PSYC 209 - 1638
MIMI206
QualitativeMethods.pptxQualitative Methods
When to pursue a qualitative study
Why would you choose qualitative?
New area of research
Goal to describe behavior/phenomena
Egalitarian, constructivist values
The Method
Participants
Usually “information-rich” participants
Small sample size (n)
Procedures
Structured or semi-structured interview
Ask open-ended questions
Audio, video recording
Create exact transcript of response
In-Class activity (write at least 3 sentences for each)
Why did you enroll at Seattle Central College?
What is one positive experience you’ve had in school at Seattle Central College?
What is one negative experience you’ve had in school at Seattle Central College?
Analysis
“Code” transcripts for themes, increasing in abstraction
Open coding
Large number of codes
Directly tied to transcript; may use same language as participant
No interpretation
Axial coding
Up 1 level in abstraction
Groups open codes into categories
Thematic coding
Even more abstract
Large themes across multiple transcripts
In-Class activity
Exchange responses to the 3 questions with someone who is not in your research group
Practice open coding by yourself
In your research groups, practice axial coding across all transcripts
Saturation
No new themes emerge from new transcripts
Signal time to stop collecting data
Trustworthiness
The qualitative equivalent of validity
Established through:
Researcher’s journals
Transcript audits
