Qualitative research Study Guide

📖 Core Concepts Qualitative research – systematic collection & analysis of non‑numerical, descriptive data to uncover meanings, attitudes, beliefs, and motivations. Purpose – explore complex/social phenomena, understand lived experience, and reveal why people behave as they do. Recursivity – research design can change during data collection (e.g., modify questions, sampling) based on emerging insights. Theoretical saturation – point at which new data no longer generate additional concepts or themes. Trustworthiness – qualitative analogue of validity; achieved through credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. 📌 Must Remember Key methods: Ethnography, Grounded Theory, Discourse Analysis, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Data sources: interview transcripts, field notes, video recordings, artifacts, verbal reports. Stopping rule: collect until theoretical saturation (no new codes/themes). Trustworthiness techniques: member checking, peer debriefing, prolonged engagement, audit trail, data triangulation. Limitations: participant reactivity, over‑identification, not suited for causal inference, sampling‑saturation debates. 🔄 Key Processes Design & Sampling Choose qualitative method → define research question → select purposeful or theoretical sampling. Data Collection Conduct observations, semi‑structured interviews, focus groups, document/image analysis. Coding Open coding: label meaningful data segments. Axial/Selective coding (grounded theory): link codes into categories & core themes. Thematic/Content Analysis Group codes into themes → check for pattern consistency → verify with participants (member checking). Trustworthiness Checks Triangulate across sources → maintain audit trail → conduct peer debriefing. 🔍 Key Comparisons Ethnography vs. Autoethnography Ethnography: researcher observes/participates in others’ culture. Autoethnography: researcher uses own experience as primary data. Grounded Theory vs. Thematic Analysis Grounded Theory: inductively builds a formal theory; constant comparative method. Thematic Analysis: identifies and describes patterns of meaning; no requirement to generate theory. Positivism vs. Constructivism Positivism: seeks objective, single reality; quantitative‑leaning. Constructivism: reality is socially constructed; embraces multiple perspectives. ⚠️ Common Misunderstandings “Qualitative = no rigor.” → Rigor is ensured through trustworthiness strategies (triangulation, audit trail). “No coding = no analysis.” → Even narrative‑heavy approaches involve interpretative labeling; coding is the bridge to analytic insight. “Saturation = large sample.” – Saturation depends on depth of information, not sheer number of participants. 🧠 Mental Models / Intuition “Data as a puzzle” – each interview transcript or field note is a piece; coding finds the edge pieces (labels) and assembling them creates the picture (themes). “Research as conversation” – think of interviews and focus groups as two‑way dialogues; insights emerge when you listen for meaning rather than words. 🚩 Exceptions & Edge Cases Participant reactivity – when participants alter behavior because they know they’re observed; mitigate with prolonged engagement or unobtrusive observation. Over‑identification – researcher may become too sympathetic; counter with reflexive journaling and peer debriefing. Mixed‑methods integration – not all data can be seamlessly merged; decide early whether qualitative will explain quantitative results or extend them. 📍 When to Use Which Ethnography → when studying whole cultures or organizational settings over extended time. Grounded Theory → when you need a new theoretical framework emerging from data. Discourse Analysis → when the research focus is on language, power, and social meaning. Phenomenological analysis → when the aim is to capture the essence of lived experience. Case Study → when depth on a bounded system (e.g., a single organization) is required. 👀 Patterns to Recognize Repeated phrases or metaphors → signal core themes. Contradictory accounts → may indicate hidden power dynamics or contextual variation. Silences/gaps → important “negative data” that can reveal taboo topics or social constraints. 🗂️ Exam Traps Distractor: “Qualitative research is hypothesis‑free.” – Wrong; many studies start with guiding questions or theoretical lenses. Distractor: “Saturation = 100% of possible themes discovered.” – Saturation is practical, not exhaustive. Distractor: “Triangulation only involves multiple researchers.” – It also includes multiple data sources, methods, or theories. Distractor: “Member checking guarantees validity.” – It improves credibility but does not alone assure validity; combine with other trustworthiness techniques.