MRA Qualitative Research Methods 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sampling approach is most appropriate when a researcher wants to deliberately seek out cases that challenge an emerging theory during qualitative data collection?
- Convenience sampling
- Theoretical sampling (Correct answer)
- Quota sampling
- Systematic sampling
Correct answer: Theoretical sampling
Theoretical sampling, used in grounded theory, involves selecting new participants based on emerging findings to test and refine the developing theory.
Question 2: In a focus group, a participant's response shifts noticeably after hearing others' opinions. This phenomenon is best described as:
- Moderator bias
- Social desirability bias
- Groupthink conformity (Correct answer)
- Response acquiescence
Correct answer: Groupthink conformity
Groupthink conformity occurs when participants suppress personal views to align with the apparent group consensus.
Question 3: A researcher conducting ethnographic fieldwork spends six months immersed in a retail store environment. This extended engagement primarily serves to:
- Reduce research costs
- Achieve data saturation faster
- Build rapport and capture naturalistic behavior (Correct answer)
- Satisfy IRB requirements
Correct answer: Build rapport and capture naturalistic behavior
Prolonged engagement in ethnography allows the researcher to build trust, reduce observer effect, and observe genuine day-to-day behavior.
Question 4: Which technique involves asking a respondent to imagine they ARE a brand and describe their personality, values, and lifestyle?
- Laddering
- Brand personification (Correct answer)
- Projective storytelling
- Zaltman metaphor elicitation
Correct answer: Brand personification
Brand personification asks respondents to anthropomorphize a brand, revealing emotional and associative perceptions that direct questioning may not uncover.
Question 5: A moderator intentionally plays devil's advocate during a focus group to challenge participants' views. This technique is called:
- Probing (Correct answer)
- Cognitive interviewing
- Adversarial questioning
- Funnel technique
Correct answer: Probing
Probing includes adversarial or challenging follow-ups that push respondents to elaborate, justify, or reconsider their initial statements.
Question 6: When qualitative data is coded by two independent researchers and their code assignments are compared statistically, the process is assessing:
- Content validity
- Inter-rater reliability (Correct answer)
- Construct validity
- Test-retest reliability
Correct answer: Inter-rater reliability
Inter-rater reliability (e.g., Cohen's kappa) measures the degree of agreement between independent coders, establishing coding consistency.
Question 7: A qualitative researcher deliberately seeks out participants who have had negative experiences with a product to balance the sample. This is an example of:
- Random sampling
- Maximum variation sampling
- Snowball sampling
- Purposive sampling (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Purposive sampling
Purposive sampling involves intentionally selecting participants based on specific characteristics or experiences relevant to the research question.
MRA Qualitative Research Methods 2
Which sampling approach is most appropriate when a researcher wants to deliberately seek out cases that challenge an emerging theory during qualitative data collection?