MCRS: Qualitative approach

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• Emphasis on social process How patterns of events unfold over time. Social worlds characterized by change and flux
• Flexibility and limited structure No prior contamination by rigid schedules. Concepts and theory grounded in data
• Sensitizing concepts intertextuality
• Qualitative research approach Reporting in words, understanding in depth, emphasis on participant perspectives, purposive sampling
• Quantitative research approach Reporting in numbers, understanding in breadth, statistical sampling, generalizing from samplings
• Constructionism "What is there to know?"
• Interpretivism (interpreting responses) "How we know what we know and how we get there"
• "How to acquire knowledge?" Inductive way of working, from observation to theory
• Data gathering in qualit Methods of watching and listening
• Unstructured interview No predetermined questions. Conversational style
• Semi structured interview (most common) List of specific topics to cover (interview guide). Flexible question ordering and phrasing. Seeking rich detailed answers, aims to understand
• Fully structured interview Predetermined questions (and sometimes answers)
• Focus groups Form of group interview from people in a specific social context
• Focus groups are NOT A means of interviewing people more efficiently
• Group discussions can generate Different information than interviewing individuals. A wide range of views/opinions.
• Social desirability bias Make ceiling high in group discussion to make people comfortable with speaking their true mind
• Ethnography "People-writing"
• Observing Not necessarily focused on providing understanding. Describing for example communication behaviors in groups. Not interacting with participants
• Unobtrusive Observing people without them knowing to asses differences between what people tell researcher and what they actually do
• Observer as participant Participating in group context a little bit
• Participant as observer Joining meeting, but observing at the same time
• Complete participation Not disclosing identity as researcher
• Grounded theory approach Data collection and analysis are done hand in hand, useful for generating theoretical concepts
• Senzitizing concepts To give a general sense of reference and guidance. Allow discovery of varied forms of phenomena. Are capable of being narrowed down.
• Generic purposive sampling Criteria for individuals are determined by RQ's, in advance of sampling and remain fixed through the process.
• Purposive sampling Units are selected on basis of relevance to RQ's. Specific and clear criteria to determine inclusion/exclusion of units of analysis. Not generalizeable
• Theoretical sampling Most widely used in quali. Ongoing process: collecting, coding etc. Want to achieve theoretical saturation
• Theoretical saturation Reached when categories and concepts are dense enough, no more data collection needed
• Mixed methods approach Results of one method can be cross-checked against the other. Qualitative interviews can be conducted to check and correct quantitative data
• Potential Quantitative Criticism Too subjective (that's what's interesting). Difficult to replicate (Flexibility increases internal validity). Problems of generalization (We generalize in terms of theoretical concepts rather than numbers)
• External validity QA Generalization (-)
• External reliability QA Replication (-)
• Internal validity Good fit between data and theory (+)
• Internal reliability Inter-observer consistency (+)
• Sequence Order in which questions are asked
• Prompts Follow-up questions that keep interview progressing

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