Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methodology Workshop

1. Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methodology Workshop • Abraham (Rami) Rudnick BMedSc, MD, MPsych, PhD, CPRP, FRCPC • Associate Professor Departments of Psychiatry and Philosophy • Chair, Division of Social and Rural Psychiatry • Director, Extended Campus Program • Clinical Director, North of Superior Programs • University of Western Ontario • Email: arudnic2@uwo.ca

2. Learning Objectives • Enhance awareness of relevance of qualitative research and evaluation methodology. • Enhance knowledge of qualitative research and evaluation methodology. • Enhance skill of determining suitable qualitative methodology for a research or evaluation idea.

3. Method • Interactive presentation. • Group exercise.

4. Outline • Introductions. • Fundamentals • Methodologies. • Data collection. • Data analysis. • Generic procedures. • Write up. • Mixed designs • Group exercise: Determining a suitable qualitative methodology for a research or evaluation idea. • Opportunities to Train in Qualitative Research Methodology

5. Introductions

6. Fundamentals • Related to experience and conduct of human beings. • Based on social sciences, humanities and arts. • Declines numerical standardization and measurement (in most cases). • Generalization and comparative approach (which are fundamental to quantitative research) are controversial.

7. Methodologies • Standard in health related research – phenomenology; ethnography; grounded theory; narrative; case study (Creswell 2007). • Others – discourse analysis; auto-ethnography; photovoice; art-based research; PAR; historical; other (Denzin and Lincoln 2005). • Examples – Davidson 2003 (phenomenology); Somasundaram 2007 (ethnography); Roe et al 2004 (grounded theory); Rudnick et al In progress (case study).

8. Data Collection • Semi-structured vs. unstructured interviews. • Group interviews (focus groups or other). • Direct vs. participant observations (with field notes). • Documents.

9. Data Analysis • Coding, categorizing, thematic analysis (and sometimes theory generation and even testing).

10. Generic Procedures • Sample saturation. • Transcribing and validating. • Memos. • Trustworthiness/credibility (triangulation of sources of information or of methods of data collection, peer debriefing, member checking).

11. Write Up • Verbatim examples (and sometimes verbatim theme titles).

12. Mixed (Quantitative and Qualitative) Evaluation and Research • Generating hypotheses, then testing them: qualitative  quantitative. • Testing hypotheses, then explaining findings: quantitative  qualitative. • Other (e.g., answer qualitative questions and test quantitative hypotheses in parallel).

13. Group exercise: Determining a Suitable Qualitative Methodology for a Research or Evaluation Idea • Small group discussion. • Large group presentation. • Q & A.

14. Opportunities to Train in Qualitative Research Methodology • International Institute for Qualitative Methodology: http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/ • Other

15. References • Creswell JW. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 2007. • Davidson L. Living Outside Mental Illness: Qualitative Studies of Recovery in Schizophrenia. New York: New York University Press, 2003. • Denzin NK, Lincoln Y (Editors). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 2005. • Roe D, Chopra M, Rudnick A. Persons with psychosis as active agents interacting with their disorder. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 2004, 28:122-128. • Somasundaram D. Collective trauma in northern Sri Lanka: a qualitative psychosocial-ecological study. International Journal of Mental Health Systems 2007, 1:5.