Qualitative Research Methods

Which of the following is not an example of triangulation?

• A team of researchers all carry out an observation of free time behavior in an urban public high school and compare their data.

• Using both interviews and observations to see how young teachers deal with problematic student behavior.

• Taking the results of a study back to the participants and asking for their feedback.

• Having a social worker, a psychologist, and a biologist look at data from a study of the role of stress on health.

What is the name given to the plan for carrying out an interview?

• An interview schedule.

• A transcript

• An interview agenda.

• A memo.

What is the key difference between an unstructured and a structured interview?

• Unstructured interviews are based on themes and do not have a strict list of questions that must be followed in a specific order

• Structured interviews are more natural than unstructured interviews.

• Unstructured interviews are easier to analyze.

• Structured interviews are more valid.

Which of the following is NOT a limitation of a focus group?

• Participants may demonstrate conformity to group opinions.

• They are not highly naturalistic.

• They are difficult to manage

• There is a problem with guaranteeing the confidentiality of the responses.

When participants change their behavior because they know that they are being observed, this is called

• Event sampling

• Expectancy effect

• Interviewer effects

• Reactivity

Which of the following is not true of a case study?

• They are highly controlled in order to avoid researcher bias

• They make use of method triangulation.

• They are usually longitudinal.

• They are more holistic than simple experiments.

The school is doing a study on student attitudes toward exercise. Students are given a survey that gives them a statement and then asks them to rank how strongly they agree with it.  For example, the students read a statement like I exercise in order to fit in with friends. Then they are asked to choose how strongly they agree with this statement:   Strongly agree; agree; no opinion; disagree; strongly disagree. What type of survey is this?

• A longitudinal survey

• Likert Scale survey

• A Thurstone scale survey

• An open-ended questionnaire

Which of the following strategies increases the generalizability of a single case study?

• Take the results back to the participant and ask him/her if it reflects their understanding of the study.

• Using method triangulation

• Providing rich data about the context of the study

• Having several researchers interpret the data.