Module 4
The major objectives of qualitative research are
exploration, discovery, and understanding.
True or False Qualitative analysis is a narrowly focused process.
false Since qualitative research studies can yield information from a vast array of sources and perspectives, analysis of such data can cover complex ideas and strategies
There is only one "correct" way to analyze qualitative data. True False
false Not only does each design influence and adjust the nature of data, but the many different strategies make analysis a complex operation.
5 major designs of qualitative research method
phenomenology ground theory case study narrative inquiry ethnography
historical intellectual movement that rejects universal truth and emphasizes differences, deconstruction, interpretation, and the power of ideas over people's behavior.
post-structuralism
Qualitative research is used to describe and understand what occurs locally (rather than globally), but it is nevertheless used at times to come up with or generate new hypotheses and new theories.
purpose 1
Qualitative research can be used when little is known about a topic or phenomenon, but more generally, it is used whenever one wants to discover or learn more about something in our world that is too complex for numerical data to capture.
purpose 2
Qualitative research is commonly used to understand people's subjective and shared experiences and to express their "insider" perspectives often through systematic and careful observation and interviewing.
purpose 3
note that some ____________ researchers are heavily influenced by the historical intellectual movements called poststructuralism and postmodernism.
qualitative
__________________research usually focuses on the relationships among variables, while ___________________________ attempts to understand concrete, human reality in its local context, with all of its complexity.
quantitative qualitative
Qualitative researchers often conduct data collection and analysis __________________________ during the study process. 1. in repeated cycles over time 2. at a single point in time
1. Data collection and analysis is done repeatedly throughout the research process to best establish a qualitative understanding.
Data collection and analysis in qualitative studies are often ______________________ 1. triangulated and thematic 2. statistical and time limited
1. Extended data collection allows qualitative researchers to use data triangulated from multiple viewpoints, measures, and periods in the study, forming a complex analysis strategy suiting the themes and other patterns in complex phenomena.
Purpose: Addressing research questions through in-depth analysis
Case Study; purpose
Researcher places findings in a social, historical, and temporal context and is careful about, even dubious of, the possibility or meaningfulness of generalizations across time and space. Emphasizes instead careful comparative case analyses and extrapolating patterns for possible transferability to and adaptation in new settings.
Context sensitivity
_______________ refers to the use of multiple forms of data to capture a single phenomenon. These data provide the opportunity for cross-checking or researcher interpretations.
Data triangulation
Which of the following is an example or characteristic of using a "holistic" approach in qualitative research? Describing the established cultural norms of a given population Documenting the ethnic background of a study participant Focusing only on the data available on a single day within a study Transcribing a distinctive communication pattern of a community member
Describing the established cultural norms of a given population Describing established cultural norms is an important example of a holistic approach as it can provide essential insight into a population and its behavior throughout a study.
Which of the following is emphasized within a narrative report of a phenomenological research study? Description of common perceptions of a unique event Reporting of participants' stories and relationships over time Narrative description of a cultural context Discussion of themes, issues, and implications of a specific case
Description of common perceptions of a unique event The phenomenology framework focuses on the people and situation surrounding a specific event, and narrative reports must reflect important shared characteristics.
Qualitative research uses the ________________ , __________________________________ , or ________________________ part of an inclusive scientific method. CONFIRMATORY OR EXPLORATORY TOP DOWN OR BOTTOM UP DEDUCTIVE OR INDUCTIVE
EXPLORATORY: BOTTOM UP: Qualitative research begins with specific and local observations and other data. INDUCTIVE
_______, in a similar regard, acts as the overall understanding of how knowledge is created or shared.
Epistemology
Cultural themes are at the heart of narrative reports when following which design? Ethnography Case study Phenomenology
Ethnography focuses on cultural themes to establish the complex understanding of participants.
A study that intends to describe the shared beliefs and practices of individuals living in a community in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains would be an example of which type of qualitative research? Phenomenology Ethnography Case study Grounded theory
Ethnography focuses on understanding the workings of a culture.
Purpose: Describing cultural characteristics of a group of people
Ethnography; purpose
Purpose: Inductively generating a theory describing a phenomenon
Ground Theory; purpose
An overall strength of qualitative research is the yield of ____ insights.. holistic restricted
Holistic insights provide a full and complex understanding of an event, thereby fulfilling the goal of qualitative research.
The whole phenomenon under study is understood as a complex system that is more than the sum of its parts. The focus is on complex interdependencies and system dynamics that cannot meaningfully be reduced to a few discrete variables and linear, cause-effect relationships.
Holistic perspective
_____________________ involves the use of multiple observers to record and describe the research participants' behavior and context. These observers assess the degree to which their observations are corroborated in order to enhance the credibility and defensibility of the results.
Investigator triangulation
_________________________ refers to the use of a mix of methods for organizing the study and collecting data with an objective of combining different methods that have non-overlapping weaknesses and strengths.
Methods triangulation
A researcher who utilizes methods triangulation __________. corroborates the observations of multiple observers uses multiple methods of data collection to capture a single phenomenon mixes research methods with nonoverlapping strengths and weaknesses examines multiple theories in order to explain study results
Methods triangulation refers to the mixing of research methods within a study.
Purpose: Describing people's lives/stories to add to our understanding
Narrative Inquiry; purpose
Data collected in qualitative research are analyzed and interpreted and then written using a _________________ report style that is less formal and includes contextual description and direct quotations. statistical passive voice third person narrative
Narrative reports provide vivid descriptive writing and includes participants' viewpoints, understandings, and experiences, and the researcher's interpretations and reflections.
_______ refers to the research's inherent understanding of reality and truth as perceived by the researchers themselves.
Ontology
_____________________ in qualitative research emphasizes individuals' personal realities and truths rather than objective or universal ones.
Ontology refers to the nature of truth and reality.
Purpose: Describing individual(s)' experience of phenomena
Phenomenology; purpose
Which of the following is not a major qualitative research analysis strategy? Creative synthesis Holistic perspective Context sensitivity Purposeful sampling
Purposeful sampling is not an analysis strategy, but a design strategy best considered earlier in the research process.
An overall limitation of external validity in qualitative research is the use of _____________ sampling techniques. random purpose
Purposeful sampling means that results of qualitative research lacks general application to events dissimilar to what occurred in the study.
A type of sampling in which the researcher specifies the characteristics of the population of interest and locates individuals with those characteristics is called
Purposive sampling involves sampling based upon predetermined participant characteristics.
___________ is the major research approach that is focused on studying particular phenomena through the collection of nonnumerical data such as words, images, pictures, and interpretive categories.
Qualitative research
___________ rely on the exploratory or inductive mode of the scientific method, focusing on understanding just the particular, or starting with the particular and then cautiously moving toward an understanding of the general.
Qualitative researchers
The __________________________ of qualitative studies involve a "wide-angle" lens to capture the entirety of a phenomenon.
Research focus includes guiding principles of research such as in-depth examination and avoiding generalization.
Qualitative research uses an inductive mode of science and often focuses on exploration and discovery. True or false
True Inductive methods, analysis, and exploration are cornerstones of qualitative research.
The researcher assumes that each case is special and unique. The first level of analysis is being true to, respecting, and capturing the details of the individual cases being studied; cross-case analysis follows from—and depends on—the quality of individual case studies.
Unique case orientation
The qualitative analyst owns and is reflective about her or his own voice and perspective; a credible voice conveys authenticity and trustworthiness. Complete objectivity being impossible and pure subjectivity undermining credibility, the researcher's focus is on balance—understanding and depicting the world authentically in all its complexity while being self-analytical, politically aware, and reflexive in consciousness.
Voice, perspective, and reflexivity
Which analysis strategy contends that "complete objectivity is impossible"? Inductive analysis and creative synthesis Context sensitivity Voice, perspective, and reflexivity Unique case orientation
Voice, perspective, and reflexivity as a strategy means that researchers understand that objectivity and subjectivity are elements that must be put into balance to create the best possible analysis.
four kinds of triangulation were identified: ____________________________
data, methods, investigator, and theory.
The qualitative researcher constantly tries to understand the people he or she is observing from the participants' or natives' or actors' viewpoints. This is the concept of :
empathetic understanding.
The ___________________________ of qualitative research contends that knowledge is socially constructed and relativistic.
epistemology includes theories of knowledge such as relativism and social construction.
Creative synthesis works in conjunction with which analysis strategy? Context sensitivity Holistic perspective Inductive analysis Unique case orientation
inductive analysis Creative synthesis occurs after a researcher has inductively analyzed available data for patterns and themes, thereby providing content for synthesis.
Qualitative researchers primarily rely upon multiple forms of data to address their complex research questions. These include .
interviews, observation, focus groups, and secondary/existing data, but they often use semi-structured or open-ended questionnaires as well
holds that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view or cognition. ... The weak version says that linguistic categories and usage only influence thought and decisions.
linguistic-relativity hypothesis.
Qualitative researchers study the phenomena as they naturally occur, without manipulating conditions. Studying real-world situations as they unfold naturally in a non-manipulative and non-controlling way (without predetermined constraints on findings) is termed ______
naturalistic inquiry.
Researchers conducting a qualitative study focus on exploring the world as it _________________________ occurs in order to capture participants' perspectives.
naturally
These two concepts work in conjunction with an overall understanding of the nature of thought and behavior, to create an interlocking web of research groundwork for a given research focus.
ontology and epistemology
historical intellectual movement that constructs self-image in opposition to modernism. emphasizes the primacy of individuality
postmodernism
Explanatory theory Strength Limitation
strength Qualitative research can provide a tentative explanatory theory for a situation, which is a big strength and benefit of these kinds of studies.
Examination of complex processes Limitation Strength
strength Exploring complex, interrelated phenomena is a key strength of qualitative research as compared to quantitative research.
6 types of data
tests questionnaires interviews focus groups observations constructed and existing data
_______________ involves the use of a variety of theories and perspectives to explain the phenomena under study (including prior theories and/or other researchers). These contrasting perspectives can provide researchers with insights and help in the development of a more cogent explanation that fits their data.
theory triangulation
One general strategy that was popularized in qualitative research methodology several decades ago, called _______________, is a validation approach based on the search for convergence of results obtained by using multiple investigators, methods, data sources, and/or theoretical perspectives.
triangulation
Qualitative research focuses on studying particular people, groups, schools, and places. true or false
true: Qualitative research conducts in-depth research on particular people, groups, and places. Qualitative research attempts to create an accurate account of insider perspectives and experiences.
, qualitative sampling is often referred to as ______, but these approaches can be used in quantitative research as well.
criterion-based or purposive sampling
qualitative research is conducted in an ___________and does not impose prior theories or ways of thinking on the people or phenomena under study.
open-ended way
As an _________________ is said to occur when your results converge on the same conclusion.
outcome, "triangulation"
qualitative Components of the Research Process
1. purpose 2. research question 3. assumptions 4. sampling methods 5. data collection methods 6. research method 7. quality criteria 8. data analysis 9.report writing
Researcher seeks immersion in the details and specifics of the data to discover important patterns, themes, and interrelationships. Begins by exploring, then confirming; is guided by analytical principles rather than rules. Study ends with a creative synthesis.
Inductive analysis and creative synthesis
A researcher interviews college students to learn more about their experiences of learning from bad instructors. This would be an example of which type of qualitative research? Phenomenology Ethnography Case study Grounded theory
This phenomenology is focused on describing individuals' experiences of a particular event or experience.
A researcher interviews 20-30 women who are in abusive relationships and from this research she develops a theory to explain the dynamics of abusive relationships. This would likely be an example of which type of qualitative research? Phenomenology Ethnography Case study Grounded theory
This researcher proposes to explain the dynamics of abuse by building a grounded theory.
Perspectives on _____________________________ in qualitative studies are fluid and highly contextualized in qualitative research, providing researchers with many situational perspectives.
Thought and behavior includes general views on human actions and beliefs such as fluidity and contextualization.
Qualitative research is just the opinion of the researcher and is based only on idiosyncratic and anecdotal information. true or false
false Qualitative research collects multiple kinds of data and uses multiple strategies to ensure the trustworthiness of its findings and interpretations.
Influence of researcher's bias Limitation Strength
limitation Bias is certainly a great risk in qualitative research, but something researchers can be cognizant of and take steps to avoid.
Time-consuming Strength Limitation
limitation Time-consuming is a negative characteristic of qualitative research, delaying the results due to the process of data collection and analysis.
