Deck 5: A: Qualitative Research: Getting Into the Mind of a Serial Killer

Question 1

LuAnn is a developmental psychologist interested in investigating the parenting styles of narcissists.She decides to conduct qualitative research that takes a bottom-up approach.Explain how she might go about investigating the parenting styles of narcissists from this standpoint.

Answer 1

The bottom-up approach is when a researcher develops a theory by exploring a topic using information gathered from the participants' direct experiences.In a bottom-up approach,a researcher moves from information to exploring patterns and themes to finally formulating a theory.In LuAnn's case,she may conduct interviews,case studies,or focus groups with narcissists who are parents.From the information that they provide,she may look for patterns and themes.Then,in light of those data,she can develop a theory.When a researcher is beginning a research project (or investigating a novel topic)gathering information and building a theory from direct in-depth interactions with participants can be especially valuable.

Question 2

Develop a research question that should be investigated using a qualitative approach.In your response specify why this type of methodology would be more appropriate than a quantitative approach.

Answer 2

Responses to this question can be quite varied.However,they should demonstrate that qualitative research focuses on obtaining an in-depth account of participants' perspectives and experiences of events in their own lives.Hypotheses and/or research questions should pertain to subjective experiences rather than objective associations between variables.An example may be similar to the research question put forth in this chapter,"What is the nature of a serial killer's thought patterns?" This question is best investigated by seeking input from a serial killer rather than looking for broad generalizations or associations across the population.

Question 3

Why are qualitative research studies less concerned than quantitative research studies about reliability and validity?

Answer 3

Qualitative research pertains to participants' subjective (as compared with objective)experiences,and as such does not have the same goals as quantitative research.Typically,qualitative researchers are not trying to achieve reliability or consistency in their findings because the primary goal is looking at individuals in a specific context.Similarly,qualitative researchers have fewer concerns about validity or accuracy of their conclusions than quantitative researchers.This is because the researcher can always ask the participants what they mean or can have the participants correct any misconceptions or incorrect assumptions.Finally,because researchers take an active role in qualitative research,they knowingly accept that there will be some subjectivity in their findings.Good researchers try to minimize this through the process of reflexivity,but they acknowledge and accept the subjective nature of this line of investigation.

Question 4

Although there is no standard procedure for conducting an interview,the text identifies four common steps.Use these steps to design an interview that will assess students' perceptions of a proposed tuition increase at their school.In your response,make sure to list and describe each of the steps.

Question 5

Differentiate between the three interview types put forth in this chapter.