Qualitative Research Methods

• The pro's of quantitative research are: it's objective, suitable for explanation (hypothesis testing), suitable for generalisation
• The pro's of qualitative research are: in depth study, considers context, generates new hypothesis
• The con's of quantitative research are: low contact with people or the field, superficial, no context
• The cons of qualitative research are: subjective, difficult to insure validity reliability and generalisability
• Theoretical sampling is when the researcher selects participants based on their theoretical framework.
• Text analysis consists of 3 stages: 1. data management, 2. descriptive accounts, 3. explanatory accounts
• In data management we use raw data to identify initial themes or concepts, and labeling the data by concept or theme, then summarised and synthesized
• In the descriptive accounts stage we identify: elements, dimensions, refine categories and classify data
• In the explanatory accounts stage we detect patterns and develop explanations
• Grounded theory is a method that develops theory from the research
• Open coding is the process of identifying and grouping the data into categories and subcategories.
• Axial coding is relating codes or categories to each other
• Selective coding is building a storyline that connects the categories
• The difference between cross-sectional codes and non cross-sectional codes is that cross sectional codes are used for all interviews instead of having separate codes per interview
• An "in vivo" code is a code of something an interviewee said verbatim
• Qualitative research is non-linear because it is not a series of steps but a continuous process.
• Triangulation is combing several qualitative methods, or several qualitative and quantitative methods
• Data triangulation is the use of several different data sources
• Triangulation helps improve the validity and reliability of the research
• Four criteria for quality of documents: authenticity, credibility, representativeness, meaning