Place of Qualitative Research in Psychology

Of specific relevance to psychology; Pluralisation of life worlds “growing individualisation of ways of living & biographical patterns” Diversity of millieus, lifestyles, subcultures

 Era of grand narratives/theories over in favour of local, situated, temporal …  Confronted with new social contexts & perspectives: failure of traditional methodologies due to differentiation of object(s of study)

  Most empirical social research has been based on standarised surveys (aim to document & analyse freq. & dist. of social phenomena in general pop. (e.g., certain attitudes) – results rarely perceived/used in everyday life.

Aim of qualitative: to formulate subject & situation related statements which are empirically well-founded.

   Long tradition of qualitative in psychology (Wundt 1920’s Folk Psychology, Verstehen) (see Table 2.1) But psychologists prone to putting the methodological cart before the horse: Ontological, epistemological & methodological questions asked/answered in ways that implicitly privilege the experimental method. Question not whether to count or not count, measure or not measure … but what to count and measure, and what one discovers when doing so.

 Can an objective conception of reality truly exist?

"How do you know what is real?"  Most psychology research paradigms and methods deny the existence of an alternative symbolic universe.

Classic lab experiment vs. methods more suited to real-life environments.

  Methods: overall design of an investigation, the basic plan or strategy of the research and the logic behind it Techniques: the ways in which we obtain indices of human behaviour and thought Choices shaped by general research questions and theoretical framework.

Natural Science model & Hermeneutic model

  Hermeneutics, interpretation, the art of the technique of reading - treats persons and societies as texts. Aimed at the search for meaning, favours qualitative analysis that generates knowledge of particulars: non-positivist philosophies of science.

The Natural Science model - seeks causality, favours quantitative forms of analysis that generate universal knowledge: positivist philosophy of science.

POSITIVIST - deductive  cause & effect relationships    control, predict etc universal knowledge quantitative analysis NON-POSITIVIST - inductive  describe rather than relate   non-directional orientation knowledge of particulars  qualitative analysis

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Scientific model

Empiricism Measurement Operational Falsifiablity Replicability Impartiality An idealised model of science

Qualitative research

 An array of alternative approaches, don’t build accounts directly or only from quantitative data (See Table 2.2) Realist : Increase number of ‘confounding’ variables to mimic real world – ecological validity Social Constructionist: Science is knowledge which creates as well as describes the world  Methodological pluralism, a multi-method approach. The researcher reserves the right to design the research as it evolves, building flexibility into the design.

Advantages of quantitative methods

     numbers enable greater precision in measurement well established statistical methods for analysing data quantitative measurements faciliate comparison fit in well with hypothetico-deductive approaches sampling theory can be used to estimate how well findings generalise

Advantages of qualitative methods

       use ordinary language data from open questions and observation yielding verbal description enable individual to be studied in depth/detail avoid simplifications imposed by quantification data usually vivid and easy to grasp good for hypothesis generation and for exploratory discovery oriented research gives more freedom to participant

Assumptions of qualitative designs

        concerned with process rather than outcomes or products focus on meaning researcher is the primary instrument for data collection & analysis involves fieldwork, occurs in natural settings the data that emerge are descriptive inductive, theories/hypotheses not established a priori i diographic interpretation, i.e., attention to particulars emergent design

Qualitative research questions

 discover (for example, grounded theory)   explain or seek to understand (for example, ethnography) explore a process (for example, case study)  describe the phenomenology) experiences (for example,

Good for research

       that delves in depth into complexities and processes on little known phenomena or innovative systems that seeks to explore where and why policy and local knowledge are at odds on informal and unstructured linkages and processes in organisations on real as opposed to stated organisational goals that cannot be done experimentally for ethical or practical reasons for which relevant variables have yet to be identified

Do justice to object of study

Importance of context setting participant’s frame of reference Conduct research where all contextual variables are operating

Developments

    attention to the role of language attention to the ways in which accounts can be studied to construct a picture of the world; recognising that different discourses paint different pictures; the importance of reflexivity in the account that researchers give of their work Return to Oral; Local; Particular; Timely.

Not just about correct methodologies or interpretation practices & policy: Qualitative research linked to specific attitude on part of researcher.

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Representationist views challenged

Perception and knowledge of world generated by interaction with the world. Knowledge - result of ongoing interpretation. Cognition is embodied action.

 Debate on the nature of knowledge and the status of research methods tied in with our perceptions of ourselves and the structure of society. Different agendas and projects reflected in the dominant metaphors and techniques used at any given time in any given situation.

Required reading

Harr é , R. (2004) Staking our claim for qualitative psychology as science. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 1(1), 3-14.

Moghaddam, F. M. (2005) Great Ideas in Psychology: A Cultural & Historical Introduction. One World Press: Oxford.

Ch. 2: The Psychology Laboratory Ch. 20: Social Constructionism.