Teaching Methodological Integrity in Qualitative Methods: Incorporating Functionalist Pedagogy

1. Teaching Methodological Integrity in Qualitative Methods: Incorporating Functionalist Pedagogy Heidi M. Levitt

2. Variation in Qualitative Methods • Qualitative methods are a set of methods with varied goals and procedures. • Goals include: Hypothesis generation, concept clarification, social transformation, consciousness-raising, practical problem solving, attuned understanding, etc. • They include variety of approaches including: phenomenology, grounded-theory, discourse analysis, content analysis, theme analysis, etc. • Each method has a distinctive history, set of procedures, and terminology.

3. Structuralist Approach toEducation • A growing tendency to teach qualitative research methods by emphasizing the distinctive procedures. • These can be used in a cookbook check-list fashion in conducting research and review. • Often qualitative methods courses are taught as survey or with a focus on one method, but either can focus on procedures and rules.

4. Advantages of Focusing on Structural Differences Already so much variation in processes and terms! • Straightforward to learn. • Certainty! • Easy to replicate process independently in research design and evaluation. • Some journals have used lists like this to aid reviews. • Easier to learn language and terms in an approach.

5. Disadvantages of Focusing on Structural Differences • Qualitative researchers may apply methods in procedural steps that reify and reproduce these distinctions rather than to tailoring and adapting methods to study goals and characteristics. • For instance, we tend not to report our epistemological stances, which may shape how and why procedures are used. • In (Levitt, Pomerville, Surace, & Grabowski(under review), only 20% of articles report epistemological positions. • How to appreciate differences in procedures but recognize that studies may have disparate goals and characteristics that require adaptation?

6. Commonalities in Qualitative Methods • Tend to use natural language and other non-numerical forms of expression in their data, analysis and findings. • Tend to focus on highly contextualized meanings and practices – located with reference to both personal and cultural understandings. • Tend to centralize a circular series of inferences in a self-correcting, iterative process in which data are analyzed and meanings generated in a recursive manner, with gradual improvements (e.g., Osbeck, 2014; Rennie, 2012; Wertz et al., 2011)

7. Methodological Integrity • Levitt, Motulsky, Wertz, Morrow & Ponterotto, 2017 • The methodological basis of trustworthiness in qualitative methods – focus on function. • It is strengthened when research procedures support the researchers’ goals, approaches to inquiry and are tailored to the characteristics of the subject matter and investigator. • Consultation with experts • Two central processes

8. Fidelity • The process by which researchers develop and maintain allegiance to the phenomenon under study as it is conceived within their tradition of inquiry • Four Components: • Adequate data • Perspective management in data collection • Perspective management in data analysis • Groundedness

9. Utility • The process by which researchers select procedures to generate insightful findings that usefully answer their research question • Four components • Contextualization • Catalyst for Insight • Coherence • Meaning Contribution

10. Synthesizing Structural and Functionalist Aspects Teaching via a Class Research Project • (Levitt, Kannan, & Ippolito, 2013) • Two-pronged teaching approach • Half of each class is composed of lectures surveying qualitative methods, epistemological approaches, and skills. • Half of each class is focused on the project and its development. • Lectures are matched with steps in the project so they enact a central idea in the readings/lectures within the project activities for the week.

11. Fidelity to Subject • Data adequacy • Fidelity is improved when data are collected from diverse sources that can shed light upon the phenomenon at hand. • What types of variation would be most important to obtain a full picture of cultural empathy? • Versus an approach in which researchers have a set N that is considered adequate. • Versus an approach in which researchers have a set group of populations they always include.

12. Fidelity to Subject • Perspective management in data collection • Fidelity is improved when investigators recognize and are transparent about the influence of their perspectives upon data collection and limit that influence. • Use class memoing from the beginning. • What are the preconceptions with this topic for me? • Should I interview known or unknown participants? • Role plays to notice interviewer perspectives. • Feedback on interviews.

13. Fidelity to Subject • Perspective management in data analysis • Fidelity is increased when researchers consider how their perspectives influence or guide their analysis to enhance their perceptiveness. • Small group analysis to support broad considerations. • Classroom checks on developing findings, seeking each other’s interpretations.

14. Fidelity to Subject • Groundedness • Fidelity is enhanced when findings are grounded in the data that support understanding. • Feedback on their creating and labeling units • Feedback on their developing categories • Sense of responsibility to participant

15. Utility in Achieving Goals • Contextualization • Utility is improved when findings are presented in their appropriate context. • In creating category labels • Writing up draft of a paper • Consider how to aid transferability

16. Utility in Achieving Goals • Catalyst for Insight • Utility is enhanced by collecting data that provides rich grounds for insightful analyses • Seeking depth of understanding in interviews • Keep focused on our question • Learning from each others’ interviews

17. Utility in Achieving Goals • Coherence • Utility is enhanced by explaining how conflicting data relate to each other. • Lecture on how to reconcile conflicting information • In analysis, we review findings together to discuss disparate ideas.

18. Utility in Achieving Goals • Meaning contributions • Utility is enhanced when using methods that enable a meaningful contribution the the literature. • We begin off by reviewing and sharing literature • Lecture on how to write paper • Discuss the contributions together • Act as advocates for participants

19. A Functionalist Teaching Approach • Disadvantages: • Heavy teaching workload • Hard to do with too large a class • Unpredictable • Advantages: • Experiential learning • Interpersonal checks • Investment in process from students • Real contributions to knowledge

20. Functionalist Focus • In addition to teaching procedures, the focus on methodological integrity via application can help the class understand how to adapt their methods to fit goals and study characteristics. • The explicit focus on utility and fidelity can help them to value the underlying logic of design that guides procedural adaptation. • Understanding how processes that cross qualitative methods function can encourage students to better tailor methods and to better appreciate the complexity in research design.

21. Thank you.