Research Methods in Sociology

Study Notes

Formal systems aid researchers in understanding and interpreting qualitative data effectively.
Key techniques include coding for identifying core ideas, categorizing similar information, and connecting various themes.

Provided researchers with a structured manual for analyzing qualitative interviews with a step-by-step process.
Essential components include a six-step framework for thorough data interpretation.

Organizing Data: Utilize the interview guide to distinguish between critical questions/topics and less essential ones.
Finding and Organizing Ideas: Identify recurring themes, language patterns, and beliefs that link participants and contexts. Focus on frequently used phrases and unexpected responses.
Building Over-Arcing Themes: Consolidate individual response categories under broader themes for deeper insights.
Ensuring Reliability and Validity:
- Validity reflects accuracy in measuring intended constructs.
- Reliability indicates consistency across findings, requiring thoroughness in interviews, transcriptions, and analysis.

Funneling: Start interviews with broad questions and gradually narrow down to specific topics.
Probing: Employ techniques like 'laddered questions' for obtaining deeper insights.
Paraphrasing: Restate participant responses to ensure clarity without altering meaning.

Conducted in group settings to gather a wider range of experiences and perspectives.
Benefits include larger sample sizes and a more inviting environment for participant engagement.

Complete Participant: Researcher fully integrates into the community with covert observation.
Participant as Observer: Researcher engages intermittently, with open presence.
Observer as Participant: Researcher primarily observes but occasionally participates, can be known or covert.
Complete Observer: Researcher only observes without participation, can be known or concealed.