week 7

Qualitative Research Overview

• Qualitative research aims to understand social life from participants' perspectives, focusing on words, images, and social interactions rather than numerical data.
• It uses an inductive approach, starting with broad questions and refining them through data collection.
• Methods like ethnography, interviews, focus groups, and document analysis are commonly used.
• Participatory action research emphasizes collaboration with those affected by a social issue.
• Qualitative research evaluation uses criteria like credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability, which differ from traditional reliability and generalizability.
• The goal is to understand social life as a dynamic process, capturing nuances and participants' meanings.
• Despite subjectivity and replication challenges, qualitative research provides in-depth, context-specific insights into lived realities.

Content Analysis

• Content analysis is a method that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to interpret texts or communication.
• Coding is crucial for organizing data into meaningful categories.
• Quantitative coding uses pre-defined frameworks to ensure consistency.
• Qualitative coding evolves as the research progresses to capture emerging themes.
• Examples of techniques include ethnographic content analysis, which emphasizes iterative code refinement, semiotics (examining signs), and hermeneutics (interpreting texts within context).
• Critical discourse analysis explores how language reflects and shapes social power dynamics.
• Evaluating content analysis involves assessing factors like authenticity, credibility, representativeness, and meaning to ensure robust findings.
• Content analysis is vital for examining how communication reflects and shapes society.

Lecture Highlights

• The lecture emphasizes the rigor required in qualitative research.
• A strong theoretical framework supported by evidence is crucial.
• Concepts need to be adaptable to various contexts.
• Qualitative research aims to develop new theories and offer insightful perspectives on social issues.

Coding in Qualitative Research

• Coding is the process of breaking down data into smaller parts for easier analysis.
• Open coding involves creating initial labels for data.
• Axial coding groups these labels into larger, more abstract themes.
• Selective coding refines these themes, drawing connections between the larger concepts.
• Coding is an ongoing process throughout the research, ensuring consistency.
• Researchers use existing concepts and codebooks to maintain consistency.
• Coding helps develop clear and evidence-based explanations of social phenomena.