Y học - Chapter 10: Qualitative methods in health and human performance

Chapter 10Qualitative Methods in Health and Human PerformanceQualitative MethodsQualitative research is an umbrella concept covering several forms of inquiry that focus on understanding and explain meaning of a social phenomenaData Collection MethodsQuantitative ObjectiveNumericStatistical analysisLarge NsStructured data collectionTable/graphs to display resultsQualitativeSubjectiveNon-numericalNonstatistical analysisSmall NsOpen ended data collectionNarrative for resultsQualitative MethodsEight characteristics of qualitative researchTakes place in the natural setting: travel to sitesResearcher is the primary method of data collectionObservationInterviewDocumentsAudiovisualQualitative MethodsCharacteristic continued:Emergent rather than tightly prefiguredBased upon interpretationHermeneutics: deciphering meaningViews social phenomena holisticallyQualitative researchers reflect and are explicitly regarding personal assumptions and valuesQualitative MethodsCharacteristics continuedUses both deductive and inductive logicInductive: going from specific to largeDeductive: Going from broad to specificCan use multiple methodsQualitative MethodsGrounded Theory StudyDiscover or invent theory grounded in real-world experiencesMiddle-range theories: situation relatedLife historiesStory of a single individual or groups of single individualsRecall significant events of ones lifeSignificant understanding of the historical contextQualitative MethodsCase StudyExploration of a bounded system (e.g., school)In-depth data collection involving multiple sources of informationPhenomenology studyDescribes the meaning of a lived experience for several individuals about a phenomenonExplores the structures of human consciousnessQualitative methodsEthnography studyInterpretation of a culture of social groupNatural settingBasic/GenericStudies that illustrate characteristics of qualitative researchAccurate Interpretations?Verification: Interpretations are tested for plausibility, conformability and trustworthiness (7 strategies)Prolonged engagement: Learning culture and building trust by being in a culture for a long timeTriangulation: use different methods for corroborating evidenceAccurate Interpretations?Verification continuedPeer review: group of peers review workClarification of research biases and valuesMember checks: research participants check credibility of interpretations and dataRich description statements: Provide evidence by detail in write up – are findings transferable?External audit: External person(s) examine process and interpretationsMultiple Methods “Rather than taking sides on this recurring issue, we suggest that multimethods approaches can provide a more accurate and detailed research project than the traditional unidimensional (qualitative or quantitative) approaches provide” -Mitra & Lankford, 1999, p. 46InterviewsClosed quantitative: Questions and response categories are determined in advance; responses are fixedStandardized open-ended: The wording and sequence of questions are determined in advance; same basic questions in the same orderInterview guide: Topics and issues to be covered are specified in advance, however, the interviewer decides the sequence and wording of questions during the interviewInformal conversational: Questions emerge from the immediate context and are asked in the natural courseObservationsComplete Participation: Researcher conceals roleObserver as Participant: Role of researcher is knownParticipant as Observer: Observational role is secondary to participant roleComplete Observer: Researcher observes without participatingConstant ComparisonA technique for analyzing qualitative dataRead through data (transcriptions of interviews) and find similar (constant) themes among peopleGain perspectives relevant to the context in which the data was observed and recordedSteps in a Constant ComparisonRead through interviews separately (among many) and make code/theme notesAfter reading through the differing transcriptions, integrate and compare codes/themesDelimit and refine the themes to find major or primary themes (can have secondary themes)Provide examples from the data that highlight the themes