Deck 10: Qualitative Data Analysis

Question 1

To read text interpretively, a researcher must focus on how his or her own orientation shapes the research.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Confidence in the conclusions from a field research study is also strengthened by an honest and informative account about how the researcher interacted with subjects in the field.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Narrative analysis codes the narrative as a whole, rather than coding different elements within the narrative.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Use the following to answer questions 16-18:
In each set, match a concept from Group A to a definition or example from Group B.
Features of Qualitative Data Analysis
Group A
1. Emic
2. Etic
3. Progressive Focusing
4. Case oriented understanding
5.. Thick description

Group B
a. Representing a setting with the researchers' terms
b. The process by which a qualitative analyst interacts with the data and gradually refines the focal point of the study
c. The largely unarticulated contextual understanding that is often manifested in nods, silences, humor, and naughty nuances
d. Representing a setting with the participants' terms
e. Attempting to understand a phenomenon from the standpoint of the participants
f. A rich description that conveys a sense of what it is like from the standpoint of the natural actors in the setting

Question 5

A researcher should always be reflexive and know his or her own biases before entering the field.

Question 6

Visual sociology may use photographs and film as text.

Question 7

Concepts and analytic insights are usually derived from field notes and interviews after the observation period has ended.

Question 8

Qualitative research demands a disciplined transcription schedule, so the researcher does not become overwhelmed.

Question 9

An emic focus represents a setting in the participants' terms.

Question 10

Qualitative and quantitative methods should always be kept separate.

Question 11

Use the following to answer questions 16-18:
In each set, match a concept from Group A to a definition or example from Group B.
Types of Analysis
Group A
1. Ethnography
2. Conversation Analysis
3. Narrative Analysis
4. Grounded Theory
5. Visual sociology

Group B
a. Uses photographs and films as text
b. Develops general propositions from patterns in observed data
c. Assigns units of analysis into quasi-control groups
d. Requires long periods of research in the field
e. Preserves holistic accounts, such as biographies or chronologies, as unit of analysis
f. Focuses on the sequence and details of conversational interaction rather than on the "stories" that people are telling

Question 12

Use the following to answer questions 16-18:
In each set, match a concept from Group A to a definition or example from Group B.
Phases of Qualitative Data Analysis
Group A
1. Documentation
2. Conceptualization
3. Examining Relationships
4. Authenticating Conclusions

Group B
a. Identifying important themes in the data
b. Reflecting on the researcher's role in data collection and interpretation
c. Collection of data such as field notes and transcriptions
d. Moving from description to explanation by connecting concepts
e. Testing ideas derived from data through further research or comparisons to other research

Question 13

The data for a qualitative study may be jottings, field notes, and text transcribed from audiotapes.

Question 14

Anthropologists call the intention of representing a setting under study in the participants' own terms:

A) Reflexive focus
B) Emic focus
C) Indigenous focus
D) Holistic focus
E) Interpretivist focus

Question 15

It is beneficial for researchers always to stick with one qualitative method and not use several together.

Question 16

Conversation analysis focuses on the sequence and details of conversational interaction rather than on the "stories" that people are telling.

Question 17

A matrix is a chart used to condense qualitative data into simple categories and provide

Question 18

Progressive focusing involves:

A) Refining the study focus by interacting with data during the study period
B) Using inductive methods to generate general propositions
C) Reputational methods to determine informal leadership in a natural setting
D) Coding and then recoding qualitative data in electronic (computerized) format
E) The process by which a person selects a field site

Question 19

Spontaneous statements made by informants in a qualitative study are more authentic than those made in response to a researcher's questions.

Question 20

The credibility of the informants cannot be assessed in qualitative research.

Question 21

The focus of narrative analysis is:

A) The story itself
B) Conversation
C) Multiple perspectives
D) Interpretation of meaning
E) Historical context

Question 22

When a researcher understands and recognizes his or her own bias and perceptions, the researcher is engaging in:

A) Documentation
B) Examining relationships between concepts
C) Reflexivity
D) Authentication
E) Reporting

Question 23

If a researcher believes that the text can never be judged to be true of false, the researcher has what type of perspective:

A) Emic
B) Etic
C) Analytic
D) Tacit
E) Hermeneutic

Question 24

If you are concerned with how people construct reality more than describing that reality, which form of qualitative analysis would be most appropriate?

A) Ethnomethodology
B) Case oriented analysis
C) Ethnography
D) Narrative analysis
E) Grounded theory

Question 25

Tacit knowledge is best defined as:

A) Initial responses to observations, made when analyzing field notes
B) Information that key informants deliberately withhold from intensive interviews
C) Careful considerations of the role of the qualitative researcher in influencing the field site
D) Hypotheses taken from field research that can be tested in future research
E) Largely unarticulated, contextual understandings of social processes

Question 26

One important goal of qualitative analysis is to inductively build up a systematic theory that is based on observations. This type of theory is known as:

A) Pseudo-inductive theory
B) Grounded theory
C) Empirical theory
D) Iterative theory
E) Observational theory

Question 27

Grounded theory requires analysts to:

A) Induce theory from observations
B) Test hypotheses
C) Generate hypotheses from theories
D) Chart conceptual connections
E) Spend long periods in the field

Question 28

The goal of grounded theory is to:

A) develop theory inductively
B) Use ethnographic data from two or more sources
C) Identify common themes among actors in a single setting
D) Authenticate conclusions derived from one setting in another setting
E) Reduce the artificiality created by the presence of a researcher

Question 29

There are three ways to read any text for analysis:

A) Etically, emically, and reflexively
B) Literally, reflexively, and interpretively
C) Interpretively, objectively, and subjectively
D) Intersubjectively, objectively, and subjectively
E) Tacitly, etically, and emically

Question 30

Which of the following is a common form of text used in qualitative analysis?

A) Transcripts
B) Field notes
C) Pictures
D) Conversation
E) All of the above

Question 31

The focus of ethnomethodologists is:

A) How people form identities
B) How people create reality
C) How people engage in interaction
D) How researchers affect their own research
E) How the similarity between the researcher and subject affects research results

Question 32

The "centerpiece" of the qualitative analysis process is:

A) Reflexivity
B) Holism
C) Examining relationships
D) Documentation
E) The role of the researcher

Question 33

To interpret text literally, what must a researcher focus on?

A) How his or her orientation shapes research
B) How meaning is constructed in text
C) The subtext, or implied meaning
D) Actual content and form
E) Frequency of certain key words

Question 34

Which of the following is false regarding computer assisted qualitative data analysis?

A) Most programs allow multiple codes to be assigned to text.
B) Most programs can generate the frequencies of specified codes.
C) Most programs can assign codes based on key words.
D) Most programs can allow you to revise codes.
E) Most programs can identify how context changes word use.

Question 35

Although the volume of data collected in qualitative analysis can overwhelm an inexperienced researcher, Chambliss and Schutt recommend which of the following to keep control of your data?

A) Discard unused data after the conceptualization stage
B) Maintain a disciplined transcription schedule
C) Hire professional transcribers
D) Review field notes and transcriptions only after the observation period has finished
E) Keep personal feelings and impressions separate from field notes

Question 36

In qualitative analysis, the first analytic step is:

A) Documentation
B) Conceptualization
C) Coding
D) Categorizing
E) Authenticating

Question 37

Examining relationships between concepts is important in qualitative analysis because it allows the researcher to:

A) Generalize findings
B) Validate findings
C) Authenticate findings
D) Move from description to explanation
E) Identify key variables for future research

Question 38

Elijah Anderson's Code of the Street (1999) is an example of what type of qualitative analysis?

A) Qualitative comparative analysis
B) Narrative analysis
C) Content analysis
D) Ethnomethodology
E) Ethnography

Question 39

Ethnographies are traditionally associated with which discipline?

A) Sociology
B) Political science
C) History
D) Marketing
E) Anthropology

Question 40

One researcher examined how people greeted one another on the street, by paying careful attention to their verbal exchanges. This type of research is probably:

A) Oral history
B) Narrative analysis
C) Ethnography
D) Qualitative comparative analysis
E) Conversation analysis

Question 41

How is oral history similar to and different from narrative analysis?

Question 42

List a few guidelines that will help researchers as they start analysis of qualitative data.

Question 43

Outline the general phases of qualitative data analysis, beginning in the field and ending with a research report.

Question 44

What is the most important feature of qualitative data analysis?

A) Text
B) Language
C) Photography
D) Numbers
E) Population

Question 45

Describe the ethics involved in qualitative data analysis. Do these differ from ethics in other forms of data analysis? Explain.

Question 46

A participant centered understanding attempts to understand something from which perspective?

A) Researcher's
B) Hermeneutic
C) Participants'
D) Emic
E) Etic

Question 47

A type of ethnomethodological research that concentrates on talk is:

A) Qualitative comparative analysis
B) Narrative analysis
C) Ethnography
D) Conversation analysis
E) Visual sociology

Question 48

Which of the following is not a guideline to starting analysis of qualitative data?

A) Know yourself
B) Know your question
C) Be structured
D) Consult others
E) Exhaust data

Question 49

When a researcher is conducting interviews and enhances them by using systematic measuring techniques, the researcher is:

A) Combining qualitative methods
B) Combining qualitative and quantitative methods
C) Employing quantitative analyses only
D) Masking quantitative analysis as qualitative
E) Being a good researcher

Question 50

What is the relationship between narrative analysis and ethnomethodology?
Answer Key

Question 51

When a researcher is representing a setting with the participants' terms, she is taking the:

A) Progressive focus
B) Participant focus
C) Emic focus
D) Etic focus
E) Qualitative focus

Question 52

Which of the following explains why qualitative analysis is different from quantitative analysis?

A) Focus on meanings rather than on quantifiable phenomena
B) Collection of data on a few cases
C) Study in depth and detail
D) Sensitivity to context
E) All of the above

Question 53

How does a qualitative researcher examine how his or her role in the research may alter findings and interpretations? Also explain how a qualitative researcher reports on his or her role.

Question 54

What is a case study? Why is it used?

Question 55

Which of the following is not useful for assessing the quality of qualitative analysis?

A) Does the analysis illuminate the phenomenon as a lived experience?
B) Is the analysis thickly contextualized?
C) Does the study produce generalizable findings?
D) Is the study historically and relationally grounded?
E) Does the researcher describe the research process?

Question 56

What are the advantages of using computer programs to assist in qualitative analysis? Generally outline how these programs operate and explain how they are designed to facilitate analysis and reporting of qualitative data.

Question 57

Qualitative data analysis tends to be iterative and reflexive. Explain what this means in your own words.

Question 58

How is visual sociology different from other forms of qualitative analysis? Propose a research project that would use visual sociology to understand the social world.

Question 59

Describe grounded theory. How does it compare to deductive research?