Qualitative research methods

• Quantitative research is numerical objective, its quality is breadth and qualitative research is descriptive, subjective its quality is depth.
• qualitative research avoids closed responses *binary questions, and prefers open-ended responses
• What type of context does qualitative research belong to compared to quantitative research?

  Naturalistic versus controlled
• Qualitative local meanings which are often narrow, Quantitative is shallow and broad allowing data to predict and generalise
• Qualitative takes a flexible and dynamic approach with methods, and quantitative is fixed and objective
• Mixed methods can be described as multifaceted research combining depth and breadth of research methods
• "Little Q" research uses qualitative data but often quantifies it and doesn't necessarily adhere to a qualitative methodological framework.
• Little q doesn't focus on providing a rich, deep description of the data.
• "Big Q" research is grounded in qualitative methodology and aims to offer rich and detailed descriptions. It acknowledges multiple realities and takes into account differing perspectives influenced by cultural worldviews.
• What Q considers the context of the research as vital and acknowledges that researchers are subjective, as individual responses are shaped by their context and circumstances?

  Big Q
• Little qualitative data is surface level, and Big qualitative data is the depth of subjectivity within ontology and epistemology
• Big Q does not aim for

  • cause and effect,
  • hypothesis testing,
  • replication
• A great qualitative researcher will always try to apply a contextual analysis to a perspective "they might believe this practices is best due to their upbringing"
• Qualitative research is both exploratory and descriptive (surface level) or theorised and explanatory (existing knowledge and filling in the gaps)
• What does the acronym "G-DID" stand for

  • Give voice to an issue
  • Develop ('grounded' or ‘other’ theory)
  • Provide In-depth description (of events/ meaning and experience)
  • Discern discourses, constructions, and social critique
• Reality is dependent upon ways we come to know it- objective ontology and relativist epistemology
• A pre-social reality exists subjective ontology but we can only ever partially know it critical realist view epistemology
• A pre-social reality exists subjective ontology but we can access through research realist epistemology
• What framework should we apply when formulating questions for qualitative research

  • Great = Goals; have them
  • Tigers = Theoretical framework
  • Rarely = Research questions open ended
  • Eat = Ethical considerations
  • Mice = Methods to generate data, visual, interviews etc
  • And = Methods to analyse data
  • Frogs = Flexible approach
• Example: "Can you describe a situation where you felt most deprived of food, how did it make you feel. What type of question are we asking?

  Questions to ask participants
• Example: "What common themes emerge from the participants' experiences of deprivation. What kind of question are we asking here?

  Questions to ask of the data
• Suitable Research Questions include peoples experiences, understandings, and perceptions
• Researcher directed diaries (often found in clinical research) what level of interaction is required for this data collection?


  Less interactive
• Collecting pre-existing texts. Narrative analysis interacting with all ready set data, what level of interaction is required for this data collection?

  Least interactive non interactive due to secondary sources
• Interviews, go along/ walk along, singing, stories etc, What level of interaction is required for this data collection?

  Most interactive due to primary sources
• semi-structured interview: an informal interviews that is not completely structured but is still guided by a set of open-ended questions
• Dual Consciousness: Think of it as wearing two hats - one as yourself, the other as a researcher. You need to balance your personal thoughts and feelings with the objective viewpoint of a researcher.
• Self-Disclosure: Imagine it as opening a personal diary to someone. It can build empathy and rapport, but overdoing it could shift focus away from the subject of the research.
• Weaknesses of interviews include power/ control/ naive assertions of voice- sense of hierarchy between participants and researcher
• Talanoa Pacific research method which involves a free, open-ended, and flexible conversation that cultivates empathy between people
• It is relational and deeply empathetic, focusing on intersubjectivity, and often involves more self-disclosure. What is this an example of for research methodology?

  Talanoa Pacific research method
• Thematic analysis is a qualitative method of data analysis that involves identifying and analyzing patterns (themes) in data
• Thematic analysis is like a map full of symbols (linguistic descriptive data). Your task is to decode these symbols (coding) to find the hidden treasures (pattens/ themes). Your final quest is to showcase these treasures (reporting patterns) to makes sense and tells a compelling story or thematic map

  
• Semantic themes (surface level) Latent themes (deep thinking and meaning)
• F.amily G.enetics D.on't R.eally D.efine P.ersonality, what does this stand for within the framework of thematic analysis?

  • Familiarisation:
  • Generating codes: Label your data
  • Developing themes: Group codes develop themes
  • Reviewing themes: Check your themes against your data.
  • Defining and naming the themes: Explain your themes.
  • Producing the report: Detail your findings.
• Theoretical (concept-driven) approach is driven by the researcher's theoretical or analytic interest in the area. It is more explicitly analyst-driven.
• Inductive (data-driven) approach is when themes are strongly linked to the data itself.
• Abductive (breakdown-driven) approach combines elements of both the inductive and theoretical approaches.
• Researchers immerse themselves in the data and allow themes to emerge from the data organically, without trying to fit it into a pre-existing coding frame or the researcher's analytic preconceptions, what sort of reasoning is used here?


  Inductive data driven reasoning for research
• The themes are determined by existing concepts or ideas, and the data is coded based on these predefined themes.The themes are determined by existing concepts or ideas, and the data is coded based on these predefined themes?

  Theoretical (concept-driven) thematic analysis