The following lecture has been approved for

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The following lecture has been approved for
University Undergraduate Students This lecture
may contain information, ideas, concepts and
discursive anecdotes that may be thought
provoking and challenging It is not intended
for the content or delivery to cause
offence Any issues raised in the lecture may
require the viewer to engage in further thought,
insight, reflection or critical evaluation
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Qualitative Data
Dr. Craig JacksonSenior Lecturer in Health
Psychology Faculty of HealthBCU
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Qualitative Data Textual Analysis Focus
groups Interviews Semiotic Analysis Question
naires Diaries
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Textual Analysis Takes time Takes two (or
more) Highly subjective Can be isolationist in
results
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On Multiculturalism I love the idea of
multiculturalism. I really do. But it is never
going to work as a successful plan if it is
constantly being hi-jacked by the "wrong sort".
By the wrong sort, I mean in this instance, the
UK Police Force. I managed to witness the risible
sight of two male beat officers recently who were
both 5 feet tall - one looked "Polynesian" and
the other looked like he was from Hong Kong. I
know the height requirement for most police
forces went out the window a long time ago, but
if these officers were recruited with their
minority-group status being viewed as a plus
point while neglecting their diminutive statures,
then it would be slightly worrying - two
midget-bobbies, regardless of their abilities to
speak Cantonese in a conflict situation, or to
connect with a distraught Polynesian crime
victim, are hardly a viable deterrent to any
criminal. Two minutes later I saw another male
beat officer who can only be described as "Duncan
Norvelle" in a uniform, complete with
collar-length (never in my day) hair and sporting
blond frosted highlights. I have no problem with
policemen being younger than me, but I certainly
don't want them being shorter than me or looking
like they work part-time in some end-of the pier
variety show. As long as the police force are
adopting multicultural recruitment, and doing it
so badly, it just makes real multiculturalism
look bad and will probably put the rest of us
off. Then again, I suppose a policy of
multiculturalism is not new to the police force
at all - they have been "engaging" with, and
helping people from all sorts of different
cultural backgrounds to help them with their
enquiries for years.
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Focus Groups Popular in recent
years Competently misunderstood Therefore
often under-rated Very powerful in DAPs Yemen
Study Somali Study
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Focus Groups Moderator Co-moderator Recording
equipment Refreshments Time (2 hours) Topic
Schedule

• Topic Schedule
• Have you seen your GP
• Do you have a GP
• What are the good things about your GP
• What are the bad things
• What do you need from a GP
• When do you need a GP
• Do you prefer other treatment
• Do you go on your own
• Can you understand your GP

Outnumbered!
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Interviews Interviewer Recording equipment /
Paper Refreshments Time (20 minutes) Quiet
Location Structured or Unstructured?

• Interview Schedule
• Have you worked with Manganese
• Have you worked as a welder
• What jobs did you do
• Have you ever been made ill because of work
• What symptoms did you suffer from

Power imbalance !
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Semiotic Analysis What are the underlying
themes Where is the author / camera /
director? Highly subjective Visual so
convincing Highly subjective
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Questionnaires / Diaries Lots of work from
participant Lots to analyse Hard work Not
brief
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Benefits of Qualitative Research Small
participant numbers Good for new areas Good
for establishing emerging themes When statistics
dont work