CHRIST UNIVERSITY

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS CIA 1

SINDURA SADANANDAN 1MPCL- 1357357

Q1. How do you think qualitative research would help you in the process of becoming a clinical psychologist/ therapist?

Answer: As the name suggests qualitative research mainly deals with qualities of something i.e. it aims to understand the characteristics of something- a population, a phenomenon etc. Being a psychologist it is of utmost importance to understand things from a qualitative point of view because psychology is all about the study of human behaviour and human mind. And both the mind and behaviour of a person is as diverse as it can be and cannot possibly be quantified. Emotions, feelings, behaviours, reactions, personality, needs and desires are things that cannot actually be expressed in numbers. For this we use qualitative research methods which helps look at things in a broader way and from a wider perspective and by employing various interconnected processes. It provides sufficient space for dynamism and heated discussions of reality.

At the core of psychological research is the aim to understand human behaviour, attitude and related aspects such as decision making, problem solving, copin abilities etc. Qualitative research provides a framework where in researchers are able to observe people in their naturalistic environment and further by probing relevant questions. The questions are usually open ended which means the participants can feel free to speak their minds in their own words which in turn provides a clinician with a better understanding of the situation from the client himself. This is an advantage over quantitative methods in the sense that, it is not limited to statistical analysis which is merely confined to numerical conclusions. It also overlooks the context in which a particular behaviour might have occurred. Also with qualitative research, there are no strict definable variables. This provides the researcher with a greater degree of flexibility. Further, a good psychologist must also possess the ability to see things from the view point of another person. Qualitative research method certainly can be helpful in this aspect because it sheds light on the respondents point of view and is not merely limited to strict numerological norms.

Since a psychologists job had a lot to do with human interactions, qualitative research definitely will come handy because it requires you to do a lot of background research and demands that one spends quality time with his/her study group or community. This enables the psychologist to gain deeper knowledge of the on-going social processes. A qualitative researcher very often is found trying to learn the language of a community or getting in close associations with a particular community in order to better understand their living conditions and necessary aspects of life.

Methods used in the qualitative research such as semi structured interviews, narrative interviews etc. gives the client opportunity to describe his feelings and experiences in great detail which in turn helps the clinician to gain a deep knowledge of the problem as the client sees it. And this will definitely help the clinical psychologist make accurate judgements and diagnosis and provide the client with appropriate explanations and solutions for his problem.

Q2.) Identify a research question that you can explore using qualitative research method. State how qualitative research method would help in the research. Also give research evidence to substantiate.Answer: The Research question: Illness experience in cancer patients

Cancer is one disease that has a huge a significant impact not only on the physical health but also far reaching consequences on the patients emotional well-being. The treatment procedures such as radiation, chemotherapy etc. exhausts the patient and leaves him drained off any energy. This can be extremely devastating for the patient. Many studies provide evidence for the fact that cancer patients experience various adverse psychological consequences like distress, depression, anxiety etc which in turn affect their psychological emotional and cognitive processing. Nevertheless, only little qualitative research has been conducted in the field of psycho-oncology. Most research was aimed at quantifying the experiences of cancer patients and study their coping mechanisms using questionnaires and surveys.

Use of qualitative research in this particular field has many added benefits. Using qualitative research design, one can explore in depth about the subjective experience of illness of patients and also about the various coping strategies they choose and most importantly WHY he/she chooses them. Qualitative research throws light on the reasons and processes behind this choice. Here, the persons personal account of the situation and experiences of illness is given top priority.

Of the very little qualitative research that has been done in this field, one significant study conducted was that by Henderson et al who explored the coping mechanism in African American women with breast cancer. The authors stressed that using the method of semi structured interviews most women felt relieved about sharing and contrasting their experiences with other patients and that it brought to them a feeling of normalcy in their lives. Another study was conducted by Link et al to study the coping strategies of cancer patients using Ethnograph v5 computer program. Besides identifying the coping styles the authors also identified various influencing factors behind their selection of coping strategy.

These studies are enough proof to establish the importance of qualitative research in the field of psycho-oncology. The data collection methods such as case studies, comparative studies and longitudinal studies help to study individual differences in coping styles and to study the experience of illness along a trajectory. Besides qualitative research can also be used to discard inappropriate assumptions and socio cultural factors that influence illness experience of patients. Since it employs inductive and descriptive techniques it helps the clinician to understand the feelings as felt by the patient. Use of semi structured and narrative interviews with open ended question gives the patient ample freedom to talk, be descriptive about their situation and express their true feelings. These techniques also help to reduce experimenter bias and rationalisation on the part of the researcher.

Reference1. Henderson,P D. Gore,S V. Davis,B L. African American women coping with breast cancer. A qualitative analysis. Oncol Nurs Forum.2003; 30: 64 1-72. Lazarus,R S. Folkman, S. Psychological stress and coping process. New York: Appleton-Century- Crofts; 1984.3. Link, L B. Robbin. L, How do cancer patients choose their coping strategies ? A qualitative study. Patient Education Couns. 2005; 58: 96-1034. C, Mahati . Understanding coping with cancer. How can qualitative research help ? Journal of cancer research and therapeutics, Vol.10, No.1, Jan-March, 2014, pp.6-10. Doi: 10.4103/0973-1482. 131328.