Presentation Title
Qualitative Research in Psychology: Unsilencing the Marginalized Voices
Location
JH 292
Presentation Type
Symposium
Start Date
4-11-2014 4:00 PM
End Date
4-11-2014 4:50 PM
Abstract
What better way of building bridges between diverse people and communities, than through developing an understanding of their lived experiences and untold stories? Qualitative methods not only provide a voice to the silenced marginalized individuals that are often overlooked in research since they do not fit the paradigm, but qualitative approaches also provide a platform for social justice, multiculturalism and collaborative community based action research.
In the recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in the field of psychology and researchers are moving from more traditional quantitative methods towards qualitative ways for analysing the data (Ponterotto, 2005). Quantitative research in psychology was originally derived for the “majority white male” population and many of the quantitative measures in psychology did not and to an extent still do not take into account minority individuals. Due to the depth and richness of context provided by the qualitative data and its discovery oriented approach (Hill, 1997), qualitative research can help provide a voice to the marginalized groups (Ponterotto, 2010). Thus, as a part of this symposium, we will be presenting on the qualitative approaches and theoretical background of Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR), Grounded Theory, Phenomenology, Narrative Analysis, Action Research and Arts - Based Research. We will conclude with examples of qualitative studies using the above mentioned methods in psychology and a discussion of how these different approaches could be utilized for research focusing on individuals with a minority status. Lastly, we will impart future implications for using qualitative methods as a way of bridging the gap between psychological research and multiculturalism in order to facilitate advocacy, social justice and empowerment.
Qualitative Research in Psychology: Unsilencing the Marginalized Voices
JH 292
What better way of building bridges between diverse people and communities, than through developing an understanding of their lived experiences and untold stories? Qualitative methods not only provide a voice to the silenced marginalized individuals that are often overlooked in research since they do not fit the paradigm, but qualitative approaches also provide a platform for social justice, multiculturalism and collaborative community based action research.
In the recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in the field of psychology and researchers are moving from more traditional quantitative methods towards qualitative ways for analysing the data (Ponterotto, 2005). Quantitative research in psychology was originally derived for the “majority white male” population and many of the quantitative measures in psychology did not and to an extent still do not take into account minority individuals. Due to the depth and richness of context provided by the qualitative data and its discovery oriented approach (Hill, 1997), qualitative research can help provide a voice to the marginalized groups (Ponterotto, 2010). Thus, as a part of this symposium, we will be presenting on the qualitative approaches and theoretical background of Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR), Grounded Theory, Phenomenology, Narrative Analysis, Action Research and Arts - Based Research. We will conclude with examples of qualitative studies using the above mentioned methods in psychology and a discussion of how these different approaches could be utilized for research focusing on individuals with a minority status. Lastly, we will impart future implications for using qualitative methods as a way of bridging the gap between psychological research and multiculturalism in order to facilitate advocacy, social justice and empowerment.
