Learning 11

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)

●​ Definition: Explores how participants make sense of their world.
●​ Key Concept: Double hermeneutic → participant interprets experience, researcher
interprets participant.
●​ Applications:
1.​ Clinical psychology, psychotherapy.
2.​ Cultural/indigenous psychology.
3.​ Religion, migration, acculturation.
●​ Sampling: Small, in-depth, case-focused (not for generalization).
●​ Data Collection: Semi-structured interviews, diaries, focus groups.
●​ Analysis Phases:
1.​ Multiple readings & notes.
2.​ Transform notes → emergent themes.
3.​ Cluster themes (superordinate & sub-themes).
●​ Strengths: Rich, detailed, idiographic focus.
●​ Challenges: Demands interviewing skill, patience, openness, inductive mindset.

Method Focus Data Key Concept Steps

IPA Lived Interviews, Double hermeneutic Read → Notes →

Experience Diaries Themes →
Clusters

Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA)

●​ Definition: Examines language’s role in constructing social/psychological life (influenced
by Foucault).
●​ Assumptions:
1.​ Discourses shape ways of seeing/being.
2.​ Discourses offer subject positions → affect subjectivity.
3.​ Power relations & institutions reinforce discourses.
●​ Focus: How language constructs reality, subjectivity, and social practices.
●​ Steps in FDA:
1.​ Discursive Constructions → identify references to object.
2.​ Discourses → locate constructions in wider discourses.
3.​ Action Orientation → what text is doing (assigning responsibility, legitimizing).
4.​ Positionings → subject positions offered.
5.​ Practice → how discourses open/close opportunities for action.
6.​ Subjectivity → consequences of positions for experience.
 ●​ Goal: Highlight power, institutions, and potential for social change.

Method Focus Data Key Concept Steps

FDA Language & Text/ Discover Constructions →

Power Discourse subject Discourse → Action →
positions Positioning → Practice
→ Subjectivity

Learning 12

Thematic Analysis (TA)

●​ Definition: Identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns (themes) within data.
●​ Flexibility: Not tied to a single theoretical framework.
●​ Approaches:
1.​ Essentialist/Realist → reports experiences/meanings directly.
2.​ Constructionist → examines how meanings are socially produced.
●​ Theme: Captures something important about the data in relation to the research
question.
●​ Types of Analysis:
1.​ Rich description → useful for under-researched areas.
2.​ Detailed account → focuses on one or few themes.
●​ Theme Identification:
1.​ Inductive (bottom-up) vs. Theoretical (top-down)
2.​ Semantic (surface meaning) vs. Latent (underlying assumptions/ideologies)
●​ Steps in TA:
1.​ Familiarize with data (transcription).
2.​ Generate codes.
3.​ Search for themes.
4.​ Review themes → thematic map.
5.​ Define & name themes.
6.​ Produce report.

Method Focus Data Key Concept Steps

TA Patterns/ Textual Data Inductive vs. Familiarize → Code →

Themes deductive; Themes → Review →
semantic vs. Define → Report
latent

Narrative Analysis (NA)

●​ Core Idea: Life is lived and understood through stories.
 ●​ Functions:
1.​ Shows everyday thinking (Bruner).
2.​ Brings order to life disruptions (Ricoeur).
3.​ Builds identity (McAdams).
●​ Narrative Defined: Organized interpretation of events (beginning, middle, end).
●​ Elements:
1.​ Structure: Progressive (optimistic), Regressive (pessimistic), Stable (neutral).
2.​ Tone: Optimistic, Pessimistic, Romance, Comedy, Tragedy, Satire.
3.​ Themes: Agency (self-autonomy), Communion (relationships).
●​ Data Collection:
1.​ Life Story Interview.
2.​ Episodic Interview.
3.​ McAdams Protocol (life chapters, key events, significant people, ideology, life
theme).
●​ Process:
1.​ Read & familiarize.
2.​ Summarize narrative (structure, key issues, connections).
3.​ Interpret (structure, tone, focal themes, metaphors, values, context).

Method Focus Data Key Concept Steps

NA Stories/ Narratives Structure, tone, Read → Summarize →

Identity agency, Interpret
communion

Learning 13

Ethnography
●​ Definition: Study of cultures/groups → lifestyle, beliefs, meanings.
●​ Origins: Early anthropologists documenting small, isolated tribes.
●​ Characteristics:
1.​ Long-term field immersion.
2.​ Everyday life as valid data.
3.​ Insider perspective (emic view).
4.​ Holistic approach (processes, relationships, interdependencies).
5.​ Final account = construction, not just description.
●​ Life History Approach:
1.​ In-depth study of individuals linked to cultural/social context.
2.​ Data: interviews, diaries, letters, archives.
3.​ Can be descriptive, phenomenological, or analytic.
●​ Spectrum of Purpose:
1.​ Idiographic (realist) → rich, detailed descriptions.
 2.​ Nomothetic (relativist) → theory testing/development.
3.​ Middle ground → both description + generalizability.
●​ Steps:
1.​ Identify research question.
2.​ Select location(s).
3.​ Plan presentation method.
4.​ Acquire permissions.
5.​ Observe & participate.
6.​ Interview participants.
7.​ Collect archival data.
8.​ Code & analyze (patterns, outliers, theory links).
●​ Advantages: Direct observation, holistic, ecological validity, detailed data, actors’
perceptions.
●​ Disadvantages: Ethics, access, insider bias, reliability, lengthy process.

Method Focus Data Key Strengths Weaknes

Concept ses

Ethnography Culture, Field Idiographic Rich detail, Ethics,

insider immersion, vs. ecological insider
meanings life histories nomothetic validity bias,
lengthy

Grounded Theory (GT)

●​ Definition: Approach dedicated to generating theories from empirical data (not
testing).
●​ Philosophy: Pragmatist → theory must be useful “on the ground.”
●​ Principles:
○​ Start with open mind (no fixed hypotheses).
○​ Theories grounded in empirical research.
○​ Systematic analysis of data.
○​ Practical usefulness for both researchers & laypeople.
●​ Fieldwork:
○​ Initial sites: chosen for relevance, not representativeness.
○​ Theoretical sampling: sites selected as theory develops → continues until
theoretical saturation (no new insights).
●​ Data Analysis:
○​ Open Coding → descriptive labels.
○​ Axial Coding → relationships between codes.
○​ Selective Coding → focus on key categories.
○​ Constant Comparative Method → compare similarities/differences, refine
categories, verify theory.
●​ Advantages: Systematic, adaptable, suited for small-scale/exploratory research,
grounded in reality, theory development.
 ●​ Disadvantages: Planning uncertainty, complexity, risk of positivism/empiricism, difficulty
in generalization.

Method Focus Data Key Strengths Weakness

Concept es

Grounded Theory Interviews, Open/Axial/ Systematic, Complexity,

Theory generation fieldwork Selective pragmatic, planning
coding exploratory uncertainty

Learning 14

Action Research (AR)

●​ Definition: Hands-on, small-scale research aimed at improving practice.
●​ Characteristics:
○​ Practical focus → real-world problems.
○​ Change as integral to research.
○​ Cyclical process → feedback loop (research → change → evaluation → further
research).
○​ Participation → practitioners actively involved.
●​ Nature:
○​ Practitioner research (insider knowledge).
○​ Reflection must be systematic (not just casual).
○​ Continuous cycle of development.
●​ Ethics:
○​ Permission before observation.
○​ Confidentiality.
○​ Transparency & negotiation with participants.
●​ Advantages:
○​ Democratizes research (participation).
○​ Professional development.
○​ Practical improvements → feeds back into practice.
○​ Continuous cycle of change.
●​ Disadvantages:
○​ Limited scope & generalizability.
○​ Lack of control over variables.
○​ Contestable ownership.
○​ Extra workload.
○​ Researcher not impartial (vested interest).
 Method Focus Data Key Concept Strengths Weaknes
ses

Action Practice Workplace Cyclical change, Practical, Limited

Research improvement data, participation developmental scope,
practitioner workload,
reflection bias

Experimentation
●​ Definition: Empirical investigation under controlled conditions → examine causal
relationships.
●​ Core Elements:
○​ Identify causal factors.
○​ Control variables.
○​ Empirical observation & measurement.
●​ Control of Variables:
○​ Introduce/eliminate factors.
○​ Standardize procedures.
○​ Hold constant via inclusion/exclusion criteria.
●​ Observer Effect: Participants may alter behavior when observed → researcher must
blend in.
●​ Types:
○​ Laboratory Experiments:
■​ Short duration, controlled setting, strong internal validity.
■​ Precise measurement, repeatable.
○​ Field Experiments:
■​ Natural settings, less control, stronger external validity.
■​ Ethical limits (cannot manipulate lives).
●​ Validity:
○​ Internal validity → accuracy of causal inference.
○​ External validity → generalizability.
○​ Trade-off: lab = strong internal, weak external; field = opposite.
●​ Advantages: Repeatable, precise, credible, convenient.
●​ Disadvantages: Ethics, artificial settings, representativeness, variable control.

Method Focus Data Key Strengths Weaknes

Concept ses

Experiment Causal Controlled IV → DV, Precision, Ethics,

relationships observation validity repeatability artificiality,
generalizat
ion limits
Learning 15

T-Test
●​ Purpose: Compare means of two groups.
●​ Types:
○​ Independent Samples T-test (Between-subjects, Unpaired)​
→ Two independent groups, measured once.​
Ex: Depression scores of males vs. females.
○​ Dependent Samples T-test (Within-subjects, Paired, Repeated Measures)​
→ Same individuals measured twice.​
Ex: Pre- vs. Post-training scores.
●​ Assumptions:
○​ Independence of observations.
○​ Normality (Shapiro-Wilk if n<50; Kolmogorov-Smirnov if n>50).
○​ Homogeneity of variances (Levene’s Test).

ANOVA (Analysis of Variance / F-Test)

●​ Purpose: Compare means of 3 or more groups.
●​ Types:
○​ One-Way ANOVA → One factor.​
Ex: Test scores from 3 schools.
○​ Two-Way ANOVA → Two factors.​
Ex: Plant growth by fertilizer & sunlight.
○​ Repeated Measures ANOVA → Same subjects measured multiple times.​
Ex: Therapy efficacy before, during, after.
○​ Mixed ANOVA → Combines between-subjects + within-subjects.​
Ex: Reading scores across schools (between) before/after intervention (within).
●​ Assumptions:
○​ Independence of observations.
○​ Normality (Shapiro-Wilk / Kolmogorov-Smirnov).
○​ Homogeneity of variances (Levene’s Test).
○​ Sphericity (for repeated measures; Mauchly’s Test).

Correlation
●​ Definition: Measures statistical relationship between two variables.
●​ Key Point: Shows strength of association, not causation.
●​ Why use?: When manipulation of IV is impossible, impractical, or unethical.
●​ Measures:
○​ Pearson’s r → Parametric, continuous variables.
○​ Spearman’s rho → Non-parametric, sensitive to outliers.
 ○​ Kendall’s tau → Non-parametric, less sensitive to outliers.
○​ Biserial correlation → Continuous + true dichotomy.
○​ Point-Biserial correlation → Continuous + artificial dichotomy.
○​ Phi-coefficient → Dichotomies (simpler).
○​ Tetrachoric correlation → Dichotomies (complex).

Regression
●​ Definition: Predict Y based on X.
●​ Difference from Correlation:
○​ Correlation → strength of relationship.
○​ Regression → prediction + regression line.
●​ Types:
○​ Linear Regression → 1 predictor (continuous), 1 criterion (continuous).
○​ Multiple Regression → 2+ predictors (continuous), 1 criterion (continuous).
○​ Logistic Regression → Predictor (continuous), criterion (nominal).
○​ Multinomial Regression → 2+ predictors, criterion (nominal).
○​ Ordinal Regression → Predictor(s), criterion (ordinal).

Test/Method Purpose Groups/Variables Example Assumptions

T-Test Compare Independent or Male vs. female Independence,
means of 2 Dependent depression scores; Normality, Equal
groups Pre vs. Post variances
training

ANOVA Compare One-way, two-way, Test scores Independence,

means of 3+ repeated, mixed across schools; Normality, Equal
groups Therapy variances,
before/during/aft Sphericity
er

Correlation Measure 2 variables Height & Weight No causation;

relationship parametric/non-p
strength arametric
options

Regression Predict 1+ predictors → 1 Predict GPA from Depends on

outcome (Y criterion study hours regression type
from X)