Qualitative Research

• Qualitative Data Collection - advantages


  - good for making observations at the micro-level of analysis

  - provides the opportunity to see/hear things you never heard/thought of

  - allows research participants to describe their experience as they understand it
• Data Collection - Qualitative Interviews


  researcher interviews research participants conversationally

  - allows the research participant to bring up important features of their experience (based on what the participant wants to talk about and is more detailed)
• Qualitative Interview Process


  - Research Question

  - Design Interview Schedule (list of questions you're going to ask)

  - Sample and Conduct Interviews (usually audio or video recordings)

  - Transcribe Interviews

  - Analyze Transcripts
• Qualitative Interview Analysis


  - analyzing interview transcripts involves a process called "coding"

  - allows you to see similarities between research participants

  - after having the interview transcribed, researchers search the text for similar themes, or "codes"
• Qualitative Coding - Inductive


  - has an initial consideration of the data (exploratory)

  - codes are generated from the data (AFTER)
• Qualitative Coding - Deductive


  - NO initial consideration of the data (evaluates pre-existing understanding)

  - codes are developed in advance (BEFORE)
• Data Collection - Field/Ethnographic Research


  when the researcher embeds themselves in the social milieu they wish to study
• The Ethnography Process


  - Research Question

  - Select research site and gain access

  - Long period of participant observation (usually at least a year)

  - Data: Field Notes
• Ethnography


  a method particularly suited to studying populations that are difficult to study using other methods
• Key Informants


  - a research participant who acts as a gatekeeper to allow the researcher to access the research site

  - ethnographic researchers often rely heavily on this
• Role of the Researcher in Ethnography


  - their own social position has a huge impact on the quality of the data they're able to generate

  - sometimes being demographically and/or culturally linked to the research site is important or necessary in ethnographic research

  - other times, being a clear "outsider" is an advantage
• Qualitative Research -> Saturation


  - sample size is determined as part of the data collection process

  - smaller sample size because you're not concerned about generalizability

  - takes much longer to complete in terms of time
• Saturation


  occurs when a researcher determines that further data collection is unlikely to yield new information
• Motivations for Working as a Webcam Model


  - Money

  - Education Costs + Flexibility

  - Childcare Costs
• Research Ethics Boards (REBs)


  prior to conducting any research involving human subjects, researchers must gain approval from the university Research Ethics Board (REBs)
• Tri-Council Policy Statement of Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans


  - formed to create a jointly endorsed over-arching policy on ethical research practices

  - and guides the evaluation of research projects by university Research Ethics Board (REBs)
• Tri-Counsil Policy Statement of Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans - Core Principles


  - Respect for Persons

  - Concern for Welfare

  - Justice
• Tri-Counsel Policy Statement of Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans -Specific Procedures


  - Informed Consent

  - Fairness and Equity in Research Participation

  - Privacy and Confidentiality

  - Research involving Indigenous Persons