Sunday, September 29, 2013

Week 7: Class Reading Blog - Jenny


In “The qualitative research interview” by Barbara DiCicco-Bloom & Benjamin F Crabtree, it described the interviewing process in order to obtain qualitative data.  DiCicco-Bloom and Cabtree touches on the types of qualitative interviews, how to develop rapport with the interviewees and looking into ethical issues within the interviewing process.
DiCicco-Bloom and Cabtree make sure to mention that the “person being interviewed is more like a participant in meaning making rather than a conduit from which information is received”.  The two types of qualitative interviews discussed were unstructured and semi structured. With unstructured interviewing, it can almost be considered a guided conversation. The researchers will pick participants and then will interview and observe them over a period of time. The semi structured interviews, a lot of the times, could be the sole data source for the research project. With this type of interview there will be a scheduled time and location to meet. Semi structured in depth interviewing can occur individually or in a group, conducted with open ended questions. Usually this lasts 30 minutes and it gives the interviewer a chance to really delve into some deep issues. Individual in depth interviews will a lot of the time involve health care researchers. This lets the researchers get to know their individual opinions and attitudes of the issue presented.
In developing rapport, DiCicco-Bloom and Cabtree state that it is important to start the interviews with broad open ended questions, and then start prompting the interviewee. It is important to get engaged with the participant, but making sure you steer clear of leading questions.  Some ethical problems that may present itself during or after the interview consists of four issues. Firstly is to reduce the risk of unanticipated harm. The interviewer must be prepared or have a professional to aid in psychological support. With all research, the question arises how much is actually kept confidential. Even with the second ethical issues to prevent being to protect their information, it still makes one wonder if they truly abide by these standards. I would want to make sure what you are telling them is confidential and they have read the limits of confidentiality to you. Thirdly is to inform the interviewee about the nature of the study. Make sure they know the intent and what you are ultimately looking for. Also, make sure they are not exploited when you use their data they present you with.
Netting and Kettner’s(2012) focus in Chapter 6 is to discuss the framework for community assessment. The framework is divided into three tasks. The first task is to focus on the target population, the second task is to determine community characteristics, and the third and final task is to identify community structure. While completing task 1 it is important to identify the ‘target population’. This population will be the individuals who are experiencing problems or needs and can benefit from some type of social change. It is important to take the population who is most vulnerable and in need, but also important to not take on more than can be handled. After deciding on a population, it is important to look at the characteristics of said population, and to assess their needs.
Next we would move on to task 2, which is determining the community characteristics. This means looking at boundaries such as strengths, issues, social problems and values within the community. This is a good opportunity to look into what issues have arisen in the past and how they have been handles, what worked and what didn’t work. During task 2 it is important to identify formal and covert means of oppression and discrimination. Look at the differences among the community and consider the barriers.
Lastly is Task 3, which is identifying community structure. With this task, one should recognize the sources of power and resource availability. This just means you will be looking into the jurisdiction of the targeted population and looking at who is controlling their funds. Utilizing these three tasks can help to ensure you are including the right population and you are developing information to a deeper level.

3 comments:

  1. Christina PritchardOctober 1, 2013 at 9:06 AM

    You summed up both of the readings very well. :) There was a ton of information in the Chapter 6 reading, and it really emphasized focusing on the positives/strengths of the communities we are exploring, which ties in to what our other classes are currently teaching us.

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  2. I also thought you broke down the readings very well. It is really important that we think about ethical problems that could arise when engaging in an interview with someone. I like how you summarized the tasks in Ch. 6. because these are all important tasks that we will see ourselves faced with in the future and things we should be thinking about when educating ourselves about the communities we are studying.

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  3. Thanks for the awesome summary!! One of things I liked about this article is that it reminded me that the interviewing process is not a fact-finding enterprise done in a vacuum, but the interviewer's presence may affect what information is obtained and how it is obtained.

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