Research

1. ADVANCED
RESEARCH
METHODS 2:
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
PHILOSOPHY &
DATA
COLLECTION

3. THIS SESSION
Philosophical orientation
Consider the reasoning behind qualitative
approaches
Comparison with quantitative ‘assumptions’
Establishing ‘quality’ of qualitative research
Practical issues
 Methods & techniques for collecting data
 Ethics
Module overview & assessments

4. ‘Not everything that can
be counted counts, and
not everything that
counts can be counted ’
Albert Einstein

5. EPISTEMOLOGY AND
THE SCIENTIFIC
METHOD
Epistemology – the theory of knowledge: how
we can know and what we can know.
 Different qualitative approaches have different
epistemologies (underlying assumptions)
 Ontology: perspective of ‘reality’
The ‘Scientific Method’ also has underlying
assumptions:
 positivism, empiricism and the hypothetico-deductivism
theories of knowledge

6. POSITIVISM
The relationship between the world (events,
objects etc.) and our perception of these is
straightforward
It is possible to obtain accurate knowledge of
the world (through scientific methods)
provided we maintain an impartial, unbiased
and objective viewpoint
What is true at one time and place will also be
true at another time and place
An assumption of linear causality; there are no
effects without causes and no causes without
effects
The results of an inquiry are essentially free
from beliefs, interpretations (objective)

7. EMPIRICISM
 Our knowledge of the world must arise from
the collection and categorisation of our
perceptions and observations of the world
 From this we can develop a complex
knowledge of the world and develop
theories to explain it
 However, can we really ever be truly objective about
what we perceive and how we interpret our
perceptions?
 This categorisation requires the collection
and analysis of (numerical) data. The type of
data and methods of analysis differ in
qualitative methods

8. HYPOTHETI
CO-
DEDUCTIVI
SM 1
 Not to obtain evidence that
supports a theory but rather to
identify theoretical claims
(hypotheses) that are false
(through a process of deduction)
and ultimately theories that are
false
 Researchers should remain
detached from the research to
avoid contaminating the results –
hence the use of the passive
academic writing style
 “Everything that exists, exists in
some quantity, and if it exists in
some quantity it can be
measured”
 The reverse argument is that if
you cannot measure it, does it
exist?

10. HYPOTHETI
CO-
DEDUCTIVI
SM 2
Experimental research should be:-
 Replicable: potential to repeat study with
the same results in another setting
 Generalisable, representative
 Cumulative: observations from earlier
experiment used as a basis for new one
 Causal: establishes cause and effect
(predictive)

11. QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
Quantitative: what, where, and when of natural
phenomena
 develop and employ mathematical models,
theories and hypotheses pertaining to natural
phenomena
 Involve large samples of subjects; may deal
with cause/effect
 Associated with positivism: that objective
truth can be known with certainty, that it can
be gained through rational methods

12. QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
 Qualitative: why and how of human
behaviour
 Includes a range of models, theories,
pertaining to human phenomena
 Small groups of participants. Involves
interpretation and ‘reflection’
 Uses speech and text, and places
importance on their interpretation
 People's accounts of their actions are
significant
 Not Positivist but based on interpretivism.
No objective truth, different
interpretations, no final certainty in
knowledge (subjective)

14. QUANTITA
TIVE AND
QUALITATI
VE
ISSUES
 Quantitative research:
Indispensable in areas like user
demographics, patterns of use;
but:
 Can produce a false sense of certainty
 Takes the subject outside of natural
setting/tasks
 With the experimental method, can
result in:
 “no significant difference”
phenomenon
▪ “Hawthorne effect” (behaviour changes as a
result of being measured)
 Qualitative research: Requires a
different way of thinking to
address issues like:
 Reliability: repeatable with
same/comparable results
 Validity: relationship between
conditions and results
 Generalisability: historical and cultural
limitations

15. QUANTITATIVE VS. QUALITATIVE
VALIDITY ISSUES
Conventional (quantitative)
Internal validity - inference
regarding cause-effect
relationships; was it the
manipulation that made a
difference?
External validity (how was
the sample chosen? Will the findings
generalise to other samples?)
Reliability (repeatability of
observations & of measures)
Naturalistic (qualitative)
Credibility (are the results
credible from the perspective of the
participant?)
Transferability (achieved by
thoroughly describing the research
context and the assumptions that
were central to the research)
Dependability (emphasizes
the need for the researcher to
account for the ever-changing
context within which research
occurs)
Confirmability (the degree to
which the results could be
confirmed or corroborated by
others)

16. WHEN IS
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
USEFUL?
 Qualitative research relies on
imprecise and everyday notions of
what is valid, etc.
 But it does so reflexively; in a self-
aware and theoretically-mediated
manner
 Qualitative is useful in relationship to
quantitative if:
 The topic has been researched for
a long time in the same way
 The topic is new to research
 You would like in-depth information
that may be difficult to convey
quantitatively

17. WHY IS ESTABLISHING THE
QUALITY OF QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH PROBLEMATIC?
1. Traditional criteria used for quantitative
research inappropriate for most qualitative
research
2. Qualitative methods relatively new in
psychology - criteria and validation
‘hierarchy’ not yet fully established (e.g., in
training, number of experts, journals etc.)
3. There are many different varieties of
qualitative research, which require or
employ different criteria for validation

18. TRADITIONAL CRITERIA FOR
QUALITY ARE
INAPPROPRIATE FOR
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
 Objectivity
 Positivist/Realist (i.e. those working with
quantitative methodology) researchers seek to
show that their measures are neutral, unbiased
(e.g. standardised questionnaire)
 However, qualitative researchers consider
that the researcher inevitably influences the
production of knowledge
 The researcher cannot be ‘neutral’ and
should actively engage with participants
rather than assert authority and control
over research process

19. TRADITIONAL CRITERIA FOR
QUALITY ARE
INAPPROPRIATE FOR
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Reliability
 Positivist/Realist researchers seek to obtain
measurements which are consistent across different
contexts (e.g. samples, time)
Many qualitative researchers believe that such
consistency is obtained by artificially
constraining or ignoring important
individual/contextual variation (e.g. limiting
responses, treating variability as ‘error’)

20. TRADITIONAL CRITERIA FOR
QUALITY ARE
INAPPROPRIATE FOR
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Generalisability
 Realist researchers seek to generalise their findings
from a statistically representative sample to a wider
population
Qualitative research is
 a) is typically intensive, using small samples which
cannot be statistically representative, and….
 b) generally rejects abstracting ‘universal’ laws in favour
of developing situated, particular analyses

21. WHAT
SPECIFIC
METHODS
CAN BE USED
TO
ESTABLISH
THE QUALITY
OF A
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
STUDY?
 Inter-rater reliability
 Triangulation
 - of sources (people,
places, times)
 - of investigators
 - of methods
 - of theoretical
approaches
 Deviant/disconfirming case
analysis (i.e. using all cases
from the data)
 Participant
feedback/respondent
validation
 ‘Paper trail’ & making raw
data available

22. CONDUCTIN
G
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH

23. IMPORTANT
STAGES OF
RESEARCH
What is your topic?
What is your rationale (i.e. your
reason) for conducting a qualitative
study?
What kind of questions do you want
to investigate? Do you have a clear
research question?
What is your intended data source?
What method of data collection are
you going to use?
What method of analysis are you
going to use?

24. THE
RESEARC
H
QUESTIO
N
A literature search will help focus and
formulate a clear research question
Consider the particular and important
issues of your topic
The question should be something that
your study (i.e. the analysis) will seek to
answer/address
Avoid quantitative
sounding terminology
in the question
Effects
Differences
Predictions
Efficacy
Relationships

25. COLLECTI
NG
QUALITAT
IVE DATA
Semi-Structured (In-depth)
Interviews
Focus Groups
Biographies or narratives
Conversation
Media output
Online sources (forums, blogs)
Participant Observation (more
common in sociology than
psychology)

26. DATA
GATHERI
NG
Put aside assumptions, knowledge and
expectations and enter the data collection
process with no preconceptions
Not so much gathering as creating data – a
collaborative process
Researcher determines the focus of data
collection (e.g. questions, who to ask and
how it is asked)
‘Good’ data is rich and detailed and gives an
understanding of the situation and
experiences.
Remember typically data analysis is ‘Bottom
up’ – theory is developed from data

27. PARTICIPA
NTS
Usually small number of
participants
Tends to select those with special
attributes such as ‘experience’ of
the topic of interest
Not ‘representative sampling’
(purposive)
Justify sample if ‘convenience’ then
why?
Ethics are important (especially face
to face data collection)
BPS guidelines - adhere to
principles of:
 Informed consent/ No deception
 Right to withdraw
 Debriefing
 Anonymity/Confidentiality
 Should benefit participant

28. FOCUS
GROUPS
Researcher’s role as moderator –
introduces group and issue/s to
discuss. Helps if the moderator
does not have very strong opinions
about the topic
Advantages:
 Participants comment on each other’s
responses so reduces researcher-led
interaction
 More ‘naturalistic’ than interviews?
 But… generally no more than 6 participants

29. FOCUS
GROUPS
 Focus groups are often a good
method of data generation if the
question to be addressed:
 Involves gathering opinions and
impressions from lay people or
consumers
 Affects many people the same way
 Suggests that group discussions would
help people to be open
 They are less useful if:
 Deep and detailed responses are
needed
 Individuals' reactions are likely to vary,
and this difference is important to
capture
 The topic is likely to involve private
reactions

30. TYPES OF FOCUS
GROUP
Focus groups may be:
 Homogenous or heterogeneous
 Pre-existing or new
 Concerned or naïve/impartial
 Problems may occur when talking about sensitive topics
Level of structure – strong focus vs. open
discussion
Have a scheduled time (e.g. an hour) but bring
to a close if the ideas have stopped flowing

31. INTERVIE
WS
Open ended between
researcher and participant
A Widely used method of data
collection (Willig, 2013)
Compatible with range of data
analysis methods (IPA,
grounded theory, DA)
Relatively easy to arrange

32. UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
Used when the researcher
wants to learn what is
important primarily from
the respondent
Initial questions may set the
scene but the purpose is to
elicit the participant’s story
Question used mostly to
maintain the story or arise
from the interview itself
Expect the interview to last
at least 2 hours and may go
‘off-topic’ in places

33. SEMI-
STRUCTU
RED
INTERVIE
WS
 Researcher has idea of the
research area and questions but
tries to enter the world of the
respondent
 Respondent is the expert on the
subject and is given maximum
opportunity to tell their story
 Advantages
 Facilitates rapport and empathy
 Flexibility of coverage, novel areas
explored
 Richer data
 Disadvantages (compared to
structured interviews)
 Reduces researcher control
 Takes longer (usually at least an
hour)
 More difficult to analyse

34. SEMI-
STRUCTU
RED
INTERVIE
WS –
QUESTIO
NS
 Enough is known about the
topic to develop questions in
advance – but not to anticipate
the answers
 Open ended questions, arranged
in logical order (but order not so
important)
 Interview guided rather than
dictated by the questions
 Questions can change if other
interesting areas arise or to take
into consideration the
respondents interests or
concerns (prompting may be
useful here)

35. CONSTRUCTING THE
INTERVIEW
Some work in advance -
 enables thinking about the areas to cover
 how to handle difficulties that might arise e.g. wording
of question, sensitive areas
 allows time in the interview to concentrate on what is
actually being said

36. CONSTRUC
TING THE
INTERVIEW
 Think about the overall area, the
broad issues you want to cover
 Put topics in appropriate
sequence.
 What is the logical order?
 Which are likely to be sensitive
questions?
 Leave more sensitive areas until
later when the respondent is more
relaxed
 Make sure your questions
actually address the issues in
which you are interested, but
you need to make sure you are
not too leading
 Think about possible probes and
prompts in case the respondent
has difficulty with the question

37. CONSTRUC
TING THE
INTERVIEW
 Start with general views and
funnel into more specific
questions. This allows the
respondent to give their own
views without bias from the
researcher
 Questions should be neutral
rather than value-laden or
leading
 Avoid jargon or assumptions of
technical knowledge
 Use open not closed questions

38. PRACTICAL ISSUES
 Your role is to facilitate the interview and decide how far from the initial area
you want to venture
 Sampling
 Give the respondent time to answer
 Ethics: monitor the effect your questions are having. If the respondent looks
uncomfortable end that line of questioning
 Need to record interview. Taking notes is distracting
 Make personal notes as soon as possible after the interview e.g. Insights, ideas
and theories
 Need to explain why recording (assure confidentiality)
 Practice with your equipment before data collection
 Think carefully about the physical setting
 Collect any demographic information you need
 Transcription time!
 Remember your safety

39. ARCHIVAL DATA
 One big advantage: already transcribed
 Diaries, newspapers
 Existing (paper) archives vs. internet databases
 Popular topics: social class and social change,
health and criminology
 Diaries: case study or multiple cases?
 Useful for comparing various sources for emerging
similar and different themes
 Ethical considerations and permission to access
collections etc.

40. THE INTERNET
Relatively new method of data
collection
Email and online interviews
Blogs; commentaries
Messageboard and forum
postings
Other articles
Data exists in written form or easy
to ‘capture’ for analysis
However:
Justify why data is being used;
why is it suitable for the study?
Do consider interpersonal factors
removed
Still ethical issues, e.g. public or
private (requires membership)
information, amount of users
Terms and conditions of website
(e.g. do they ‘own’ information?)

42. ETHICAL
ISSUES 1
 Consent
 Deception
 Debriefing
 Withdrawal from the investigation
 Confidentiality
 Protection of participants (e.g.
counsellor present?)
 Observational research
 Giving advice
 Colleagues
 Public v private domain
 BPS guidelines

43. ETHICAL ISSUES 2
Check existing/archival data is in the public domain
(Rodham & Gavin, 2006)
 Viewable directly from a search engine link
 No forum membership required to view
 Small number of messageboard users
Always protect participant identities
Check terms and conditions of website if intending to
publish research (including conference presentations)
Forum owners permission needed (certainly for
publication)

44. SUGGESTED READING
Qualitative Psychology: A practical guide to research
methods. (2003). Smith JA (Ed.) Sage Publications
Analysing qualitative data in psychology. (2007). Lyons E
& Coyle A. (Eds.) Sage.
Introduction to research methods in psychology. (2005).
Howitt D & Cramer D. Pearson Education
References (both useful):
Rodham, K., & Gavin, J. (2006). The Ethics of Using the
Internet to Collect Qualitative Research Data. Research
Ethics Review, 2(3), 92–97.
doi:10.1177/174701610600200303
Willig, C. (2013). Introducing Qualitative Research in
Psychology (3rd edition.). Open University Press,
Maidenhead, Berkshire.

45. ARM2:
CONTENT
&
ASSESSM
ENTS

46. ASSESSMENTS
Assessment 1 (60%) will be a data focused
Qualitative research report (not a full IPA
report). Details to follow…..
Assessment 2 (40%) will be a test paper (tbc)
based on material covered from week 4
onwards. You will have one week to complete
and submit to Turnitin:
 Four sections – a mixture of short answers, MCQ,
interpreting SPSS output and designing a study having
been given some target information
 More information will be given as the module progresses

47. BRIEF
OVERVIE
W OF
MODULE
SESSION
S
Weeks 1-3 Qualitative Research
Week 4 – Writing for Publication
Weeks 5-7 Linear and Logistic
regression (including diagnostic
statistics)
Weeks 8-9 Psychometrics –
establishing accurate measurement
Week 10 – Test paper set (review
content?)

48. ASSESSMENT 1 (TODAY)
Make sure you are familiar with the
coursework guidelines (see ‘module
information’)
Pick an area of study you are interested in (for
assessment 1)
Is this something where data could be
collected and analysed using a qualitative
approach?
Can you formulate a research question that
will be addressed by collecting and analysing
data?

49. ASSESSMENT 1 (TODAY)
 Try to finalise your topic
 Consider what previous work there is in the
area
 Consider why a qualitative investigation is
‘preferred’
 Formulate a research question or aim
 Decide on a method of data collection (e.g.
internet message boards, interviews)
 Explore some of the resources that are
available online OR begin to put together an
interview protocol (and ethics form)

50. USING ONLINE ‘DATA’
Spend some time browsing the web for some suitable
online data that could be analysed
Make some notes about how the data was/is located
How is the data relevant to the topic
Think about how you will briefly describe this process
of data searching & collection to your reader
Is the data in the public domain? Identify who you
need to contact to obtain permission to use the data
If interviews or focus groups are preferred, then revisit
relevant earlier slides

51. ASSESSMENT 1
Who are your participants? Demographic
details?
Contact forum owner for permission to use
data
Ensure you anonymise usernames
Can you formulate a research question? (this
can be revised later)
Can you obtain about 10 pages of text, from
multiple participants to analyse?