Qualitative Psychological Research - Origins and Methods

Origins and Methods

The philosophical bases of qualitative psychological research are found in phenomenology, ethnomethodology, and naturalistic behaviourism. Its research methods are derived from ethnography and anthropology.

In psychology, the research methods commonly classified as qualitative include:

• participant observation
• direct observation
• unstructured interviewing
• case studies
• content analysis
• protocol analysis
• focus groups

The data collected by researchers using these techniques consist of:

• the results of open-ended interviews
• notes of direct observation
• written documents (answers to questionnaires, diaries, program records, etc.)

After collecting data, qualitative psychological researchers' goal is to examine their data in depth and in detail.

Most psychological researchers probably use both types of method. In particular, qualitative methods are widely used as exploratory methods; the results of qualitative analysis are used to design quantitative research which tests null hypotheses derived from the qualitative observations.

Those psychological researchers who prefer qualitative research argue that statistically based research has limitations because it is less able to take into consideration the context of behaviour. Qualitative researchers have developed their own criteria for assessing reliability and validity. The work of Yvonna Lincoln and Egon Guba is an example of this.

Confirmability is a qualitative concept analogous to the concept of objectivity in quantitative research. It is the degree to which research results can be confirmed by other researchers.

Transferability has been proposed as a qualitative substitute for psychometric validity. Research findings are transferable to the extent to which they can be generalized to settings other than the one in which they were made.

It could be argued, however, that any concept which attempts to assess degree or extent is inherently quantitative.