variations in qualitative inquiry ii instructor: julian hasford teaching assistant: keith adamson...

Variations in Qualitative Inquiry II

Instructor: Julian Hasford

Teaching Assistant: Keith Adamson

Guest Lecturer: Robb Travers, Ph.D.

PS398 Qualitative Methods in Psychology

January 20, 2009

Agenda

• Review Review

• Lecture: Variations in Qual Inquiry IILecture: Variations in Qual Inquiry II– Glossary: Hermeneutics and Feminist Inquiry

• Guest Lecture: Participatory ResearchGuest Lecture: Participatory Research

• Group ExerciseGroup Exercise

• Course Check-inCourse Check-in

Review

• Questions…Questions…

• Theoretical traditions covered thus Theoretical traditions covered thus far…far…– Ethnography– Autoethnography– Phenomenology– Heuristic Inquiry– Ethnomethodology

ReviewParadigms CONSTRUCTIVIST CRITICAL REALIST

Theoretical Tradition

Symbolic Interaction Ethnography

Phenomenology Narrative Participatory

Hermeneutics OrientationalOntology Relativism, Constructionism Realism

Epistemology Subjectivism Objectivism

Axiology Values acknowledged Value-driven Value-free

Rhetoric First Person, Active Voice Critical Voice Third Person, Passive Voice

Methodology Qualitative Action-oriented Quantitative

Focus Ideographic

Experience, Subjectivity, Social processes

Power

Social issues

Nomothetic

Universal phenomena

Goals Description

Understanding (Verstehen)

Emancipation Explanation

Prediction and Control

Design

Setting

Sampling

Emergent

Naturalistic

Purposeful Sampling (Small)

Experimental

Controlled (Laboratory)

Random/Probability Sampling

Data Collection

Source

Instruments

Res. Relation.

Qualitative Data

Active participants

Researcher is Instrument (Personal Engagement)

Empathic Neutrality

Collaborative

Numerical Data

Passive subjects

Tests, Questionnaires

Objective

Analysis &

Findings

Unique-case orientation

Inductive

Reflexivity

Holistic, Contextual

Generalization

Hypothetico-Deductive

Verification/Falsification

Acontextual

Learning Objectives

• By the end of this session, students should By the end of this session, students should be able tobe able to– Identify the disciplinary origins, foundational

questions, and methodological approaches of various qualitative theoretical traditions

– Analyze the paradigmatic and philosophical assumptions of various qualitative theoretical orientations

Variation in Qualitative

• Theoretical traditions vary in terms ofTheoretical traditions vary in terms of– Foundational questions (Goals)– Disciplinary origins– Paradigmatic and philosophical assumptions– Methodological approaches

• Design, Data Collection, Analysis

Variation in Qualitative

• Qualitative traditions Qualitative traditions – Symbolic Interaction– Narratology– Hermeneutics– Feminist– Participatory (Orientational)

Disciplinary Variation

– Social Psychology Symbolic Interaction

– Social Sciences, Literary Arts Narratology

– Linguistics, Philosophy, Theology Hermeneutics

– Social movements Feminist

– Social movements Participatory (Orientational)

Symbolic Interaction

• Foundational QuestionFoundational Question– What common set of symbols and understandings

gives meaning to people’s interactions?

• Philosophical AssumptionsPhilosophical Assumptions– 3 theoretical premises (Blumer)

• Humans act toward things based on the meanings the things have for them

• The meaning of things arises out of social interaction• The meanings of things can change through an interpretive

process of the person dealing with them

Symbolic Interaction

• Disciplinary OriginsDisciplinary Origins– Developed in 1930’s by George H. Mead (social

psychologist) • Emerged as response to mechanistic views of behaviourism

– Further developed in 1960’s by Herbert Blumer (sociologist)

• Methodological approachesMethodological approaches– Close interaction– Inductive analysis– “Panel of experts”– Influenced development of Semiotics– Also influenced development of Grounded Theory

Narratology

• Foundational questionFoundational question– What does this story reveal about this person or

community?

• Philosophical assumptionsPhilosophical assumptions– Reality is constructed through stories

• Disciplinary originDisciplinary origin– Humanities

• Philosophy, Literary criticism, Hermeneutics

– Social sciences • Psychology (Jerome Bruner, Dan McAdams, Theodore

Sarbin)

Narratology

• Methodological approachesMethodological approaches– Narrative or life story interviews– Document analysis– Fieldwork– Narrative Analysis

• (Re-)Construction of stories• Deconstruction of stories• Mixed methods

Narratology

• Example (Hasford, Rathwell, & Pratt, 2008)Example (Hasford, Rathwell, & Pratt, 2008)– Background

• Study explored the predictors of community identity among emerging adults.

– Community involvement, Generativity, Values, Socio-Demographics

• Narrative identity theory – presumed that a highly developed community identity is reflected by a prototypical community story

– Five dimensions: story presence, prosocial content, positive emotional tone, specificity, and personal impact

– Methodology • 85 emerging adults (age 26, 60 females)• Narrative interviews (community involvement story) • Stories rated using quantitative scale • Quantitative measures of predictor variables at ages 17, 19, 23, 26• Statistical analysis (correlation, regression) of predictor and story

variables

Narratology

• Example (Hasford, Rathwell, & Pratt, 2008)Example (Hasford, Rathwell, & Pratt, 2008)– Findings

• Participants with greater generativity and prosocial values tended to tell more prototypical community stories

– More highly developed community identity

• Participants who were more involved in the community during teen years told more prototypical community stories

• Community involvement at age 23 was not a significant predictor of community stories

• However, current community involvement (age 26) was a strong predictor

Hermeneutics

Jenna Reiner

Hermeneutics

Definition:The science of interpretation and explanationWhat something means depends on the cultural context in

which the text was originally created as well as the cultural context within which it is subsequently interpreted (Patton, 2002).

Focuses on the relationship between the author, reader, and text.

Challenged the assertion that an interpretation can never be absolutely correct or true. It must remain only and always an interpretation (Patton, 2002).

A hermeneutic interpretation requires the individual to understand and sympathize with another's point of view.

Hermeneutics

Methodological/Theoretical Significance:

Hermeneutics

Example 1:Used a hermeneutic approach to explore the perspectives of

hospitalized patients with cancer on the quality of the nursing care

The analysis of this study’s narratives focused on the meaning of lived experiences when they wrote about being treated for cancer

The special emphasis on perspective and context is especially important in this case as one with cancer would obviously have a very different perspective on things than someone else

The hospital and nursing staff could then use this information to provide improved care to the cancer patients.

Hermeneutics

Example 2:Design:Fifteen Norwegian relatives narrated their

experiences of being met by mental health care personnel regarding the care of their adult family member who had seriously thought about or attempted suicide.

The narrative interviews were audiotaped, transcribed into text, and then interpreted using a phenomenological hermeneutic method.

Hermeneutics

Findings:“The five themes that were constructed describing

being met were: Being-seen as a human being; trusting personnel, treatment, and care; feeling trusted by personnel; being consoled; and entering into hope.” (Talseth et al., 2001)

The experience of being met in the midst of the care of a relative in crisis created possibilities for hope and greater optimism overall.

This study also provided the participants with appropriate and productive approaches to dealing with their suicidal relatives.

Hermeneutics

References:Charalambous, A., Papdapolous, R., & Beadsmoore, A.

(2008). Ricoeur’s hermeneutic phenomenology: an implication for nursing research. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 22(4), 637-642.

Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Talseth, A., Gilie, F., & Norberg, A. (2001). Being met – a passageway to hope for relatives of patients at risk of committing suicide: a phenomenological hermeneutic study. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 15(6), 249-256.

Definition• It is a type of Orientational Qualitative

Inquiry, which is built upon phenomenology and hermeneutics. The researcher captures the perspectives of the people being studied and their own selves. Research is conducted and analyzed based on an ideological or theoretical perspective (Patton, 2002, pg 129).

• “A feminist perspective presumes the importance of gender in human relationships and societal processes and orients the study in that direction,” (Patton, 2002, pg 129).

These can include:

• An Article by Michael Messner (1990)• He explores and interprets the meanings

that males associate to their experiences with organized sport, the mediating factors of class and race, and the problems that arise from constructions of masculinity (Messner, 1990).

• He conducted interviews with 30 athletes retired from organized sports between the ages of 21 and 48 (Messner, 1990).

• Messner found that the men were rarely asked to talk about their feelings, particularly in order to validate an experience

• He found that men perceived the seperation of genders ‘natural’ and that they were introduced to sports by male figures; masculinity was equated with “competition, physical strength, and skills” (Messner, 1990).

• The men’s need for unity and acceptance leads to a conditional self worth determined by success (Messner, 1990).

• Messner concludes that the institution of organized sport is both gendered and gendering and that boys bring ambivalence to any intimate interactions (Messner, 1990).

Messner, M. (1990). Boyhood, organized sports, and the construction of masculinities. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 18, 416-444.

Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Participatory Research:Form and Function

Robb Travers, PhD Assistant ProfessorDepartment of PsychologyWilfrid Laurier University

rtravers@wlu.ca

Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Public Health SciencesUniversity of Toronto

what I’d like to talk about today....

to explore and discuss participatory research to explore its principles and action orientation to review a case study - the Toronto Teen

Survey

epistemological standpoint…

typically, research is characterized by...

researcher initiation/academic freedom

objectivity (unbiased) positivist ideals about

‘methodological rigour’ people with credentials ‘knowledge production’

aims (vs. social action)

ethics and traditional research

wasted resources/irrelevance of questions insensitive methods outsider comes in as expert (cultural invasion) problem of ‘sudden entry’ and ‘irresponsible

disappearance’ (helicopter research) exploitation - little or no return for communities little attention to vulnerability of communities

what’s in a name?

what they are called… participatory action

research participatory inquiry action research participatory research community-based

participatory research feminist methods community-based

research

what they share in common

axiological commonalities ‘do no harm’ to ‘do good’ concern for social justice a desire to uncover

oppressive conditions community involvement privileging ‘voice’ partnerships an action orientation

Community-Based Research...

a form of collaborative inquiry where diverse partners join efforts and commit to identifying, researching and providing solutions to complex health inequalities.

partners – community members, academic

researchers, policy-makers, service providers

Community-Based Research...

CBR is a collaborative approach to research that equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings. CBR begins with a research topic of importance to the community with the aim of combining knowledge and action for social change to improve community health and eliminate health disparities.

Minkler & Wallerstein (2003)Community-Based Participatory Research for HealthJossey-Bass (2004)

a transformative stance on research…

Community-Based Research...

CBR differs from more traditional forms of research in terms of community involvement in:

input (research is driven by community needs)

process (community plays a role in gathering, analyzing and disseminating information)

outcome (research is intended to be used by the community to enhance health and build on community assets)

Community-Based Research...

partnerships

community engagement

mobilizationsocial action

initiation

relevance

The assumptions that I bring to my work..... HIV research should:

be community-driven and relevant

emphasize health promotion and the social determinants of health;

help build the capacities of communities to address the social determinants of health;

draw on the lived experience of people – to influence policy analysis and policy change

Knowledge as power….

Engaging in CBR means asking ourselves.....

Who has the ‘right and the ‘credibility’ to produce knowledge?

Sharing power and conceptualizing community as:

initiators of research collaborators in research principal investigators in research

Investigators:, Sarah Flicker, Robb Travers, Jason D. Pole, June LarkinHazelle Palmer. Research Manager: Susan Flynn. Research Coordinator: Crystal Layne. Collaborators: Karen Chan & Adinne Schwartz, Toronto Public Health Students & Interns: Ana Bobesiu, Chavisa Brett, Emily Dauria, Chase Lo, Melisa Dickie, Alycia Fridkin, Adrian Guta, Peggy Harowitz, Ali Lakhini, Sarah E McCardell , Kristin Mcilroy, Safiya Pindare, Roxana Saheli, Helena Shimeless, Dan Stadnick.YAC Members: Alice, Andrea, Ayesha, Brette, Claudia, David, Gemini, Feven, Melani, Nikole, Nyla, Pamela, Janice, Rosimay, Sam, Stanley, Sunshine. 

The TTS has been funded largely by The Ontario HIV Treatment Network and CIHR, with support from the Centre for Urban Health Initiatives, York University, the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University and the Wellesley Institute.

Context

• Increase in HIV and STI rates

• Misinformation, myths & decrease in knowledge among youth

• Failure or lack of sexual health education and services

• Multiple and ever-changing needs of Toronto‘s diverse youth communities

Objectives

• Identify what sexual health, including HIV/AIDS, services and information are being used by diverse youth across Toronto.

• Identify the barriers and faciliators to youth accessing sexual health services and resources.

• Discover how diverse youth would like to see these gaps and barriers addressed.

Methods

• Peer-to-peer model; Youth Advisory Committee (15 youth aged 13-17)

• YAC facilitated 90 workshops in a variety of youth settings

• In workshop, participants completed anonymous survey that was designed by YAC.

1,216 Toronto Youth Surveyed

Focus Groups

• 13 focus groups with 90 service providers from 55 agencies.

• (in process) 16 focus groups with youth who experience heightened barriers to access• e.g LGBTQ, Black young men and women,

young parents, newcomers,

By Race/Ethnicity

Other Facts About Our Sample

ContactContact

Dr. Robb TraversDr. Robb Travers

rtravers@wlu.ca

www.ppt.on.ca

Group Exercise

• 4 groups4 groups• Each group assigned one theoretical traditionEach group assigned one theoretical tradition• Discuss the followingDiscuss the following

– Develop a qualitative research study of money based on a theoretical tradition

• Identify your underlying paradigm and philosophical assumptions (Ontological, Epistemological, Axiological)

• Research question(s)? Methodology?

• Report backReport back

Course Check-in