International Journal of Qualitative Methods: ARCHIVE
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Exploring Qualitatively-derived Concepts: Inductive—Deductive Pitfalls
No full textAnalytic induction is a sacred tenet of qualitative inquiry.1 Therefore, when one begins a project focusing on concept of interest (rather than allowing the concepts to emerge from the data per se), how does one maintain a valid approach? When commencing inquiry with a chosen concept or phenomena of interest, rather than with a question from the data per se about what is going on, how does one control deductive tendencies to see what one desires to see and which threaten validity?
Difficulties stem from the nature of induction itself – Is analytic induction an impossible operation in qualitative research, as Popper (1963/65) suggests? In this section, we first discuss Popper’s concern, followed by a discussion of two major threats that may prevent an inductive approach in qualitative research.2 The first threat is the “pink elephant paradox;” the second is the avoidance of conceptual tunnel vision or, specifically, how does the researcher decontextualize the concept of interest from the surrounding context and thereby avoid the tendency to consider all data to be pertinent to the concept of interest? As we explore each of these pitfalls, and we present methodological strategies to maintain both the integrity of the concept and the integrity of the research
Analysis of Videotaped Data: Methodological Considerations
No full textUsing videotaped data as the sole source for a study produces unique challenges that have not been fully addressed in the literature. Our particular interest was the analysis of videotaped data in which the scene–that captured within the frame–is the sole source of data. The researcher does not have access to interviews or other interpretive data to provide the participants’ perspective, therefore analysis relies on the actions of the participants as they occurred. When recording video data in this manner, nothing is manipulated or staged for the recording. The challenge for the researcher is to describe and to analyze the scene as it stands. How does one make sense of such data? And how can one be assured that the research interpretation is correct? We argue here that the level and accuracy of interpretation possible depends on the context–on what is being studied, and what is known about the topic of interest.
In this section, we will address issues inherent in analysis of sole source videotaped data, with particular attention to the selection and use of a scaffold for analysis. The example that we use is a study that came later in the research program: a secondary analysis of videotaped data to explore nurse-patient-family interactions in a trauma-resuscitation room of the Emergency Department (Morse & Pooler, 2002)
Conceptualization: On Theory and Theorizing Using Grounded Theory
No full textThis article explores the use of grounded theory to generate conceptualizations of emergent social patterns in research data. The naming of patterns and their abstraction across time, place and people, are discussed. The constant comparative method employed in grounded data analysis is offered as a developmental tool for enhancing researchers’ abilities to conceptualize and form emergent theories. Conceptual levels, descriptions, power and flawed approaches to analysis are explored at length
Influence of the Research Frame on Qualitatively Derived Health Science Knowledge
No full textAlthough qualitative researchers generally acknowledge that their theoretical location and methodological orientation will influence the findings of their inquiries, it has been less well understood how the body of knowledge within a substantive field might be shaped by these factors. In this article, the authors draw on insights obtained from their experiences attempting to synthesize qualitative research findings. From that reflective process, they raise questions about the manner in which qualitatively derived knowledge from various orientations can be interpreted and understood
Qualitative Research in Latin America: Critical Perspectives on Health
No full textQualitative research is a field of knowledge and practice that is expanding continuously throughout the health area in Latin America. However, few studies have focused on evaluating qualitative research on health in the region, or on evaluating its theoretical or operational characteristics. This study examines health research in Latin America that has a critical perspective and the way it views qualitative research. Three trends or schools of thought in the health field in Latin America were identified that had both a critical perspective and that use qualitative research: social medicine, participatory action research, and sociocultural studies. Each has been described, including the ways they incorporate qualitative research. Examples of empirical studies are presented, and some criticisms are discussed
Reflections on the Role of Emotion in Feminist Research
No full textIn this article the author explores the topic of researching the researcher and, more specifically, the role of emotion in researching sensitive issues within the context of feminist research. She offers reflections on the implications of emotionally engaged feminist research for addressing and working through such thorny issues as responsibility and representation with respect to one’s research, research participants, and the researchers themselves
Roving Focus Groups: Collecting Perceptual Landscape Data In Situ
No full textAlthough focus groups are adaptable to unique situations, experts warn that the physical environment in which discussions take place should (a) be free from distractions, (b) be neutral, and (c) permit participants to face each other. In 2004 and 2005 the authors experimented with roving focus groups in the rural landscape of Michigan (USA). As they moved along in a vehicle, participants discussed features that contributed to and detracted from rural landscape character. Results from a follow-up survey supported focus group themes. Such a congruence of results provides confidence in the procedure and expands interpretation of the concept, rural character. Qualitative procedures are rarely used to evaluate landscapes. In this study roving focus group results provided reliable and valid policy-relevant criteria at sufficient detail for planning purposes. The authors demonstrate the technology used to record the focus groups and discuss the pros and cons and ways of improving this procedure
Easier Said than Done: Writing an Autoethnography
No full textAutoethnography is an intriguing and promising qualitative method that offers a way of giving voice to personal experience for the purpose of extending sociological understanding. The author’s experience of writing an autoethnography about international adoption has shown her, however, that autoethnography can be a very difficult undertaking. In writing her autoethnography, she confronted anxiety-producing questions pertaining to representation, balance, and ethics. As well, she dealt with the acceptability of her autoethnography by informal and formal reviewers. In this article she discusses the challenges she faced in her autoethnographic project to inform future autoethnographers and to inspire them to share their experiences and reflections. For the author questions linger, but she hopes that sharing issues that arise in autoethnographic work will strengthen our understandings of this challenging yet highly promising form of inquiry
Not Alone in the Field: Distance Collaboration via the Internet in a Focused Ethnography
No full textEthnography as method remains orthodox in its application. It is largely replicated through the lone field ethnographer model. In challenging this fieldwork model, the authors describe distance collaboration via the Internet linking two researchers across space and time in the fieldwork process: one in the field, the other home based. Using a reflexive, retrospective analysis of e-mail correspondence generated during the fieldwork experience, they explicate key factors in their successful collaborative effort. In addition, interchanges conducive to “thickening” the ethnographic inquiry are highlighted. The collaborative process, facilitated through the Internet, lent psychological strength to the field researcher and added to research quality, timeliness, and trustworthiness in this focused ethnography. Cyber-technology invites exploration of new approaches and resultant challenges in conducting ethnographic fieldwork
Reflections on the Narrative Research Approach
No full textIn her reflections on the narrative research approach, the author starts by placing narrative research within the framework of sociocultural theory, where the challenge for the researcher is to examine and understand how human actions are related to the social context in which they occur and how and where they occur through growth. The author argues that the narrative as a unit of analysis provides the means for doing this. She then presents some of the basic premises of narrative research before she reflects on the process of narrative inquiry and addresses the issue of the “true” narrative. Throughout the article, the author refers to educational research and in the concluding section argues that the results of narrative research can be used as thought-provoking tools within the field of teacher education