Critique of two research articles

Introduction to Qualitative Research

Meriel Norris

Research Methods PH2600 2020

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module, you should be able to: • Define qualitative research • Explain the assumptions and values underpinning

qualitative research • Explain the main approaches underpinning qualitative

research

• Describe qualitative data collection methods • Explain different strategies for analysing qualitative

data

• Recognise rigour in qualitative research

What this lecture will cover

• What is qualitative research?

– Introduction to induction

• Why do qualitative research?

– Introduction to appropriate questions

• Where does qualitative research come from?

– Introduction to methodologies

What is Qualitative Research? (Assumptions and Values)

 A process of inquiry  Aims to deepen understanding or insight

“Qualitative researchers are interested in how people interpret their experiences, how they construct their worlds, and what meaning they attribute to their experiences” Merriam (2009:5)

 Provides detailed in-depth views of informants  The researcher builds a complex, holistic picture

 Usually conducted in a natural setting  Data is generally considered to be ‘co-

constructed’  Analysis is commonly based on words but

pictures and observation can be used  Based on distinct methodological and

philosophical traditions

(Creswell, 1998/2012)

Quantitative (Experimental) Research is Deductive

Theory

Hypothesis

Measurement

Confirmation

Deduction ‘top down’

Qualitative Research is Generally Inductive: a process of enquiry or

exploration

Inductive ‘bottom up’

Observation

Patterns or Themes

Theory Hypothesis

Qualitative Research Seeks…

• To understand meaning

• To explore perceptions, motivations

• To understand how people make sense of something that matters to them in their lives

• To understand an experience

• To gain insight , to illuminate the less tangible intricacies of human existence

Example of insight in rehab post stroke Theme - Importance of hope

“On my arm? To be honest? They said to me, ‘we can’t do anything about your arm so concentrate on the leg’. I know now this is rubbish. You shouldn’t tell ANYONE that. The way they treated me was good and bad. On the good side they got me walking again, and then you’re out (of hospital). I’m happy with that. But to say to someone you’re never going to get your arm working, mentally, that’s no good. It’s really bad, because now I can look back and say they are wrong, but at the time it’s like the world was coming over me. It’s a mental side. You can really fuck someone up in their head and there’s no way back from that.” (George, 48, moderate disability)

Example – therapists talking about self-management in stroke

Theme- fear of losing control

‘‘At the beginning I used to get quite frustrated and think ‘Oh they could be doing so much more’...and you’d kind of try every way to persuade them to change their mind or...you know ‘What do you think about doing this?’ But then you’d kind of get to a point where there’s no point because it’s not what they want...but it’s what you think they should want. (laughs)...And I think it’s the fear...and we spoke about it in our team meeting yesterday...but it’s the fear of not doing anything, it’s the fear of like you know you should do something because you’re going there to assess them and you can’t just you know say well they haven’t got goals or they don’t really want to...because it feels like it’s a cop-out.’’ (Rose)

Qualitative Research does not…

• generally seek to explain (it doesn’t tend to answer definitive ‘why’ type questions), and it doesn’t test or measure (e.g. for effectiveness)

• generally generate or use numerical data, it does not aim to quantify

However…

Like quantitative research, it seeks to develop new knowledge through the application of

rigorous methods

Why do Qualitative Research?

• To explore previously under-researched areas of experience – the research is primarily hypothesis (or theory) generating rather than hypothesis-testing

• To explore experiential issues in ways that are rich and sensitive to individual and contextual factors (can uncover unexpected issues)

• In mixed-method research, a qualitative phase may complement quantitative enquiry (e.g. to supplement large-scale surveys with more detailed personal views; to complement objective measures of therapy outcomes; to explore a field in order to plan more appropriate quantitative research)

• To give participants power and influence within the research process

Types of questions and

methodological traditions

Research Question

What is the meaning attached to

this phenomenon?

What is life like for this group?

What is happening?

Why is it happening?

What are they communicating?

How are they communicating?

What is the trajectory of their

story?

Qualitative Approach

(Methodology)

Phenomenology (philosophy)

Ethnography (anthropology), Case study

Grounded theory (sociology)

Discourse analysis

(sociology, linguistics)

Narrative

Qualitative Approaches for this Module

• Phenomenology • Grounded theory • Ethnography

NB there are many others

Phenomenology

• Grounded in existential- humanistic traditions

• Focus on the individual’s ‘lived experience’

• Small samples (n= 1-10) are typical

Phenomenology

• Grounded in personal experience

• Is not focussed on sociological structures or contexts but may comment on how an individual interprets their life with respect to broader sociological concepts

• Have an acquaintance with the literature before undertaking the study

• Does not aim for saturation

Understanding individual experiences of phenomenon

Hermeneutic Phenomenology - Strongly interpretative - Would not bracket - Acknowledges researcher’s involvement

Descriptive Empirical Phenomenology - Describes the essence of a phenomenon - It does not draw on external theory - Attempt to ‘bracket’ past knowledge

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis - Strongly focussed on individual sense

making - Interpretative, does not bracket - Reflexive

Grounded Theory

• Sociological origins (Glaser and Strauss) • Seeks to identify social influences on experience

and behaviour and build theory • Aims to explain a process through generation of

theory • Does not test or verify an existing theory • Generally seek samples of 20-30 to gain

‘saturated’ data (from which no new themes emerge). Technically sample size cannot be confirmed in advance

Grounded Theory: Key Features

Data collection (first case)

Initial coding and categorisation

Concurrent (iterative) data collection and

analysis

Memo writing

Theoretical (purposive) sampling

Constant comparison

Theoretical sensitivity

Intermediate coding

Selecting a core category

Theoretical saturation

Theoretical integration

Explaining the existence of a phenomenon within social influences

Example from GT study: The development and maintenance of trust in health care providers (Hupcey, Penrod, & Morse, 2000).

Ethnography • Origins in anthropology • The central aim of ethnography is to provide rich,

holistic insights, through extensive observation, of social interactions, behaviours and perceptions that occur in groups, communities, teams, organisations

• Interested in understanding cultural norms and practices, to examine ‘taken-for-granted’ practices, to make the ‘familiar’ unfamiliar

• Interested in people’s views and actions, as well as the nature (e.g. sights, sounds) of the location they inhabit

• Multiple forms of data collection

Understanding shared phenomena within a group within context

Social

Environmental

Key feature - participant observation

• A fine balance between being ‘in’ and therefore experiencing in a naturalistic way and being ‘out’ so you can look and see as much as possible

Note

There are many methodological approaches we have not discussed

Not all qualitative research have a named methodological approach

BUT the approach does give you a framework to consider the rest of the study

What do Qualitative Methodologies have in Common?

• They typically take an inter-subjective perspective on knowledge – that the data are created / co-constructed / generated during the research process

• The process is value laden; take a social constructivist perspective on the development of knowledge

Quant – work from the assumption that there is an absolute truth, a reality that can be discovered and measured

Qual – work from the assumption that the reality we perceive is constructed by our social, cultural, historical and individual contexts

Knowledge is objective and neutral

Knowledge is subjective, there can be no absolute shared

truth

How do qualitative researchers recruit participants: Sampling

• Most qualitative research uses small samples (1-30) – not only because data collection, transcription and analysis are intense and time-consuming – but also to allow in-depth exploration of individual accounts

What can I do with Qualitative Research? Generalisability vs transferability

• Generalizability is multidimensional (Johnson, 1997)

• Horizontal generalizability: across settings and samples within the original population (nomothetic), large n, quant

• Vertical generalizability: provoke a reappraisal of what is known (idiographic), theoretical generalizability, small n

Quantitative:

Horizontal Generalizability

Qualitative:

Vertical Generalizability/ transferability

Findings new

insight

Summary

• Qualitative research is generally focused on exploring subjective experience

• Different methodological approaches

• General small samples

• Not aiming for ‘the truth’ or population level generalisability