Educational Research Methods EDUC 3026 UNM - Lecture 5

What should be the starting point in designing a study? Choose the best fit

• Start with the method you want to use (interviews, surveys, etc.)

• Start with the analytical approach you feel comfortable with

• Start with your conceptualisation of the research problem

• Start with a good idea of what you'll find through your study

Of the following, what are the three sampling approaches in qualitative research, identified by Marshall (1996)?

• Convenience sampling

• Purposive Sampling

• Theoretical Sampling

• Stratified random sampling

Which of the following most matches the definition of purposive sampling?

• When you sample according to characteristics that help the study meet its goals

• When you sample based on the availability around you

• When you sample for the purpose of theory development

• When you sample randomly across a sampling frame

Which of the following scenarios best match the concept of purposive sampling?

• I select a variety of people based on traits that were identified in my research problem and literature review

• I carefully select an equal number of people across different demographic groups such as age and gender

• I select a few participants with traits that are of interest to my research, then get them to nominate more participants, and so on.

• I choose participants based on their willingness to be a part of my research.

Which method of qualitative data collection is best?

• Structured interview

• Observation

• Focus Group

• Semi-Structured Interview

• Trick question! It all depends on your purpose and resources!

Which approach to sampling is considered the 'weakest' in qualitative research?

• Purposive sampling

• Theoretical sampling

• Convenience sampling

• Another trick question! It depends

Which of the following are important parts of a semi-structured interview protocol?

• The research questions and prompts

• The introduction, including explaining the study and ethics declaration

• A list of typical answers that interviewees should give

• A list of things you want to observe about the participants' behaviour

Choose as many as you think are accurate statements

• Collect sufficient data which answers your research questions, and fits your conceptualisation of the problem

• Qualitative data is more likely to yield the truth than quantitative data

• Qualitative research is easier to conduct, and less costly than quantitative research

• Qualitative research is inherently more ethical than quantitative research