Psychology in Practice PiP

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Psychology in Practice (PiP)

• Qualitative Research
• Interviewing

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RMS so far .

• Methodological Philosophy so far largely
• Positivist mechanical approach/experiments/obser
  ving behaviour / objective/ quantifiable data
  generalised/ replicated
• Correlation, T Test, Mann Whitney, Anova,
  Multiple Regression more recently
  questionnaires Is there a difference/relationship
  
• Is there a difference/relationship
• BUT it doesnt necessarily tell us
• Whats going on with the individual .
• Time now to put qualitative data collection into
  practice
• Inside data ? ask the question WHY?
• Qualitative research relies on interpreting
  values the subjective / understanding the
  attitudes/belief system of people / it gets
  inside someones worldview

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PiP Assignment 1

• Conduct a piece of qualitative research on a
  fellow 3rd year who does not study PiP
• Conduct a Semi Structured Interview
• Thematically analyse
• Write up Ind Qualitative Report 2K words
• Hyp What stresses do students experience during
  their HE studies?
• So what sort of stresses do you think could be
  explored?
• Dates Transcript to work on 16th October (Mon
  Class)
• Assignment hand in date for the Qualitative
  Report is 28th November (Tues)

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Why interview?

• We need to
• Get our hands dirty
• Objective of Interviewing
• Get inside data WHY?
• Research conducted with participants not on
  them
• Qualitative research values subjectivity/holisti
  c approach
• stories/narratives
• collaborative relationship
• Hermeneutics getting inside meaning
• High ecological validity
• So who do you think is a good interviewer?
• Why?

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Types of Interview

• Structured
• Semi-structured
• Unstructured
• Email interviews
• Focus Group interviews

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Structured Interview Advantages
Disadvantages

• Qs preformatted ? interview schedule
• Uniform less likely to lead interviewees  
• Avoids interviewer effects and demand
  characteristics
• Produces objective data responses
• More generalisable
• Resource-wise economical
• quicker
• needs less training.

• Formal in composition
• Potentially clinical/ off-putting
• creates tension for interviewee
• Restricts depth of data
• Success is reliant on good question formation
• Expensive in planning stages although, probably
  cheaper in the long run.  

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Unstructured Interview Advantages
Disadvantages

• Interview Guide ? list of exploratory topics e.g.
  psychoanalysis/counselling
• Produces rich data
• Allows the interviewer / interviewee freedom
  around questions / discussion
• Freedom often relies on hypothetical / rhetorical
  lines of enquiry
• Conversational less inhibiting
• High ecological validity 
• Good for following up initial data collection/
  seeking clarity/depth.  

• Expensive to conduct
• around time
• expertise of interviewer
• Difficult to conduct, e.g. can drift off on a
  tangent
• Requires experienced interviewer e.g.
• reflexive / sensitive
• good at probing and prompting 
• Subjectively led
• Interviewer bias
• Less generalisable

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Things to think about with..

• Unstructured
• Resource - costly
• More time-consuming
• Poss. of drift around the line of enquiry
• Interviewee may hijack the interview!
• Requires a more experienced interviewer
• Can be subjectively led bias
• Less generalisable

• Structured
• Rigid, closed structure
• Pressure on question formulation
• Ethics, question sensitivity/clarity is crucial
• Frequently used for Quantitative research
• Interview Schedule

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Semi-Structured InterviewAdvantages
Disadvantages

• Themes set of questions to some extent
  preformatted
• Interview guide
• Interviewer can provide clarity _at_ Qs e.g.
• difficulty understanding
• around special needs/accent/discourse 
• Flexibility
• Guide ? option to pursue/follow-up lines of
  enquiry around points of interests
• Less formal for interviewee
• more likely to feel they are being listened to
  and contribution valued
• Richer data/ more ecologically valid   

• Resource - costly
• More time-consuming
• Poss. of drift around the line of enquiry
• Interviewee may hijack the interview!
• Requires a more experienced interviewer
• Can be subjectively led bias
• Less generalisable

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Email / Chat Room Interviewing

• Topics disabilities, sex issues, disfigurement,
  people with mobility issues
• How ?
• Locate informants through general search engine
• Negotiate entry with web-site co-ordinator
• Open / ethical as a conventional interview i.e.
  informed consent, respect privacy, anonymity,
  confidentiality, allow withdrawal of consent

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Email/Chat Room Interviews Advantages
Disadvantages

• Accessibility
• Distance
• Time that suits
• Time-efficient
• Print offs
• Data management/analysis
• Sensitive Info/topics
• Clarity seeking/thinking
• Relationships L/Term personal/chatty/richer
• Empowerment greater sense of ownership around
  response confidence
• Multi-vocal several strands of discussion

• Flow of information
• Data overload
• Dependent on log-ons
• Context
• No control around context e.g.Eastenders
• Non-Verbs
• Cues to pick up on e.g. sad
• Invisibility and presentation of self
• Who are you REALLY talking to
• Sampling Issues
• Snowballing sampling no control
• Open Questions interviewee is free to respond
  any way they wish

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So constructing questions .

• Open Questions allow people to respond whichever
  way they want e.g. what do you think of the
  parking at Hope?
• Closed Questions tend to lead to a specific
  answer - e.g. are you a psychology student?
• Leading Questions subjectively lead e.g. dont
  you think the parking at Hope is poor? X
• Double-barrelled Questions just confuse! X
• Ambiguity
• Prompting Questions are useful e.g.
• Could you tell me a little more about that?
• How did you feel about.
• Really, thats so interesting.
• Sharing information as a prompt reciprocal
  arrangement/ understanding ? builds rapport
• Follow up questions earlier you mentioned .

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Interviewing What, where and how

• What Anything and everything
• Where somewhere quiet, appropriate setting
• How
• Tape
• Dept has equipment you can borrow
• Think ethics! (be sensitive)
• Informed consent, anonymous, confidential, right
  to withdraw
• Copy of transcript

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Interviewer Skills Dos and Donts

• Try to put your interviewee at ease explain
  what your research is about
• Ensure you remain professional treat your
  interviewee with respect be interested theyve
  given up time for you
• Think about the words you use will they be
  understood
• Aim for a natural dialogue prompt and probe but
  be sensitive
• Listen carefully to your interviewee
• Remember points made and come back to them if
  appropriate / interesting or relevant
• Share your experiences but dont hijack the
  interview
• Observe your interviewees nonverbals e.g. does
  s/he look comfortable or teary
• Practice makes perfect try your interview style
  on for
• size

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Reflexive Practice

• If Qualitative Research values the subjectivity
  of participants then it also values the same in
  researchers
• To be reflexive is to also locate you in the
  process
• Honest acknowledgement/account of how you have
  affected the research outcome
• Beyond simply practical considerations such
  location etc
• Considers your viewpoint and potential for
  researcher bias
• For example, preconceived ideas, biases and the
  ways in which that might have affected your
  interpretation of the data collected

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References

• Key Text Smith, J.A. (2003), Qualitative
  Psychology. London, Sage Publications Chapters, 4
  6.
• Supplementary Reading
• Behar, R. (2003), Ethnography and the book that
  was lost. Ethnography, Vol. 4(1) 15-39.
• Cunliffe, A.L. (2003) Reflexive inquiry in
  organizational research Questions and
  possibilities .Human Relations Vol. 56 (8)
  983-1003