Class 4 REVIEW: Qualitative Research Process

1. Class 4 REVIEW:Qualitative Research Process Judith Anne Shaw, Ph.D., RN October 14, 2009

2. Overview of Class 4 • Foundations of Qualitative Research • Purpose and meaning of a study design • Selecting an appropriate design • Using Grounded Theory Approach

3. Consider the Foundations of Qualitative Research • Scientists felt: • an inability to quantitatively measure certain phenomena • a dissatisfaction with quantitative measurement results of some phenomena • a desire to grasp the lived experience of another

4. Philosophical Underpinnings of Qualitative Research • Counter movement to positivist paradigm (based on 19th Century thought)

5. Positivist Paradigm • philosophers, such as Comte, Mill, Newton and Locke • an objective reality (there is a reality out there that can be studied and known)

6. Positivist Paradigm - the world is not merely a creation of the human mind • seek to be as objective as possible

7. THINK POSITIVIST PARADIGM: - objective

8. Philosophical Underpinnings of Qualitative Research Constructivist or Naturalistic Paradigm:

9. Constructivist or Naturalistic Paradigm • philosophers such as Kant, Weber • the value of deconstruction & reconstruction • reality not a fixed entity, constructed by the individual, exists within a context, & many constructions are possible

10. THINK Subjective; Multiple Realities

11. Key Term- Ontology: - what is the nature of reality?

12. Positivist Paradigm: reality exists; there is a real world driven by natural causes Constructivist/ Naturalistic Paradigm: reality is multiple and subjective, mentally constructed by individuals THE NATURE OF REALITY

13. Assumptions of Qualitative Research • the value of a subjective approach to research • the need to describe and give meaning to life experiences • multiple realities with reality different for each individual

14. Evidence of Both Paradigms • Ways of Knowing in Nursing

15. Ways of Knowing in Nursing Empirical knowing-positivist traditional (objective & logical) Aesthetic knowing-abstract and defies a formal description (subjective & the art of nursing)

16. Ways of Knowing in Nursing Personal knowing- know thy self (ability to self-actualize) Moral knowing- traditional principles and codes of ethics

17. Purpose and Meaning of a Study Design • The design is: • the ‘Blueprint’ of a study • a guide to answer questions or test hypothesis • the critical link between the researcher’s framework and questions with the resultant data.

18. The Research Design includes: • Selection of a sample of participants ( such as purposive/theoretical) • Research setting • Collection of data (decisions about and actual collection)

19. The Research Design includes: • Issues of trustworthiness • Ethical consideration • Data Analysis • Reporting of findings

20. Examples of qualitative research designs

21. Phenomenological Design • to describe an experience lived by the person • to discover the meaning of a particular experience for participants

22. Phenomenological Design • may addresses questions, such as: What is the experience of living with chronic airway disease?

23. Ethnographic Design - to develop a “thick description” of cultural behavior; - to discover the meaning of actions and events for the individual of a culture (portrait of a people)

24. Ethnographic Design “emic” approach (from within the culture/ informant’s perspective) “etic” approach (from outside the culture/researcher’s perspective may describe cultures such as: mothers of children with asthma (meaning of asthma)

25. Historical Design To study events of the past Data collection may include archival materials, literature, letters, and participants willing to provide verbal historical information

26. Historical Design May address such research questions as: • What is the history of men in nursing? • What is the historical perspective of lumbar spondylolysis?

27. Grounded Theory Research Design To explore social processes underlying what is happening in a particular situation, To develop a theory or to provide a theoretically complete explanation of a particular situation

28. Grounded Theory Research Design May address process, such as: client and nurse experiences of giving and receiving therapeutic touch, clients’ experiences of support while receiving radiation therapy

29. Grounded Theory Research Design: Planning and Implementation Example Choice of the Grounded Theory Design Research questions about- What it is like to go through depression as a Black West-Indian Canadian?

30. Grounded Theory Research Design: Planning and Implementation Example Literature revealed lack of information: - how Black West-Indian Canadian women who identify themselves as having been depressed manage the problem

31. Grounded Theory Research Design: Planning and Implementation Example Grounded theory was chosen to discover: • how (the process used) Black West-Indian Canadian women manage the problem of depression

32. Philosophical Underpinnings Guiding the Grounded Theory Design • The logic behind the design and assumptions guiding the implementation of the study • Symbolic Interaction Theory

33. Symbolic Interaction Focus on the interaction (the process) rather than the individual

34. Philosophical Underpinnings Guiding the Grounded Theory Design • people behave in relation to one another • people take each other’s acts into account as they themselves act • people provide meaning to specific symbols in their lives

35. Sample Selection Theoretical sampling: continue to collect data until no newconceptual information is available • controlled by the emerging theory

36. Sample Selection Most appropriate for grounded theory studies to meet the aim: - to explore social processes and to develop theory

37. Setting Naturalistic setting- a non-threatening, relaxed environment which fosters reflection and discussion Do the authors of the published study indicate where the interviews were conducted?

38. Uniqueness of Grounded Theory as a Method Both inductive & deductive research methods are used

39. Uniqueness of Grounded Theory as a Method • Inductively, the researcher identifies the emerging theory from the specific observation and generated data. • Deductively, the generated theory can be empirically (real world) tested to develop predictions from general principles

40. HOW TO- • The research steps occur at the same time; simultaneously • - includes the discovery of the research question • a social process; a phenomenon

41. HOW TO- • Theoretical sample selection • Collection method primarily influenced by the researcher’s preference • Data analysis aim: discovery of a core variable

42. How to Collect Data • Three main sources of data generation are: • participant observation • informal interviews (such as, everyday conversations) • unstructured formal interviews (detailed information)

43. HOW TO- Analyze Data FIRST - code the data; in every way #1 possible (“running the data open”) - read the data line by line

44. Levels of Coding Level I- look for process in the data Level II- start to constantly compare the data to identify clusters or categories that fit together

45. Levels of Coding Level III- describe identification of a Basic Social Process (BSP); • remember that grounded theory is all about discovery of the social process used by a group of individuals.

46. HOW TO- Analyze Data Ask the questions, “What is going on in the data? “What is the focus of the study and the relationship of the data to the study?”….

47. HOW TO- analyze data Coding requires the sensitivity of the researcher The researcher becomes more sensitive to the data and underlying process(es) as coding is done Why the researcher needs to become enmeshed in the data

48. HOW TO- analyze data Researcher memos while coding

49. Memoing • a sentence, a paragraph or a few pages that represents the researcher’s momentary ideas or idealization.. • ideas are triggered by the data • the ah-ha • keep coding and memoing separate

50. HOW TO- analyze data Second - researcher takes 3 steps to #2 move towards discovering the emerging theory.