Deck 10: Critically Appraising Qualitative Studies

Question 1

Which of the following questions is/are correct regarding qualitative studies?

A) They tend to use larger samples than quantitative studies.
B) They tend to employ more flexible methods than quantitative studies.
C) Their methods tend to be less subjective than quantitative studies.
D) All of the above.

Answer 1

They tend to employ more flexible methods than quantitative studies.

Question 2

Ideally, qualitative observation should involve:

A) Resisting adopting the perspective of the people being observed.
B) Resisting the urge to think critically as an outsider about the perspective of the people being observed.
C) Balancing adopting the perspective of the people being observed with thinking critically as an outsider about that perspective.
D) None of the above.

Answer 2

Balancing adopting the perspective of the people being observed with thinking critically as an outsider about that perspective.

Question 3

To minimize the risk of going native or of affecting the phenomenon being observed, the qualitative researcher should be a:

A) complete participant.
B) participant-as-observer.
C) observer-as-participant.
D) complete observer.

Answer 3

complete observer.

Question 4

To balance the opportunity to probe for greater depth with the need to limit interviewer bias and inconsistency, the qualitative researcher should use:

A) informal conversational interviews.
B) the standardized interview approach.
C) the interview guide approach.
D) the Socratic approach.

Question 5

Focus groups:

A) bring out information that is just as likely to emerge in individual interviews.
B) are vulnerable to having some participants feel pressured to say things they don't really feel or not say things they do really feel.
C) should consist of at least 25 participants per group.
D) All of the above are correct about focus groups.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is/are correct about qualitative sampling?

A) Nonprobability techniques are typically employed.
B) Deviant cases might be sought out.
C) Cases that all share the same characteristic might be sought out.
D) All of the above are correct about qualitative sampling.

Question 7

Which of the following statements is/are correct about appraising qualitative studies?

A) The focus might be on whether the research empowered participants.
B) The focus might be on whether all the different subjective realities of research participants were reported in detail.
C) The focus might be on whether steps were taken to maximize objectivity and minimize bias.
D) All of the above.

Question 8

Which of the following is/are indicators of the trustworthiness of qualitative research from the standpoint of contemporary positivist standards?

A) The observation period should be short, so as to minimize social desirability bias.
B) Corroboration should exist among different sources of data.
C) Negative case analysis should be avoided.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 9

Each type of participant observation has advantages and disadvantages.

Question 10

Although all qualitative interviews emphasize open-ended questions, the degree of structure in qualitative interviews will vary among the studies you read.

Question 11

It's always best to use informal conversational interviewing in qualitative research.

Question 12

It's always best to use highly structured interviewing in qualitative research.

Question 13

An advantage of using an unstructured qualitative interviewing approach is that the interviewees may not even feel like they are being interviewed.

Question 14

The life history method asks open-ended questions about how interviewees subjectively remember and interpret the significance and meanings of key events in their own lives.

Question 15

The people who agree to participate in a focus group typically are representative of the target population, and are unlikely to be the folks with the most extreme views.

Question 16

Qualitative researchers should strive to avoid nonprobability sampling techniques.

Question 17

The grounded theory approach uses a constant comparisons method that involves search for patterns or commonalities through multiple iterations with an expanding number of similar cases and eventually different types of cases that might disconfirm preliminary interpretations.

Question 18

How one views the degree of trustworthiness of qualitative studies and their findings will be influenced by one's views of reality and the aims of research.

Question 19

Discuss the meaning of the emic and etic perspectives and the need to balance them.

Question 20

Identify and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different modes of qualitative interviewing.

Question 21

Compare and contrast the empowerment, social constructivist, and contemporary positivist frameworks for appraising qualitative studies.

Question 22

Briefly describe the nature of mixed model study and mixed method studies.