Research Methods - Qualitative Data Collection Methods

What are the 4 methods of qualitative data collection commonly used in social sciences?

1. Ethnography 2. Participant Observation 3. Life Histories 4. Direct Observation

How many respondents can you expect to find in a focus group?

4-12

What are the disadvantages of focus groups?

They are not always suitable for sensitive topics, there is a risk of social desirability bias, group dynamics can be difficult and there could be power issues, and ethical issues- you can't control whether what is said in the room stays in the room.

What are the disadvantages of structured interviews?

They close off theoretical avenues, they have a limited range of responses and make it difficult to capture complexity.

What are the advantages of unstructured interviews?

They collect rich, detailed data, they capture complexities by exploring different facets of a topic, they are highly flexible, they are useful for exploring sensitive topics and they give voice to and empower participants.

What is privileged participant observation?

This is when you do something very specific like chair a group or a committee. It gives you inside information and greater depth of knowledge about what's going on within the system.

How do you facilitate a good interview?

Create the right environment and establish rapport, address the ethical issues of consent and confidentiality, use positive non-verbal communication and positive encouragers, use probes and prompts, seek clarification about what they mean, ask for examples and avoid premature closure of the interview.

What should you avoid in interview questions?

Jargon and technical/specialist language, leading questions, complex/double barrelled questions, questions that are too sensitive too early on in the interview, and questions that overtly challenge or criticise the respondent.

What are the disadvantages if semi-structured interviews?

Less standardisation is possible compared to structured interviews, and they are less flexible and natural than unstructured interviews.

What are the advantages of semi-structured interviews?

Some standardisation is possible, they capture complexities and inconsistencies, they provide insight into respondents views and experiences, they are useful for exploring sensitive topics and gives voice to and empowers participants.

What are the advantages of structured interviews?

Standardisation is easy and therefore the results are very reliability. Also, they have high replicability and are very quick to conduct.

Briefly explain ethnography...

A longitudinal piece of research studying social groups, where the researcher is the research tool. Quite often you would get insider perspectives- it is really important to get multiple perspectives and this is where triangulation is very important.

Give an example of active participant observation...

If a health care assistant goes with a doctor to examine a woman- they are able to watch the interaction between the doctor and patient.

What methods of qualitative data collection are commonly used in Health Services Research (HSR)?

Interviews (face-to-face, telephone, internet) and focus groups (these are basically group interviews).

What is passive participant observation?

Literally just sitting and watching what is happening and reporting on it.

What are the disadvantages of unstructured interviews?

Little standardisation is possible and they have low reliability, there is the potential for researcher/participant bias, they generate a large volume of data which is very complex to analyse.

Give some examples of unobtrusive methods of qualitative data collection...

Published narratives, archival documents (previous data/secondary data analysis), simple observation, visual images e.g. photographs, films and adverts, audio, self-report/reflective diary, broadcast and print media e.g. TV, radio programmes, newspaper articles, social media, naturalistic data obtained from everyday settings and multi-method approaches/mixing methods.

What is the most common kind of interview used in psychological research?

Semi-structured

What must interview questions be?

Simple, clear, easily understood, accessible, appropriate, and there should be a mix between open and closed questions.

What are the other 2 types of interviews, other than semi-structured?

Structured and Unstructured

What is a quite important aspect of focus groups?

The dynamics between the individuals.

Why interview?

To collect data about individuals views/opinions/beliefs/attitudes on a particular phenomenon on interest and their lived and personal experiences and individual perspectives and to gain an insight and understanding of the phenomenon in question and to facilitate the exploration of the topic from different dimensions and perspectives.

What is the purpose of participant observation?

To observe activities, people, physical aspects of phenomena in natural settings.

What is better about doing a focus group as opposed to an individual interview?

You can collect a lot of information from people all in one go unlike individual interviews which can be quite time consuming.

What are the advantages of focus groups?

You can get different perspectives on a topic, collect large amounts of data in a short time and they are relatively inexpensive.