Vocabulary:
Ethnography: (p. 276, McMillan) in-depth involvement in a culture to describe naturally occurring behavior, an ethnographic qualitative study, an in-depth description and interpretation of cultural patterns and meanings within a culture or social group
Sentence: The research involved an ethnographic approach, studying to see how the Cherokee culture was affected.
Emic: (p. 283, McMillan) participant wording, information provided by the participants in their own words
Sentence: The interview was full of emic data, giving a better indication of how the participant really felt and thought.
Etic: (p. 283, McMillan) researcher representations of emic data
Sentence: The data the researcher had learned through the interview with the participant was stated as etic data.
Grounded theory: (p. 293, McMillan) theory generated from qualitative data
Sentence: The researchers came up with a grounded theory study in order to generate a theory.
Triangulation: (p. 296, McMillan) compares the findings of different techniques
Sentence: Using triangulation, the researchers decided which technique would work best for their research.
Reflection:
The larger the sample, the smaller the error (the variance). The closer to the population mean you will be with your estimate.
Statistical Inference
Sources of Error
Different or the same?
Logic of the decision (you assume there is no difference) – p value (overlap of groups, confusion)
Be careful of small samples (< 10 for comparisons and < 30 for correlations).
Inference is expressed as a statistical probability.
Characteristics of Qualitative Research
Natural setting – no lab settings
direct data collection
rich, narrative descriptions (sort of like novels)
process orientation
inductive data analysis (takes the collected data and tries to find findings from it) (vs. deductive – coming from particular slant, researching focused on it)
participant perspectives
emergent research design (don’t know what they’ll do when they start)
TYPES of qualitative research
ethnographic studies
phenomenologival studies (go to the population and watch and study) (participants selected because of their experiences) (Data analysis: constant comparative, narrative analysis)
grounded theory (to discover or generate a theory) (iteration of: data collection, data analysis) (Referral of analysis to participants until: experience can be predicted, participants are satisfied with description)
case studies (in-depth analysis of one or more issues through the review and description of a “bounded system”) (can be qualitative or quantitative) (quite flexible) (constant comparative, thick description, narrative studies)
DATA analysis – I
Constant comparative model
Live with the data!
Unitize (segment) it into smallest sections
Begin to reassemble data into related groups
Develop rules for inclusion in each group
Compare new and existing data to the rules
Continue categorization and/or revision of the categories
DATA Analysis – II
Thick description (describe the experiences in great detail!) (try to help the reader feel as if they were there in the room during the experience) (Realistic!) (can be read almost like a novel – develop character, describe setting in depth)
Semiotic, narrative analysis
CREDIBILITY of Qualitative Research
Triangulation (conclusions supported from at least 3 sources including various combinations of: interviews, observations, document reviews)
Reliability (Member checking – making sure you got the right information from the people you talked to, research audit – has to do with constant comparison analysis)
INTERNAL Validity of qualitative research
Clear match between researchers categories and experiences of reality being shared.
Member checking
Research audit
Threats to internal validity
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There are fewer rules and guidelines in qualitative research than in quantitative studies. It is more complex. I think it is a more subjective form of research. But it gives a richer, more human view than the quantitative. It is good to always read both forms of research with a critical eye.
I think I would enjoy doing qualitative research more though. I would be really interested in doing an ethnographic study. Other cultures are very intriguing to me. Too bad I don’t have the time (or resources)!
