Qualitative methods and data analysis

*Tacit Knowledge*

"the largely unarticulated, contextual understanding that is often manifested in nods, silences, humor, and naughty nuances," is reflected in participants' actions as well as their words and in what they fail to state but nonetheless feel deeply and even take for granted. (in field research, a credible sense of understanding of social processes that reflect the researcher's awareness of participants' actions, as well as their words, and of what they fail to state, feel deeply, and take for granted.)

What distinguishes intensive interviewing from more structured forms of questioning?

*consistency and thoroughness*. The goal is to develop a comprehensive picture of the interviewees' background, attitudes, and actions, in their own terms - to "listen to people as they describe how they understand the worlds in which they live and work"

Covert Participation Problems:

- Cannot openly take notes or use any obvious recording devices -cannot ask questions that will arouse suspicion -The role of covert participation is difficult to play successfully -Must keep up the act at all times while in the setting under study

Developing & Maintaining Relationships

-Researchers must manage relationships in the research setting so they can continue to observe/interview members. -Need personal knowledge or experience with social setting to help gain entry.

Ethnography

-The study of a culture or cultures that a group of people share - usually meant to refer to the process by which a single investigator immersed himself or herself in a group for a long time -gradually establishing trust and experiencing the social world as do the participants

Qualitative designs differ from experimental/survey research designs in what 6 ways?

-collection primarily of qualitative rather than quantitive data -exploratory research questions, with a commitment to inductive reasoning -a focus on previously unstudied processes and unanticipated phenomena -an orientation to social context, to the interconnections between social phenomena rather than to their discrete features. -a focus on human subjectivity, on the meanings that participants attach to events and that people give to their lives -a focus on the events leading up to a particular event or outcome instead of general causal explanations (Reflexive research design and sensitivity to the subjective role of the researcher)

*Data can be assessed in terms of at least three criteria*

-how credible was the informant? -were statements made in response to the researcher's questions or were they spontaneous? -how does the presence or absence of the researcher on the researcher's informant influence the actions and statements of other group members?

In what ways does qualitative data analysis differ from quantitative analysis

-qualitative Data Analysis often described as an "art" or "dance" -Focus on meanings -Collection of many data on few cases -In-depth study and attention to detail, no predetermined categories or directions -Sensitive to context rather than seeking universal generalizations -Attention to impact of researchers' and others' values on analysis rather than presumption of 'value-free' inquiry -Goal of rich descriptions of the world rather than measurement of specific variables

*Covert Participation*

To lessen the potential for reactive effects and to gain entry to otherwise inaccessible settings, some field researchers have adopted the role of covert participant. By doing so, they keep their research secret and do their best to act like other participants in a social setting or group (also called complete participation)

*Many large research projects aimed at uncovering detailed information about a particular phenomenon often combine the qualitative research techniques of participant observation and intensive interviewing*

True

*Participant observation*, called fieldwork in anthropology, is a method of studying natural social processes as they happen (in the field rather than in s laboratory), leaving them relatively undisturbed and minimizing your presence as a researcher. It is the seminal field research method, a means for seeing the social world as the research subjects see it in its totality and for understanding subjects' interpretations of the world.

True

A researcher should always be reflexive and know his or her own biases before entering the field

True

Anthropologists and sociologists laid the foundation for modern qualitative methods while doing field research in the early decades of the 20th century. (Franz Boas and Bronislaw Malinowski- anthropologists)

True

Conversation analysis focuses on the sequence and details of conversational interaction rather than on the "stories" that people are telling

True

Ethnographic research can be called naturalistic, because it seeks to describe and understand the natural social world as it is, in all its richness and detail.

True

Grounded Theory is one of the approaches most frequently used

True

Narrative analysis codes the narrative as a whole, rather than coding different elements within the narrative

True

Participant observation and intensive interviewing are often used in the same project; focus groups combine some elements of these two approaches into a unique data-collection strategy.

True

Qualitative research can raise some complex ethical issues. No matter how hard the field researcher strives to study the social world naturally, leaving no traces, the very act of research itself imposes something unnatural on the situation.

True

The data for a qualitative study may be jottings, field notes, or text transcribed from audiotapes

True

The researcher prepares to enter the field by becoming familiar with online communities and their language and customs, formulating an exploratory research question about social processes or orientations that setting, selecting an appropriate community to study. Unlike in-person ethnographies, netnographies can focus on communities whose members are physically distant and dispersed.

True

There are no particular methodological techniques associated with ethnography, other than just "being there." The analytical process relies on thoroughness and insight of the researcher to tell us like it is in the setting, as he or she experienced it.

True

Usually, writing up notes takes as long as making the observations

True

qualitative research demands a disciplined transcription schedule, so the researcher does not become overwhelmed.

True

Qualitative methods can often be used to enrich experiments and surveys, and these methods refer to three distinctive research designs:

Participant observation, intensive inteviewing, and focus groups

Researcher Safety

Research in the field, whether researchers are studying gang life or anything else, should not begin until any potential risks to researcher safety have been evaluated. Studies should not be used if the risks to the researchers are unacceptably high. Safety needs to be considered at the time of designing the research, not as an afterthought upon arriving at the research site.

*Field Research*

Research in which natural social processes are studied as they happen and left relatively undisturbed

*Progressive Focusing*

The analyst adjusts the data collection process itself when it begins to appear that additional concepts need to be investigated or new relationships explored. (qualitative analyst interacts with the data and gradually refines his or her focus)

*Theoretical sampling*

a systematic approach to sampling in participant observational research. -When field researchers discover in an investigation that particular processes seem to be important, implying that certain comparisons should be made or the similar instances should be checked, the researchers then modify their setting and choose new individuals. (a sampling method recommended for field research by Glaser and Strauss; a theoretical sample is drawn in a sequential fashion, with setting or individuals selected for study as earlier observations or interviews indicate that these settings or individuals are influential)

To interpret text literally, what must a researcher focus on?

actual content and form

The goal of grounded theory is to ______.

develop theory inductively

which of the following is not useful for assessing the quality of qualitative analysis?

does the study produce generalizable findings?

If you are concerned with how people construct reality more than describing that reality, which form of qualitative analysis would be most appropriate?

ethnomethodology

Jotting

Brief notes that are jotted down quickly during the observation period that will be expanded into more extensive field notes

Confidentiality

Field researchers normally use fictitious names for the people in their reports, but doing so does not always guarantee confidentiality for their research subjects. researchers should make every effort to expunge possible identifying material from published information and to alter unimportant aspects of a description when necessary to prevent identity disclosure. No field research project should begin if it is clear that some participants will suffer serious harm by being identified in project publications.

Identity disclosure

How much disclosure about the study is necessary, and how hard should researchers try to make sure that their research purposes are understood? less-educated subjects may not readily comprehend what a researcher does or be able to weight the possible consequences of the research for themselves. current ethical standards require informed consent of research subjects. Can this standard be met in any meaningful way if researchers do not fully disclose their identity in the first place?

examining relationships between concepts is important in qualitative analysis because it allows the researcher to _____.

move from description to explanation

The development of grounded theory

qualitative data --> initial coding to develop broad conceptual categories --> more focused coding - reexamining initial codes --> more observations to confirm or contradict codes --> refining concepts and coding --> grounded theory emerges

*Complete Observation*

researchers try to see things as they happen, without disrupting the participants. (be aware of the reactive effect)

which of the following explains why ualitative analysis is different from quantitative analysis?

sensitivity to context

*Grounded Theory*

to *inductively* build up a *systematic theory* that is *grounded in*, or based on, the *observations*. The observations are summarized into conceptual categories, which are tested directly in the research setting with more observations. Over time, as the conceptual categories are refined and linked, a theory evolves.

What several ethical issues arise:

voluntary participation, subject well-being, identity disclosure, confidentiality, establishing boundaries, maintaining the safety of researchers in the field.

*reflexive research design* & sensitivity to the subjective role of the researcher

when researchers are making observations in a social setting, there is little control over the setting or social actors within the setting. as such, the design must be open to change: each component of the design may need to be reconsidered or modified in response to new developments or to changes in some other component.

*Saturation Point*

The point at which subject selection is ended in intensive interviewing, when new interviews seem to yield little additional information

It is beneficial for researchers always to stick with one qualitative method and not use several together

False

Qualitative and quantitative methods should always be kept separate

False

Who Owns the Qualitative Data?

-Must come to terms with who owns the information -Intimate involvement of qualitative researcher with participants may present conflict of interest between stakeholders

Asking questions and Recording Answers

-Need to plan main questions, outline of interview topic -Questions should be short, to the point -Elicit details through nondirective probes ("can you tell me more about...") -Use of follow-up questions, tailored to answer to main questions

*Systematic Observation*

-Observations made in systematic, standardized way allows more confident generalizations -Develop standard form on which to record variation within settings -Subvariables might include: *Frequency of behavior *Particular people observed *Weather or environmental conditions *Number and state of repair of physical structures

*The term participant observer actually represents a continuum of roles:*

-Complete Observer (does not participate in group activities and is publicly defined as a researcher) -Participant and Observer (publicly acknowledging being a researcher but nonetheless participating in group activities) - Covert Participant ( acts just like other group members and does not disclose his or her research role)

Entering the field

-Critical stage because introduction can shape subsequent experiences -Some background work necessary -Field researchers must be sensitive to the impression they make and ties they establish when entering field

Sampling People & Events

-Decisions researcher makes about people and events shape ability to generalize what is found -Also shapes the confidence the researcher has in what is discovered -Different approaches to qualitative sampling: (Theoretical sampling)

The Most typical steps that are shared by most approaches to qualitative data analysis include:

-Documentation -Conceptualization, Coding, Categorizing -Examining relationships and displaying data -Corroboration and Authenticating conclusions -Reflexivity

Written Field Notes

-Field notes primary means to record participant observation data -Generally, jot down brief notes ("jottings") about highlights of observation period while in field -Then, within 24 hours, fill in notes with comprehensive notes about what happened -Overview of participant observation not enough - must consider personal dimensions -Researchers may feel personally, emotionally affected, so must manage and learn from this as well as the interaction itself -No "one size fits all" formula for successfully managing personal dimension (Notes that describe what has been observed, heard, or otherwise experienced in a participant observation study; these notes usually are written after the observational session)

*Qualitative Data Analysis*

-Focus is on text rather than numbers *Transcripts of interviews *Notes from participant observation *Examination of pictures or other images -Qualitative Data Analysis often described as an "art" or "dance (techniques used to search and code textual, visual, or other content and to explore relationships among the resulting categories)

Establishing and Maintaining Partnership

-Logistics of arranging long, personal interviews can be complicated -Must consider how to establish rapport with subjects, how not to violate standards for social behavior -Treat interviewees with respect whose time is valued

Netnography

Also terms cyberethnography and virtual ethnography, is the use of ethnographic methods to study online communities.

Random selection is used to select respondents for intensive interviews

False. researchers should try to select interviewees who are knowledgeable about the subject of the interview, who are open to talking, and who represent the range of perspectives.

In qualitative analysis, the first analytic step is ______.

Documentation

*Focus groups*

Are groups of individuals that are formed by a researcher and then led in group discussions of a topic. The researcher asks specific questions and guides the discussion to ensure that group members address these questions, but the resulting information is qualitative and relatively unstructured. Do not involve representative samples; instead, a few individuals are recruited for the group who have the time to participate and who share key characteristics with the target population.

*Intensive interviewing*

Asking questions in a natural setting. Relies on open-ended questions, do not presume to know the range of answers that respondents might give, and they seek to hear these answers in the respondents' own word. Rather than asking standard questions in a fixed order, intensive interviewers allow the specific content and order of questions to vary from one interviewee to another.

*Reflexivity*

Confidence in the conclusions from a field research study is also strengthened by an honest and informative account about how the researcher interacted with subjects in the field, what problems he or she encountered, and how these problems were or were not resolved. Such a natural history of the development of the evidence, sometimes termed reflexivity, *enables others to evaluate the findings.* (an accounting by a qualitative researcher that describes the natural history of the development of evidence; this enables others to more adequately evaluate the findings.) Reflexive thinking like this is extremely important in qualitative analyses and increases the likelihood that findings are both valid and reliable

Voluntary Participation

Ensuring that subjects are participating in a study voluntarily is not often a problem with intensive interviewing and focus group research, but it is often a point of contention in particular observation studies. - few researchers are willing to condone covert participation because it does not offer a way to ensure that participation by the subjects is voluntary. -the issue of voluntary participation is particularly important when interviewing or observing minors

Subject well-being

Every field researcher should carefully consider how to avoid harm to subjects. it is not possible to avoid every theoretical possibility of harm or to be sure that any project will not cause adverse consequences to any individual. direct harm to the reputations or feelings or particular indiv. is what researchers must carefully avoid.

Why is documentation critical to qualitative research?

It is essential for keeping track of what will become a rapidly growing volume of notes, tapes, and documents; it provides a way of developing an outline for the analytic process; and it encourages ongoing conceptualizing and strategizing about the text.

*Reactive effect*

It is not natural in most social situations to have an observer present who at some point will record his or her observations for research and publication purposes. The observer thus sees what individuals do when they are being observed. which is not necessarily what they would do without an observer.

*Participation and Observation*

They inform at least some group members or their research interests, but then they participate in enough group activities to develop trust and rapport with members and to gain a direct sense of what group members experience. (generally conducted over a long period of time)

Appropriate Boundaries

This is an ethical issue that cuts across several of the others, including identity disclosure, subject well-being, and voluntary participation. (therapists are cautioned to maintain appropriate boundaries with patients; teachers must maintain appropriate boundaries with students.) This is a special issue in qualitative research because it often involves loosening the boundary between the researcher and the research subject.

notes also should include descriptions of the methodology:

Where researchers were standing while observing, how they chose people for conversation or observation, and what numerical counts of people or events they made and why. there should be a record of the researchers' feelings and thoughts while observing.

*Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis*

the steps involved in computer-assisted qualitative data analysis parallel those used traditionally to analyze such text as notes, documents, or interview transcripts: preparation, coding, analysis, and reporting. (uses special computer software to assist qualitative analyses through creating, applying, and refining categories; tracing linkages between concepts; and making comparisons between cases and events.)

The focus of narrative analysis is ______.

the story itself