Paradigm and method: qualitative and quantitative research

Lecture 2

Quantitative & Qualitative methods

Not diametrically opposed Offer different perspectives / interpretations of reality Can be used together Not bound to different paradigms.

Quantitative & qualitative research

Quantitative Study of observable qualities; Identification and measurement of variables; Observation of behaviour; Testing of hypotheses; Static design; Formal instruments; Many cases; Etic perspective; Qualitative Study of meaning; Variables complex and interwoven, difficult to measure; Empathy with experience and action; Focus on how and why; Emergent design; Researcher as instrument; Few cases; Emic perspective;

A positivist perspective on reality

What made Lil Zi join a gang? Personality Poverty Abusive background Fear of the streets Absent parents Violent role models Lil Zi joins a gang

What is the likelihood that Jack will join a gang?

An interpretivist perspective
Poverty Absent parents

Violent role models

Abusive background

Fear of the streets

Personality

Quantitative & qualitative methods

Quantitative methods (Prescribed and definitive procedures) Data collection: survey interviews, measurement scales; experiments. Analysis: Enumeration, statistical analysis Qualitative methods (Guides rather than prescribed procedures, explicit use of creativity and intuition) Data collection: case studies, indepth interviews, focus groups, participant observation Analysis: thematic, narrative, discourse analysis

Example: Development of an antidepressant compliance questionnaire

Objective: To assess patients attitudes and beliefs on depression and antidepressants and to determine the psychometric properties of the ADCQ. Method: A 51-item questionnaire was applied to 357 psychiatric out-patients with MDD. This data set was used to assess psychometric properties of the ADCQ. Results: A principal component analysis revealed four dimensions with good internal consistency and acceptable testretest reliability: perceived doctorpatient relationship, preserved autonomy, positive beliefs on antidepressants and partner agreement, resulting in a final questionnaire comprising 33items. Responses were independent from depression severity and patient age. The response patterns of patients illustrate the many erroneous beliefs on antidepressants. Conclusion: The ADCQ has good psychometric properties; further investigation should investigate whether this questionnaire is predictive of patient compliance.

Some examples from the ADCQ

I receive sufficient psychological support and encouragement from my doctor; My doctor takes sufficient time to discuss my emotional problems; My doctor understands my feelings and thoughts in depression perfectly; My doctor is really interested in my problems; My doctor shows sufficient consideration for my views and feelings about this treatment with antidepressants; My doctor fully understands my condition.

Discussion
What are the limitations of the picture of the doctor-patient relationship that might be created through the above questions? How might this have been measured differently (using qualitative methods)? Why are quantitative methods better suited to positivist research and qualitative methods to interpretivist research?

Is quantitative research more scientifically valuable than qualitative research?

Scientific knowledge and social hierarchies. An anthropological view of science? Is quantitative research really more objective than qualitative research? Not everyone thinks so: Even when a researcher claims objectivity by undertaking procedures to achieve a position of distance, s/he is indeed producing a subjective account but refusing to acknowledge it as such. (De la Rey, 1999, p89)

How can qualitative and quantitative research be used together?

Qualitative research answers the question, What is X?, which precedes enumeration of X. Eg. Can discover most suitable questions for quantitative questionnaire Qualitative research can be used to validate / explain the findings of quantitative studies. Qualitative research can provide a different perspective on quantitative findings. Stand alone qualitative research

For tomorrow:
Read the material on interviewing and interview someone about the loves of his / her life OR the moments or activities in his / her life that have been fun. Make a special effort to understand your interviewees subjective experience of the people or events he / she talks about. What do the events or people in the story mean to your interviewee? Try and understand how these experiences must have felt to him / her. Why, in terms of your interviewees perspective, are the people or events discussed so important?