1.4 Non-experimental methods: qualitative Research

1. 1.4 Non-experimental methods: qualitative Research

2. Learning Objectives • Describe non-experimental methods • Outline important differences between experimental and non-experimental methods • Explain ethical issues related to interview, observations and case studies.

3. Qualitative Research Methods • Qualitative Researchers are interested in • How people explain everyday experiences • Occurs in a natural setting: • How do people work in teams in the workplace? • How do women experience the transition to motherhood • How do college students adjust to independent living? • Qualitative research is guided by one or more research questions. • Inductive reasoning: This is an open approach. • Where as hypothesizing is deductive reasoning. A claim that can be rejected or accepted.

4. Inductive Approach • No defined variables • Researchers gather information and assess what they have. • Goal: to describe the meanings attributed to events by the research participants. • (Not to find a cause and effect) • Findings are more subjective

5. Ways of knowingExperimental vs. Non-experimental Experimental Non-experimental • Hypothesis • Variables • Deductive approach • Objective • Quantitative data • Cause & effect • Statistical analysis • Open research question • No defined variables • Inductive approach • Subjective • Qualitative Data • Identify meanings/experience • Interpretive analysis

6. Types of Non-Experimental Methods • Interviews • Observations • Case Studies

7. Interview • Most common way of gathering qualitative data • Interviewing requires training and skill: • Verbal skills • Establish a positive relationship • Interpret non-verbal cues • React to unconscious signs. • participant bias: participants respond the way they think is appropriate for the interview • Social desirable bias: most people put their best face on – many won’t reveal the truth. • Interviewer effects: age, sex ethnicity, of the interviewer that could interfere with the study

8. Types of Interviews • Structured Interview • Unstructured Interview • Semi-structured interview • ETHICS INVOLVED • Informed consent • Confidentiality • Right to withdraw

9. Unstructured Interview • The schedule and topic of the interview is the only established guideline • Pros: Open ended questions, leads to interests and motivation of the interviewee. • Cons: difficult to analyze.

10. Semi-structured interview • Preferred method: combines a set of questions, that permits for open response. • Pros: there will be a number of closed questions that can be easily analyzed. • Cons:

11. Structured Interview • Questions are clearly established • Order of questions are established • Setting is highly controlled • Pros – easy to analyze and compare • Cons – may appear to be artificial

12. Be a researcher • You have been commissioned to carry out research using interviews on one of the following issues: • Positive and negative experiences in CAS projects • What is it like to live in a foreign country • Teenagers and drug use and abuse • Prejudice in the classroom • Choose one from the list and consider the following questions. • How would you carry out the research? • How would you obtain your sample? • What potential difficulties do you anticipate in carrying out your interview?

13. Observation • Observations – describes behavior without trying to establish cause-and-effect relationship. • Naturalistic Observations take place in a natural setting. Types of Observations • Non-participant observations • Participant observations

14. Challenges to conducting Observations • It is not possible to record everything in the field. • Research bias • To overcome this: several observers can observe the same behavior and then compare results. • Inter-observer reliability • Participant observation • The researcher is part of the group being observed • Nonparticipant observation • The researcher is not part of the group being observed

15. Covert observation: participants do not know they are being observed • Overt observations participants know that the observer is a researcher

16. Non-Participant Observation • Can you think of any issues that might occur in data gathering as a result of non-participant observation? • Demand characteristics? • The Hawthorne Effect? • Researcher bias?

17. Participant Observation • The researcher becomes part of the group. • The researcher experiences the situation with the group • What are some issues “covert participant observers” must deal with? • Recording information accurately • Maintaining objectivity

18. Points to consider in Observational Research • Is the observation structures or unstructured? • Is the observation covert or overt? • Does the observation take place in a natural or artificial setting?

19. Ethics of Observational Research • Must have informed consent. • Debriefs the participants after the event • To carry out covert observations, proposal must be approved by ethics committee • Will the research provide information that will benefit others?

20. Covert participant observation rosenhan 1973 • After reading and viewing the experiment: • What are the ethical issues involved in Rosenhan’s study? • Was the use of covert observations justified?

21. Case Studies • Case studies rely on real life data • Behavior • Feelings • Experiences • Thoughts • Measurements may include: • IQ • Blood testing • Survey data • memory

22. Advantages of Case Study • Allows for detail study/in-depth investigation. • Example: brain damage and memory loss • Twin separation and cognitive development • Data Collection: • Interviews • Observations • Surveys • Questionnaires • Physical exams • Can you replicate a case study? • No – therefore the reliability of your findings are said to be low.

23. Ethical Aspects of Case Studies • Protecting the identities of the participants is vital. • Informed consent • No deception • Right to withdraw • Debriefing • Confidentiality

24. Research in Psychology pg. 37 • Read the case: • Outline 2 ethical problems in this case • What could be the reason that Money continues to use this case as evidence of his theory of gender neutrality?