I read a nice research article recently that described some findings from focus group interviews. Despite the fact that the authors tossed around some qualitative analysis terminology, they had, in essence, reported the participants' responses to some open-ended questions. They inserted some quotes, which I think is something editors and reviewers expect from any qualitative report. These findings, I thought, fell somewhere in the 'no finding' or 'topical survey' items on the continuum described by Sandelowski and Barroso (2003; Qualitative Health Research, 13[7], 905-023). 'No finding' sounds pretty harsh although it is certainly accurate a lot of the time. In fact, I am working on the narrative portion of my data analysis course and I can see how narrative research can easily be aligned with or become 'no findings' research. As I implied at the beginning, I liked the research article I mentioned. I also think the authors provided meaningful information that they might not have been able to get through any other means other than possibly individual interviews. (But method seems to drive methodology - so focus groups must mean qualitative research, right? Perhaps more on that another time; I am reading a lot of work by Dr. Stephen Gorard and becoming somewhat thoughtful in response.) What I ended up deciding was that these authors faithfully reported what the participants said. There was some attempt at the very end to reference one theory or another - I tend to think based on the minimal author investment in this section that either it was a last minute add on or something a reviewer asked for. But the 'findings' appeared to be comprehensive and accurate and I think were very useful - and, although interpretation and transformation might have been an interesting exercise, I think it would have obscured the meaning and the value. So, is there anything wrong with faithful reporting?
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AuthorI am Sheryl L. Chatfield, Ph.D, C.T.R.S. I am a member of the faculty in the College of Public Health at Kent State University. I also Co-coordinate the Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research and I am a member of the Design Innovation Team at Kent State. Archives
February 2024
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