4TH QTR EXAM

• Qualitative Interview


  Method of collecting data about an individual's experiences
• Qualitative Interview


  • Covers behavior, opinions, values, emotions, knowledge, sensory perceptions, and demographic characteristics
  • Used to obtain information that will describe the experiences and characteristics of an individual
• Formal Interview


  Requires an interview guide, which contains the questions to be asked and the topics to be covered during an interview
• Structured interview


  Strictly follow the flow and content of the interview guide, best used when the researcher has a full understanding of the topic
• Self-administered questionnaire


  Set of questions that the participant must respond to without the involvement of the researcher, open ended responses
• Semi-structured interview


  Uses an interview guide; however, the researcher may stray from the guide if he or she deems it necessary, best used when the researcher has sufficient background knowledge about the topic, but needs to learn more about it
• Unstructured interview


  Questions are generally open-ended and the interviewer has little control over the respondents' answers, usually used in ethnographic research and in-depth interviews
• Informal interview


  Allows the researcher to talk to the participant conversationally, usually participant observation, and to build rapport with participants, to understand the setting of the study, or to uncover new topics
• Classification of Questions


  • Demographic Characteristics
  • Behavior
  • Emotions
  • Knowledge
  • Opinions or Values
  • Sensory Perceptions
• Guidelines in Conducting an Interview (Before the Interview)

  1. Decide on how you will conduct the interview

  2. Have two research assistants who will take notes during the session

  3. Choose a comfortable venue for the interview

  4. Decide on the length of your interview

  5. Prepare an interview guide and master it

  6. Make your interview questions as specific as possible

  7. Make your interview questions focused on and directly related to your specific research questions

  8. Pilot-test your interview guide

  9. Ask permission from your respondents before the interview

  10. Determine what kind of recorder you will use in the interview
• Guidelines in Conducting an Interview (During the Interview)

  1. Explain the purpose of the study and the interview to your respondents

  2. Remain as neutral as possible

  3. Establish rapport with your interviewees

  4. Observe good manners throughout the interview

  5. Help the interviewees participate as easily as possible

  6. Make sure that the interviewee participates as much as possible in the interview

  7. Be firm but gentle throughout the interview

  8. End the interview by thanking the interviewees for their participation
• Guidelines in Conducting an Interview (After the Interview)

  1. Check if your audio or video recorder worked well throughout the interview

  2. Transcribe the interviewees' responses as they are

  3. Write your observations about the interview
• Focus Group Discussion


  Similar to an interview but with several respondents and a moderator facilitating the conversation, used to collect data about a specific topic and to reveal the shared experiences of the respondents
• Observation


  Involves seeing how people behave and interact with one another, helps you create a detailed and lengthy description of what people do in a controlled or natural setting, best used when your research questions or objectives are about behavior in a particular setting
• Categories of Variables in Observation

  • Appearance
  • Behavior during communication and interactions
  • Personal space
  • Human flow
  • People
• Appearance


  • Physical features, age, gender, clothing, etc, Features of an individual that imply their membership in a group or profession, religion, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status
• Behavior during communication and interactions

  • Interaction among people, the length of their communication or interactions, languages used, nonverbal cues, Social rank, gender, age, profession, use of body language
• Personal space


  • Physical proximity of one person to another, People's preferences regarding personal space
• Human flow


  • Number of people who enter and exit a particular community, Frequency of flow, length of stay, the number of people accompanying a person entering/exiting a community
• People


  • Individuals who stand out among a group of people, Characteristics of the "star" members of the group, how other people interact with them
• Advantages of Observation


  • Provides more reliable information about the behavior of a person or a particular group of people
  • Provide valuable information about the situation and environment where a particular individual or group of people is situated
• Disadvantages of Observation


  • Hawthorne effect - participants of the study change their behavior due to their awareness of being observed
  • It only provides a few instances representing a whole situation; it fails to capture the overall situation
  • More exhaustive and time-consuming than an interview
• Controlled Observation


  Carried out in a laboratory, researcher determines the place, time, participants, and circumstances of the observation, researcher needs to explain the aim of the research to the participants, it is prone to Hawthorne effect
• Natural or Unstructured Observation

  Observes spontaneous behavior of the participants, Conducted in a natural setting, Ecological Validity - ability of the findings to be generalized to real - life situations, Its results may not be generalizable to other contexts or to a wider society
• Participant Observation


  Observer takes part in the activities of the group or community, Overt observation - participants know that you are a researcher or observer, Covert observation - participants are not aware that you are a researcher or observer
• Different Observational Roles for Covert Observation

  • Complete Observer - neither seen nor noticed by the participants
  • Complete participant - fully engaged with the participants who are unaware that they are being observed, observer acts like an "undercover" member
• Different Observational Roles for Overt Observation

  • Observer as participant - observer is known and recognized by the participants but has limited interaction with them
  • Participant as observer - observer is fully engaged with the participants, observer is still considered as a researcher
• Techniques in Collecting Data Through Observation

  • Written description
  • Video recording
  • Using photographs and artifacts
• Document Analysis


  Data collection method that involves the interpretation of selected documents through analyzing their content, includes public records, personal documents, and physical evidence
• Informed Consent Form


  Gives the potential respondents the information they need in deciding whether they will participate in the study or not, should be signed by both the participant and the researcher
• Information included in the Informed Consent Form

  • Data collection procedure
  • Possible discomfort or risk factors
  • Financial considerations
  • Confidentiality clause
  • Termination of the research
  • Authorization clause
• Reporting and Sharing the Findings

  Present your findings and its details, Limited to presenting information without any interpretation or bias
• Guidelines in Writing the Results of a Qualitative Study


  1. Present the results based on how the research questions or findings are presented

  2. Feature direct quotations or excerpts from your raw data

  3. Take caution in featuring sidelights in your presentation of results

  4. Use non-prose materials appropriately

  5. Observe the guidelines in creating your non-prose materials

  6. Avoid providing comments about the findings and interpreting the results

  7. Make your results section clear and organized
• Discussion


  Provides the interpretation of the results linked to the literature and studies cited in the literature review, explain how findings differ from those of other studies, or how these studies support your findings, explain how your findings address your research questions or objectives
• Guidelines in Writing the Discussion of a Qualitative Study

  1. Anchor your discussion portion on your research objectives and questions

  2. Start from the specific to the general

  3. Refrain from merely repeating your results or just introducing new results in your discussion

  4. Link the results to the related literature and research works similar to your own

  5. Present the potential limitations of your interpretation

  6. Observe other conventions in writing the discussion portion
• Summary


  Reiterates your research questions or objectives, states the major findings for each of these questions or objectives
• Guidelines in Writing the Summary

  1. Restate your research questions or research objectives in the introductory paragraph

  2. Refrain from elaborating on major findings

  3. Refrain from inferring and generalizing from the findings

  4. Write the summary concisely and clearly

  5. Avoid introducing new data in your summary
• Conclusion


  Presents inferences, generalizations, deductions, and general statements about the findings, presents valid and logical consequences and outcomes from the findings
• Guidelines in Writing the Conclusion

  1. The conclusions drawn do not correspond to one item in the findings alone

  2. Should directly address your general research question or objective

  3. Each conclusion should be supported by sufficient evidence obtained during the study

  4. Avoid merely repeating the findings you stated in the summary

  5. Limit the conclusion to the subject of the study

  6. Observe other conventions in writing the conclusions subsection
• Limitations of the Study

  Factors that the researcher fails to control or use and can be addressed by future studies, includes study design limitations, impact limitations, and data limitations