Deck 13: Qualitative Data Analysis: Searching for Meaning

Question 1

Which of the following sequences would not be possible in qualitative analysis?

A) Collect data $\rightarrow$ prepare data $\rightarrow$ identify patterns and relationships $\rightarrow$ draw conclusions
B) Collect data $\rightarrow$ prepare data $\rightarrow$ identify patterns and relationships $\rightarrow$ collect data
C) Prepare data $\rightarrow$ identify patterns and relationships $\rightarrow$ collect data $\rightarrow$ draw conclusions
D) Collect data $\rightarrow$ identify patterns and relationships $\rightarrow$ prepare data $\rightarrow$ draw conclusions

Answer 1

Collect data $\rightarrow$ identify patterns and relationships $\rightarrow$ prepare data $\rightarrow$ draw conclusions

Question 2

Which of the following sequences most accurately describes data preparation in qualitative analysis?

A) Transform data to readable text $\rightarrow$ edit and clean data $\rightarrow$ manage data
B) Manage data $\rightarrow$ edit and clean data $\rightarrow$ transform data to readable text
C) Manage data $\rightarrow$ transform data to readable text $\rightarrow$ edit and clean data
D) Edit and clean data $\rightarrow$ transform data to readable text $\rightarrow$ manage data

Answer 2

Transform data to readable text $\rightarrow$ edit and clean data $\rightarrow$ manage data

Question 3

Which of the following is true of recording errors in qualitative data?

A) Fewer errors occur in recording textual than numerical data.
B) Field researchers may ask informants to read their notes as a way of identifying errors.
C) The quality of interviews determines whether errors occur in interview transcription.
D) Trying to provide too much detail is the greatest source of errors for novice researchers.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following methods is most likely to be used in the early stages of qualitative analysis as a way of organizing the data?

A) Attribute coding
B) Analytic memo
C) Code memo
D) Data matrix

Question 5

Snow and Anderson organized their field notes into files consisting of settings, homeless individuals, and

A) homeless support groups.
B) sources of food and shelter.
C) activity spheres.
D) cultural domains.

Question 6

In the homeless study, distancing, embracement, and fictive story telling are labels for

A) patterns of identity talk.
B) stages in homeless careers.
C) different public reactions to the homeless.
D) forms of extrication from the street.

Question 7

A code memo in qualitative analysis communicates the _______ of a concept.

A) conceptual definition
B) operational definition
C) level of measurement
D) estimated reliability

Question 8

To develop ideas from their data, qualitative analysts do all but which one of the following?

A) Ask questions about the data
B) Write memos
C) Construct data displays
D) Code the data into categories based on hypotheses that informed the research

Question 9

Which way of summarizing textual data identifies types and dimensions of concepts?

A) Taxonomy
B) Data matrix
C) Typology
D) Flow chart

Question 10

Taxonomy is to typology as _______ is to _______.

A) biology; sociology
B) dimension; concept
C) one concept; two or more concepts
D) conceptualization; operationalization

Question 11

In Snow and Anderson's typology of homeless individuals, the mentally ill is a subtype of which of the following groups?

A) Recently dislocated
B) Straddlers
C) Outsiders
D) Tramps

Question 12

Member checking in the homeless study would have involved

A) verifying that individuals classified as homeless are indeed homeless.
B) asking homeless individuals for permission to be identified in the study.
C) verifying personal information on homeless individuals by checking institutional records.
D) asking homeless individuals if study findings make sense to them.

Question 13

Which of the following represents an exception to what Snow and Anderson generally observed among the homeless?

A) A long-time homeless individual stating that he is "nothing but a bum"
B) A homeless individual claiming that he's different and not like other "street people"
C) A recently dislocated homeless individual who actively seeks employment
D) A homeless individual with a strong sense of independence

Question 14

Snow and Anderson derived theoretical propositions from their study of the homeless involving the variable "time on the street." According to one proposition, the longer a homeless person is on the street,

A) the more likely that he or she will make use of social services.
B) the more difficult it becomes to get off the street.
C) the more likely he or she is to become a straddler,
D) the less likely he or she is to engage in shadow work.

Question 15

Snow and Anderson used the terms "tramps" and "bums" in their typology of homeless individuals partly because these words were used by the homeless to describe themselves and others. In grounded theory methods, this type of coding is called _______ coding.

A) process
B) realistic
C) in vivo
D) action

Question 16

In her initial coding of an interview, Charmaz used the terms "taking action," "learning the facts," "meeting resistance," and "seeking justice" to describe her interviewee's account of returning to work after an illness. These terms illustrate which type of coding advocated by grounded theory methods?

A) Realistic coding
B) Mimic coding
C) In vivo coding
D) Action coding

Question 17

Consistent with the aims of grounded theory, theoretical sampling is used to select

A) research sites relevant to the theoretical aims of the research.
B) cases that are likely to be theoretically rich.
C) observations or interviewees that theoretically maximize variability.
D) observations or interviewees to develop aspects of an emerging theory.

Question 18

The constant-comparative method is a general analytic strategy of

A) grounded theory methods.
B) narrative analysis.
C) conversation analysis.
D) historical analysis.

Question 19

The object of narrative analysis is to

A) use observations and interviews to create a narrative of a group or event.
B) examine the structure and meaning of stories derived from interviews and other sources.
C) create a single story line from divergent accounts of the same event.
D) use reflexivity to create a chronologically accurate analysis.

Question 20

Which of the following is true of Kathleen Blee's study of women in racist organizations?

A) It is based on field research on racist organizations.
B) It is based on life history interviews.
C) It showed that family ties best explained women's conversion to racist beliefs.
D) It illustrates the efficacy of theoretical sampling.

Question 21

Conversation analysis uses the Jeffersonian method to combine the transcription of the content of communication with

A) a record of gestures and facial expressions.
B) the classification of gender, class, and other differences between communicators.
C) a shorthand notation to indicate pauses, volume or loudness, and other details.
D) an account of the surrounding context of the communication.

Question 22

Qualitative analysis is a linear process that starts with data collection moves to data preparation and coding and ends with analysis and interpretation.

Question 23

Preparing for qualitative data analysis involves transforming observations and interviews into readable text.

Question 24

A common error in the field notes of beginning field researchers is the omission of important information.

Question 25

Transcription errors are avoidable if the interviewers themselves do the transcription.

Question 26

The primary objective of attribute coding is to manage the data.

Question 27

Qualitative analysis in field research may begin with the coding of actors and settings.

Question 28

Interviewers file their data electronically, whereas field researchers always use a physical filing system.

Question 29

To code interview data, researchers often use transcript lines as the coding unit.

Question 30

Code memos identify which units have and have not been coded.

Question 31

The outline of a book chapter is similar to a taxonomy.

Question 32

A data matrix in qualitative research may contain numbers or text.

Question 33

A typology is the same as a taxonomy, except a taxonomy has more categories.

Question 34

In Snow and Anderson's typology of the homeless, the "mentally ill" were the most common type that they encountered during their research.

Question 35

Like outliers in quantitative data analysis, exceptions to patterns in qualitative data are treated as errors that can be ignored.

Question 36

Snow and Anderson found that the longer a homeless person was on the street, the more likely that they were mentally ill.

Question 37

Some grounded theorists advise researchers to analyze their data while ignoring existing theory and research.

Question 38

In vivo and action coding are only used in the later, "focused" phase of the grounded theory technique.

Question 39

In vivo coding reflects grounded theory's emphasis on using participants' voices.

Question 40

Unlike other forms of qualitative analysis, memo-writing plays a minor role in grounded theory methods.

Question 41

Identification of "complicating actions" is part of narrative analysis.

Question 42

Conversation analysis emphasizes the meaning of the spoken or written word.

Question 43

The Jeffersonian method uses shorthand notation to identify aspects of communication other than the spoken word.

Question 44

Compare data processing in quantitative analysis with data preparation in qualitative analysis. How do these processes differ and how are the same?

Question 45

Using the concepts of attribute coding, code memos, taxonomy, and typology, describe how qualitative analysis moves from relatively concrete to increasingly abstract interpretations of the data.

Question 46

In Chapter 12, the authors remind you that "data analysis is part of a cycle of inquiry that takes place whenever theory and data are compared." Explain when and how this comparison occurs in qualitative data analysis. Then describe how this process differs from quantitative data analysis.