Title: Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology Lecture 12a: Qualitative Methods I
1Research Methods and Statistics in
PsychologyLecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- Overview of lecture
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- (a) the standard critique
- (b) the radical critique
- 3. Methods of collecting qualitative data
- 4. Principles for handling qualitative data
- Reading for this lecture
- Chapter 12 in HM.
2Research Methods and Statistics in
PsychologyLecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 1. Introduction
- Despite the many differences between the
statistical techniques that we have discussed in
previous lectures, its clear they all have one
thing in common the collection and manipulation
of quantitative data. - This meant that when we thought about potential
research questions (e.g., Does absence make the
heart grow fonder?), answers were provided that
relied upon numbers rather than words. - Having collected data in this form, the methods
for analysing it could also be understood in
terms of a series of well-defined decisions that
led to readily interpretable outcomes.
3Research Methods and Statistics in
PsychologyLecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 1. Introduction
- This is all well and good. However, it possible
to object to these practices on grounds that they
misrepresent the underlying subject matter of
psychology. - Indeed, criticism of this form may have already
occurred to you. For example, you might feel that
circling a number on a scale can never come close
to capturing what it means to be in love. - In effect, you are asking for examination of
these phenomena that is qualitative rather than
(just) quantitative and which does a better job
of understanding them - (a) as they are experienced by the people
involved and - (b) as they occur naturally in the real world.
4Research Methods and Statistics in
PsychologyLecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- What are the main misgivings that (some)
researchers have about quantitative methods? - Answering this question helps us to understand
the basic motivations that underpin various
qualitative methods and to understand where those
who use them are coming from. - It also raises a number of issues that all
researchers need to consider carefully in
thinking about qualitative research.
5Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- This is important as researchers often advocate
the exclusive use of quantitative methods and
dismiss altogether the potential for qualitative
approaches to contribute to psychological
knowledge (usually on grounds that they are
non-cumulative, non-generalizable, subjective and
unscientific). - This response is misguided because an
appreciation of the issues raised by qualitative
studies has the potential to enrich all
psychological research including that which is
exclusively quantitative.
6Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- (a) The standard critique
- This is based on the view that there is more to
psychological phenomena than can be conveyed by
mere numbers and by crude attempts to manipulate
discrete aspects of the environment one at a
time. - If one thinks, for example, about our separation
and attraction study we can see that it is
possible to object to this at a number of levels - (a) feelings are transposed into numbers when, in
reality, their positive and negative aspects
encompass emotions as varied (and with
distinctions as subtle) as fondness, pleasure,
affection, love, and lust as opposed to hate,
dissatisfaction, distrust, pique, jealousy, and
boredom. - If a person circles a 6 on a scale, which of
these does it mean?
7Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- (a) The standard critique
- (b) the same experimental manipulation can mean
different things to different people. - So one person may find repeated interaction with
a stranger increasingly stimulating while another
finds it increasingly bizarre. - Faced with these problems, one key recommendation
of qualitative researchers is to adopt research
practices that - (a) focus on the meaning that particular
behaviours have for participants themselves (this
is commonly referred to as a hermeneutic
approach) and - (b) actively involve participants in the research
process (a principle referred to as participant
involvement or user involvement).
8Research Methods and Statistics in
PsychologyLecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- (a) The standard critique
- As a result, where quantitative approaches
involve the cold, bare statistical analysis of
numerical data, qualitative research focuses on
words or other ways of capturing the warmer,
richer elaboration of experience. - Having said that, many of the actual methods to
which these ideas lead sit quite happily
alongside the quantitative methods we have
already discussed in previous lectures and they
can be used for very similar purposes.
9Research Methods and Statistics in
PsychologyLecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- (b) The radical critique
- This suggests that qualitative research needs to
be doing something altogether incompatible with
quantitative goals and practices. - There are different components of this radical
critique that not all researchers subscribe to,
but three are most prominent - (a) An objection to the philosophies of realism
or positivism that underpin most quantitative
research. - Realism and positivism reflect the view, that
there are a set of objective psychological facts
out there awaiting discovery by suitably
trained researchers (e.g., fondness, memory).
10Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- (b) The radical critique
- Radical critics argue that features of the world
only exist as a result of a set of meanings which
are actively constructed by communities within it
(e.g., scientists, students, Westerners, etc). - From this perspective, what counts as
fondness, memory, absence or attention can
be seen to depend on who you are and where you
fit into the social structure. - These objections are consistent with philosophies
of idealism, constructionism, constructivism,
relativism, or (more loosely) post-modernism. - Broadly speaking, these argue that no uniquely
valid interpretation of the world is possible,
because multiple interpretations of the world
exist and each appears equally valid when looked
at from the perspective of the interpreter.
11Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- (b) The radical critique
- (b) a rejection of researchers goal of
developing universal laws of cause and effect
(what is sometimes called a nomothetic approach).
- As an alternative researchers argue for an
approach which attempts to understand behaviour
in the contexts where it occurs without seeking
to elevate any such understanding to the status
of a law (an idiographic approach). - In answer to the question If my partner goes
overseas will she love me more or less when she
returns?, a qualitative researcher may start by
asking Well, what exactly do you mean by
love?. - They may also want to stop thinking about love as
a variable and instead look at how the idea of
love is used in everyday interaction.
12Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- (b) The radical critique
- (c) recognition of researchers involvement in
the research process and belief that the products
of scientific enquiry only have subjective, not
objective, validity. - Such objections are most clearly expressed in an
opposition to the standard practices for writing
up research findings. - Research reports tend to be written in a
dispassionate and seemingly disinterested way so
that the facts appear to emerge as the result
of a cold inhuman scientific process (e.g., the
report in HM pp. 469-475). - Qualitative critics argue this is unrealistic as
research outcomes are contingent upon
researchers perspectives, values and objective.
They argue these need to be visible and accounted
for.
13Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 2. Critiques of quantitative approaches
- (b) The radical critique
- As presented above, the differences between
quantitative and qualitative research appear to
be rather stark. - However, it is important to note that, in
practice, the distinction between the two is not
this black and white. - This is for at least three reasons
- (a) not all qualitative researchers endorse a
radical critique (or, if they do, they only
embrace certain parts of it). - (b) many quantitative researchers are sympathetic
to the issues that this critique raises and try
to display sensitivity to it in their research
practice and theorizing. - (c) although quantitative and qualitative methods
are different, the methods and principles that
guide data collection are often very similar.
14Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 3. Methods of collecting qualitative data
- Most of the techniques that are used to collect
quantitative data can also be used to collect
qualitative data. - This is particularly true of a number of the main
methods of data collection that we have discussed
in previous lectures including interviews, case
studies, archival studies and observational
studies. - In all these settings, rather than gathering
numerical data a researcher can gather verbal
data from - interviews (structured or unstructured),
- group discussion (e.g., using focus groups or
delphi groups), - written communication (e.g., letters, memos,
public documents), - recorded material (e.g., radio programmes,
television interviews), - other sources (e.g., the Internet, transcripts of
court or legislative proceedings).
15Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 3. Methods of collecting qualitative data
- However, qualitative methods of data gathering
vary in three key respects from those typically
associated with quantitative methods - (a) the data can be structured or unstructured.
- (b) data can be gathered explicitly for research
purposes or it can exist independently of
research. - (c) researchers themselves can either be internal
or external to the data.
16Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 4. Some general principles for collecting and
analysing qualitative data - In light of the radical critique discussed above,
there are some dangers in attempting to identify
general principles that guide the collection and
analysis of qualitative data. - Indeed, some radical qualitative researchers
correspond to what psychologists traditionally
think of as method. - Nonetheless, Yin (1994) discusses five steps for
carrying out qualitative case studies and, these
are broadly appropriate to most qualitative work
17Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 4. Some general principles for collecting and
analysing qualitative data - Step 1
- Develop appropriate research questions
- Qualitative research usually asks How do? and
Why do? questions, (rather than How much?,
How often?, i.e., quantitative ones). - The rationale for this rests on two assumptions
- (a) that research participants are in a position
to comment verbally on issues pertaining to the
research topic, and/or - (b) that their comments are in some way relevant
to understanding that topic.
18Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 4. Some general principles for collecting and
analysing qualitative data - Step 2
- Identify key propositions for the study
- As with quantitative work, much qualitative
research is driven by a desire to test (or
explore) a set of hypotheses that derive from a
particular theory or approach to a topic. - Stating in advance of any study what its purpose
is an important means by which its success can
ultimately be judged.
19Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 4. Some general principles for collecting and
analysing qualitative data - Step 3
- Specify the unit(s) and context(s) of interest.
- Qualitative research typically aims to make
statements about classes of individuals (e.g.,
older daughters, scientists, chess players) or
situations (e.g., organizational cultures,
learning regimes, hospital wards). - Specifying the unit(s) and context(s) of interest
helps readers to understand the relationship
between a particular piece of data (e.g., a
response in an interview) and the research
project as a whole.
20Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 4. Some general principles for collecting and
analysing qualitative data - Step 4
- Establish the logic linking the data to the
propositions. - Explaining how and why particular pieces of data
help achieve particular research objectives
allows consumers of the research to evaluate its
success. - The nature of these explanations will vary
substantially as a function of the approach to
research that is adopted (e.g., whether it is
informed by a realist or constructionist
philosophy).
21Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
Lecture 12a Qualitative Methods I
- 4. Some general principles for collecting and
analysing qualitative data - Step 5
- Explain the criteria for interpreting the
findings - Even though no thing like an alpha level exists
in qualitative research, it is still necessary
for researchers to indicate why they favour
particular interpretations of their data and why
they draw particular conclusions. - Usually (but not always) these claims will rely
on the detection of regularities and patterning
within the data, including similarities and
differences (e.g., within and between individuals
and situations). - Researchers need to explain why any set of
regularities and patterns has been singled out
for attention. This helps to offset
counter-claims and alternative interpretations of
the data.