1. Descriptive:Interpretive Approaches to Qualitative Research.docx

CRITICAL READING: CORNELL NOTES Descriptive/Interpretive Approaches to Qualitative Research Name: Date: 18 August 2023 Section: Lecture 1 Period: Questions/Main Ideas/Vocabulary Notes/Answers/Definitions/Examples/Sentences Research Questions Interpretive methodological approaches ofte...

CRITICAL READING: CORNELL NOTES Descriptive/Interpretive Approaches to Qualitative Research Name: Date: 18 August 2023 Section: Lecture 1 Period: Questions/Main Ideas/Vocabulary Notes/Answers/Definitions/Examples/Sentences Research Questions Interpretive methodological approaches often use people to gain data. Therefore, any research questions which consider experiences are well suited to this type of research. Questions may often be exploratory. Sometimes there may not be a theoretical background. Sampling The sample should match the research questions. You may need to consider narrowing (or broadening) your question if you don’t think you can get appropriate participants. You should think about sources of bias. For example: How do you recruit? Where do you recruit your participants from? These considerations are often the same in quantitative research. Other things to consider: Triangulation: Recruiting participants from various groups to gain different perspectives. When to stop interviews/data collection? Sampling frames (decide beforehand). Saturation (point at which no new themes are identified in your interviews; analysis done iteratively). Data Collection Interviews Focus groups Open ended surveys Photo elicitation Observational methods (ethnography) Story completion Online forums Interviews Often semi-structured. That is, you have a guide but don’t follow it exactly the same way every time. You should do pilot interviews and check after each interview that you got the sort of data you wanted. It is okay to change questions slightly as you go. Focus Groups Groups rather than individuals. Group members vary a lot. It could be as little as 3 and as many as 15. Good at getting interactions between participants. Need to consider power issues where some voices are likely to be heard more than others. Usually questions are also semi-structured. Open-Ended Surveys In mixed methods research, you may often have open ended “tell us more” type questions to gain qualitative data. You might also design a qualitative survey from the start. Data is likely to be less “rich”, but you might reach more people. Photo Elicitation You ask people to take photographs. You then ask them to tell you about the photographs (what they man to them, why they took them and so on). Participant-led method which often leads to rich visual and textual data. Good for people who are often marginalised or vulnerable in an ethical sense such as children, people who don’t speak English, people who have experienced significant trauma and so on. You can do the same with videos (digital storytelling). Ethnography Long-term observation. Data includes field notes and perhaps recordings. Story Completion Participants are given a stem and asked to complete it by saying what they think would happen next. Great at eliciting norms or attitudes. Online Forums Can be a great source of data if you can’t access participants. Some consider it more “naturalistic”. Data All forms of data which put accounts or experiences into words (or visual/other methods). Data Analysis Depends on your epistemology and the data you have. Common methods are: Thematic analysis (lots of varieties like framework analysis). Qualitative content analysis. Phenomenological analysis. Key Features Across Data Analysis Look at patterns of meaning in your data. Should be related to your research questions (you might get lots of other interesting data). The extent to which you consider context depends on epistemology and analysis type. Ethics Intimacy and power in interviews. Considerations of what to do if people share abusive or other similar circumstances. Relationship you may develop with participants (especially if longitudinal). Anonymity and confidentiality for photos, videos and online forums.