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Communication Research: Asking Questions, Finding Answers, 5e (Keyton)
Chapter 16 Qualitative Methods of Data Collection
1) Field notes:
A) are a continuous or sequential record of what was observed.
B) are created while the interaction occurs.
C) can be added to once you have read through and reflected on them.
D) are identified by the date, time, place, and people observed.
E) all of the above.
2) A field interview:
A) is a simple linear process of asking questions and getting answers.
B) is most effective when conducted over the telephone or e-mail.
C) is most effective when the interviewer can draw on terminology, issues, and themes introduced
into the conversation by the respondent.
D) is rigidly structured with the interviewer asking the same set of questions of each respondent.
E) occurs spontaneously without prior planning by the interviewer.
3) In conducting field interviewers, the researcher:
A) needs to select locations and times that are comfortable and convenient for the interviewers.
B) should not be concerned about time.
C) should avoid establishing a frame of reference for the respondent so to be able to capture his or
her spontaneous reaction and answers.
D) should follow the interview guide in exactly the same way in each interview.
E) none of the above.
4) A focus group:
A) is a facilitator-led group discussion.
B) consists of a facilitator asking the questions and respondents taking turns answering questions.
C) encourages participants to interact with one another, not just respond to the researcher’s
questions.
D) a and b.
E) a and c.
5) Ideally, participants in a focus group should:
A) have homogeneous backgrounds, but dissimilar attitudes and perspectives.
B) have different backgrounds, but similar attitudes and perspectives.
C) be selected without any prescreening.
D) know the focus group moderator.
E) be given the focus group outline before the session.
6) The focus group moderator
A) should be seen as credible by participants.
B) should share important demographic characteristics with participants.
C) should be skilled in guiding a group in discussion.
D) should avoid the spoke-and-wheel pattern of questions and answers.
E) all of the above.
7) Ethnography is best described as the
A) study of communication in its natural environment.
B) holistic description of interactants in their cultural or subcultural environment.
C) collection of data with the researcher in the role of the complete observer.
D) study of communication phenomena which have been fully explored.
E) study of a large number of similar communication events.
8) A researcher conducting a qualitative study must balance what is being observed with what he
or she knows or can draw upon from the scholarly literature.
9) In selecting respondents for field interviews, researchers use probability sampling techniques to
identify respondents.
10) It is likely that a researcher will collect more field notes than can be used.
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11) Counting the number of times a theme appears in your field notes is a good way to analyze
field notes.
12) Electronic interviewing is an effective substitute for face-to-face interviewing.
13) In field interviewing, closed questions are better for initiating dialogue and obtaining full
descriptions.
14) In field interviewing, the interviewer should be careful not to introduce new language or
terminology into the interview.
15) In field interviewing, debriefing the respondent is not necessary because qualitative data were
collected.
16) Focus group participants can be solicited or selected through a sampling technique.
17) Focus group moderators should plan for the group discussion to last at least 90 minutes.
18) Data produced by focus groups do not need to be analyzed if the moderator followed the focus
group outline.
19) Stories or narratives can be a reliable guide to the storytellers’ beliefs, attitudes, values, and
actions.
20) Explain how the qualitative methods of field interviewing, focus groups, using stories as
narratives, and ethnography differ with respect to the distance between the researcher and
participants.
21) Explain why asking some biographical questions are important in field interviewing.
22) Explain why most researchers schedule more than one focus group for a research study.
23) Describe the characteristics of an effective focus group outline.
24) Describe how you would invite individuals to participate in a focus group for a research
project.
25) Describe the strength and limitations of focus group research.
26) Describe note-taking procedures researchers can employ when the interaction environment
they are observing makes it difficult to generate notes on the spot.
27) Describe two ways a researcher could collect stories or narratives as qualitative data.
28) Explain how the researcher joins and investigates the communication environment in an
ethnographic study.
29) Explain the similarities and differences among autoethnography, ethnography, and
ethnography of communication.