Name : Zubaidah Abdul Ghani

Student ID : 2009546185

Summary for EDU702 - Instrumentation- Interviews, Checklists, Observations, etc.

Observations

Four roles that an observer in a qualitative in a qualitative research study

1. From Complete observer
   
2. To participant-as-observer
   
3. To observer as participant
   
4. To complete observer
   

Participant versus Non-participant Observation

• In participant observation, the researcher participates as an active member of the group in the situation or setting he or she is observing.
  
• In nonparticipant observation, the participant does not participate in an activity or situation but observes "from the sidelines".
  
• Include naturalistic observation and simulations.
  
• A simulation – an artificially created situation in which subjects are asked to act out certain roles.
  

Observation techniques – a coding scheme is a set of categories an observer uses to record a person's or group's behavior.

Observer effect – refers to either effect the presence of an observer can have on the behavior of the subjects or observer bias in the data reported. Audio and video tapings is helpful in guarding against this effect.

Researcher argue – the participants in a study should not be informed of the study's purpose until after the data have been collected.

Observer bias – refers to the possibility that certain characteristics or ideas of observers may affect what they observe.

Sampling – choose purposive sample.

Interviews

• A major technique used by qualitative researchers in-depth interviewing.
  

  Purpose – find out how they think or feel about something.
  

  • to provide a check on the researcher's observation.
    

Interview :

1. Structured
   
2. Semistructured
   
3. Informal
   
4. Retrospective
   

Six types of questions asked by interviews:

1. Background (or demographic) questions – questions about the background characteristics of the respondents.
   
2. Knowledge questions – factual information (opinions, beliefs, attitudes) respondents possess.
   
3. Experience (or behavior) questions – what respondent currently doing or has done in the past. Eg. Elicit descriptions of experience, behaviors, or activities.
   
4. Opinion (or values) questions – finding out what people think about some topic or issue.
   
5. Feelings questions – how respondents feel about things. Directed towards people's emotional responses to their experiences.
   
6. Sensory questions – what a respondent has seen, heard, tasted, smelled, or touched.
   

• Respect for the individual being interview
  
• Key actors – people in any group who are more informed about the culture and history of the group and who are more articulate than others.
  
• A focus group interview – an interview with a small, fairly homogeneous group of people who respond to a series of questions asked by the interviewer.
  
• Good interviewer – strong interest in people and in listening to what they have to say.
  

  
   

  
   

Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research

Important check on reliability and validity

• Compare one informant's description of something with another informant's description of the same thing.
  
• Compare information on the same topic with different information – triangulation.
  
• Efforts – use on proper vocabulary, recording questions used as well as personal reactions, describing contents, and documenting sources.