Presentation
The General Online Qualitive Study Methodology
13th Annual TQR Conference
(2022)
Abstract
Many qualitative researchers needed to adjust data collection to accommodate social distancing requirements. The general online qualitative study design (GOQS) was developed based on two large, novel qualitative studies that did not fit into one of the five qualitative traditions. Merriam (2016) has used the term basic qualitative study and Kahlke (2014) has used generic to describe qualitative designs that do not align with qualitative traditions. The first reason for using the term general is that words like basic and generic imply the methods are inferior to the five qualitative traditions, which is not the case for many innovative qualitative research projects. Qualitative research is often focused on a specific phenomenon in a narrowly defined population. In GOQS, the term general is used to describe general topics like physical activity during COVID-19 among general populations not limited by strictly defined inclusion criteria or geographic boundaries. GOQS includes questionnaires consisting of purposefully ordered, carefully designed open-ended, and non-leading questions. The online nature of a GOQS can enable participatory research through maintaining contact with respondents creating opportunities for member checks, and participation in future research. While recruiting on social media is not unique, the GOQS is designed to use social media groups with administrators resulting in detailed responses from 1,328 participants in two studies. GOQS data analysis could be completed by case like in an interview or by question like quantitative research. Including demographic information in GOQS data analysis was a challenge, which was addressed by sorting responses into sub-groups for coding.
Disciplines
Publication Date
January 21, 2022
Citation Information
Michelle L D'Abundo and Paul F Franco. "The General Online Qualitive Study Methodology" 13th Annual TQR Conference (2022) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/michelle-dabundo/2/