Deck 8: Qualitative Approaches to Research

Question 1

Which of the following data-gathering techniques is accepted in the grounded theory approach but not in the phenomenological approach?

A) Face-to-face interview
B) Tape-recorded interview
C) Participant-written response to written questions
D) Skilled observation of individuals in a social setting

Answer 1

Skilled observation of individuals in a social setting

Question 2

Review the abstract information provided below to determine which qualitative approach is being used in each study.
Abstract #1
This study outlines a brief history of men as nurses in the United Kingdom.It uses a variety of historical sources-primary archival,oral history,and secondary sources- to retell the history of nursing with emphasis on the frequently neglected place of men within it.History appears to indicate that men have had a place in nursing for as long as records are available,but their contribution has been perceived as negligible,largely because of the dominant influence that the nineteenth century female nursing movement has had on the occupation's historical ideology.The study indicates that men have an equally valid historical role within nursing and that this should be acknowledged when considering male nurses' position within the nursing profession.
Abstract #2
The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning of nurses' use of humour in their nursing practice.Twenty-one registered nurses enrolled in a graduate nursing program described in detail their experiences using humour in providing nursing care.The twenty-one written descriptions were analyzed using Colaizzi's method.Five themes emerged in which humour was found to ( a )help nurses deal effectively with difficult situations and difficult patients,( b )create a sense of cohesiveness between nurses and their patients and also among the nurses themselves,( c )be an effective therapeutic communication technique that helped to decrease patients' anxiety,depression,and embarrassment,( d )be planned and routine or be unexpected and spontaneous,and ( e )create lasting effects beyond the immediate moment for both nurses and patients.
Abstract #3
To a ) explore young people's experiences of school and drug use,b ) generate hypotheses regarding the pathways through which schools may influence students' drug use,and c )examine how these may vary according to students' socio-demographic characteristics,qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with thirty students ( aged 14-15 )and ten teachers in two case-study schools.Students were purposively sampled to encompass variations in socioeconomic status,gender,ethnicity,and school engagement.Techniques associated with thematic content analysis were used to analyze the data and generate hypotheses.

A) Abstract #1 = Ethnographic method, Abstract #2 = Phenomenology, Abstract #3 = Historical
B) Abstract #1 = Historical, Abstract #2 = Phenomenology, Abstract #3 = Case study
C) Abstract #1 = Case Study, Abstract #2 = Phenomenology, Abstract #3 = Historical
D) Abstract #1 = Historical, Abstract #2 = Phenomenology, Abstract #3 = Ethnographic method

Answer 2

Abstract #1 = Historical, Abstract #2 = Phenomenology, Abstract #3 = Case study

Question 3

Why does the investigator ask a question different from a formal research question when initiating dialogue with a participant in a phenomenological study?

A) Qualitative methodology dictates that research questions be implied rather than explicitly stated.
B) The investigator needs to ensure that the initiating question is clear and understandable to the study participant.
C) Research questions are considered an outcome of qualitative research rather than a driving force for the conduct of the study.
D) Research questions must be congruent with the themes and connected to the data generated by the study.

Answer 3

The investigator needs to ensure that the initiating question is clear and understandable to the study participant.

Question 4

In a report of a phenomenological study,you find direct quotes from the participants threaded throughout the narrative.What is the significance of this observation?

A) The researcher is supporting his or her findings.
B) The researcher is attempting to make the report more personal.
C) The technique violates the human subjects' right to protection.
D) The technique ensures that the proper level of data saturation has been reached.

Question 5

How should the researcher proceed when the second person interviewed during a phenomenological study makes statements that are very similar to those made by the first participant?

A) Stop interviewing more participants because the data are considered saturated.
B) Ask the second participant whether he or she has been talking with the first participant.
C) Continue to interview more participants to determine whether the similarities in responses persist or were just coincidental.
D) Continue to interview participants but change the phrasing of the question used to initiate dialogue.

Question 6

Which of the following qualitative research approaches is most commonly used for theory building?

A) Case study
B) Phenomenology
C) Grounded theory
D) Ethnographic method

Question 7

Which of the following pioneers of qualitative nursing research is known for the phenomenological study that provided the basis for the theory of "human becoming"?

A) Leininger
B) Newman
C) Parse
D) Strauss

Question 8

Which of the following statements is consistent with an emic view of a factor or situation?

A) A health care provider's statement that Aboriginal people are stoic in the experience of pain
B) A kindergarten teacher's statement that there are fewer discipline problems among Asian children
C) The Canadian Cancer Society's report that the incidence rate of prostate cancer is higher among African-Canadian men
D) A Caucasian teenager's statement that being skinny is more socially acceptable than having normal weight or being overweight

Question 9

Why is literature review expected to be limited in a study that employs grounded theory methods?

A) Studies using grounded theory methods are sparse.
B) Grounded theory is more sensitive to cultural values than to the researcher's values.
C) Theories are expected to emerge directly from current research data and not from previous research.
D) By limiting the literature review, the researcher ensures that personal biases are bracketed.

Question 10

What forms the final synthesis of participants' descriptions after a researcher has analyzed data from a phenomenological study?

A) Description of the lived experience
B) Identification of thought sequences
C) Generalization of the findings
D) Classification of themes

Question 11

Which of the following titles suggests that the study employs the ethnographic method?

A) The Phenomenon of Breast Self-Examination Among African-Canadian Women
B) The Lived Experience of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women
C) The Need for Culturally Sensitive Cancer Prevention Patient Education Materials
D) Preserving Femininity after Mastectomy

Question 12

How does the researcher know that data saturation has occurred?

A) When all participants agree on the themes derived from the study
B) When the ideas or data coming from new participants have all been expressed by previous participants
C) When the emerging themes are congruent with those developed as a result of previous studies of the same phenomenon
D) When the participants are no longer interested or willing to discuss their experiences or feelings

Question 13

Which of the following actions or behaviours should be avoided in a study employing grounded theory methods?

A) Having "hunches" about emerging patterns before data gathering is completed
B) The researcher expressing his or her opinions or values to the participant
C) Changing how data about experiences are collected or selected after the study has been initiated
D) Expanding codes or data categories as the study progresses

Question 14

Which of the following research questions illustrates the ethnographic approach to qualitative research?

A) In what ways do Puerto Rican women obtain health information?
B) What is the quality of life for persons living with HIV infection?
C) What was Florence Nightingale's involvement in sanitation reforms during the 1860s?
D) How do individuals with heart disease experience anger?

Question 15

Which of the following is considered the foundation of the grounded theory method of qualitative research?

A) Cultural anthropology
B) Spirituality or religiosity
C) Philosophy, art, and science
D) Symbolic interaction and social science

Question 16

How does nursing research using the phenomenological approach differ from more traditional forms of research?

A) The results present the "lived experience."
B) The study participants are people with illness, injury, or disease.
C) The focus of the study is the actual or objective phenomenon itself.
D) The focus of the study is on understanding the reality of the phenomenon to the person experiencing it.

Question 17

Which of the following research questions is most appropriate for a grounded theory approach?

A) How do incarcerated persons interact with fellow prisoners convicted of violent crimes against children?
B) How do First Nations adolescent girls select a method of contraception?
C) What percentage of primary school teachers has a master's degree?
D) How is the total number of clinical hours in a nursing program related to CRNE pass rates?

Question 18

For an ethnographic study titled "How Rural Northern Albertan Families With Preschool Children Define and Practice Health," the researcher gathered data from mothers who were identified as the primary directors of health care within the family unit.What role did the mothers have in this study?

A) Community informants
B) General informants
C) Local informants
D) Key informants

Question 19

In historical research,what or who constitutes the sample of the study?

A) Individuals who are the main characters in the historical context under study
B) Physical setting(s) in which the event occurred
C) Researchers and data gatherers
D) Data sources

Question 20

Which of the following features distinguishes intensive dialogue from a simple interview?

A) The researcher makes detailed notes about the participant's responses during the interview.
B) The researcher is fully engaged, becoming a thoughtful presence during the interview.
C) The researcher develops the interview questions before the actual interview occurs.
D) The researcher completes the questionnaire for the participant to avoid any misunderstanding or confusion.

Question 21

How are ethnographic and phenomenological studies different?

A) Ethnographic studies include both qualitative and quantitative data, whereas phenomenological studies employ only qualitative methods of data collection.
B) Ethnographic research makes extensive use of case studies, whereas phenomenological research relies more on questionnaires that include multiple-choice options.
C) Phenomenological research focuses on the meaning of an event or experience to an individual or group of people, whereas ethnographic research focuses on patterns of behaviour of people within a culture.
D) Phenomenological research requires that data be collected face to face over an extended period and in the person's natural setting; ethnographic studies collect the history of a culture by using primary and secondary documents as key data sources.

Question 22

Which of the following specific major premises of grounded theory is represented when the members of a nation are outraged by their nation's flag being burned by the members of another nation?

A) Social interactions are the focus of grounded theory.
B) Humans respond to objects on the basis of the meanings those objects have for them.
C) People use interpretive processes in order to deal with or change the meanings of their situations.
D) Personal meanings arise from interactions with others over time and are perceived through one's individual world view.

Question 23

What is the purpose of a "grounded theory" research design?

A) To ensure that the theory used has appropriate philosophical underpinnings
B) To move a concept from the perceived view to the received view
C) To test a theory for its specific application
D) To examine patterns of action and interaction between and among various types of social units