chapter seven field study approaches. field studies natural settings direct observations, “real”...
TRANSCRIPT
Field StudiesField Studies
• Natural Settings
• Direct observations, “real” behaviour
• Test is whether they “ring true” to the reader and the person observed
• Qualitative research, an emphasis often on an accurate description
Participant Observation Participant Observation StudiesStudies
• Intense, usually long term, examination of a social group--it might be a particular culture, community, or group
• Method used in ethnographic & ethnonursing studies
• The researcher is involved in the daily lives of the group studied
Participant ObservationParticipant Observation
• Holistic, qualitative, understand the whole group
• immersion in the setting
• everyday lives of participants
• conclusions emerge from the setting (try to avoid preconceptions, let the observations guide you)
Participant Observation: Steps
• Gaining entry
• Establishing rapport
• Recording field notes – descriptions & interpretations of individuals,
interactions, & events– exact time & location of observation should be recorded – emphasis should be placed on reflecting exactly what &
how people say things
Field Notes
• Use 2 columns to distinguish between description & interpretation
• A wide column for description of observations
• A narrow column for interpretation of them
• Two kinds of interpretation– the subjects’ interpretation of observations– the observer’s interpretation of the same event
Field Notes
• Analyzing the observations– master field file (original complete file of raw data)
– background, history file (subfile that contains info from the master file as well as from other sources)
– analytic files (subfile related to a specific topic or relationship explored in the study)
– key character files(Individual files on key players in the group studied)
• Writing the final report
In-Depth InterviewsIn-Depth Interviews
• Participant’s views are recorded and used to give them “voice” in the final report; liberal use of quotations in final report
• interviews tend to be flexible, go with the flow, probe in-depth
• Rose Weitz: Living with the stigma of AIDS
Ethnographic Interviews
• Three key elements are present:
• explicit purpose
• ethnographic explanations (those the researcher tries out on the respondent to see if they make sense)
• ethnographic questions (descriptive questions, structural questions, contrast questions)
Focus Group InterviewsFocus Group Interviews
• 6-12 people typically plus facilitator
• dates back to the 40s: assessing effectiveness of morale boosting radio shows
• 70s onward the market researchers use tool
• 80s onward the academics start doing focus groups again
Focus Groups
• Standard sampling techniques used to get group
• Recorded manually or may be taped and transcribed
• Useful to record names of participants so that discussion can be tracked during the analysis
• Analyzed using content analysis
Focus GroupsFocus Groups
• Transcript of discussion is the data
• strengths:– open-ended question posed to a group but no
particular probing for meaning– spontaneously deal with issues– usually reasonably cheap ($50 to participate)– Weaknesses:
Nursing Research Example of Focus Group
• Smoking Among Disadvantaged Women: Causes and Cessation (Stewart, M.., Gillis, A., & Brosky, G., et al. (1996).
Field ExperimentsField Experiments
• Researcher intervention occurs in a natural setting
• e.g.- greeting stranger as measure of reaction to a form of non-conformity
• proxemics
• behavior is observed in natural settings & hence not contaminated by the artificiality in lab experiments
Naturalistic Observational Naturalistic Observational StudiesStudies
• Naturalistic observations (a better term)
• no intervention, simply record behaviour
• seat belt use
• holding door behaviour
• elevator behaviour
Naturaliatic Observations Examples
• Dressing for winter• parking violations• gender & smoking• professor/student
participation: gender• seat belt compliance• speeding Antigonish• healthy food purchase
• ABM behavior• termination of
conversations• drinking patterns• smoking behavior
teens• stop sign• tipping
Steps in Doing Study
• restricting observations
• review of literature
• developing hypotheses
• defining terms
• tally sheet/master table/individual tables
• writing report
Analyzing Qualitative Data
• Researcher must immerse self in the data
• Read & re-read the transcripts
• Computer can perform manual cutting, pasting, & sorting of data
• NUD*IST and Ethnograph are two popular software program
Field Studies
• weak on generalizations
• strong on validity (real behavior)
• causal inferencing a challenge
• multivariate a problem
• probing strong with participant observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups
• probing weak with covert observational
Disadvantages of Computer Analysis
• Analysis must be done a certain way because the software dictates it
• Inappropriate use & unnecessary coding of data simply because the computer is available to do it
• Cost & maintenance of hard & software
• Researcher must still develop initial organizing system
Advantages of Computer Analysis of Qualitative Data
• Multiple copies of files, cut & paste, move data & edit
• Can file data in one location • Locate & sort data by cases promptly• Can locate a piece of text related to certain
data without reading through transcripts• Forces researcher to read each line of text to
consider possible codes & nodes for coding
Content Analysis
• Analytical technique associated with qualitative studies
• One is attempting to assess the “content” of the message
• Makes inferences by systematically analyzing written or verbal communication
Basic Decisions in Content Analysis
• Decide on the unit of analysis
• Coefficient of reliability (measure of agreement between coders)
• Coef of R = # of units in identical category total # of units coded
• Develop a tally sheet
Advantages of Field Studies
• Provide a holistic understanding of the phenomenon
• Provides in-depth descriptions, can probe deeply, flexiblity in data collection
• High validity in measures because you are recording actual observations
• Direct costs inexpensive but time commitment is high