Critical Appraisal of Qualitative Research Assignment

Critical Appraisal of Qualitative Research - Assignment Example To maintain data untainted in any way, researchers and interviewers need to create questions in ways that would not affect the outcome through preconception of answers from the interviewees (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). Using methods least-likely to affect the interviewees by allowing them to be themselves without necessitating them to change their attitudes and collecting data as soon as possible, biases or inconsistencies in interviewee data can be minimized. An approach on qualitative interviewing called phenomenological analysis has been devised so as to prevent such biases, wherein there is a need to find out the phenomenon of a lived experience by allowing researchers to take part in another individual’s experience and interpret these experiences based on their own and within their consciousness (Letts, et al., 2007; Smith, et al., 2009). The phenomenological analysis is concerned with collecting human experiences using philosophical principles and rationale in study ing human experiences through various and vivid descriptions of each experience (Holloway, 2005). After the delivery of either a highly-specific or highly-generic question, collation of data is done through the assimilation of similarities and differences and tallying the results so as to find out any factors that might have any effects on the experiences of the interviewees. By using a minimalist approach, interviewees are allowed to give much more focus on the effects or the impact of their own experiences rather than analyzing the reasons on why they had these experiences in the first place (Wimpenny & Gass, 2000). Reduction or bracketing in conducting interviews using the phenomenological analysis is considered so as to prevent any misconceptions or presuppositions on behalf of both parties. However the use of such an analysis is not considered to be an ultimate method in itself since phenomenological analysis does not employ any exacting style or process, thus it is considered to be an approach in obtaining data (Wimpenny & Gass, 2000). With regards to specific methods, the Grounded theory can be considered because it utilizes methods of obtaining qualitative data via approaches such as phenomenological analysis in the identification of social processes in any given situation (Letts, et al., 2007; Mills, Bonner, & Francis, 2008; Wimpenny & Gass, 2000). However, similarities end here as grounded theory is not used in its entirety but instead is only employed as one of the methods used in order to obtain qualitative data, whereas phenomenological approach is seen as abstract and generalised concept in the process of theory formulation and analysis of qualitative information (Wimpenny & Gass, 2000). Thus, the grounded theory can be employed as only one of the few methods to systematically obtain qualitative data, and the phenomenological approach is the overall driving force.