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Lecture 10 - Qualitative Research and Mixed Methods Research
Understand…
Lecture 10 - Qualitative Research and Mixed Methods Research
- Understand that the philosophical assumptions underpinning qualitative research and that they are different to quantitative research.
- Describe a range of common characteristics of qualitative research
- Describe a range of qualitative research designs
- Describe a range of qualitative sampling strategies
- Discuss sample size in qualitative research
- Describe a range of strategies to ensure rigour in qualitative research
- Describe thematic analysis
- Understand mixed methods research as a research approach
- Recognise a range of mixed methods research designs and apply their shorthand notations
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Approaches to Qualitative Research
Generic Approaches;
“..simply seek to discover and understand a phenomenon, a process, or the perspectives and worldviews of the people involved.” ( Merrriam , 1998, p.11).*
1. Combine several approaches
2. Claim no methodological viewpoint at all.
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Phenominological Study
Describes Meaning;
Describes the significance of a group of individuals lived experiences of a cncept or phenomenon
Purpose;
To reduce the experiences of these individuals to a concise description of universal essence of that phenomenon
Essence
refers to patterns, structures, invariant features….
What is essential rather than incidental to the phenomena
Process
- Identify a phenonomenon (human experiemce, e.g. insomnia
- Collect data from those who have experienced it
- Develop a composite description of what they experienced and how they experienced it
- Strong philosophical component
Grounded Theory
Intent;
To move beyond a description and produce instead a more complete theory or generate an analytical schema which better explains a process, action or interaction
Participants;
- Must have experienced the process, interaction or action before
- The subsequent theory might also provide a framework for future research
Key Idea;
Theory development is "grounded" in data from participants, rather than coming off "the shelf"
Thereby;
“Grounded theory is a qualitative research design in which the inquirer generates a general explanation (a theory) of a process, action of interaction shaped by the views of a large number of participants” participants
Sampling
Objective of sampling in qualitative research fundamentally different from quantitative research
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Sample Size
- In qualitative research it is difficult to accurately predict what the sample size needs to be in order to have sufficient power be.
- The sample is large enough when it can support the desired analyses.
- The number of participants is less important than the richness of the data.
Charmaz (1991) study on serious chronic illness: 35 in initial sample
- Derived participants from doctor referrals
- Sought additional participants from other sources, including those who might have avoided the medical system
- Important point: the number is not important, what is important is the rationale given by Charmaz for her sampling technique
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Data Analysis
Themes do not spontaneously emerge from the data, it must be analysed first
Refinement follows a path from REAL => ABSTRACT
Immersion in the DATA
Deriving Concepts - Open Coding
- Read Interview Transcripts line-by-line
- Identify and code concepts (an idea) in the data
- Is this an important concept? Ask questions about the data - closely examining or interrogating it.*
Developing Categories - Focus Coding
Clustering the concepts into broader categoriesCharacteristics of Categories
- A label/name
- A key idea about which the category is concerned
- Segments of data
- A set of criteria that demarcate the category in
relation to other categories being used*
Refining Categories - Focused Coding
Purpose: to ensure that categories are fully developed conceptually and we know as much as we can about each category
- Identify what is important in each category, and how each category relates to others
Estabilishing Themes - Theoretical Coding
Focusing on the main ideas at an abstract level (‘themes’) and examining
their interrelation