Week 7: Introduction to Qualitative Research PDF

**Week 7: Introduction to Qualitative research** Chapter 9: the nature of qualitative research - Chapter 9 explores **qualitative research** as a method focused on capturing the complexity of social life through participants perspectives - It prioritizes words, images, and the dynamic...

**Week 7: Introduction to Qualitative research** Chapter 9: the nature of qualitative research - Chapter 9 explores **qualitative research** as a method focused on capturing the complexity of social life through participants perspectives - It prioritizes words, images, and the dynamic nature of social interactions rather than fixed structures or numerical analysis - This inductive approach relies on **iterative processes** where general questions guide the selection of sites and participants, and data collection informs ongoing refinement of ideas - Methods such as ethnography, interviews, focus groups, and document analysis are central to this approach - Participatory action research is also highlighted - Emphasizing collaboration with those affected by a social issue - The evaluation of **qualitative** research uses criteria like credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability, which diverge from the traditional measures of reliability and generalizability  - Researchers aim to understand social life as an evolving process, capturing its nuances and the meanings participants assign to their experiences - Despite criticisms of subjectivity and replication challenges, **qualitative research** is valued for its ability to provide deep, context-specific insights that illuminate the lived realities of its subjects Chapter 12: content analysis - Chapter 12 delves into content analysis - Emphasizing its dual nature as both a **qualitative and quantitative method** for interpreting communication - **Coding** is presented as a vital process that organizes data into meaningful categories, enabling researchers to uncover patterns and themes - **Quantitative coding** uses predefined frameworks to ensure replicability - **Qualitative coding** allows for emergent categories, evolving as the research progresses - Ethnographic content analysis exemplifies this flexibility - Emphasizing the iterative refinement of codes to capture deeper meanings - This chapter also talks about advanced techniques like semiotics, which interprets signs and symbols by examining both their literal and implied meanings and hermeneutics - Which contextualizes texts within their social and historical environments - **Critical discourses** analysis adds another dimension by exploring how language reflects and shapes societal power dynamics, revealing how media influence public understanding - Evaluating content analysis involves assessing authenticity, credibility, representativeness, and meaning to ensure robust findings - While challenges such as researcher bias and subjective interpretation persist, content analysis remind an indispensable method for examining how communication shapes and reflects societal norms **Lecture on this week:** - The lecture focuses on what makes qualitative research rigorous - It emphasizes the need for a solid theoretical framework supported by evidence - The concepts should be clearly connected and flexible enough to cover different situation - The goal of qualitative research is to build theory - Offering convincing and meaningful views on social issues - A big part of the lecture is about **coding, which is breaking down data into smaller parts for easier analysis** - **Open coding** starts by creating basic labels - **Axial coding** brings these labels together into bigger themes - **Selective coding** refines these themes by looking at different aspects - The lecture highlights how coding is an ongoing process - Guided by general ideas (sensitizing concepts) and codebooks to keep everything consistent - This helps researchers build clear, evidence-based stories from their data **Connection between lecture and chapters:** - The lecture and chapters form a cohesive narrative about the principles and practices of qualitative research. - **Chapter 9** sets the theoretical foundation, emphasizing the interpretive, iterative, and participant-focused nature of qualitative inquiry.  - This groundwork is expanded in **Chapter 12**, where content analysis is presented as a specific method that incorporates coding to bridge qualitative and quantitative approaches.  - **The lecture** ties these elements together by providing a detailed explanation of coding processes, from open coding to selective coding, and by stressing the importance of rigorous evaluation through conceptual density, variation, and substantive contributions. - **Coding** serves as the connective thread across all three sources, highlighting its role in organizing and interpreting data within an iterative framework.  - The emphasis on emergent patterns and the evolution of ideas in the lecture aligns with the ethnographic and flexible coding approaches described in **Chapter 12. ** - Meanwhile, the depth and contextual focus discussed in **Chapter 9** are reinforced through the lecture's call for rigorous, evidence-based interpretations.  - Together, these materials provide a unified perspective on how qualitative research methods uncover the nuanced realities of social life.