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Qualitative Research Methods

Qualitative Research Methods

by elenaheuze, Apr. 2013

Subjects: Psychology

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	2 Types of Research Methods	Quantitative Research Method Qualitative Research Method
	Quantitative Method	Demonstrates a systematic approach to the investigation of behavior. Experiments can take place in the laboratory or in the field. Aim: Cause and Effect relationship through the use of descriptive and inferential statistics.
	Qualitative Method	Some aspects of behavior are not suitable for investigation by quantitative methods, so they use this method. Gathers information about the qualities or characteristics of what is being studied. Uses descriptive statistics, but mostly non-numerical methods: descriptions, words, meaning, photos...
	Strengths of Qualitative Method	- Provide rich data: in depth descriptions of individual experiences - Useful for investigation complex and sensitive issues - Explain phenomena: going beyond mere observation to understand - Identify and evaluate factors that contribute to solving problems - Generate new ideas and theories to explain and overcome problems - Validity: people are studies in their own environment
	Weaknesses of Qualitative Method	- Time consuming and huge amount of data - Difficulties in analyzing data because of the amount of data and no clear strategy for analysis - Interpretation of data may be personal
	Philosophical Foundation for both methods	Quantitative: Deductive, reductionalist Qualitative: Inductive, holistic
	Aim for both methods	Quantitative: To test pre-set hypothesis Qualitative: To explore complex human issues
	Study Plan for both methods	Quantitative: Step-wise, predetermined Qualitative: Iterative, flexible
	Position of Researcher for both methods	Quantitative: Aims to be detached and objective Qualitative: Essential part of research process
	Assessing Quality of Outcomes for both methods	Quantitative: Direct test of validity and reliability using statistics Qualitative: Indirect quality assurance methods of trustworthiness
	Measure of Utility of Results for both methods	Quantitative: Generalisability Qualitative: Transferability
	Qualitative Methods	- Ethics - Participant and researcher expectancies - Demand characteristics - Sampling techniques
	Qualitative Research Methods: Ethics	It is important to inform participants so that they understand any important implications of the research on themselves. Appropriately informed: nature and purpose of research, the right of withdrawal, confidentiality of findings. Consent: Written consent from participants so the researcher has a record, children need the written consent of the parents, if at school as well, they need written consent of the teachers.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Ethics - Participant's Right of Withdrawal	Participants can leave ANY TIME. Pressure must not be placed on any participant. Participants may withdraw their results from the study AT ANY TIME.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Ethics - Confidentiality of Findings	Right to confidentiality and obtain their written consent - anonymity for each participant must be guaranteed. Take reasonable precautions to protect confidentiality of information obtained. Make provisions for maintaining confidentiality in the collection, recording, accessing, storage and disposal of information. May possibly disclose confidential information with the consent of the relevant participant, where there is a legal obligation to do so, if there is a risk of harm to the participant that can be averted only by disclosing information.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Ethics - Justification for using Deception	Ethical committees may approve research using deception.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Ethics - Debriefing	Provides an opportunity for participants to obtain appropriate information about the nature, results and conclusions of the research. Corrects mistaken attitudes and beliefs about the research.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Experimenter Expectancies	The various ways in which the experimenters' expectancies, personal characteristics, misrecordings of data, and so on can influence the findings of a study. Experimenter's expectations have a systematic effect on the performance of the participants. The unintentional actions that may occur in the collection and treatment of experimental data, including incorrectly reading raw data and wrongly interpreting a participant's response.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Experimenter Expectancies - Experimenter Effects	A research assistant unintentionally gives participants information about an experimental procedure that leads them to act differently from how they would normally act. Subtle differences in facial expressions can change the expectations of participants.
	The Demonstration of Experimenter Expectancy	Clever Hans - The Counting Horse Beginning of the 20th century. The scientists concluded that Hans could not answer questions that his owner did not know the answer to nor could he answer questions when he could not see his owner. Rosenthal (1966) - Experimenter effects in behavioral research. Experiment with flatworms and the number of head turns and body contractions. Two groups.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Participant Expectancies	The participant's behavioral response being influenced by their expectation of how they should behave.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Participant Expectancies - Placebo Effect	Any change in a response of participants due to their belief that they are receiving some kind of experimental treatment, rather than due to the effect of the actual thing. The participant's behavioral response being influenced by their expectation of how they should behave.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Participant Expectancies - Hawthorne Effect	The effect on participants of simply being the focus of the investigation. The notion that if participants are aware of being part of an experimental group, performance may improve for that reason. The impact of he independent variable (if any) impossible to ascertain.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Demand Characteristics	The fact that most participants do their best to comply with what they perceive to be the demands of the experimental situation. People who are taking part in an experiment do so in a spirit of co-operation, and they want their results to be helpful to the experimenter. As a result of this, they are overly co-operative, and this can mean that a researcher ends up with data that lack ecological validity.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Sampling Techniques	Sample: is a subset of a larger group that has been chosen to be studied. Population: is the term used to describe the larger group from which the sample was chosen. When participants are selected we must ensure that the sample selected is representative of the population being studied. The results can be generalized to all members of the sampled population.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Sampling Techniques	- Stratified Sampling - Purposive Sampling - Snowball Sampling - Convenience or Opportunity Sampling
	Qualitative Research Methods: Sampling Techniques - Biased Sample	Does not accurately represent the population from which it was drawn, not everyone from the population of interest had a equal chance of being selected. Quantitative methods frequently employ inferential tests based upon samples that are randomly selected from a parent population. Random sampling techniques are not needed for qualitative research. Most of the sampling techniques used in qualitative research methods focus on important characteristics of a population that are the main concern in evaluation of research.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Sampling Techniques - Stratified Sampling	Dividing the population to be studied into subgroups: usually characteristics such as age, income, ethnic, background, religion, sex, IQ scores... then selecting a separate sample from each subgroup in the same proportion as the subgroups occur in the population.
	Strengths and Weaknesses of Stratified Sampling	Strengths: to identify the characteristics of a sample most important for it to be representative of the population. Weaknesses: Time consuming and difficult to carry out effectively since a lot of calculations are involved. Hard to know which subgroup to identify. It is a waste of time and effort if we use characteristics like gender, that are of no relevance to the study.
	Qualitative Research Methods: Sampling Techniques - Purposive Sampling	The researcher actively selects a particular group of people to answer the research question, rather than a simple demographic stratification. Participants are chosen on the basis of the aim of the study, existing knowledge in the field, particular variables that might influence an individual's contribution to explore the research topic.
	Strengths and Weaknesses of Purposive Sampling	Strengths: - Useful in situations where the researcher needs to obtain a sample quickly to investigate an urgent problem - May be the only option - Researchers recognize that some informants are 'richer' than others and that these people are more likely to provide insight and understanding for the researcher. Weaknesses: - high likelihood of a biased unrepresentative sample
	Qualitative Research Methods: Sampling Techniques - Snowball Sampling	Relies on referrals. The researcher simply asks participants in the study if they know other potential participants - one participant recruits another.
	Strengths and Weaknesses of Snowball Sampling	Strengths: - Cost efficient - Can be used for hidden populations or populations that might otherwise be difficult to acces (e.g. drug users) Weaknesses: - High likelihood of a biased unrepresentative sample - Confidentiality concerns, because the participants know the identity of the other participants
	Qualitative Research Methods: Sampling Techniques - Convenience or Opportunity Sampling	The least rigorous sampling method which involves the selection of the most accessible participants (convenient) or participants who just happen to be about at the time of investigation (opportunistic).
	Strengths and Weaknesses of Convenience or Opportunity Sampling	Strengths: Least costly to the researcher in terms of time, effort and money. Weaknesses: Severe disadvantage that the participants may be nothing like a representative sample.
	Different Kinds of Qualitative Research Methods:	- Interviews - Questionnaires/Surveys - Observation - Content Analysis - Case Studies
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews	Consists of two people talking together about some topic which is of interest to them both.
	Difference Between Conversation and Interview	- A CONVERSATION generally lacks an explicitly mentioned purposed, while an INTERVIEW always has an explicitly mentioned purpose. - There are unspoken rules that you should avoid repeating yourself in a CONVERSATION, while in an INTERVIEW repetition of questions enables one to check that the information is reliable and can reveal new information. - Both participants can ask questions, while questioning is largely restricted to the interviewer during INTERVIEWS. - Both participants are likely to express interest and/or ignorance in what the other is saying of topics which are raised in an interview, for INTERVIEWS both interest and ignorance are likely to be expressed only by the interviewer. - CONVERSATION depends to a high degree on shared common knowledge, INTERVIEWING requires that all implicit knowledge from a respondent is brought out into the open and made explicit. - Answers should in general be as brief as politeness allows, Answers should always be as detailed as possible during an INTERVIEW.
	Types of Interview:	- Structured - Semi-structured - Unstructured - One-to-one interviews - Conversational interviews - Small-group interviews (focus groups) - E-mail and telephone interviews - Verbal protocols (think-aloud protocols)
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - Structured Interviews	The interviewer asks each respondent the same questions with the same precise wording and sequence of questions. Deviation from the schedule throws doubt upon the reliability of the investigation. It is the nearest type of interview to a questionnaire, it would consist simply of an interviewer reading through a prepared list of questions, and writing down the respondent's answers. The questions may even be phrased in such a way that a limited range of responses can be elicited. Structured interviews are generally quicker to do but they reveal less data than unstructured interviews.
	Structured Interviews - Conditions for Usage	- If the direction of your inquiry is perfectly clear from the outset - if you only need obtain answers to a set of questions which you can formulate in advance - usually used in large scale interview-based surveys
	Structured Interviews - Strengths	- Harder for the interview to be deflected from the topic in hand - Speedy administration, quick and easy way of obtaining data, is economical with the interviewer's time, respondents may feel more ready to participate given low time/effort commitment - Interviewers need not have all the skills and experience required for unstructured procedures as there is no need to try to think of the next question to ask - Interviews can be replicated. - Data is more objectively verifiable. - Results can be reviewed (compared and analysed) by other researchers. - Results are more generalisable. - Reduction of interpersonal bias factors
	Structured Interviews - Limitations	- data obtained can be trivial - narrow range and quality of information gathered - respondents cannot express complexities and subtleties of an issue - interviewer is prevented from following any new directions for the inquiry - does not engage participant on a personal level and therefore may feel more like an interrogation than an interview - social desirability bias - most people want to present a favorable impression of themselves to other people, and this may lead them to distort their answers to personal questions. - question wording cannot be adapted to levels of understanding of the respondent
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - Unstructured Interviews	- The interviewer goes into the interview with the aim of discussing a limited number of topics in great detail, sometimes as few as one or two. The respondent takes over more of the direction of the interview - no set wording to questions and the researcher may explain the question fully. The interviewer decides what questions to ask from moment to moment and frames the questions on the basis of the information volunteered by the informant.
	Unstructured Interviews - Strengths	Strengths: - Natural conversation produces: richer, fuller more genuine, more realistic information on interviewee's own term - enables capture of respondent's construction or unique perspective (interviewees can talk in their own terms) - no fixed-answer questions - interviewer is allowing the respondent's answers to influence the questioning process. - much more flexible approach to interviewing - relaxed, more informed and involved respondent
	Unstructured Interviews - Limitations	- Not standardized - differences in procedure could make data comparison less fair and reliable. - Difficulties in analysis of qualitative information - May not be generalisable - Are costly in time, for both participants and researcher - Interviewers may lack the necessary skills to conduct interviews. They should be able to make an interview seem natural, be sensitive to non-verbal cues, and they have well-developed listening skills. - May be subject to biases, participants may not tell the truth or may hide aspects of their experiences
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - Semi-structured Interviews	- combine the advantages of structured and unstructured interviews - follow the same order of presentation and same wording for the main questions - the interviewer has the freedom to elaborate on the original response
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - Semi-structured Interviews	- Different kinds of questions can be used to expand answers and discuss topics in more detail - Descriptive questions: prompt the respondent to give a general account of 'what happened'... - Structural questions: prompt respondent to identify structures and meanings to use to make sense of the world - Contrast questions: allows the respondent to make comparisons between events and experiences - Evaluative questions: are about the respondent's feelings about someone or something
	Semi-structured Interviews: Conditions for Usage	Tend to work well when the interviewer has already identified a number of aspects he wants to be sure of addressing. The interviewer can decide in advance what areas to cover but is open and receptive to unexpected information from the interviewee. Important if a limited time is available for each interview and the interviewer wants to be sure that the "key issues" will be covered.
	Semi-structured Interviews - Strengths	- Advantages of a structural approach, but more flexible. The interviewer is allowed to select aspects of the discourse - Richer and ticker data - Explanations of wording can be offered when required - Allows for analysis in many ways because it is compatible with many methods of data analysis - Easier to arrange than other forms of data collection
	Semi-structured Interviews - Limitations	- Limits on what is asked and expected of the researchers - Not fully conversational and might only be appropriate in market research rather than trying to get information about a personal or traumatic event - Data analysis is time consuming
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - One-to-One Interviews	- The most common method - An interview conducted by one person to another. - Addresses the concerns of focus group situations
	One-to-One Interviews - Advantages	- Allows a relationship to be built between interviewer and participant. Permits the interviewer to establish a good rapport with the respondent - Allows the interviewer to collect richer data - Allows participants to give personal information - Richer data as only one person is responding - Recording and transcription of data is straightforward
	One-to-One Interviews - Limitations	- If a rapport cannot be established, then the quality of data will be severely diminished - Difficult to conduct well, interviewers need to make it seem natural - Researcher has to keep their subjectivity in check or report/reflect on it accurately - Time consuming and expensive
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - Conversational Interviews	- Takes the form of a discussion (no predetermined set of questions) - The participant is encouraged to do most of the talking - The interview style is chosen by the interviewer, because they can get more information from people because they tend to be more honest and open because it is a relaxed atmosphere - Requires an interviewer knowledgeable and experienced in the content area and strong in interpersonal skills - Can be used in a wide range of setting, but often used in humanistic based therapy interviews
	Conversational Interviews - Strengths	- Highly individualized and relevant to the individual - Useful in that they are a more natural way of gaining data from participants and have a greater ecological validity than more formal interview - Likely to produce information or insights that the interviewer could not have anticipated
	Conversational Interviews - Limitations	- Not standardized - Since different information is collected from different people, they do tend to present more material that may not be relevant to the researchers' aims. - Difficult and time-consuming to analyse the data - Participant can take control of the interview if the researcher does not have proper training or experience - Candidates may also question ethics of the conversational approach
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - Small Group Interviews	- Involve a limited number of participants in one session and are often focused upon a topic - Focus groups can be HOMOGENOUS (share features) or HETEROGENEOUS (are different), Pre-existing (friends or colleagues) or new - Characterized by the presence of a moderator and the use of a discussion guide - The moderator should stimulate discussion among group members - encouraged participants to express views on each topic as well/respond the other participants
	Small Group Interviews - Characteristics	- The recommended size of a group is of 6 to 10 people - Smaller than 6 to 10 people limits the amount of information gained - More than this makes it difficult for everyone to participate - should be run in any research, it would be wrong to rely on the views of just one group - the members should have something in common, characteristics important to the topic of investigation - Usually specially pre-formed groups - Qualitative information (feelings, perceptions and opinions) - The researchers require a range of skills: facilitating, moderating, listening, observing and analyzing
	Small Group Interviews - Conditions for Usage	- Useful when the research aim is to produce data from several people who are often together in a common situation or taks - Useful when it is possible to identify a number of individuals who share a common factor - Useful when limited resources prevent more than a small number of interviews being undertaken
	Small Group Interviews - Conditions for Usage: Triangulation	is desired in focus groups due to the large size of the groups, usually ranging from 6-10. Observation of the participants could be helpful in understanding and evaluating his or her actions and replies.
	Small Group Interviews - Advantages	- Can encourage more openness and more free and complex information when respondents stimulate ideas from each other - Quick and convenient method to collect data from several individuals simultaneously - Researcher can ask for clarification - Provides a setting this is natural, higher ecological validity than the one-to-one interview - High face validity
	Small Group Interviews - Limitations	- The members may be reluctant to participate or not interact well with each other - The presence of other may inhibit some individuals - A mood of "keeping your mouth shut" may infect some groups - Recorded group interviews for groups is not easy - Data collection and analysis is time consuming - Pre-existing purpose of the group can lead to the group having a particular bias which limits their potential for providing information - Not appropriate for all research questions (e.g. sensitive matters)
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - E-mail and Telephone Interviews	E-mail interviews: - may be used when conducting an interview in person is inappropriate due to location, schedule conflict, or different time zones Telephone interviews: - Interviewers make phone calls to contact people - (same as above)
	E-mail and Telephone Interviews - Advantages	- Shy or reserved participants may contribute more in an e-mal interview than a face-to-face interview - E-mail allows interviews to be conducted economically in terms of time and cost - There is no need to transcribe the interview - Standardisation and minimization of researcher expectancies are more readily achieved than in face-to-face interviews - The absence of non-verbal cues from the interviewer can be considered an advantage
	E-mail and Telephone Interviews - Limitations	- non-verbal information can be inserted by interviewees in the form of acronyms (LOL) - hesitations, pauses, changes in pitch, volume and speed of responses are not present - neither anonymity nor verification of identity can be assured - the same absence of non-verbal cues from the interviewee reduces the quality of the data obtained
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - Verbal Protocols	Used in task analysis (problem solving, learning a new task, etc) or obtaining feedback from a patient undertaking a new form of treatment. Used to gather data about the thought processes taking place during the performance of a task. The thought processes are spoken aloud. The key is that the participant needs to think aloud as the task is performed and that the speech is recorded for subsequent analysis. Used to verify a theory of problem solving by comparing the data obtained with simulations developed from the theory.
	Verbal Protocols - Limitations	- Sometimes limited by the stress of the process that ti seeks to interpret. - When thinking aloud, we may not say everything that comes into our mind - It relies on using participants who are fairly articulate, not everybody is like that - The act of thinking aloud changes the thought processes, so the data generated is unnatural - Participants may not include vital information in their protocol - Participants need training and practice for them to be useful
	Verbal Protocols - Transcript	Analysis should focus on what statements are c
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - Methods of Transcribing Recorded Interviews	Traditional Method: words only Post-modern Method: - Words plus volume - Pitch - Speed - Pauses - Facial expressions - Gestures and other non-verbal communication
	Methods of Transcribing Recorded Interviews - Traditional Method	- Interview is recorded electronically or on tape and the transcribed focusing on the words only Advantages: - Quicker and easier than post-modern - Good for market research where deeply held emotions are not being researched Disadvantages: - Doesn't take into account participants subtle and often very important non-verbal cues
	Methods of Transcribing Recorded Interviews - Post-modern Method	- Involves the use of the data presented, whether or not the transcription is from audio or video tapes Transcription indicates: - the pauses and lengths of silences - audio responses that are not necessarily words but utterances (sighs, ums and ahs) - the timbre, volume and speed of response - in video transcriptions, body language
	Post-modern Method - Advantages	- Full interview experience recorded rather than just words - Rich data and detailed analysis - Enhances validity of responses to questions
	Post-modern Method - Limitations	- May lead to a misinterpretation of responses, especially when the researchers are beginners - difficult to maintain reliability across researchers - extremely time consuming - interviews have to be transcribed as soon as possible after the recording so the researcher's perceptions are still fresh - can be distracting for the participant to have their non-verbal cues recorded during the interview - some people use sarcasm/become emotional/talk faster/avoid eye contact...
	Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews - Ethics in Interviews	- Candidates should be aware that ethical considerations are important at all stages of the interview process - A prepared statement should be read to each interviewee just prior to the interview, that indicates his/her rights in the interview situation including: - the reason for the interview - the right to withdraw at any time - confidentiality and anonymity - the right to alter the transcript or recordings produced during the interview
	Interviews - Ethics in Interviews	Before the Interview: - interviewer need ensuring that none of the questions contain material that is ethically doubtful During the Interview: - the interviewee also needs to be aware of his or her rights in terms of confidentiality, anonymity and the right to withdraw at any time from the interview After the Interview: - the interviewee should be offered the right to hear the recorded interview and to read the transcript and to make any alterations that are deemed necessary and should be sent any research findings that arise from the investigation
	Qualitative Research Methods - Questionnaires/Surveys	DEFINE, EXPLAIN, APPLY, EVALUATE: - Large-scale and small-scale surveys - Identification and representativeness of target population - Techniques of sampling from target population - Use of a Likert scale
	Survey	A survey is a research method used to collect data, which involves asking participants to respond to a set of questions: by mail, telephone, internet, face-to-face interviews
	Questionnaires	A printed form with questions of all sorts, often it is intended to be answered by many people
	Questionnaires/Surveys - Strengths	- Survey data can be subjected to statistical analysis - Surveys have internal and external validity - Surveys are efficient: because surveys can use random sampling technique - Surveys can cover geographically spread samples - Survey are flexible: can easily be combined with other methods
	Questionnaires/Surveys - Limitations	- Respondents may not understand questions - Experimenter expectancies and participant expectancies - Surveys are not so good at explaining why people think or act as they do
	Questionnaires/Surveys - Types of Surveys	DYER (1995) ; there are 4 main types of survey: - One-shot Survey - Before-after Design - Two-groups Controlled Comparison Design - Two-groups Before-after Design
	Types of Surveys - One-Shot Survey	Information is obtained from a single sample at a given point in time.
	Types of Surveys - One-Shot Survey - Strengths	It is the simplest
	Types of Surveys - One-Shot Survey - Limitations	- the least informative type of survey - cannot compare the findings from our sample against those of other groups - can only describe what we have found to be the case in the sample we tested
	Types of Surveys - Before-After Design	Data is collected from a single sample on two occasions, normally some major event or experience intervenes between the first and second data collections (e.g. marriage)
	Types of Surveys - Before-After Design - Strengths	2 sets of results can be compared, if they differed, the argument could be advanced that the difference was due to the intervening event
	Types of Surveys - Before-After Design - Limitations	The validity of this line of reasoning depends on being able to show that only the intervening event could have influenced a second set of results. This may be extremely difficult to arrange in a survey.
	Types of Surveys - Two-Groups Controlled Comparaison	Two similar groups of participants, one of which is exposed to some treatment before data collection, whereas the other is not (attitudes towards the opposite sex could be assessed)
	Types of Surveys - Two-Groups Controlled Comparaison - Strengths	Avoids the problems associated with the repeated measures design
	Types of Surveys - Two-Groups Controlled Comparaison - Limitations	Requires the assumption that the two groups had the same attitudes before the treatment occurred, and we cannot be sure that that assumption is justified
	Types of Surveys - Two-Groups Before-After Surveys	Two samples or groups are tested for the first time, then one group is exposed to some treatment, and finally both groups are test for a second.
	Two-Groups Before-After Surveys	Dyer (1995): - participants are allocated at random to two groups - attitudes of all towards Third World issues are assessed - one group is exposed to TV commercial focusing on the need to provide economic aid to Third World countries - attitudes of both groups towards Third World countries is assessed
	Two-Groups Before-After Surveys - Strengths	It is more reliable and easier to interpret
	Two-Groups Before-After Surveys - Limitations	- The most complicated one to use - There is still an assumption that individual differences are controlled for - the two groups had the same attitudes before the treatment occurred
	Qualitative Research Methods - Questionnaires/Surveys: Large Scale Surveys	Answered normally by at least a thousand people
	Questionnaires/Surveys: Large Scale Surveys - Strengths	Due to the larger number of participants, there is a greater chance of the sample being representative of the population, therefore you have more confidence in generalizing results to the population
	Questionnaires/Surveys: Large Scale Surveys - Limitations	Problems that are too complex for respondents to understand will not be amenable to a large scale survey
	Qualitative Research Methods - Questionnaires/Surveys: Small Scale Surveys	- The main reason: is to obtain representative responses from a sample of people whose views reflect those of the target population - May be reckoned to be fewer than 1,000 people although this number is flexible - It is not the psychological question itself that is small but rather the number of respondents involved
	Examples of Small Scale Surveys	- Patients who show similar dysfunctional behavior - Customer choice in purchasing goods - Choice of schooling where this is feasible - Attitudes to local policies, sports, or entertainment
	Questionnaires/Surveys: Small Scale Surveys - Strengths	Relatively economical
	Questionnaires/Surveys: Small Scale Surveys - Limitations	Its limited size may throw some doubt upon its representative quality
	Qualitative Research Methods - Questionnaires/Surveys - Identification and Representativeness of Target Population	The aim of all survey research is to obtain information about some specified population. The critical factor in the survey method is the validity of the generalizations. Target Population: The target group (the group of interest for the researcher) Sample: - is the group of individuals who are selected from within a larger population by means of a sampling procedure - it is important to ensure that the sample selected is as representative of the target population as possible - the representativeness of a survey is entirely dependent upon the accuracy of the sampling frame used.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Questionnaires/Surveys - Techniques of Sampling from Target Population	- Problem that applies to nearly all sampling methods is that of non-responding - Random sampling is usually not an appropriate means for the survey research method - The most appropriate techniques of sampling from target population for the survey research method include: * stratified sampling * purposive sampling * snowball sampling * convenience or opportunity sampling (only when all other sampling methods are not feasible)
	Qualitative Research Methods - Questionnaires/Surveys - Use of a Likert Scale	- Likert was an early researcher in the study and measurement of attitudes - He showed social psychologists how to measure attitudes by providing a clear statement about an attitude topic, and then asking the degree to which participants approve or disapprove of the statement
	Use of a Likert Scale - Strengths	- Easy to develop for particular purposes - Can determine which items are important to the sample population - They generate numerical data - Data can easily be treated statistically and summarized across a sample
	Use of a Likert Scale - Limitations	- the combination of statements/cumulative scores are difficult to interpret - issues of validity and reliability
	Use of a Likert Scale - Validity	Quality of a measure relation to whether it measures what it is intended to measure. If a researcher's measures are not valid, then they have no value
	Types of Validity - Construct Validity	Do our measures match what we think we are measuring or what we want to measure?
	Types of Validity - External Validity	Do our measures in the experimental context relate to real-life contexts?
	Types of Validity - Predictive Validity	Can we predict future attitudes and behaviors from the ones we currently measure?
	Types of Validity - Face Validity	How relevant do our measures appear to the people we are studying?
	Use of a Likert Scale - Reliability	Quality of a measure relating to its relative consistency in measurement, such as between different measurement times and they must be consistent with themselves
	Use of a Likert Scale - Reliability - Internal Reliability	- An individual's responses should be related to each other. (dos the person give all questions about his or her attitudes approximately the same rating?)
	Use of a Likert Scale - Reliability - Test-restest reliability	If we measure attitudes in one day, then the individual's responses should be the same when we measure the attitudes again on another day. If our measures are not reliable, then we cannot say what we have measured is real.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Observation	DEFINE, EXPLAIN, APPLY, EVALUATE: - Participant observation (the investigator is involved in the study as an active participant) - Non-participant observation (the investigator only observes the behavior of the participants) - Methods of recording data, including time, event and point sampling
	Observation - Participant Observation	It refers to an observer who is a complete participant who conceals the role of observer from the group members
	Observation - Participant Observation - Characteristics of participant observation research:	- the researcher plays a dual role ; both as participant and observer - participant observation research is unstructured. the researcher is prepared to collect any and all data which may seem to be relevant. no decision is made about what data to collect before entering the field - focuses on social processes and the interaction between people. - descriptive - the results of the research consist of descriptions of events rather than quantitative data
	Observation - Participant Observation - Three stages to carry out the study	Dyer (1995) - Entering the field: the first task is to gain access to the information which the field contains, so that data collection can begin - Being in the field: one in the field the researcher participates in the on-going social activity of the group, and can begin to record observation - Leaving the field: the researcher extricates herself from the network of relationship which have been formed during the course of the research
	Observation - Participant Observation - 6 Key Categories of Information in Participant research	Loftland (1976) - acts (short actions) - activities (actions taking up at least several days) - meanings (participants' explanations for their actions) - participation (the various roles participants play) - relationships among the group members - settings (the situations in which the group members find themselves)
	Observation - Participant Observation - Strengths	- Allows for insight into context, relationships, behavior - Combines the subjective participant perspective with the objective participant perspective - Provides very detailed and in depth knowledge of a topic, which cannot be gained by other methods - One of the best methods to avoid researcher bias, because the researchers seek to understand how and why the social processes are the way they are, instead of imposing their own reality on the phenomenon - Provides a holistic interpretation of a topic, because the researcher takes into account as many aspects as possible of that particular group of people
	Observation - Participant Observation - Limitations	- Time consuming and demanding - The researcher needs to be physically present and try to live the life of the people he or she is studying - Difficult to record data promptly and objectively ; documentation relies on memory, personal discipline, and diligence of researcher ; requires conscious effort at objectivity because method is subjective. In Participant Observation, there is the delicate balance between involvement and detachment
	Observation - Participant Observation - Ethics	- Ethical issues especially when the observer is concealed - A tendency over long term covert membership of a group to 'go native' and lose the objectivity of observation - Recording of events is problematic especially where the observer is known and Hawthorne effets may begin to operate - Danger, demeaning of participants or justification of deceit
	Observation - Non-Participant Observation	- the researcher's activities are devoted to watching and recording behavior in a way which does not involve any kind of interaction with those being observed - the participant may be unaware that they are being observed, therefore assuming that the observed behavior has been unaffected by the process of collection data - consider: ethics, danger, demeaning of participants and justification of deceit
	Observation - Non-Participant Observation - Categories that should possess the following features:	Starts with experimental hypothesis, then devising the behavioral categories that are going to be observed. - Behavior that qualify for each category should be defined in a precise and objective way so there is as little ambiguity - Categories need to be comprehensive, all behavior relevant to the experimental hypothesis should be included - The categories should be usable in the context of the study
	Observation - Non-Participant Observation - Strengths	- Ecological Validity: the collection of data takes place in a natural environment and it is assumed that participants behave in natural ways (in contrast to research laboratories) - Can be used to collect data in cases where it would be impossible or unethical to do so (people with Alzheimers disease)
	Observation - Non-Participant Observation - Limitations	- Participant and research expectancies - Ethical considerations
	Observation - Non-Participant Observation - Participant Expectancies	- they frequently occur when non-participant observation is used as the research method - occur whenever audiences are present - may make the resulting findings invalid because the participant's behavior is probably untypical of his or her normal behavior. Such behavior lacks ecological validity.
	Observation - Non-Participant Observation - Researcher Expectancies	- they happen when the observer comes to the investigation with an inbuilt bias that influences his/her interpretation of the data - Biased researchers are almost certain to take a less than objective view of the behavior that they investigate ; this means that the research findings are likely to go in a predetermined direction - the operation of researcher expectancies may make the resulting findings invalid
	Qualitative Research Methods - Observation - Methods of Recording Data	Observations are made continuously where the observers record everything that happens in detail - with a video camera.
	Observation - Methods of Recording Data - Sampling Techniques	- Time sampling: Observations may be made at regular time intervals and coded - Event sampling: Keep a tally chart of each time a type of behavior occurs - Point sampling: Focus on one individual at a time for set period of time
	Observation - Methods of Recording Data - Time Sampling	Time sampling occurs when the researcher decides on a time say 5 seconds and then records what behavior is occurring at that time
	Methods of Recording Data - Time Sampling - Advantages	Reduces the amount of time spent in observation and thus may increase accuracy
	Methods of Recording Data - Time Sampling - Limitations	some behaviors will be missed if random time samples are not taken across the day and therefore the observation may not be representative
	Observation - Methods of Recording Data - Event Sampling	Consists of the researcher recoding an event every time it happens.
	Methods of Recording Data - Time Sampling - Advantages	Limits the behaviors observed, thus reducing the chance that the behavior of interest will be missed
	Methods of Recording Data - Time Sampling - Limitations	If too many observations happen at once it may be difficult to record everything. Other important behaviors may be missed.
	Observation - Methods of Recording Data - Point Sampling	Consists of the behavior of just one individual in a group at a time being recorded.
	Methods of Recording Data - Point Sampling - Advantages	- Increases the accuracy of observation - Increases the number of behaviors that can be recorded
	Methods of Recording Data - Point Sampling - Limitations	May miss behavior in others that is important for an understanding of the individual
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis	- A process that attempts to identify important themes and patterns that occur in the data under consideration. This is usually accomplished by bringing together examples of the same ideas, issues or concepts and then placing these concepts into coherent categories - Define: a systematic, replicable technique for compressing many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding (Weber, 1990) - Enables researchers to shift through large volumes of data with relative ease in a systematic fashion
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis: Explain how to apply the techniques of content analysis	Printed Material: - analyse the content of children's reading books - look at reports of football hooliganism in the media Television, video and film: - assesses how female characters have been portrayed over time in Bond films Advertising: - Content analysis of gender differences in children's advertising Internet and e-mail: - Analyzing students' conversations in chat rooms
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis	- consists of establishing a number of different content categories, and counting up the number of times items relevant to each of them occurs in a particular set of data - A way of using quantitative data to describe qualitative data ; it is a way of converting qualitative information into quantitative data - describing it using number opens the way for a researcher to perform additional statistical tests on the material ; the most commonly used one is chi-square, because a content analysis gives us nominal data
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis	Its reliance on coding and categorizing of the data makes the technique particularly rich and meaningful.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis - Categorizing	- Mutually exclusive categories exist when no unit falls between two data points, and each unit is represented by only one data point - Mutually exhaustive categories is met when the data language represents all recording units without exception
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis - Reliability	- Stability: can the same coder get the same results try after try? - Reproducibility: do coding schemes lead to the same text being coded in the same category by different people?
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis - Validity	- It takes the form of triangulation. Triangulation lends credibility to the findings by incorporating multiple sources of data, methods, investigators, or theories - Content analysis itself is only valid and meaningful to the extent that the results are related to other measures - in order to cross-validate the findings from a content analysis, interviews, surveys or observations could also be utilized
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis - Printed Material	- Testing the authenticity of documents - Analyzing the behavioral patterns of people from the past - Usually begins with annotations in the margins, categorized under appropriate headings - several readings of the printed material are required for a thorough analysis, and the categories should be meaningful
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis - Printed Material	- The analysis of data uses an interpretive approach that is not based on a theory. Should focus on raw data themes or coding of the printed material themes. An interpretation of the themes is a necessary part of the process of analysis - Limited credit is given to students who claim that it is solely the number of times or frequency that words or phrases are used that determines what is important.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis - Television, Video and Film	- Applies to analyzing the themes, terms or images used in television advertising in terms of their interpretation from the viewer' perspective
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis - Advertising	- Hacker and Swan (1992) focused on different aspect of campaign strategy in forms of television advertisements paid for by political parties as a means of 'selling' their candidate
	Qualitative Research Methods - Content Analysis - Internet and E-mail	- E-mail interviews enable the researcher to download both questions and answers on to hard copy. The process of analysis: numbering of each line that is produced by the respondent. This is to identify particular quotations and to facilitiate future links in the data. The researchers then read the transcript several times to identify raw data words or phrases that appear to be important to the respondent.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study	Students are expected to know about the types of case study listed below, also related concepts including data-collection methods and problems of generalization
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Types of Case Studies	- One Individual - Small and Large groups
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Concepts related to Case Studies	- Collecting data (self-reports, observed data and range of other techniques) - Issues of generalizing from an individual case study. - Some case studies are chosen to be representative of a target population and are therefore more generalizable (extrinsic) ; others are chosen because the case is especially unusual or interesting and these are less generalizable (intrinsic)
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study	In-depth descriptive study of the behavior of an individual, a group (family), an organization, or an event.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Descriptive Study of a Person	The study of one single individual, generally using several different research methods.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Descriptive Study of a Group	The study of a single distinctive set of people, such as a family or small group of friends.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Descriptive Study of a Location	The study of a particular place, and the way that it is used or regarded by people.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Descriptive Study of an Organization	The study of a single organisation or company, and the way that people act within it.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Descriptive Study of an Event	The study of a particular social or cultural event, and the interpretations of that event by those participating in it.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Why use case studies?	- To test current theories - To refine existing theories - To develop new theories - To test assumptions
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Main Characteristics	- A descriptive method: quantitative data may be collected, but the main emphasis is always on the construction of verbal descriptions of behavior or experience - Narrowly focused: Offers a description of only a single individual, although it is also possible to write case studies of groups - Highly detailed: descriptions which are achieved can be extremely detailed - Combines objective and subjective data: The information collected in a case study can represent almost any combination of objective and subjective data - Process-oriented: The case study method also enables the researcher to explore and describe the nature of processes which occur over time. The case study enables on-going processes, which continue over time, to be investigated and described in some detail.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study	The case study is not in itself a methodology, but a collection of methods that the researcher uses to investigate an entity such as a single person, a team, and event or an organization.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Data Collection	- Direct observation of behavior - Interviews - Psychological testing (IQ, memory, personality) - Examination of past records (Medical, psychiatry, criminal It is completed over a time span of several days, weeks, months
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Strengths	- Stimulating new research: case study can sometimes highlight extraordinary behavior, which can stimulate new research - Contradicting established theory: Case studies may sometimes contradict established psychological theories - Giving new insight into phenomena or experience: because case studies are so rich in information, they can give insight into phenomena - Permitting investigation of otherwise inaccessible situations: case study gives psychological researchers the possibility to investigate cases, which could not possible be engineered in research laboratories
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Limitations	- Replication not possible: uniqueness of data means that they are valid for only one person - Researcher bias - Memory distortions: Heavy reliance on memory when reconstructing the case history, information about past experiences and events may be subject to distortion - Not possible to replicate findings: serious problems in generalizing the results of a unique individual to other people because the findings may not be representative of any particular population
	Qualitative Research Methods - Case Study - Generalisability	- Data from the case study could not necessarily be generalized to others nor would it be desirable to do so. - It would be incorrect to suggest that generalizing from an individual case study is not possible - Where generalization is required ; using several individual case studies may reveal similar characteristics.
	Case Study - Generalisability - Intrinsic case studies	Are those studied for their own sake because they are interesting in themselves. No intention to generalize the findings. Requires no further justification.
	Case Study - Generalisability - Extrinsic case studies	May be chosen for their representativeness and therefore the findings may be generalized to similar situations.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Triangulation	The application and combination of several research methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Triangulation - 4 Types	Denzin (1988): - Data triangulation - Observer triangulation - Methodological triangulation - Theory triangulation
	Qualitative Research Methods - Triangulation - Data triangulation	This involves conducting research at different times in different locations and using different groups of subjects.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Triangulation - Observer triangulation	This is when more than one observer is used in a study. One example is the use of independent raters and the calculation of inter-rater reliability in research.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Triangulation - Methodological triangulation	Involves the use of two more qualitative methods including observation, interviews, case studies, questionnaires and surveys.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Triangulation - Theory triangulation	This is when more than one perspective is used before coming to a conclusion.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Triangulation - Strengths	By using multiple methods the weaknesses of some methods can be ameliorated by the strengths of other in order to present a more complete interpretation of findings. If the different methods result in similar findings then this was claimed to be evidence of validation of the findings.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Triangulation - Weaknesses	Different methods and theories cannot be merged and do not give rise to a single truth.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Triangulation - Importance of Credibility	Relfe (2006): Credibility corresponds roughly to the concept of internal validity that is used in quantitative research. The term 'trustworthiness' may be a more appropriate word to use for qualitative research. Trust worthiness of research is established when the findings of the research reflect the meanings as they are described by the participants. Used in qualitative research to give more credence to its findings. Credibility can be supported as a general outcome of triangulation if separate methods, different ways of collecting data or interpreting it by using more than one researcher result in fairly close agreement.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Triangulation - Importance of Credibility	Psychologists may choose to approach their data collection by using more than one method. To achieve this, psychologists can use triangulation to allow for a more credible interpretation of the data that has been collected.
	Triangulation - Importance of Credibility - Example: What a psychologist does when studying agression in humans	- measure hormone levels - conduct an interview - observe behavior over an extended period of time The measurement of hormones is quantitative, while the other two methods can be quantitative or qualitative. The measurement of hormes may give only a partial interpretation of agression. Using the three methods will give a more credible interpretation of what is happening in human agression.
	Qualitative Research Methods - Descriptive Statistics - Graphical Techniques	DEFINE, EXPLAIN, USE, APPLY: - Bar Chart - Histogram - Line Graph - Frequency polygon
	Descriptive Statistics - Graphical Techniques - Histogram	Often in research, large amounts of data are collected. A frequency distribution is a table wherein an entire range of scores is divided into a series of equally sized increments with the number of scores that fall into each class recorded.
	Descriptive Statistics - Graphical Techniques - Frequency Polygon	Is a graph of a frequency distribution in which the number of scores falling in each class is plotted as points with a line being drawn to connect the points.
	Descriptive Statistics - Graphical Techniques - Bar Charts	Shows how frequently a particular category of data occurs by representing the data using a series of discrete bars next to, but not touching one another
	Descriptive Statistics - Graphical Techniques - Line Graph	Is a pictorial representation that indicates the relationship between two factors or two variables in an experiment.

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