Deck 8: Qualitative Methods and Data Analysis

Question 1

There are no set standards for evaluating the validity or authenticity of conclusions in a qualitative study, but Becker 1958)argues that the data can be assessed in terms criteria such as: 8-23)

A)The credibility of the informant
B)Questions about the spontaneity of informant's statements
C)Presence or absence of the researcher and how it influences other group members
D)All of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Most field researchers adopt a role that involves 8-8)

A)Some covert participation in the setting
B)Some active participation in the setting
C)No active participation in the setting
D)Total participation in the setting

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Current ethical standards require 8-32)

A)Casual consent of research subjects
B)Subjects must be able to comprehend what a researcher does so as to be able to weigh any possible consequences of research
C)Researchers do not have to fully disclose their identity to participants
D)That deception is natural

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Examining relationships is the centerpiece of the analytic process because it 8-23)

A)Allows the researcher to preserve a record of what happened
B)Allows the researcher to move from simple description to explanations of why things happened as they did
C)Allows the researcher to validate the authenticity of the conclusions from the data
D)Allows the researcher to have confidence in the field research study conclusions

Question 5

Qualitative analysis features 8-21)

A)A focus on meanings rather than quantifiable phenomena
B)A conception of the researcher as an instrument rather than as the designer of objective instruments
C)A sensitivity to context rather than a seeking of universal generalizations
D)All of the above

Question 6

Computer assisted qualitative data analysis can help to analyze text such as 8-28)

A)Notes or documents
B)Interview transcripts
C)Preparation, coding, analysis and reporting
D)All of the above

Question 7

Research in which natural social processes are studied as they happen and left relatively undisturbed is also known as 8-3)

A)Survey research
B)Interview research
C)Field research
D)Covert research

Question 8

The goal of many qualitative researchers is to create grounded theory, or to 8-26)

A)Create a theory that is simplistically built into a complex conceptual undertaking
B)Build up a systematic theory that is grounded in or based on observations
C)Deductively build a theory for the quantitative explanation
D)None of the above

Question 9

A group of 7-10 people, usually chosen so that they are relatively homogeneous, that participates in a focused discussion session is a 8-19)

A)Strategic discussion group
B)Question and answer group
C)Focus group
D)None of the above

Question 10

The first formal analytical step in qualitative research is 8-22)

A)Documentation
B)Conceptualization, coding & categorizing
C)Examine relationships and display data
D)Corroborating and authenticate conclusions

Question 11

Researchers should make every effort to expunge possible identifying material 8-32)

A)From published information
B)But it should also be clear that they cannot guarantee confidentiality for research subjects
C)Alter unimportant aspects of a description when necessary
D)Only A and C

Question 12

Decisions to study one setting or several settings and to pay attention to specific people and events will shape field researchers' ability 8-11)

A)To generalize about what they have found
B)For others to have confidence in the results of their study
C)Both A and B
D)None of the above

Question 13

Qualitative data analysis focuses on text rather than on 8-21)

A)Reflexive thought
B)Field notes and jottings about them
C)Numerical data
D)Both B and C

Question 14

A strategy that increases the reliability of observational data by using explicit rules that standardize coding practices across observers is 8-14)

A)Dimensional observation
B)Strategic observation
C)Systematic observation
D)Intensive observation

Question 15

Miller 2000)recruited young women from a residential facility to participate in her research and paid them to refer other girls who were gang members.Although this is common in snowball samples, one young woman decided to cash in on the deal by initiating new young women into her gang.The ethical dilemma was 8-31)

A)That the girls were underage
B)That the initiation ceremony for the particular gang involved recruits to the gang being "beaten into the gang"
C)That the girls didn't realize that it was a gang initiation
D)All of the above

Question 16

In participant observation studies it can be difficult to make sure that participants are there voluntarily.Few researchers or IRBs are willing to condone covert participation because 8-31)

A)Interpreting the standard of involuntary participation is difficult
B)Although it may seem easy to tell if someone is participating voluntarily it may be difficult to get their consent officially
C)Voluntary consent by minors could be given by their guardian so that is not an issue
D)Because it does not offer a way to ensure that the participation is actually voluntary

Question 17

Researchers generally develop understandings early in a project with all major participants and stakeholders 8-34)

A)To respond to what is consider fair use of the results
B)Regarding the obligation of inappropriate use of findings
C)To encourage appropriate use of project results
D)To use findings appropriately

Question 18

A systematic approach to sampling in participant observational research is 8-12)

A)Experiential sampling
B)Theoretical sampling
C)Field sampling
D)None of the above

Question 19

The next step after documenting the data in a qualitative study, the researcher should 8-22)

A)Corroborate by evaluating alternative explanations
B)Connect the data to show how one concept may influence another
C)Organize or categorize the data into concepts
D)Challenge validity

Question 20

In her study of community policing 1999), Susan Miller adopted the role of 8-7)

A)Complete participant
B)Mixed participant-observer
C)Complete observer
D)None of the above

Question 21

Qualitative methods emphasize 8-2)

A)Categories of information that is predetermined by the researcher to make sure of getting the best information available
B)Research that begins with preformulated hypotheses
C)Observations about natural behavior and artifacts that captures social life as it is experienced by the participants
D)All of the above

Question 22

The study of a culture or cultures that a group of people share is known as a netnography.8-5)

Question 23

Qualitative research is often focused on the meanings that participants attach to events.8-2)

Question 24

Netnography is the same as virtual ethnography.8-5)

Question 25

Field research involves studying natural social processes as they happen.8-6)

Question 26

When conducting his study of teenage boys in Oakland, CA, Victor Rios 8-8)

A)Was unaware of how his research would affect the boys
B)Was very aware of how his past experiences shaped his research
C)Was unaware of how his past research would affect him
D)Was very aware of how outsiders could affect people

Question 27

Because qualitative researchers seek to discover what people think in a certain social situation, qualitative research often 8-2)

A)Begins with an emphasis on numbers-driven research at first, only later turning to a participant's understanding of how and why they act a certain way
B)Has a commitment to inductive reasoning in order to discover what people think as well as how and why they act in certain social settings
C)Begins with preformulated hypotheses
D)Has its beginnings in widely studied social processes and anticipated phenomena do as to understand why people act as they do

Question 28

Participant observation is also called fieldwork in psychology.8-6)

Question 29

Communities can refer to not only people in a common physical location but also to 8-22)

A)Relationships that develop on-line
B)Relationships that emerge in the course of work or school
C)Relationships that supplement emerging relationships
D)All of the above

Question 30

Rios 2011)relied on several different qualitative research methods to determine how patterns of punished experienced by youth in his study affected them.8-6)

Question 31

Qualitative methods must rely on 8-5)

A)Conceptualizing what is meant by the study
B)Operationalizing exactly what is meant by research constructs
C)Conceptualizing the definition of peer groups
D)None of the above

Question 32

Study of a culture or cultures that a group of people share is 8-4)

A)An observation
B)An ethnography
C)A fieldwork project
D)A characteristic ethnographic study

Question 33

A lack of reflexivity in research design and sensitivity to objective role of the researcher is very important in qualitative research.8-3)

Question 34

There is a focus on previously well-studied processes and phenomena in qualitative research.8-2)

Question 35

The method of studying natural social processes as they happen in the field, is known as 8-6)

A)Observational participation
B)Complete observation
C)Participant observation
D)Observer-as-participant

Question 36

The context of concern in qualitative research is often a program or broader social context.8-2)

Question 37

Qualitative research focuses on the interconnections between

A)People and how they interact with social surveys
B)People and how they interconnect with social phenomena rather than the discrete features of those phenomena
C)People and the meanings they attach to events and their lives
D)All of the above

Question 38

The use of ethnographic methods to study online communities is known as 8-5)

A)Fishnetting
B)Netnography
C)Kyberography
D)All of the above

Question 39

Qualitative researchers do not typically begin their projects seeking to test preformulated hypotheses.8-2)

Question 40

Boas and Malinowski were researchers who laid the foundation for 8-3)

A)Modern quantitative research in the 20^th century
B)Research on modern south American natives
C)Participation in research studies in the 19^th century
D)Modern qualitative methods while doing field research in the early 20^th century

Question 41

One of the ethical advantages of disclosing your research role to participants is that group members can choose to keep some information or attitudes hidden.8-8)

Question 42

Intensive interviewing relies almost exclusively on closed-ended questions.8-16)

Question 43

Written field notes are the primary means of recording participant observation data.8-13)

Question 44

Define the methods of ethnography and how they compare to netnography.

Question 45

The impact of personal issues do not vary with the researchers' involvement in the setting.8-13)

Question 46

The changes in individual or group behavior due to being observed or otherwise studied is known as a proactive effect.8-7)

Question 47

Describe the features of qualitative research that most distinguish it from quantitative research.

Question 48

Discuss the ways computer software programs can facilitate qualitative data analysis.8-28]

Question 49

A systematic approach to sampling in participant observational research is theoretical sampling.8-12)

Question 50

Identify the major ethical challenges faced by qualitative researchers and discuss one qualitative research project that posed particular ethical concerns.8-31]

Question 51

Discuss the advantages of focus group research and identify particular challenges focus group researchers face.

Question 52

Decisions to study one setting or several settings do not shape field researchers' ability to generalize about what they have found.8-11)

Question 53

Researchers must be careful to manage relationships in the research setting so that the research can continue through a long period of participant observation.8-11)

Question 54

Describe the process of intensive interviewing and compare it to the process of interviewing in survey research.8-17)

Question 55

Discuss the major challenges at each stage of a field research project.

Question 56

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of each participant observer role.

Question 57

In her study of community policing, Susan Miller 1999)adopted the role of a complete observer.8-7)

Question 58

Understand how grounded theory is developed.8-26)

Question 59

Describe differences between ethnography and ethnomethodology.

Question 60

Systematic observation is a strategy that increases the reliability of observational data by using explicit rules that standardize coding practices across observers.8-14)

Question 61

What is meant by this statement? "Although the role of covert participant lessens some of the reactive effects encountered by the complete observer, covert participants can confront other problems."

Question 62

Pearson 2009)conducted covert participation research in the illegal behavior of English football soccer), commonly referred to as hooligans.Describe the research.What did he find? 8-10]

Question 63

Describe Victor Rios's case study, "Life in a Gang." 8-5)

Question 64

Why is Rios's research in Oakland a perfect example of participant observation? 8-8)

Question 65

What kinds of concerns are there in choosing which role to take as a participant observer in qualitative research? 8-7)