Qualitative Study Examples

Travis DixonQualitative Research Methods, Teaching Ideas

Qualitative psychological research is based on the idea that the human experience can not be understood by reducing it to numbers; the experiences of immigrants and refugees is a common area for qualitative research for this reason.

There are plenty of freely available qualitative studies on google scholar. One way to find studies is to ask your students to think of a topical subject in the media that has caught their attention lately. Google search “qualitative psychology (your topic)” and see what you can find.

Another approach is to find studies that could help them understand other aspects of the core, like acculturation, childhood development, relationships, etc.

Using real examples of qualitative studies is the best way to teach the related methodology. You can read about some other qualitative teaching ideas here. You could actually use this post for the activity in the linked article: get students to read the summaries below and select what methods they’d use and why.

Here are some that I’ve just now found that might be of interest.

Child marriage practices in Syria (Mourtada et al. 2017)

“Recent reports have suggested that child marriage among Syrians may be increasing as a result of displacement and conflict. This study sought to gather qualitative data about the factors that promote child marriage practices among Syrian refugees in Al Marj area in the Bekaa valley, Lebanon, where the majority of Syrian refugees have settled in Lebanon. The second aim of this study was to generate recommendations on how to mitigate the drivers and consequences of child marriage practices based on the findings.” (Source).

Social Networking Use (Powell et. al., 2013)

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the following research questions:

  • How do individuals make meaning of their experiences using social networking sites?
  • How social networking site users describe their online and offline social relationships? (Download)

Immigrant Status, Acculturation, and Obesity in Latino Populations (Sussner et al. 2008)

“Exposure to obesogenic environments in the U.S. may foster development of overweight in immigrants with greater acculturation.” This study aimed to “document mechanisms of the acculturation process from immigrants’ own perspectives (and) describe implications on the children of immigrants. (Source).

Enculturation (Socialization) and Acculturation in Korean Parent Immigrants (Choi et al. 2013)

“This study aims to describe the family socialization beliefs and practices of Korean immigrant parents…” in the United States.  (Source)

Enculturation (Parenting), Acculturation and Substance Use in Latinos (Wagner, 2008)

The aim of this study was to “understand the connection between acculturation and Hispanic/Latino adolescent substance use.” (Source)

Enculturation in Chinese-American Teenagers (2016)

The findings from this study “provide a descriptive understanding of how adolescent enculturation is shaped by the family, community, and their intersections. Implications for research and practice, such as the continued need to understand enculturation
as a dynamic phenomenon and process, are presented.” (Source).

Acculturation, Self-esteem, Depression and Substance Abuse Among Hispanic Men (Vasquez, 2011)

“The purpose of this pilot study was to describe the relationships among acculturation, depression, self-esteem, and substance abuse among a community sample of Hispanic men in South Florida” .( Source).