Deck 16: Analysis of Qualitative Data

Question 1

Emily plans a study of Internet trolling.She takes an interpretivist approach,so she asks:

A)How do people explain why they engage in trolling?
B)What policies and processes can reduce Internet trolling?
C)When did Internet trolling begin?
D)Does childhood bullying cause people to troll?

Answer 1

A

Question 2

How do qualitative researchers establish causality?

A)They don't,because qualitative research never results in scientifically credible claims of causality.
B)with mathematical models borrowed from quantitative research
C)with emic approaches
D)with logical approaches such as qualitative comparative analysis

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Why is saturation considered a very difficult goal for qualitative researchers?

A)The world is so complex that data almost never fail to yield new insights.
B)Researchers are limited by time and funding,and cannot always continue collecting data until saturation.
C)Saturation requires a correlation between variables,and many qualitative approaches are not designed to establish correlation.
D)It is very difficult to select cases according to their distinguishing features without introducing bias.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which goal is MOST strongly associated with quantitative research?

A)establishing an emic point of view
B)faithfully rendering the research subjects' interpretation of the issue
C)discovering and understanding the effects of causes
D)developing a model that explores the causes of effects

Question 5

An iterative approach to qualitative data analysis means that the researcher

A)moves back and forth between the steps of the analysis process.
B)supplements qualitative analysis with quantitative analysis.
C)talks with other researchers throughout the analysis process.
D)assembles a team of researchers to conduct analysis.

Question 6

Brian collects data about how people care for their pets during work hours.He decides to build generalizations from the data itself,which is a(n)________ approach.

A)abductive
B)deductive
C)inductive
D)etic

Question 7

A researcher would reduce his or her data to

A)make the data fit within his or her time and financial constraints.
B)de-identify data in order to preserve anonymity.
C)eliminate data that will not be useful to the analysis.
D)make it fit within a computerized analysis program.

Question 8

Latisha plans a study of why people snack.She assumes that,although people will offer opinions about why they snack,a more objective approach is needed to truly understand why people do what they do.Latisha is taking a(n)________ approach.

A)emic
B)positivist
C)interpretivist
D)qualitative

Question 9

As a general rule,a truth table sorts cases by

A)emic or etic data.
B)qualitative or quantitative data.
C)the presence or absence of particular variables.
D)positive and negative cases.

Question 10

What would happen if a social scientist took an emic approach to a study about how life in refugee camps affects children's education? The scientist would

A)use logic,rigor,and transparency to produce a quality study.
B)maintain distance from respondents in order to increase objectivity.
C)move into the refugee camp in order to experience life as the refugees do.
D)establish a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables.

Question 11

Michael Burawoy advocated the extended case study approach,which encourages ethnographers to

A)use their field site to improve or modify an existing theory.
B)live among the people they study,so they can gain an emic point of view.
C)eventually,as fieldwork progresses,shift from an emic approach to an etic approach.
D)reject theory,refusing to generalize beyond the rich particulars of each fieldwork site.

Question 12

As Dr.Stine analyzes data about nurses and burnout,she de-identifies the data in order to ensure

A)respondents' anonymity.
B)the iterative qualities of analysis.
C)validity.
D)that grounded theory can be used.

Question 13

Anthropologist Laurence Ralph published a section of fieldnotes in his ethnography Renegade Dreams,a choice that strengthened the ________ of his qualitative research by allowing readers to evaluate the way he linked data to conclusions.

A)positivism
B)transparency
C)validity
D)etic focus

Question 14

Duwayne conducts a study of elderly people who attend exercise classes.He assembles a sample by asking elderly people whether they attend exercise classes,and selecting those who do.This approach is called ________ sampling.

A)random
B)qualitative
C)purposive
D)saturation

Question 15

After showing a correlation between intimate friendship and happiness,Jona tries to explain how intimate friendship causes happiness.This exploration of how is the study of

A)causation.
B)cause and effect.
C)processes and mechanisms.
D)abductive research.

Question 16

Dr.Lancy develops a Marxian analysis of major social conflicts of the twenty-first century.Because he begins with an established theory that provides an interpretive frame,his study is

A)inductive.
B)abductive.
C)purposive.
D)deductive.

Question 17

Sociologists Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss promoted a systemic,inductive approach to qualitative research that advocates the extrapolation of conceptual relationships from data,rather than the formulation of hypotheses from existing theory.Their approach is called

A)qualitative comparative analysis.
B)grounded theory.
C)purposive sampling.
D)abductive research.

Question 18

Jack works for a women's shelter and conducts a study of men and violence.When respondents answer the question,"Have you ever been violent toward a loved one?" he wonders whether interviewer effects are at play.Respondents

A)say "no," possibly because this is what they think Jack wants to hear.
B)say "yes," because they may not understand what Jack means by the word "violent."
C)refuse to answer,and say they don't have time to finish the interview.
D)ask about the definitions of words such as "loved one" and "violent."

Question 19

Sociologist Katherine Newman used both interpretive and positivist approaches in her research about school shootings.Which is a positivist question?

A)How do teachers feel about going to work in the weeks following a school shooting?
B)How do community members explain school shootings?
C)What policy changes can reduce school shootings?
D)What causes school shootings?

Question 20

When researchers draw findings from qualitative data,such as text,audio,video,and photographs,they are conducting

A)interpretivist research.
B)positivist research.
C)qualitative data analysis.
D)grounded theory.

Question 21

David conducts a study of how professional swimmers cope with athletic injuries.He uses his codebook for numerous purposes,including

A)a glossary of key concepts related to qualitative research.
B)how he made coding decisions in difficult cases.
C)a de-identified list of participants and the dates of their interviews.
D)copies of interview transcripts.

Question 22

Codes that represent broad categories or topics related to a research question are called ________ codes.

A)grounded
B)index
C)analytic
D)attribute

Question 23

A label or tag for a chunk of text is called a(n)

A)abduction.
B)code.
C)finding.
D)name.

Question 24

Age,gender,occupation,and socioeconomic status are often used as ________ codes.

A)grounded
B)index
C)analytic
D)attribute

Question 25

When researchers use a coding approach informed by grounded theory,their approach is

A)abductive.
B)deductive.
C)inductive.
D)intuitive.

Question 26

In his study of gender stratification in corporate careers,Dr.Bank codes his interview data according to the standards of grounded theory.This means that he introduces codes from the literature relating to gender stratification

A)as authoritative codes that settle conflicts between codes generated from the data themselves.
B)whenever it seems useful.
C)at the beginning,so all data coding is influenced by the literature.
D)toward the end of the coding process,after other codes have emerged from the data themselves.

Question 27

The process of tagging or labeling segments of data as an example of,or related to,a theoretical idea or theme is called

A)tagging.
B)coding.
C)de-identifying.
D)grounding.

Question 28

A typology can be described as an analytic code that is also a(n)

A)theory.
B)attribute code.
C)index code.
D)sample.

Question 29

How can software programs such as QDA support model-building in qualitative research? Software programs can

A)help build a model,but the scholar must contribute original thought and decisions about which findings are significant.
B)analyze data,build models,and determine significance of findings.
C)analyze data,but because so many variables are at play,models must be built and tested by the scholar.
D)build models that are near equivalents to models in quantitative research.

Question 30

When Mary Waters analyzed her data from Hurricane Katrina survivors,what surprised her?

A)Survivors described more post-traumatic growth than Waters expected.
B)The interviewer effect was stronger than she expected.
C)The data could not be effectively coded because natural disasters are so chaotic.
D)A positivist approach to research highlighted the positivity of respondents.

Question 31

A memo is a note the researcher writes to himself or herself in order to

A)keep the data organized.
B)capture possible themes or findings.
C)create a rough draft of a research paper.
D)keep the research on schedule.

Question 32

Johan has collected data by conducting 10 interviews.He transcribed the interviews and is ready to begin coding and analysis.What should he do first?

A)apply analytic codes to focused portions of the transcripts
B)assemble a set of key respondent attributes and index the transcripts
C)use software tools to connect data with theory
D)collect "aha" moments and key quotations

Question 33

Which statement about the "Second Generation in New York" study is accurate?

A)Participant 73 mentioned children 15 times.
B)Politics was discussed by 73 participants.
C)There were eight participants in this study.
D)The number of codes should be greater than the number of participants.

Question 34

In analytic coding,what is the relationship between codes that emerge from data and codes that emerge from the literature?

A)Codes that emerge from data are always considered superior to codes based in literature.
B)Codes that emerge from literature are always considered superior to codes emerging from data.
C)These codes may be blended or merged as necessary in a given project.
D)The researcher should choose only one type of code for a study.

Question 35

In Nicole Deterding's study of community college students and their approach to education,what were the analytic codes?

A)the gender,race,and age of the students
B)two concepts: expressive approach and instrumental approach
C)the number of students who served as respondents
D)the 57 interviews that were analyzed (out of 127 total)

Question 36

Researchers often apply attribute codes before they apply analytic codes in order to

A)identify "aha" moments and key quotations,so they can be included in the write-up.
B)isolate data that don't fit the study,so there will be fewer data to analyze.
C)organize the data by descriptive qualities,rather than more complex analytic qualities.
D)identify key concepts and themes that fit with the literature.

Question 37

Applying analytic codes will be more successful if the researcher has

A)developed deep familiarity with all the data,by transcribing or reading it.
B)generated analytic codes from the literature,separate from the data.
C)used a computer program to identify the portions of data that need to be analyzed.
D)the same number of attribute,index,and analytic codes.

Question 38

What is the relationship between a typology and a theory? A typology

A)is a way of organizing data,and it leads to theory.
B)and a theory are the same thing.
C)is derived from theory.
D)is used more frequently than a theory.

Question 39

In her study of Sudanese refugees,Amy uses attribute codes because

A)she thinks nationality,ethnicity,and age will be important in the analysis.
B)"story of traveling within Sudan" and "story of traveling to host country" are key parts of their narrative.
C)attribute codes are always superior to index codes or analytic codes.
D)qualitative research almost always relies on attribute codes,whereas quantitative research uses index codes and analytic codes.

Question 40

Why would a researcher write a respondent memo?

A)to thank the respondent for participating
B)to keep lists of respondents organized
C)to note ideas or themes that emerge from a single respondent's data
D)as a reminder list of analytic tasks remaining

Question 41

You are conducting a study of the Waorani,a forest-dwelling group of people in the Ecuadorian Amazon.Would you prefer to do research with an emic focus or an etic focus? Why? Your answer should reflect an accurate understanding of both.

Question 42

A researcher tries to explain why some police officers shoot unarmed civilians by reading through thousands of pages of interviews with officers who have shot at unarmed civilians.Is this a causes-of-effects approach or an effects-of-causes approach? Explain.

Question 43

You are conducting a study of how beachgoers in San Diego deal with unexpected sunburns.Offer an explanation that is theoretically valid,and explain why it is theoretically valid.

Question 44

You are an education researcher looking at the relationship between teacher temperament and student learning.You expect to find that kind teachers positively influence student learning.Pose a null hypothesis,and explain why investigating the null hypothesis would be useful in this study.

Question 45

You are conducting a study of elderly women in nursing homes and how their quality of life is affected by participation in group activities.Give an example of an attribute code,an index code,and an analytic code that you could use to analyze data.For each,explain why it fits its category.

Question 46

Models can be described ________ or presented ________.

A)with data;theoretically
B)retrospectively;prospectively
C)with coding;without coding
D)verbally;visually

Question 47

Define grounded theory.Do you think grounded theory is a worthy approach to qualitative research or not? Why?

Question 48

Dr.Anansi argues that his findings are theoretically valid because they

A)cannot be fit into any existing theory;rather,they create a new theory.
B)support the accuracy of an existing theory.
C)both explain the data of his study and provide generalizable theory to interpret other cases.
D)do not contribute to theory,instead richly explaining a single case in and of itself.

Question 49

You are designing a qualitative comparative analysis that compares corporations employing numerous female leaders with corporations employing no female leaders.How would you use a truth table to support your analysis?

Question 50

Why do qualitative researchers write memos? Offer two examples of steps in the research process where memos might be helpful.

Question 51

What is the relationship between memos and the final report?

A)It is considered plagiarism to repeat memos in the final report.
B)Memos are tentative;the final report is definitive.
C)Memos are often used as text in the final report.
D)Memos are linked to data;the final report is theoretical.

Question 52

If you were to develop a qualitative study,would you prefer a positivist approach or an interpretive approach? Why? Your answer should show an accurate understanding of both approaches.

Question 53

Dr.Katapar studies the relationship between exercise and happiness.He poses a null hypothesis,"Exercise does not influence happiness." He hopes to

A)prove the hypothesis.
B)explore the hypothesis as a thought experiment.
C)reject the hypothesis.
D)use this unlikely hypothesis to generate ideas for additional studies.

Question 54

Bruce wants to develop a study that has as much transparency in the analysis as possible.He follows Dr.Debra Umberson's advice,so he

A)publishes all his data online.
B)has more than one person code the data.
C)uses more time and patience in the analysis phase.
D)models his data verbally instead of visually.

Question 55

Nicolena wants to arrange data so she can see all the respondents and some of the key domains and measures.She arranges data in what form?

A)codes
B)ethnoarray
C)model
D)matrix