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    Article: qualitative research in psychology

    December 22, 2020 | Uncategorized

    Psychology is such a broad topic, so you want to find a topic that allows you to adequately cover the subject without becoming overwhelmed with information. If the results diverge, then they suggest an interesting new question: Why do the results diverge and how can they be reconciled? Discussion: What are some ways in which a qualitative study of girls who play youth baseball would be likely to differ from a quantitative study on the same topic? Consider, for example, a study by researcher Per Lindqvist and his colleagues, who wanted to learn how the families of teenage suicide victims cope with their loss (Lindqvist, Johansson, & Karlsson, 2008)[1]. This paper explores reasons for this, and proposes that psychological researchers can use a generic In the first phase, female engineering students were asked to complete a survey, where they rated a number of their perceptions, including their sense of belonging. All authors are experienced qualitative researchers. A second approach to combining quantitative and qualitative research is referred to as triangulation. The content of all focus group interviews is usually recorded and transcribed to facilitate later analyses. The way to really understand other people is to sit down and talk with them, share their experiences and be open to their feelings. Remember that in quantitative research, it is typical for the researcher to start with a theory, derive a hypothesis from that theory, and then collect data to test that specific hypothesis. However, in the second phase, the authors also conducted interviews with the students, and in those interviews, many minority students reported how the diversity of cultures at the university enhanced their sense of belonging. But while quantitative research is good at providing precise answers to specific research questions, it is not nearly as good at generating novel and interesting research questions. The research of Lindqvist and colleagues, for example, suggests that there may be a general relationship between how unexpected a suicide is and how consumed the family is with trying to understand why the teen committed suicide. How psychology is a discipline that is very crucial for the proper development of a rational being? The interviews were relatively unstructured, beginning with a general request for the families to talk about the victim and ending with an invitation to talk about anything else that they wanted to tell the interviewer. Qualitative research is used to understand how people experience the world. This theoretical narrative focuses on the subjective experience of the participants and is usually supported by many direct quotations from the participants themselves. This paper explores reasons for this, and proposes that psychological researchers can use a generic qualitative design in such situations. Qualitative research can help researchers to generate new and interesting research questions and hypotheses. “Happier than Non-Christians”: Collective emotions and symbolic boundaries among evangelical Christians. Qualitative methods are about describing and analyzing phenomena from a human per… The client's inability to effectively explain their issues to the psychologist may hinder the practitioner from helping the client appropriately. Instead, they wanted to understand the variety of reactions that families had, with a focus on what it is like from. As with correlational research, data collection approaches in qualitative research are quite varied and can involve naturalistic observation, archival data, artwork, and many other things. Again, this textbook is primarily about quantitative research in psychology. This issue of the Journal of Health Psychology provides a forum for some health psychologists to present their research using qualitative methods. (2008). And in general, quantitative researchers are well aware of the issue of oversimplification. The use of focus groups has become a standard technique in business and industry among those who want to understand consumer tastes and preferences. Qualitative methods are about describing and analyzing phenomena from a human per… In fact, they have developed a number of frameworks for addressing these issues (which are beyond the scope of our discussion). (In fact, the studies by Lindqvist and colleagues and by Abrams and Curran both combined quantitative and qualitative approaches.) This struggle appeared to be especially difficult for families in which the suicide was most unexpected. REPORTING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY 10 •Reviewers:Processes of qualitative research are often iterative versus linear, may evolve through the inquiry process and may move between data collection and analysis in multiple formats. Lucy Yardley, Ph.D., is Professor of Health Psychology and Chairperson, Department of Psychology at the University of Southampton, UK. Qualitative research in psychology Abbreviation. They did not have a specific research question or hypothesis, such as, What percentage of family members join suicide support groups? Qualitative Research in Psychology is a leading forum for qualitative researchers in all areas of psychology and seeks innovative and pioneering work that moves the field forward. Call us at 727-442-4290 (M … It uses interviews, written texts, art, photos, and other "thick" materials to make sense of human experiences and to understand what these experiences mean to people. DAVID J. SCHONFELD, BENARD P. DREYER, in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, 2008. 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG. they can come up with the appropriate solution to their problem. In her study, Wilkins identified several ways in which the group “enforced” happiness—for example, by continually talking about happiness, discouraging the expression of negative emotions, and using happiness as a way to distinguish themselves from other groups. It generally … First, they identify ideas that are repeated throughout the data. Qualitative research originated in the disciplines of anthropology and sociology but is now used to study many psychological topics as well. An example of participant observation comes from a study by sociologist Amy Wilkins (published in Social Psychology Quarterly) on a university-based religious organization that emphasized how happy its members were (Wilkins, 2008)[3]. Call us at 727-442-4290 (M … So that in itself I don’t want to say almost drove me mad but it put me in a funk.…Like I really was depressed. Qualitative research can help researchers to generate new and interesting research questions and hypotheses. Qualitative research topics on psychology. Lindqvist and colleagues, for example, describe how all the families spontaneously offered to show the interviewer the victim’s bedroom or the place where the suicide occurred—revealing the importance of these physical locations to the families. . But the relative weaknesses of quantitative research are the relative strengths of qualitative research. A research method that can work well with you is qualitative research. Qualitative researchers generally begin with a less focused research question, collect large amounts of relatively “unfiltered” data from a relatively small number of individuals, and describe their data using nonstatistical techniques. The content of all focus group interviews is usually recorded and transcribed to facilitate later analyses. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 2 QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Various factors influence the ability of a patient to open up their issues to a psychologist. It seems unlikely that a quantitative study would have discovered this detail. Abbreviation: Qual Res Psychol. Remember that in quantitative research, it is typical for the researcher to start with a theory, derive a hypothesis from that theory, and then collect data to test that specific hypothesis. Schedule Your FREE 30-min Consultation. Qualitative data are not made out of numbers but rather of descriptions, metaphors, symbols, quotes, analysis, concepts, and characteristics. Anyone who wants to use the articles in any way must obtain permission from the publishers. Qualitative research studies typically seek to answer questions about the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘why’ of phenomena. The entire volume is well edited and well written. In participant observation, researchers become active participants in the group or situation they are studying. A way to collect qualitative data consisting of both general questions and more detailed questions. Without the qualitative component, we might have drawn the wrong conclusion about the quantitative results. Abrams, L. S., & Curran, L. (2009). Describe the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research in psychology compared with quantitative research. Some topics for qualitative research in psychology are unsuitable for or cannot be adapted to the traditional qualitative designs such as case study, ethnography, grounded theory, or phenomenology. Qualitative researchers … Finally, they write a theoretical narrative—an interpretation—of the data in terms of the themes that they have identified. As a result, data collection and analysis sections might be … Trenor, Yu, Waight, Zerda, and Sha (2008)[7] investigated the experience of female engineering students at university. 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