Qualitative Research Overview

Qualitative Research

• Involves collecting and analyzing non-numeric data (e.g., language, text)
• Applied across disciplines like anthropology, psychology, sociology, and kinesiology
• Also known as ethnographic, grounded theory, phenomenological, etc.
• The research process includes defining the research problem, formulating research questions and a theoretical framework, and collecting data
• Data collection methods include interviews, focus groups, and observations
• Trustworthiness is crucial for ensuring the applicability, consistency, neutrality of data
• Trustworthiness components include credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability
• Prolonged engagement, audit trails, thick descriptions help with data quality
• Understanding researcher bias and minimizing bias is crucial for ensuring trustworthiness
• Triangulation (using multiple sources for supporting conclusions) and member checking (validating findings with participants) are key techniques for ensuring data validity

Experimental & Quasi-Experimental Research

• Used to establish cause-and-effect relationships
• A good theoretical framework, experimental design, appropriate variables and statistical analyses are crucial
• Criteria for establishing causality includes: the cause must precede the effect, cause and effect must correlate, and no other variable should explain the correlation
• Types of validity include internal validity (ensures the treatment cause observed changes) and external validity (generalizability to other contexts)
• Threats to internal validity include history, maturation, testing effects, selection biases
• Threats to external validity include interaction of testing with treatment, biases in participant selection
• Experimental designs include pre-experimental, experimental, and quasi-experimental designs

Epidemiology

• Involves the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to the control of health problems
• Observational research examines natural differences without intervention, while experimental research tests the effects of treatments (ethically limited)
• Key epidemiological concepts include distribution (frequency, patterns) and determinants (characteristics affecting health)
• Common study designs include cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, and case-control studies

Correlation & Regression

• Correlation examines relationships between two or more variables
• Types of correlation include positive (direct relationship) and negative (inverse relationship)
• Large samples improve the detection of significant relationships
• Regression predicts outcomes based on one or more predictor variables
• Simple regression predicts outcomes based on a single predictor variable, while multiple regression uses several predictors for a more complex outcome
• Logistic regression predicts binary outcomes (e.g., yes/no)

Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis

• A research synthesis defines a clear purpose before starting a literature review, while a literature review is often exploratory, focused on identifying a research purpose
• Meta-analysis involves analyzing data from multiple studies using a standard metric
• Key steps in a meta-analysis include identifying the problem, searching for relevant literature, reviewing studies, evaluating and coding data, calculating effect sizes, performing statistical analysis, and reporting findings
• Meta-analysis can be used to answer research questions, synthesize research findings, and draw conclusions from multiple studies
• Systematic reviews are used to summarize research on a specific topic without the quantitative focus of meta-analysis
• Key steps in a systematic review include forming a team, registering the review, screening studies for eligibility, and including relevant studies in the review
• Flowcharts are used to visually track the steps in a systematic review, from identification to inclusion of studies
• Considerations in meta-analysis include effect size coding, homogeneity testing, and bias control
• Systematic reviews are essential for evidence-based practice because they provide a comprehensive summary of the available research on a specific topic, promoting informed decision-making in various fields

This quiz explores the fundamentals of qualitative research, including its methodologies, data collection techniques, and the importance of trustworthiness in research findings. It covers various approaches such as ethnography and phenomenology, as well as strategies to minimize researcher bias. Test your understanding of these key concepts in qualitative research.