings and the intent they have. Audit Trails: Figuring out where things developed along the way with data. Evidence based data set in what led you to that theme.

Focus groups

An interview with a small group of people on a specific topic Typically 6 to 10 people with a similar background Interviews usually last between 1 to 2 hours, don't keep longer than 2 hours Led by a skilled moderator NOT a problem-solving or decision-making session, purpose is to gather info about phenomena of interest. Questions posed to the entire group all interviewees hear each others' responses and add to those responses.

Field Notes

Contain a description of what has been observed Write anything that might be worth noting. Try to just write what is seen and heard as you are watching it. (ex. What ppl say, their facial expressions Avoid interpreting what you're observing (This will come in data analysis) If you must report an interpretation or question put it in brackets Need to include: Date and time Where observations took place Who was present What the physical setting was like DETAILED and CONCRETE descriptions (Try to limit judgement statements) What people say- direct quotation Observer's feelings, reactions and reflections (in brackets)

Advantages of focus groups

Cost-effective Participants perform checks and balances during interview Easy to detect if a view is shared or if there is great diversity Usually enjoyable or beneficial for participants

Interview Preparations

Describe purpose of interview Discus preparation details Provide background information about interviewees, so they know context where you're coming from. Provide detail about the setting List materials needed for interview Bring two audio-recording devices and extra batteries Obtain informed consent prior to any interviewing or observation Perform interview Reflect on interview process and form impressions Analyze interview for themes

multiple data points

Different play sessions or interviews with different school districts

Qualitative data collection

Documents Public documents, such as meeting minutes Private documents, such as diaries, journals, letters, emails Qualitative data collection can also include analysis of archival materials such as public or private documents as well as audiovisual materials including film, art, and photographs. There is actually a form of qualitative methodology called, "photovoice" where participants take a significant number of photos, sort the photos for similarities or themes, and use the pictures to associate words and meanings. Audiovisual materials Film Art photographs

Examples of using qualitative approaches

Examining the experiences of clients, family members, and OTs Involved at a community-based stroke center by using semi-structured, individual interviews. Investigating the perceptions of play experiences and rationales for play choices of girls between 5 and 10 using o.ne-on-one in-depth interviews. Investigating pain management strategies used by individuals with SCI using qualitative phenomenological multiple interviews.

Data Analysis

Field notes: own personal notations of what's going on while observing Journaling: researcher reflection on personal experiences on what is happening during the qualitative research Coding: Massive amount of info and chunking it into a systematic unit. Make sense of large amount of data Thematic Analysis: Goal of qualitative research, see if there is common themes that apply across all participants Narrative analysis: Goal of qualitative research, see if there is common descriptions/stories that apply across all participants

Data analysis

Goal is to reduce raw data, sifting trivial information from significant information and constructing a framework for communicating the essence of what the data reveal. Avoid analyzing data before it is completed

Steps for thematic analysis

Have each person read the transcript individually and perform open coding on each interview Have everyone meet together and have each person share (put all pages down on a table and look at them as a whole) and then code everyone's line by line to see if there were any common comments. Create categories on a different piece of paper or computer. If someone has the same comment, put a hash mark by that comment. The more of these comments that are marked may suggest a common theme Create the audit trail From there do axial coding and place smaller themes into larger categories for each interview Then compare all of the similar interviews (i.e.: all administrator interviews) and then repeat the process

multiple investigators

Having multiple students code the same interviews or watch the same videos Expert reviewers- strengthens credibility

Thematic analysis

Individual coding If you have multiple observations, code those individually If you have multiple investigators available, have them individually code each observation or a random sample of observations Begin to look for common themes across 1) individual observations and 2) multiple observations If multiple researchers also reported the theme, then this may be an important theme. Can put tally marks for every time theme is repeated. See if there is a term or phrase that a few of these common themes fit within Follow an audit trail Develop broader themes or overarching themes that some of these sub-themes fit within Perform member checking or peer debriefing to ensure the themes you've selected match the intent of the people being researched.

Preparing the data

Interviews Transcribe the auditory interview verbatim Label the individuals speaking Type out everything that is said include the ums... ahs..., etc... Refine margins of the page and create numbers for each line. Leave space on the R side of the page for you to code.

Qualitative Data Collection Methods

Interviews Observations, Focus Groups: Extension of interviews, interview a small group of people Narratives: Collection of one's life story

multiple sources

Interviews with administrators, interviews with teachers/OTs, PTs, and SLPs

Observations

It is also essential that disclosure is provided to the people being observed. It can be very unethical to observe and share information about others without their knowledge.

Disadvantages of Focus Groups

Limited number of questions can be asked Response time is limited Requires good group process skills from the moderator Some participants may not express viewpoint if afraid it represents minority Difficult if participants know each other (sharing intimate info may be difficult to do in front of ppl you encounter in every day life)

Paper format

Methodology State design type and qualitative tradition used Identify researcher perspective Identify using general language the participants Discuss data collection procedures Data Analysis Section Describe how thematic analysis was performed Results Identify the major themes that emerged and use quotes below the themes to support them. May also want to make a chart Discussion Explain what the themes mean in relation to the research question Refer back to the literature review and discuss how your findings supported or refuted previous literature Discussion Identify limitations and methods to combat limitations (remember a small sample size is not necessarily a bad thing in qualitative research as long as you employed good triangulation and got rich information) Discuss methods for how trustworthiness was ensured (triangulation, audit trails, and member checking) Identify implications for future research Identify implications for OT practice Explain what the next step in this research project is- potentially describe the extended study

Qualitative Research

Naturalistic Inquiry Research takes place in the natural world Phenomenon of interest unfolds naturally in that it has no predetermined course established by and for the researcher Purposeful sampling- cases for study (people, organizations, communities, cultures) are selected because they are "information rich" and "illuminative" Inductive analysis- Let themes emerge; be open and accept ambiguity

Inductive reasoning

OBSERVATION PATTERNS HYPOTHESIS THINKING

Data analysis: Thematical analysis

Open coding: naming and categorizing the phenomenon into categories or concepts. Allows one to funnel a large amount of data and categorize them into themes Set margins to 2 inches on the Right side to allow room for comments Number each line on the right side Use categories that you've used in the interview ?s to help you label Read the statement first, then re-read and then maybe underline or highlight Can use note cards, paper or computer to document themes With several respondents, you may build upon the first interview response- Hermeneutic Circle Axial Coding Collapsing smaller categories into larger categories based on themes Want to eventually reach _redundancy and or/saturation_________________________ When recording you will state, "Open and axial coding was performed until saturation and redundancy was reached." This means that all of the responses can be plugged into one of the developed themes, no new themes appear to be emerging.

Semistructured interviewing

Open ended questions: participants can explain, converse and provide with information Avoid asking 2 questions in one question Avoid all or nothing questions Avoid value statements (keeping judgement aside, or certain way participants should respond to question) Don't make statements into questions Create topics

Steps for data analysis

Organize and prepare data for analysis. Read through all the data to get a general meaning. Organize material into chunks (Coding). Use coding to generate themes. Decide how the themes will be represented in the qualitative narrative. Interpret the meaning of the data. What were the lessons learned from the data.

Qualitative traditions

Phenomenology Ethnography Grounded Theory Participatory Action Research Narrative

Example of Ethnography Thematic Analysis

Play and Playfulness in the hospital study (Ryan, 2011) N =3. Each child videotaped for 15 minutes 3-4 times per week x 3 weeks in indoor and outdoor play areas within the hospital at different times and days of the week.(throughout their duration of the hospitalization) Step 1: Watched each video, wrote field notes, completed qualitative play form Step 2: Interpreted each category with short phrases (left column) Step 3: Other expert reviewers also completed 3 total video analyses and their findings were analyzed with Ryan's analyses for the individual weekly comparisons. Compared all play observations for one week for each child to see if there were common themes across each week. Repeated for each week of hospitalization for each child. This created weekly themes Compared all category themes across all weeks of hospitalization for each participant (full hospitalization themes) Created overall grand themes by comparing the full hospitalization themes for each child to determine if there were commonalities across all participants during their hospitalization experience.

Quantitative versus Qualitative

Quantitative Research process is deductive Measure objective facts Focus on variables Statistical analysis Highly structured research process Separation from data Researcher perspective- usually written in 3rd person; avoid personal opinions Design types- experimental, case control, cohort, exploratory Conditions and variables are controlled by researchers Instruments produce quantitative, numeric data that can be statistically analyzed Data analysis: parametric or non-parametric analysis Goal of research is to attain good reliability and validity of treatment or assessment Qualitative Research process is inductive Document social reality; meaning is constructed Focus on in-depth meaning Loosely structured research process Intimacy with data Researcher perspective is known and evaluated throughout the research through journaling or field notes Traditions are used instead of designs Naturalistic Inquiry is encouraged, data collected in natural environments Instruments are not standardized and minimally defined Goal of research is to enlighten knowledge about phenomenon of interest Credibility is valued instead of reliability and validity. Credibility, trustworthiness, authenticity, and investigator neutrality add to the rigor of qualitative investigation Analysis often involves thematic analysis Triangulation involves using multiple sources of data, multiple investigators, multiple theoretical approaches and adds to rigor

Researcher's perspective

Reflexivity_- ability to identify political and cultural consciousness and to own one's perspective. This is an important process to increase self-awareness and self-understanding. What do I know? How do I know what I know? What shapes and has shaped my perspective? With what voice do I share my perspective? What do I do with what I understand?

Mixed methods

Studies that involve both qualitative and quantitative methodology and analysis. Can strengthen research due to dual paradigms being used.

Deductive reasoning

THEORY HYPOTHESIS OBSERVATION CONFIRMATION

Open coding

The analytic process through which concepts are identified and their properties and dimensions are discovered in the data.

Microanalysis

The detailed line by line analysis necessary at the beginning of a study to generate initial categories (with their properties and dimensions) and to suggest relationships among categories; a combination of open and axial coding)

Axial coding

The process of relating categories to their subcategories termed 'axial' because coding occurs around the axis of a category, linking categories to the level of properties or dimension.

Grounded theory

To generate theory Answers the question, "What theory emerges from systematic comparative analysis and is grounded in fieldwork so as to explain what has been observed?" Focuses on the process of generating theory rather than on particular theoretical content. Emphasizes procedures for connecting induction and deduction through the constant comparative method, comparative research sites, doing theoretical sampling, and testing emergent concepts within additional fieldwork. Grounded Theory depends on methods that take the researcher into and close to the real world so that the results and findings are grounded in the empirical world. Uses a framework of coding procedures to help provide some standardization and rigor to the analytical process. Provides researchers with analytical tools for handling masses of raw data and elucidates the concepts that are the building blocks of theory.

Ethnography

To understand culture Answers the question, "_What is the culture of this group of people_?" Based on the principle that any human group of people interacting together for a period of time will evolve a culture. Culture is that collection of behavior patterns and beliefs that constitutes "standards for deciding what can be, standards for decideing how one feels about it, and standards for deciding what to do about it, and standards for deciding how to go about doing it" (Goodenough, 1971) Data is collected through participant observation. Investigator must be immersed in the culture under study. Autoethnography is a specialized type of ethnography that answers the question, "_how does my own experience of this culture connect with and offer insights about this culture, situation, event, or way of life_?

When to use qualitative research

When variables cannot be quantified Ordinal data, non parametric When variables are best understood in their natural settings (home, office) When variables are studied over real time When studying intimate details of roles, processes, and groups When the main objective is understanding

Systems theory

a tradition asks the question of "how and why does this system as a whole function as it does. The system is a whole that is greater than its parts.

Focus of qualitative is on

_subjective experiences or the meaning that people use.

Autoethnography

a form of ethnography, where one reflects his or her personal experience within a cultural group.

Hermeneutics

a form of phenomenology. It answers the question, "What is my experience of this phenomenon and the essential experience of others who also experience this phenomenon intensively.

Ethnomethodology

answers the question "How do people make sense of their everyday activities to behave in socially acceptable ways?"

Program evaluation

assesses the effectiveness of programs through interviews with the staff of the program, review of program documents to further identify important issues or processes, direct observations of the activities being performed within the program. Program evaluations can often include mixed methods where you are collecting qualitative and quantitative information.

Qualitative research

himself/herself into the research. Observations are typically of smaller groups or selectively defined settings. (e.g. Stroke survivors at American Stroke Foundation) Exploration is very often the motive. The design is flexible and can change given the needs of the research. Narratives that are discovered in qualitative research reflect the lived experience of the participants. These narratives reveal layers of intention, emotion, and meaning including complex issues that may be missed in a fixed question.

Single observation

i.e. 1 hour or 1 site at one given point of time. Maybe be appropriate for observing an event that only occurs once or occasionally.

Interviews

info directly from the source using their own words Structured: involve having a very detailed script with specific questions. Helpful because they are objective and consistent. However can feel contrived for interviewee Semi-Structured: list of preset questions but does not necessarily have to follow. Allows flexibility for interviewer. Have a guidline and make sure all questions are asked at a certain point Un-structured: less frequently done because no script. Hard to make sure all participants are asked similar questions

Multiple observations

involves taking several observations at different times of the day, different days of the week, different times of the year over several months or years. Recommended when performing ethnographies

Participant observation

involves the researcher immersing himself or herself into the setting being observed. This provides the emic perspective, Your personal account of how it felt be involved in this group and participating in the activity your group actually did.

Credibility

refers to the dependability of the qualitative inquiry. Multiple steps to see if data is collected and handled appropriately: Rigorous methods Credibility of the researchers Philosophical belief in the value of qualitative inquiry (data will come to you and will provide you with info, NO DEDUCTIVE REASONING)

Trustworthiness

refers to the truthfulness of the findings

Non-participant observation

the observer is present in the setting, but serves more as a spectator and is not involved in the group the research is observing. This provides the etic perspective. Attempt to be covert Need to allow time for the observed to feel comfortable with researcher and equipment before you begin observations

coding

the process of identifying categories and meanings in text, creating and applying a name or code to each, and systematically marking similar strings of text with the same code name. allows systematic retrieval of categories and meanings during analysis. help researchers identify patterns in data Must be consistently applied