Question 1

What are five specific limitations of focus groups?

Accepted Answer

&ldquo;Polarization effect&rdquo;exists whereby attitudes become more extreme after group discussion.
Only one or a few topics can be discussed in a focus group session.
A moderator may unknowingly limit open,free expression of group members.
Focus groups may produce groupthink.
It is not clear whom the members of the focus group are representing-themselves,social groups,or their membership to the focus group.
Focus group participants produce fewer ideas than individual interviews do.
Focus group studies rarely report all the details of study design/procedure.
Researchers cannot reconcile the differences that arise between individual-only and focus group-context responses.

Question 2

How does a researcher go about sampling for qualitative interviews (i.e.,what type of methodology is used)? How is the method of selection justified? What is the procedure for determining the number of individuals/cases to include in the sample?

Accepted Answer

Nonprobability sampling,specifically snowball and purposive sampling are used because the topics that researchers are interested in studying through the use of qualitative interviewing do not easily lend themselves to probability sampling.
A researcher does not know in advance how many individuals he or she needs to interview and so simply continues to interview subjects until the same general themes continue to emerge from the data and no new findings are being revealed (theoretical saturation).

Question 3

Which of the following terms is NOT relevant for qualitative interviews?
A)In-depth interviews
B)Informal interviews
C)Structured interviews
D)Open-ended interviews
E)Ethnographic interviews

Accepted Answer

Structured interviews are not relevant for qualitative interviews as they typically involve pre-determined, standardized questions and do not allow for flexible exploration of the interviewee's experiences and perspectives. Qualitative interviews typically involve in-depth, open-ended, and often informal or ethnographic approaches.

Question 4

Discuss the main features of focus groups under the following headings: the structure of the focus group,the role of the focus group facilitator,the number of groups in a focus group study,and focus group dynamics.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss the main features of focus groups...

Question 5

The number of people interviewed in a qualitative study on the construction of bisexual identity is dictated mainly by
A)sample sizes from previous research studies.
B)the researcher&#8217;s time and resources.
C)the sponsoring organization&#8217;s research guidelines.
D)the length of the interview schedule.
E)the number of interviewers available on the research team.

Accepted Answer

In a qualitative study, the number of people interviewed is determined by the researcher's time and resources. Unlike in quantitative research where a large sample size is necessary for generalizability, qualitative research seeks to gain in-depth insights from a smaller sample size. Therefore, the researcher's ability to conduct interviews and analyze data from those interviews within the available time and resources is the main factor in determining the number of participants.

Question 6

In qualitative interviewing,________ and ________ sampling techniques are typically used.
A)random;probability
B)purposive;probability
C)random;snowball
D)purposive;snowball
E)purposive;random

Accepted Answer

In qualitative interviewing, purposive sampling is often used to select participants who meet specific criteria or who can provide unique perspectives. Snowball sampling is also commonly used to identify additional participants through referrals from those who are already involved in the study. Random sampling and probability sampling are more commonly used in quantitative research. Therefore, the best choice is D, which includes both purposive and snowball sampling techniques that are typically used in qualitative interviewing.

Question 7

Interviewing subjects until the same general themes continue to emerge from the data and no new findings are being revealed is referred to as
A)theoretical sampling.
B)theoretical saturation.
C)snowball sampling.
D)selective transcription.
E)inductive theory.

Accepted Answer

The description provided in the prompt matches the concept of theoretical saturation. This means that the researcher has gathered enough information from the sample population, and there is no new information emerging from repeated interviews. Theoretical sampling refers to the process of selecting participants based on some predetermined criteria or theoretical constructs. Snowball sampling involves selecting participants based on referrals from other participants. Selective transcription is a process of transcribing only the relevant parts of an interview. Inductive theory refers to a research approach in which theories emerge from data analysis.

Question 8

Professor Simon Salamander listens to the interview recordings from his participants and decides that he only wants to transcribe the parts that are most relevant to his research questions.Professor Salamander is engaging in
A)manipulation of the data.
B)selective transcription.
C)truncated transcription.
D)structured transcription.
E)Kvale questioning.

Accepted Answer

Selective transcription involves choosing only the parts of the interview recordings that are most relevant to the research questions. This is different from manipulating the data, which involves altering or changing the data itself. Truncated transcription and structured transcription are not appropriate terms for this scenario. Kvale questioning refers to a specific interviewing technique and is not relevant to transcription.

Question 9

What are five specific advantages of focus groups?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are five specific advantages of focus...

Question 10

Which of the following statements about moderators is false?
A)Moderators are trained to be directive
B)Moderators are sometimes called facilitators
C)Moderators ask questions
D)Moderators probe quieter individuals for their opinions
E)Moderators defuse arguments

Accepted Answer

Moderators are often trained to be facilitators, which means that they guide discussion rather than being strictly directive. The other statements are all true, as moderators are responsible for asking questions, probing quieter individuals for their opinions, and defusing arguments if they arise.

Question 11

Describe the problems with validity and reliability in qualitative interviewing.What might help to overcome these problems?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the problems with validity and reliability...

Question 12

List five of the ten differences between typical survey interviews and typical qualitative interviews.

Accepted Answer

The answer of List five of the ten differences between...

Question 13

In what way does the qualitative interview differ from a friendly conversation?
A)The friendly conversation has an explicit goal or purpose,whereas the qualitative interview often does not have a specific goal in mind.
B)The friendly conversation contains many instances of repetition,whereas the qualitative interview tends to avoid going over the same details more than once.
C)In a friendly conversation the participants usually avoid abbreviations and jargon,but in a qualitative interview the interviewer tries to use the same jargon and expressions familiar to the participant.
D)In a friendly conversation the participants tend to speak out of turn and cut each other off,whereas in a qualitative interview the interviewer will often interrupt the participant&#8217;s response in order to ask for clarification.
E)During a friendly conversation a pause or brief silence is acceptable,whereas in a qualitative interview pauses can be used by the interviewer to get the interviewee to elaborate on a previous point.

Accepted Answer

In a qualitative interview, pauses can be strategically used by the interviewer to encourage the interviewee to elaborate, whereas in a friendly conversation, pauses are generally just a natural part of the flow.

Question 14

Specify and describe four features of qualitative interviews that would be considered an advantage over quantitative structured interviews.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Specify and describe four features of qualitative...

Question 15

Describe five features of the qualitative interview that make it different from a normal everyday conversation.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe five features of the qualitative interview...

Question 16

Which of the following is an example of a "specifying question" in qualitative interviewing?
A)Why do you think people smoke?
B)How many people in your social network smoke?
C)Do you think smoking for all those years has affected your current health?
D)What made you decide to quit smoking?
E)Why do you think your family wanted you to quit smoking?

Accepted Answer

A specifying question seeks to obtain more detailed information about a specific aspect of the interviewee's experience or decision, such as what made them decide to quit smoking.

Question 17

In a typical qualitative interview,
A)open-ended questions are used.
B)the interviewer shows interest in participants&#8217;responses and encourages elaboration.
C)the beginning and end are not clear.
D)the interviewer adjusts to the participants&#8217;norms and their use of language.
E)all of the above.

Accepted Answer

All the options mentioned are correct for a typical qualitative interview. Open-ended questions are used to encourage participants to share their thoughts and feelings, the interviewer shows interest in their responses and encourages elaboration to gain a deeper understanding, the beginning and end are not always clear to allow flexibility, and the interviewer adjusts to the participant's norms and language to create a comfortable and natural environment for the interviewee.

Question 18

Describe four characteristics of qualitative interviews.What are the specific features for each of these characteristics?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe four characteristics of qualitative interviews.What are...

Question 19

A question that begins with,"From what you've told me,your experience can be summed up like…" is most likely a __________ question.
A)interpreting
B)structuring
C)specifying
D)direct
E)indirect

Accepted Answer

This question is interpreting because it involves summarizing or making sense of the information provided by the other person.

Question 20

Identify five different qualitative interview question types (Kvale)and provide an example for each one.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Identify five different qualitative interview question types...

Quiz 12: Qualitative Interviewing

What are five specific limitations of focus groups?

How does a researcher go about sampling for qualitative interviews (i.e.,what type of methodology is used)? How is the method of selection justified? What is the procedure for determining the number of individuals/cases to include in the sample?

Which of the following terms is NOT relevant for qualitative interviews?

Discuss the main features of focus groups under the following headings: the structure of the focus group,the role of the focus group facilitator,the number of groups in a focus group study,and focus group dynamics.

The number of people interviewed in a qualitative study on the construction of bisexual identity is dictated mainly by

In qualitative interviewing, and sampling techniques are typically used.

Interviewing subjects until the same general themes continue to emerge from the data and no new findings are being revealed is referred to as

Professor Simon Salamander listens to the interview recordings from his participants and decides that he only wants to transcribe the parts that are most relevant to his research questions.Professor Salamander is engaging in

What are five specific advantages of focus groups?

Which of the following statements about moderators is false?

Describe the problems with validity and reliability in qualitative interviewing.What might help to overcome these problems?

List five of the ten differences between typical survey interviews and typical qualitative interviews.

In what way does the qualitative interview differ from a friendly conversation?

Specify and describe four features of qualitative interviews that would be considered an advantage over quantitative structured interviews.

Describe five features of the qualitative interview that make it different from a normal everyday conversation.

Which of the following is an example of a "specifying question" in qualitative interviewing?

In a typical qualitative interview,

Describe four characteristics of qualitative interviews.What are the specific features for each of these characteristics?

A question that begins with,"From what you've told me,your experience can be summed up like…" is most likely a __________ question.

Identify five different qualitative interview question types (Kvale)and provide an example for each one.