RD: #5 PART 1

• Qualitative research is a non-experimental type of research.
• Qualitative research does not manipulate variables and is not looking for cause and effect.
• Qualitative resarch describes or documents a phenomenon through systematic data collection.
• Qualitative research may be prospective or retrospective, longitudinal or cross-sectional.

Definition of Qualitative Research

• There is no consensus among qualitative researchers on the definition of qualitative research.
• Qualitative research is not quantitative research.
• Qualitative resarch seeks to describe the complex nature of humans and how individuals perceive their own experiences within a specific social context based on Portney & Watkins, 2009 definition.

Assumptions of Qualitative Research

• Reality is constructed.
• Investigator and participant interdependent & changed by the experience
• Knowledge is time and context dependent.
• It lacks a clear distinction between cause and effect.
• Inquiry is value bound.

Characteristics of Qualitative Research

• Characterized by rich, subjective, textual data rather than numbers.
• Studies many variables simultaneously.
• Involves extensive interaction with the people being studied.
• Uses natural methods, which are familiar and respect beliefs.
• Methods are useful for understanding client's perspective and client-centered care and evidence-based practice.
• Examples include case study, ethnography, phenomenology, and grounded theory.
• Itis important to be clear on approach to avoid "methodological slurring" because different approaches use different methods.

Case Study

• Detailed description of a single case, which could be a client, clinic, or program.
• Case studies generally go beyond description to interpretation.

Ethnography

• Studies the culture/social milieu of specific groups of people.
• Examines the attitudes, knowledge, beliefs and behaviors of social units.
• Ethnography explores the cultural understanding of groups
• Observational methods include participant observation, where the researcher embeds themselves in the culture.
• Often uses a cultural informant.
• Data may be collected from people involved in various ways, such as professionals, clients, and administrators.
• Examples of ethnography include Margaret Mead's anthropology work and Crago's work on child language development in Inuktitut.

Phenomenology

• Used when little is known about the phenomenon of interest.
• Phenomenology gives 'voice' to people being studied.
• Seeks to draw meaning from complex realities through careful analysis of personal narratives.
• Experience must be interpreted by the person who lives it and is constructed within the individual's social context.
• Unstructured interviews are the primary tool of this approach.
• An example of phenomenology is studying a family's experience of life with a bilingual child with ASD.

Grounded Theory

• Seeks to develop a theory that will explain what is observed during the study.
• The researcher has no a priori hypotheses or theories but develops research hypotheses as the data unfolds.
• Uses the "constant comparative method".
• Researcher collects, codes, and analyzes data simultaneously.
• Each source of information builds on the previous piece until the data becomes redundant.
• Theory emerges from the data.
• If the data do not fit the theory, the theory is revised.

Grounded Theory Methods

• Multiple methods are used.
• The researcher moves during the study from less structured to more structured formats, such as interviews to focus groups.
• Transcribe using orthographic transcription of turns.
• Analyze by identifying categories, coding data, developing taxonomies, and constructing underlying themes.
• Computer programs such as NVivo and Atlas are now available.

Grounded Theory Analysis

• Two general types of analysis: thematic analysis and content analysis.
• Thematic analysis pulls out themes identified by coding transcript units.
• Themes can be compared within and across individuals.
• Content analysis categorizes and codes every line of the transcript, which is more rigorous and time-consuming.
• An example is the Jensen et al. study to develop a theory of what constitutes expert practice in Physio.

Qualitative Research Sampling & Methods

• Sampling uses non-probability methods: convenience, purposeful, snowball.
• Observational methods are used.
• Interviews can be unstructured or semi-structured, starting with general questions and moving to specific ones.
• Focus groups.
• Artifacts include assessment of existing materials such as curricula, homework, and drawings.
• Photographs and videos are also methods used.

Factors for Credibility and "Trustworthiness"

• Use of more than one person to collect &/or code data
• Member (participant) checking to confirm interpretation/assumptions of data with members/participants.
• External audit of process.
• Reflexivity through a diary to reflect on the examiner's role and impact, and critical reflection on study decisions.

Enhancing Credibility in Qualitative Research

• Peer debriefing uses a group of peers to respond to competing interpretations of data developed by investigators.
• Triangulation uses multiple methods of data collection to converge upon an understanding or description.
• Saturation involves continuing the study until no new information is encountered and being able to predict what someone will do or say.

Explore the foundations of qualitative research, a non-experimental approach focused on describing phenomena. Understand its assumptions, including the constructed nature of reality and the interdependence of the researcher and participant. Discover how this method differs from quantitative research.