Questions for the course "Scientific Methods" with the topic: Qualitative research (lecture 7).
Click the button to start the quiz
What is empirical research?
Direct observations
Experience from the researchers
Case study
Survey
Collect qualitative data
Collect quantitative data
What are typical measurements in empirical research?
Norminal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
What are typical qualitative measurements?
Nominal
Ordinal
What are typical quantitative measurements?
Interval
Ratio
What are typical approaches to qualitative data collection
Sampling: Purposefull selection, not random
Interview
focus groups
Observation
Document analysis
What are interviews?
According to Robson (2011)
A type of data collection where researchers ask question
Participants hopefully answer with usefull questions
Conversation with a purpose
Can be done as: Face-to-face
Can be done as: Video call
Can be done as: Email
What are the types of interviews?
According to Robson (2011)
Fully-structured
Semi-structured
Unstructured
What does a fully-structured interview mean?
According to Robson (2011)
Predetermined questions
Fixed wording of questions
Fixed ordering of questions
What does a semi-structured interview mean?
According to Robson (2011)
Interview guide
Checklist of topics
Non-fixed wording
Non-fixed ordering
What does an unstructured interview mean?
According to Robson (2011)
No predetermined questions
No predetermined order
Conversation like
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of fully-structured interviews?
Flexible
Adaptable
In-depth
Time-consuming
Possible bias
What are some questions to avoid when doing interviews?
According to Robson (2011)
Long questions
Mutli barraled questions
Including uncommon jargon
Leading questions
Biased questions
What is prompts in interviews?
According to Robson (2011)
Suggest a range of possible answers. (Without bias)
What is probing in interviews?
According to Robson (2011)
Ask interviwee to expand on their answers
Pause before asking follow-up questions
Enquiring glance
Summarize response, to ensure understanding
What is part of the interview flow / Protocol?
Introduction
Warm-up
Main part
Cool-off
Closure
What is a focus group?
Interview that take place in a group context
Usually between 8 and 12 people
Where are focus groups often used and why?
Marketing
Pre-cursor to in-depth study
Complement to other methods
What are some of the advantages of focus groups?
Efficient
Large varirty of perspectives
Individuals can build on each others ideas
Encourage to share views
What are some of the disadvantages of focus groups?
Number of questions possible
Facilitation
Conflicts
Confidentiality
Influence
Bias
Domination of individuals
What is a Homogeneous focus group?
According to Robson (2011)
Common background
Common position
Common experience
What is a heterogeneous focus group?
According to Robson (2011)
Diverse background
Diverse position
Diverse experience
What are the key aspects of having a Homogeneous group in a focus group?
According to Robson (2011)
Idea exchange
Easy Communication
Safe environment
Similar answers
What are the key aspects of having a Heterogeneous group in a focus group?
According to Robson (2011)
Rich discussion
Inspire each other
Power imbalance
Different answers
How many people should facilitate a focus group?
Two - Two people can facilitate, with one asking questions and the other taking notes
What are the key factors of observation?
Commonly used in anthropology
Directly observe a specific group
Observation of specific time frames or tasks
Could be used as a pre-cursor to other data collection
Could be used in conjunction with other data collection
What are some key things to observe in observation?
According to Robson (2011)
Space
Actors
Activities
Object
Acts
Events
Time
Goals
Feelings
What are some observation types?
Complete participant
Observer participant
Participant observer
Complete observer
What does Complete participant mean, in observation?
Researcher participates in the group under observation and conceals who they are
What does Observer participant mean, in observation?
Researcher participates in the group under observation and make their role known
What does Participant observer mean, in observation?
Researcher participates in the group under observation, but mostly acts as an observer
What does Complete observer mean, in observation?
Researcher does not participate in the group, and only observes
What are some of the advantages of observation?
Directness
Minimise decoupling in what is said and what is done
What are some of the disadvantages of observation?
Behavior may change when observed
Granularity of observation
Time spent observing
What types of observations are possible?
Structured
Undstructured
What are some of the biasses in observation?
Selective attention
Selective memory
Interpersonal factors
What types of field notes are their for observations?
Note taking
Event logs
Biosensors
key loggers
What is document analysis?
Analysis of non-confidential documents
Analysis of project summaries
Analysis of official reports
Analysis of training materials
What are document analysis used for?
Complement to interview
Complement to observation
Used as prelimenary study
Triangulate data, to support claims
What is coding?
With focus on qualitative data collection and analysis
Condensate data into labeled chunks
Make easy to analyse units
Which description fits Vivo coding?
Literal coding - The terms used by participants themselves
What desciption fits Descrptive coding?
Topic coding - Summarice qualitative data into a single word as the basic topic
What's the first cycle of coding mainly focusing on?
Extract terms from the data
Extract concepts from the data
Extract phrases from the data
What's the second cycle of coding mainly focusing on?
Identify trends
Identify patterns
Label terms into a single label
What type of coding, is usually done in the second cycle of coding?
Focused coding - Identify the most frequent or significant codes
Axial coding - Identify the most frequent or significat categories
Theoretical coding - Identify the releationships between categies
What is important when doing coding?
With focus on qualitative data collection and analysis
Keep a memo when coding
Document thinking process
Interviewing participants multiple times, rather than just once, is an example of triangulation in qualitative research
False
What is another name for validity in qualitative research?
Trustworthiness
What is the optimal number of questions for an interview protocol?
5-10
For a study exploring how kids engage in play at Montessori elementary school, which would be the most appropriate data collection method?
Observation
What is a key characteristic of qualitative data analysis?
Thematic coding and pattern recognition
In qualitative research, what is the term used for the process of ensuring the accuracy and credibility of findings?
Triangulation
What is the main difference between qualitative and quantitative research?
Qualitative research deals with words and meanings, while quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics.