QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

The Quantitative Tradition in Psychology

    Aligned with Natural Science Methods
    Positivistic Assumptions

The Qualitative Alternative

    Understanding Meaning via Interaction
    Non-numerical
    Reality as Perspective
    Disinterest in Generalization
    Importance of Culture and Other Contextual Factors
    Research is Driven by Values
    Focus on Unfolding Events (process)
    Individuals and Systems Interact Dynamically

Criticisms of Qualitative Methods

    Lack of Operational Definitions
    Multiple Realities
    Value-laden
    Uncontrolled Confounding Variables
    Qualitative Methods Are Western

Two Qualitative Methods

    Discourse Analysis
    Focus Groups

Discourse Analysis

    Focus on Power and Ideology

    Purpose to Disrupt Oppressive Discourse

        Language Serves Vested Interests
        Language Is Situated in Culture
    
    Three Themes

        Function, or the Purpose of Language
        Construction, or How Dialogue Clarifies Meaning
        Variation, or How Context Determines Language

    Two Major Approaches

        Michel Foucault

            “Psy-complex”
            People Participate in Their Own Subjugation
    
        Interpretive

            Social Interaction Enables Action

    Methods Employed

        Research Question
        Sample Selection
        Collection of Records
        Transcription
        Coding
        Analysis
        Validation
        Report
        Application

    Example - Terre Blanche (1997)

Focus Groups

    Origins in Marketing Surveys

    Relevance to International Psychology

        Cultural Views and Normative Understandings
        Indigenous Perspectives

    Three Applications of Focus-group Research

        Exploratory
        Pre-test
        Multi-method

    Requirements of a Focus Group

        Size
        Composition

    Procedures

        Collectivistic and Dialogic
        Role of Facilitator
        Data Collection and Analysis
    
    Example - Hopa et al. (1998)
    
DISCUSSION:

➢    Are qualitative and quantitative methods compatible in a science of psychology?

➢    What global problems can qualitative methods be expected to explain (e.g., intergroup conflict, overpopulation) and, likewise, to which are they seemingly misapplied?

➢    How can qualitative methods be matched to unique local settings to maximize knowledge and the usefulness of their findings?