Barriers affecting adult women living with Dementia.
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Researchmethodsacriticalreviewwk3.pptxResearch methods a critical review
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Aims
To re-cap on learning to date
To explore in a little more depth some examples of methods
To review grounded theory
To explore ethnography
In-put around 3 actual research projects (PhD study)
So far….
We are aware that there are different research methodologies which lead to the use of different methods
There is a fundamental split based upon structure
determining whether a qualitative or quantitative approach is taken
This is influenced by researcher preferences and the area to be followed
Which methods is best?
Opinion is divided and this means there is no simple answer
Debate about which approach is superior ends in personal preference and that all methods have their own strengths
Yet there is a critical review of both methods and methodology
Important to engage with to understand bias and limitation
Method 1: Surveys
What? Gathers information / opinions / can describe a trend
Can be structured / semi-structured / sample or whole population
Usefulness / strengths: Provides a quantitative or numeric description of events
Limitations: Closed and encoded / lacks flexibility/ restricted information / researcher and tool are in control
Method 2: Interviews
What? ‘Conversation with a purpose’ / two way approach / Unstructured / semi-structured
Usefulness / strengths: Findings are created and recorded at the time / flexibility / allows for a reflexive approach
Limitations: Requires a skilled interviewer / side-lining can be a problem / personal disclosure / ethically challenging
Methods 3: Focus group
What? A group interview or discussion (Gill et al., 2008). Based upon interaction to create findings.
Usefulness / strengths: Less time required and rich qualitative data created / findings are co-constructed / potential for egalitarianism
Limitations: Requires careful facilitation / some participant may dominate / ethics / sensitivity need to be adhered to
E.G. Grounded Theory (GT)
A qualitative strategy were theory is derived from participants feedback (understand humans)
Data collection and analysis occur simultaneously
Social processes are discovered building ideas / theory from the ground up / avoiding pre-conceptions
Categories and analytic codes developed from data
Theoretical sampling used to refine categories
Analytical memos used between coding
and writing
Categories integrated into a theoretical
framework
Defining and evaluating…
“The spirit of grounded theory is open-ended and flexible, a form of research that seeks to understand individuals involved in social interactions of various types within various contexts” Gilgun (2010)
GT provides tools, which are flexible, reflexive and allowing ‘fresh ways’ to examine data
“ We begin by being open to what is happening in the studies scenes and interview statements so that we might learn about out research participants’ lives” Charmaz (2006)
Ethos / Guides for GT
Charmaz comments on the importance of preservation of ‘human dignity for participants’, she says that this might be accomplished through building rapport with them
“If researchers do not establish rapport, they risk losing access to conduct subsequent interviews or observations” (Charmaz:2006: 19)
Glaser (1998) ‘cautions against preconceived interview guides’, whereas Charmaz advocates for the usefulness of ‘an open-ended interview guide’ to keep track of ideas and help engagement, by reducing distractions
E.G. Ethnography
Qualitative strategy in which the researcher studies an intact cultural / social group in their natural setting
Takes a longer time, as ethnographers spent a minimum of one year living amongst the group so local people to have a chance to know the ethnographer, and build rapport / understanding with local people
Methodological approach
Relies on participant observation as its key data collection method
Ethnographer becomes completely immersed in another culture and way of life / not only observing the phenomenon under study, but becoming part of the participant’s daily life
Aiming to understand practices within the setting, making sense in the context of day-to-day life
For example, an ethnographer studying the religious practices of a culture would not only attend religious services but participate to
gain true understand from an insider’s view
Examples of conducting research 1: Jo Smith
Choice of topic: Work-Life balance and Well-being
Choice of methods: Qualitative / Social Constructionism / feminism
choice of participants: Women learners
Choice of methods: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups
The outcomes: Rich qualitative findings
E.G. Limitations
Personal and professional dilemma: “Many benefits are derived from an insider researcher perspective, including familiarity with the research setting, yet barriers can include assumptions made by researchers and limited confidence amongst participants related to the confidentiality of their disclosures (Hanson, 2013; Humphrey, 2012; Mercer, 2007)”
Limitation: Positional power
‘Positional power within this study may have influenced commentary, with the interaction between the women who were students and me as a lecturer/researcher creating a restriction in respondent candor’
Mason (1996) and Letherby, (2003) argue that positional power can reduce interaction and inhibit participants
‘In drawing upon feminist approaches and technics, including disclosing personal information to build rapport and spending more time listening than talking, I tried to reduce the impact of the power imbalance’
Small scale research
“…the small scale nature of the study… the study was based upon a small group of students (ten) and if more students had been interviewed at the time greater variation in findings might have been found”
“This approach reflects a particular set of circumstances, at a certain time and the focus group was used as a confirmation tool (Simmons et al., 2015)”
Writing up tension…
Tension and potential limitations during the writing up process occur, as the findings are formed into a thesis, available in the public domain, in this case a PhD thesis
The voice was important throughout my research and I was committed to this. However, O’Reiley and Kiyimba (2015: 158) argue that the ‘tidying up’ process, whereby findings are prepared to be presented to others involves choices and is selective, returning power to the researcher
Researcher experiences
Mark Durkin
Kevin Burke
