Qualitative Methods for Family Studies, Essay Example

Qualitative Research Method

A qualitative research method that is relevant to family therapy is utilizing coding to categorize qualitative data. Since it is challenging to use qualitative data in the same type of statistical analyses that we typically use for quantitative data, converting descriptive information to a ranking system is an ideal way to determine its meaning and allows us to make comparisons as a consequence. Qualitative data can occasionally be acquired in the same manner of quantitative data. In family therapy, the information gathered would typically come from interviews involving patients of interest, from transcripts of therapy sessions, and from the notes of the therapist. In each of these strategies, the psychologist should look for key words that will help him and her determine the comparisons being made.

The sample selection involved in this process would also be similar to that used when conducting quantitative studies in family therapy. The researcher would need to simply identify a target population of interest in addition to a group that could be selected as a basis of comparison (Flick, 2009). Individuals for these studies can be recruited by word of mouth, sending out mailings, through preexisting relationships with the researchers, and a variety of other methods.

The first step involved in the analysis of qualitative data is to categorize the information based on patterns and other commonalities. To analyze qualitative data utilizing statistics, methods such as a chi square test, could be used. For larger data sets, it would be simpler to use statistical programs, including R, SPSS, or STATA for this purpose (Daly, 2007).

References

Daly, K. J. (2007). Qualitative methods for family studies & Human Development. London: Sage.

Flick, U. (2009). Introduction to qualitative research. London: Sage.