SESSION #4 : Methods of Community Psychology Research

LECTURER: Prof Charity Akotia

Dr Enoch Teye-Kwadjo
DEPARTMENT: Department of Psychology
Contact Information: [email protected]; [email protected]

College of Education
School of Continuing and Distance Education
2017/2018 – 2018/2019 ACADEMIC YEAR
 Course Information
Provide the following information:

Course Code:
PSYC448

Course Title: Community Psychology

Course Credit 3 Credits

Session Number & Session #4: Methods of Community Psychology
Session Title: Research
Second Semester/2018-2019
Semester/Year:
Slide 2
 Course Instructor’s Contact
Provide the following information:
Course Instructor(s) Prof Charity Akotia
Name Dr Enoch Teye-Kwadjo
School of Social Sciences
Office Location
Department of Psychology
By Appointment (Charity)
Office Hours
Monday, 10:00am-12:00pm (Enoch)
+233208127695 (Charity)
Phone
+233544655650 (Enoch)
[email protected] (Charity)
E-mail
[email protected] (Enoch)
Slide 3
 Session Overview
• Welcome to session 4. In session 3, you learned about the
aims and objectives as well as the rationale for community
research. There are various research methods available to
community psychologists to understand, describe, and explain
community behaviour. What particular research methods do
community psychologists use? Community psychology
researchers employ several types of research methods to
understand communities. In this session, we discuss the
various methods that may be used to conduct community
research. We note the strengths and limitations of these
methods.

Slide 4
 Session Outline
The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:
• Notes on Research Methods in Community Psychology
• Features of qualitative research methods
• Qualitative research methods
• Qualitative data analytic approaches
• Features of quantitative research methods
• Quantitative research methods

Slide 5
 Session Learning Goals
• The goals of this session are to:
– Demonstrate the ability to explain the differences between
quantitative and qualitative research methods.
– Demonstrate the ability to discuss some approaches in
qualitative and quantitative research methods.
– Demonstrate the ability to apply qualitative and
quantitative research methods in community research.
– Demonstrate the ability to integrate qualitative and
quantitative methods in a single study (mixed methods).
– Demonstrate the ability to identify some strengths and
limitations of quantitative and qualitative research
methods.
Slide 6
 Session Learning Objectives
• The desired measureable learning objectives students
will achieve upon completion of this session are to.
– Explain the quantitative methods that are used in
community research.
– Describe the qualitative methods that are used in
community research.
– Discuss the importance of using mixed methods in
community psychology research.

Slide 7
 Session Learning Outcomes
• By the end of this session, you should be able to:
– Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative research
methods.
– Discuss the common features of quantitative methods of
research.
– Discuss the common features of qualitative methods of
research.
– Explain the main quantitative methods used by community
psychologists.
– Explain the main qualitative methods used by community
psychologists.
Slide 8
 Session Activities and Assignments
This week, complete the following tasks:
• Log onto the UG Sakai LMS course site:
http://sakai.ug.edu.gh/XXXXXXXXX
• Watch the Videos for Session 4 – Methods of Community
Psychology Research.
• Review Lecture Slides: Session 4 – Methods of
Community Psychology Research.
• Read Chapter 4 of Recommended Text - Kloos et al.
(2012). Community Psychology: Linking individuals and
communities; pp. 102-133.
• Visit the Chat Room and discuss the Forum question for
Session 4.

Slide 9
 Reading List

• Required Text
• Akotia, C. S. (2014). Community psychology: Moving psychology
into the community. In C. S. Akotia & C. C. Mate-Kole (Eds.),
Contemporary psychology: Readings from Ghana (pp. 163-177).
Tema: Digibooks Ghana Ltd.

• Kloos, B., Hill, J., Thomas, E., Wandersman, A., Elias, M. J., & Dalton,
J. H. (2012). Community psychology: Linking individuals and
communities. New York: Wadsworth.

• Nelson, G., & Prilleltensky, I. (2010). Community psychology: In

pursuit of liberation and well-being. New York, NY: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Slide 10
Topic One

NOTES ON RESEARCH METHODS IN

COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY

Slide 11
 Notes on Research Methods in
Community Psychology
• Quantitative and qualitative research methods
compliment each other by making up for the
limitations inherent in each method.
• The specific method to use in a particular study should
be informed by the research questions to be answered
or the research hypotheses.
• Integrating qualitative and quantitative methods into
one single study strengthens a specific study.
• Context-relevant research approaches strengthen
community research.
• Longitudinal research designs provide more insight
into community social problems.
Slide 12
Topic Two

FEATURES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

METHODS

Slide 13
 Common Features of Qualitative
Research Methods
• Qualitative research concerns itself with describing a
phenomenon in a detailed way, often from the perspectives of
research participants. In other words, the researcher tries to
make sense out of the social world and lived experiences of the
people he or she is studying. Qualitative methods are very
relevant for community psychologists in that their strengths are
complementary to those of quantitative research.

• Qualitative research methods have long been used in psychology

(Stewart, 2000). There are several approaches in qualitative
methods, yet these approaches share some important common
features. The features are described below:

Slide 14
 Common Features of Qualitative
Research Methods
• Contextual meaning: The central aim of qualitative
research is to understand the lived experiences of
individuals regarding a phenomenon (e.g. teen pregnancy)
within the context of their communities.

• Contextual understanding gives rise to insider knowledge,

as it allows research participants to “speak in their own
voices” (Dalton, Elias, Wandersman, 2007, p. 99).

Slide 15
 Common Features of Qualitative
Research Methods
• Participant-researcher relationship: The researcher and
research participants contribute to the creation of
contextual meaning within a personal research relationship.
This relationship may be intellectual as well as emotional.
• Sampling: Sampling in qualitative research is usually small.
There is no minimum or maximum sample size required for
qualitative research. The sample to be used must just be
enough to answer the research question. The researcher
ought to establish a close research relationship with the
sample, often recruited from a specific community setting.

Slide 16
 Common Features of Qualitative
Research Methods
• Generalisation: There is less interest in generalizing
findings from qualitative research. The important emphasis
here is on the meaningfulness of the findings. Any attempts
to generalize findings should take into account multiple
cases or studies.
• Listening: Efforts should be made by the researcher to do
away with his or her preconceptions and to understand
research participants from their own point of view or from
their setting. The researcher should be a good audience by
listening attentively and by asking open-ended questions
that enable participants to have the freedom to express
themselves in ways that make them comfortable.
Slide 17
 Common Features of Qualitative
Research Methods
• Reflexivity: Researchers are obliged to declare their
interests, values, and preconceptions to their interviewees
and in their research report. This helps to clarify potential
biases and assumptions that may attend the research
findings.
• Thick descriptions: Interviewees are required to provide
the researcher with “thick” descriptions of their personal
lived experiences (i.e. text data). Thick descriptions suggest
that the experiences so described should be detailed so as
to have a realist touch.

Slide 18
 Common Features of Qualitative
Research Methods
• Member checking: A good qualitative research requires
that research participants are given the opportunity to
verify whether their descriptions of their experiences were
well captured and interpreted by the research. Therefore,
After collecting and analyzing the text data, the researcher
has to give a cross-section of the interviewees the
opportunity to make this verification before the publication
of the research report.

Slide 19
Topic Three

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

Slide 20
 Qualitative Research Methods
• There are various qualitative research methods. Only
four of the most common methods used in community
psychology are described below:

• Participant observation method: This is a type of

method where the researcher observes participant
behaviour in real life during the data gathering process. In
other words, the researcher immerses him/herself in the
lives of the people he or she wishes to study. This method
can be used to study for example groups that do not
necessarily “open” to other people.
Slide 21
 Qualitative Research Methods
• In participant observation, a researcher can decide to
disclose or reveal his or her identity, by telling the group
who he or she is and why there is the need to be among
them or to conceal his/her identity. It is important,
however, that the phenomenon under study determines
whether to conceal or reveal one’s identity.

Slide 22
 Qualitative Research Methods
• For example, in an attempt to understand how street gangs
operate, or how a cult operates, a researcher might use
ethnographic method with its attendant participant
observation.
• Here, the researcher “becomes” a member of the group
and gets all the information that is needed. The researcher
carefully observes, takes written notes, interviews
participants. This method is commonly used ethnography.
• There are some advantages and disadvantages of this
method.

Slide 23
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Strengths of participant observation:
• The researcher-observer, by virtue of his or her
participation in the community life, knows the context well
and can describe it vividly.
• Because the observer participates in the community life, it
enhances a healthy community-researcher relationship.
• The researcher-observer can obtain thick descriptions of
community life because his or her insider knowledge of
community life.

Slide 24
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Limitations of participant observation:
• Because the researcher-observer focuses on only one
community, the study findings may not be generalised
beyond the sample.
• The researcher may deal with only select few people in the
community. Thus, his or her research report may not be
representative of the dynamics of the setting and diversity.
• There is a conflict when a researcher plays both the role of
an observer and a participant. This may create an ethical
problem.

Slide 25
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Ethnography method: This method is similar to
participant observation, but mostly used by
anthropologists. Its purpose is to gain an
understanding of how people view their own
experiences regarding a phenomenon. It allows
participants to use their own language to describe
their experiences. The researchers takes a stance
of ignorance in the community.
• Because the researcher has to live in the community and
while observing community life as part of the data
collection process, its advantages and disadvantages are
similar to those of participant observation.
Slide 26
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Qualitative interviewing method: Individual interviews
are popular methods in community psychology.
Interviews are usually open-ended and may be semi-
structured to allow participants to describe their
experiences using their own words. These interviews
may be tape-recorded or may be documented via
note-taking for analysis.
• These are usually personal or in-depth interviews in which
the researcher engages the participant in a one-on-one
conversation in an attempt to have an in-depth
understanding of the phenomenon under study.
Slide 27
 Qualitative Research Methods
• There are usually personal or in-depth interviews in which
the researcher engages the participant in a one-on-one
conversation in an attempt to have an in-depth
understanding of the phenomenon under study.

• For instance, a researcher studying domestic violence may

interview on a one-on one basis persons who have
experienced this phenomenon in the community. The
researcher may go with a semi-structured interview guide
or decide to leave the questions very open.

Slide 28
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Strengths of interviews:
• It is flexible means of exploring a phenomenon of interest.
• It helps to structure data collection in a more standard way
compared with participant observation.
• It helps to preserve interview data because the interview is
recorded, preserving participants’ actual words.
• The interviewer can develop a healthy working relationship
with research participants and the setting.

Slide 29
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Limitations of interviews:
• Due to the small sample size used in in-depth interviews,
findings from interview studies cannot be generalized to
the population.
• Interviews could also be time consuming.
• Interviews may also be expensive because tape-recorders
and computers are required to record and to code the text
data.

Slide 30
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Limitations of interviews:
• Due to the small sample size used in in-depth interviews,
findings from interview studies cannot be generalized to
the population.
• Interviews could also be time consuming.
• Interviews may also be expensive because tape-recorders
and computers are required to record and to code the text
data.

Slide 31
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Focus group discussion method: Focus group discussion
(FGD) is an interview with a group of people. The purpose
of FGDs is to elicit discussion among group members to get
an understanding of an issue (e.g., a lived experience).

• In FGD, the unit of analysis is the group, whereas in a

individual interview, the unit of analysis is the person. The
researcher usually plays the role of a moderator or a
facilitator by leading the discussion.

Slide 32
 Qualitative Research Methods
• In the example on domestic violence in a community, a
researcher can organize a focus group discussion where
groups of people (usually between 6-12 persons)
participate in the discussions rather than individuals.

• For example, participants in a focus group, if possible,

should be similar in age, socio-economic class, gender,
occupation, etc. If this is not done, some members of the
group might refuse to contribute during discussion

Slide 33
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Strengths of FGDs:
• FGDs allow for a greater access to shared (group)
knowledge than personal interviews.
• They provide rich and refined opinions on issues, as
participants’ ideas shape those of others.
• They bring about social interaction among research
participants and may uncover behavioural patterns in a
setting.

Slide 34
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Limitations of FGDs:
• FGDs do not allow researchers to learn more about
individual participants as FGDs aim at unpacking “group”
understandings of an issue.
• They are expensive to organise because participants from
different places would have to converge at one place for
the discussion.
• Getting a date, time, and venue that suit everyone may be
challenging.
• A major limitation is that those who are not vocal may not
talk in the group and therefore hide their rich
knowledge/experience from others.
Slide 35
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Case study method: The case study method can be applied
to organisations or to a community. It can also be applied to
an individual in a particular community setting. They
involve studying a specific case in detail. They can help
bridge qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Case study researchers may also use information from
archival sources to study communities. Thus, a researcher
using this method might, for example, use newspaper
stories, policy documents, and minutes of meetings to gain
an understanding of the community.

Slide 36
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Network analysis method: It refers to analysing various
forms of network to get an understanding of a particular
issue or group. It is a method normally used for
investigating sensitive, difficult-to-reach populations (e.g.
drug users, HIV patients, prostitutes, etc.).
• Researchers can get to know key issues about the
population first hand (formative research).
• This first hand information can then be used for a
subsequent large-scale study.

Slide 37
 Qualitative Research Methods
• Strengths of case studies:
• Case studies provide in depth study of a single person,
community, or a place.
• They are useful for understanding the interconnectedness among
the social, cultural, and community issues.
• They can be used in longitudinal designs.

• Limitations of case studies:

• There is focus on a single case prevents generalisability of
findings.
• Use of archival data may present problems, since the researcher
was not part of the team that produced these data.
Slide 38
Topic Four

QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

APPROACHES

Slide 39
 Qualitative Data Analysis Approaches

• Data analytic approaches:

─ Content analysis (thematic analysis)
─ Discourse analysis
─ Narrative analysis
─ Document analysis
─ Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA)
─ Grounded theory (theoretical sampling & constant
comparison)

Slide 40
 Qualitative Data Analysis Approaches

• Data analytic approaches:

─ Manual coding: It involves the use of paper and
pencil for coding text data.
─ Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis
software (CAQDAS): It involves the use of
software to code and analyse text data. Some
examples of available software are as follows:
(a) Atlas.ti
(b) Nvivo

Slide 41
Topic Five

FEATURES OF QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH METHOD
Slide 42
 Features of Quantitative Research
Methods
• Measurement: Standardised questionnaires are the main
measures for collecting quantitative data on study
variables. The questionnaire can be administered using a
cross-sectional or a longitudinal research design.

• Numbers are data points: Unlike qualitative research

where the text is the data, numbers (numeric values)
constitute the data generated from the participant
responses on the measures. The aim here is to find
between-group and within-group differences in test scores
as well as relationship between measured variables.

Slide 43
 Features of Quantitative Research
Methods
• Cause and effect. Quantitative research provides
opportunities for establishing cause-and-effect relationship,
especially using experimental approaches. Correlational
data are used to test hypotheses about relationships only
but not causal hypotheses such as A causes B. Correlation is
not the same as causation.
• Generalisation: Quantitative research provides
opportunities for the generalization of findings, if
appropriate sampling techniques and sample sizes are
employed.

Slide 44
 Features of Quantitative Research
Methods
• Hypothesis testing: Doing research using quantitative
method also requires hypothesis testing. A researcher
would therefore formulate hypotheses and test them on
the field or in the community.

• Objectivity: The researcher using quantitative method is

expected to be objective in whatever he or she does. That
is, there should not be any element of subjectivity when
doing quantitative research.

Slide 45
Topic Six

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
METHODS
Slide 46
 Quantitative Research Methods
• Survey research method: They are lists of questions that
are answered by research participants. They can be in a
paper-and-pencil questionnaires format or an online. They
can also be conducted verbally as an interviewer
administered survey. Community surveys, using
questionnaires, can be conducted on localities or
organisations as units of analysis.

Slide 47
 Quantitative Research Methods
• Strengths of surveys:
• They offer a large sample size which enhances
generalizability of study findings.
• They are useful for assessing variables that cannot be
manipulated in experimental designs.
• Limitations of surveys:
• They rely on previous knowledge to target variables for
study and provide knowledge that is “decontextualized”.
That is, they don’t include knowledge on community
contexts, settings, and cultures.
• They can be expensive because they use large sample size.
Slide 48
 Quantitative Research Methods
• Correlational research method: This allows one to examine
the associations or relationships between two or more
variables in their natural environments. They are usually
descriptive in nature and do not contain active
manipulations of the variables under study.

• For example, a community psychologist may be interested

in studying the relationship between poverty and academic
performance. This can be done by using the correlational
method.

Slide 49
 Quantitative Research Methods
• Also, a researcher may want to study whether high
education and income level are related. One can use the
correlational method for such a study.

• The strengths and limitations of correlational research are

similar to those of survey research.

Slide 50
 Quantitative Research Methods
• Experimental research method: This includes a class of
designs and measurement procedures which allow a
researcher to manipulate independent variables with the
aim of establishing cause-and-effect relationship. There is
always a treatment group and a control group.

• However, a true laboratory experiment cannot be

conducted in the community, where community
researchers collect data. There are some methods that are
similar to an experiment which are usually used during
evaluation of community programmes.

Slide 51
 Quantitative Research Methods
• These quasi-experimental designs are as follows:
• Experimental social innovation: This is community research
that is similar to a classic laboratory experiment. It is
usually used when conducting an evaluation on community
programmes (or social innovations, policies, or practices).

• The social innovation (programme, policy, or practice) is

measured to see how effective it has been. A typical
example would be doing an evaluation on a drug abuse
prevention programme that has been established in a
community.

Slide 52
 Quantitative Research Methods
• Randomized field experiments: It is the most rigorous form
of experimental social innovation. Participants are
randomly assigned to experimental and control groups.

• There is first a pre-test of the experimental and control

groups before the implementation of a social innovation
Then there is a post-test, where the two groups are
expected to differ. Thus, this method achieves all the
qualities of an experiment but is done in the community.

Slide 53
 Quantitative Research Methods
• The table below describes how we can make use of the
randomized field experiment in a study.

• Pre-test Programme Post test

Experimental No. Of Sticks Yes No. Of Sticks
Group Smoked = 20 Smoked
No of Sticks No No of Sticks
Control Smoked = 20 Smoked
Group

• From the table above, you can see that both the
experimental and control groups were smoking equal no. of
sticks of cigarette before the program was given.

Slide 54
 Quantitative Research Methods
• The experimental group went through the programme (e.g. they
might be provided with some knowledge about smoking to
increase their level of awareness and some skills that will help
them say no to smoking) while the control group did not.
• If at the end of the programme we conduct a post-test and
notice that the number of sticks smoked by the experimental
group drops from 20 per day to about 12 and yet, that of the
control group remains the same, we can conclude that there was
a positive effect of our programme on the participants
(experimental group).
• Now, what would you say if the number of sticks smoked by the
experimental group remained the same at the time of post-test?

Slide 55
 Quantitative Research Methods
• Strengths of experimental research:
• They help to establish cause-and-effect relationships.

• Limitations of experimental research:

• They are very expensive to conduct.
• They produce decontextualized knowledge.

Slide 56
 References
• Kloos, B., Hill, J., Thomas, E., Wandersman, A., Elias, M. J., &
Dalton, J. H. (2012). Community psychology: Linking
individuals and communities. New York: Wadsworth.

• Nelson, G., & Prilleltensky, I. (2010). Community

psychology: In pursuit of liberation and well-being. New
York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Slide 57