QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PART 2 TECHNIQUES SAMPLING TECHNIQUES PROBABILITY

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PART 2 TECHNIQUES

SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

PROBABILITY SAMPLING ATTEMPTS TO GET A RANDOMLY DRAWN AND REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE FROM A WELL -DEFINED POPULATION. • ESSENTIAL FOR MAKING GENERALIZATIONS TO A WIDER POPULATION • ELECTION POLLS • DRUG TRIALS • REQUIRES PRECISE SELECTION PLANS AND SIZES NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING MOST COMMON TYPE OF SAMPLING IN THE LITERATURE

PROBABILITY SAMPLING SIMPLE RANDOM: EQUAL CHANCE OF BEING SELECTED FROM A POPULATION DON’T CONFUSE WITH RANDOM ASSIGNMENT STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLE: A TECHNIQUE USED TO ENSURE THAT MINORITY GROUPS AND CERTAIN PARTICIPANT TRAITS ARE INCLUDED IN A RANDOM SAMPLE. • E. G. , RACIAL OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION PERCENTAGES SHOULD EQUAL THE POPULATION RANDOM CLUSTER SAMPLE: USE OF CLUSTERS FROM A POPULATION E. G. , RANDOM SAMPLE OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS

CONVENIENCE SAMPLING • USE OF INDIVIDUALS OR SAMPLES BASED ON THE AVAILABILITY AND CONVENIENCE. • COLLEGE STUDENTS, CLINIC STAFF, CHILDCARE CENTERS, ETC. • ACCIDENTAL • VETERANS GATHERED FOR REUNION WHO WERE ALL EXPOSED TO AGENT ORANGE COULD BE A SAMPLE USED BY SOMEONE INTERESTED IN THE LONG-TERM PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF NEUROTOXINS. • OPPORTUNISTIC: USING ON-GOING OR EXISTING GROUPS • CLINICAL STUDIES ARE ALMOST ALWAYS OPPORTUNISTIC.

PURPOSEFUL SAMPLES PARTICIPANTS ARE SELECTED BECAUSE THEY HAVE CERTAIN TRAITS OR SPECIAL INSIGHT TO OFFER. • SNOWBALL TECHNIQUE: WAY TO GET AT SPECIFIC BUT HARD-TO-REACH PARTICIPANTS. • IDENTIFICATION OF A FEW INDIVIDUALS WHO HELP THE RESEARCHER GET TO OTHERS THROUGH A NETWORK OF CONTACTS.

INTERVIEWING BASICS

UNSTRUCTURED/ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERVIEWING • NEITHER THE QUESTION NOR THE ANSWERS ARE STRUCTURED IN ADVANCE. • CONVERSATIONAL METHOD WHEREBY THE INTERVIEWER FORMS QUESTIONS BASED ON THE RESPONDENT’S NARRATION. • ALLOWS FOR FLEXIBILITY IN RESPONSE TO EMERGING ISSUES • RECORDING THE INTERVIEW IS NECESSARY SINCE NOTE-TAKING WOULD INTERFERE WITH THE FLOW. • THIS IS THE MOST TIME-CONSUMING DATA TO ANALYZE

STRUCTURED AND SEMI-STRUCTURED • INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS WITH SPECIFIC QUESTIONS OR PROMPTS AND SPECIFIC ANSWER FORMATS. • DESIGNED TO MATCH THE RESEARCH GOALS AND OBJECTIVES • PROTOCOLS CAN BE VETTED AND PRACTICED AHEAD OF TIME. NOTE-TAKING CAN BE DONE DURING THE INTERVIEW. EASIEST FORM OF DATA TO ANALYZE. • SEMI-STRUCTURED COMBINES THE FLEXIBILITY WITH THE STRUCTURE. • OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS WITH SUPPLEMENTAL PROBES • POSSIBILITY FOR INTERVIEWER DRIFT: SUBTLE SHIFT IN FOCUS OVER TIME

INTERVIEW PROTOCOL • INTRODUCTIONS AND INFORMED CONSENT • QUESTIONS SHOULD BE PERTINENT AND WORDED IN WAYS THE RESPONDENT CAN UNDERSTAND • QUESTIONS SHOULD BE SUFFICIENTLY SPECIFIC THAT THEY CAN BE INTERPRETED SIMILARLY BY ALL RESPONDENTS. ALL AMBIGUOUS TERMS SHOULD BE DEFINED. • MORE THAN ONE PERSON SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING QUESTIONS AND THERE SHOULD MULTIPLE QUESTIONS FOR EACH MAJOR CONSTRUCT.

ACTIVE INTERVIEWS • CONVERSATIONAL INTERVIEW IN WHICH BOTH THE RESPONDENT AND INTERVIEWER ACTIVELY ENGAGE WITH THE OVERALL RESEARCH QUESTION. • RESPONDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO “QUESTION THE QUESTIONS” AND THE INTERVIEWER IS FREE TO DISCUSS HIS OR HER RATIONALE FOR POSING CERTAIN QUESTIONS. • DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDING IS ADVISED SINCE THE RESULTS ARE MORE OF A PROCESS RATHER THAN EASILY CODED OUTCOME.