Ch.15 Narrative Inquiry and Case Study Research Exam Prep

Chapter 15 Narrative Inquiry and Case Study Research

Learning Objectives

1. List and define Patton’s (2002) 12 major characteristics of qualitative research.
2. Compare and contrast the two major approaches to qualitative research discussed in this chapter: narrative inquiry and case study research.
3. Define and compare poststructuralism and postmodernism.
4. Define and explain how to conduct a narrative inquiry research study.
5. Define and explain how to conduct case study research.

Multiple Choice

1. Qualitative research is characterized by:

a. Naturalistic inquiry

b. Laboratory experiments

c. Use of standardized tests

d. A priori hypotheses

Learning Objective: 1

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Table 15.1

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. In qualitative research, data collection and strategies rely on:

a. Statistical analysis

b. Focusing on dynamic systems

c. Implementing fixed research design

d. The administration of standardized tests

Learning Objective: 1

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Table 15.1

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. In qualitative research analysis strategies rely on:

a. The reduction of constructs to specific operational measures

b. Context sensitivity

c. The importance of generalization to populations

d. An a priori hypotheses

Learning Objective: 1

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Table 15.1

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Which of the following is characteristic of qualitative research?

a. Use of inferential statistics

b. Random sampling

c. Random assignment to groups

d. Emergent design flexibility

Learning Objective: 1

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Table 15.1

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. John is conducting a qualitative study. He approaches his interviews without judging the participant and is fully present during the interview. He demonstrates that he understands the participants’ feelings. John’s behavior represents which of Patton’s characteristics of qualitative research?

a. Naturalistic inquiry

b. Holistic perspective

c. Personal experience and engagement

d. Empathic neutrality and mindfulness

Learning Objective: 1Cognitive Domain: ApplicationAnswer Location: Table 15.1Difficulty Level: Medium6. When a qualitative researcher immerses herself in the data by looking at specific details for relationships and themes in order to put it all together, we say she is engaging in:

a. Deductive analysis

b. Inductive analysis

c. Data interpretation

d. Reflexivity.

Ans: dLearning Objective: 1Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: Table 15.1Difficulty Level: Medium8. Which of the following is one of Patton’s characteristics of qualitative research?

a. Standardized tests and measures

b. Quantitative measurement

c. Qualitative data

d. Experimental design

Ans: bLearning Objective: 1Cognitive Domain: AnalysisAnswer Location: Table 15.1Difficulty Level: Hard10. Which of the following is characteristic of analysis strategies used in qualitative research?

a. Generalization to the population

b. Random sampling

c. Unique case orientation

d. Random assignment

Ans: aLearning Objective: 1Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: Table 15.1Difficulty Level: Medium12. In qualitative research which type of sampling is used?

a. Random sampling

b. Event sampling

c. Time sampling

d. Purposive sampling

Learning Objective: 1Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: Table 15.1

Difficulty Level: Medium13. What is this: A broad or grand theory that emphasizes the importance of cultural-institutional and functional relations in providing a large part of the social world in which humans live and determining meaning and influencing behavior.

a. Modernism

b. Structuralism

c. Positivism

d. Postmodernism

Ans: cLearning Objective: 3Cognitive Domain: KnowledgeAnswer Location: Exhibit 15.1Difficulty Level: Easy15. What is this: a historical intellectual movement that rejects universal truth and emphasizes differences, deconstruction, interpretation, and the power of ideas over peoples’ behavior.

a. Modernism

b. Structuralism

c. Positivism

d. Poststructuralism

Ans: dLearning Objective: 3Cognitive Domain: KnowledgeAnswer Location: Exhibit 15.1Difficulty Level: Easy17. What is this: a term used by postmodernists to refer to an earlier and outdated period in the history of science that viewed the world as a static machine where everyone follows the same laws of behavior.

a. Modernism

b. Structuralism

c. Positivism

d. Poststructuralism

Ans: dLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: KnowledgeAnswer Location: Case Study ResearchDifficulty Level: Easy19. Case study research has its origin in:

a. Philosophy

b. Anthropology

c. Sociology

d. Many disciplines

Ans: dLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: Data Collection, Analysis, and Report WritingDifficulty Level: Medium21. The primary data analysis approach taken in case study research involves:

a. Open, axial, and selective coding

b. Holistic description and search for cultural themes

c. Holistic description, search for themes, and sometimes cross-case analysis

d. Identifying essences of a phenomenon

Ans: dLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: KnowledgeAnswer Location: Table 15.2Difficulty Level: Easy23. When a researcher is only interested in understanding a specific case, this is called:

a. An instrumental case study

b. A collective case study

c. An intrinsic case study

d. A generalizability study

Learning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: KnowledgeAnswer Location: Types of Case Study Research DesignsDifficulty Level: Easy24. Susan conducts a study of individuals with eating disorders. Her interest is very wide: she is interested in investigating eating disorders from many people’s experiences and comes to conclusions based on all the cases. She is probably conducting:

a. An instrumental case study

b. A collective case study

c. An intrinsic case study

d. A generalizability study

Ans: bLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: ApplicationAnswer Location: Types of Case Study Research DesignsDifficulty Level: Medium26. A researcher is interested in studying voters in a city where initiatives to increase school funding are constantly turned down. Her primary interest is to find out why the initiatives keep being turned down in this particular city and context. Her work is best described as:

a. An instrumental case study

b. A collective case study

c. An intrinsic case study

d. A generalizability study

Ans: aLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: ApplicationAnswer Location: Types of Case Study Research DesignsDifficulty Level: Medium28. A researcher examines the effects of inclusion on children with physical disabilities. He studies 10 different children with physical disabilities and analyzes how they adapt. He is interested in comparing the cases to examine whether there are commonalities in the adaptation process. His work is best described as:

a. An instrumental case study

b. A collective case study

c. An intrinsic case study

d. A generalizability study

Ans: bLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: AnalysisAnswer Location: Types of Case Study Research DesignsDifficulty Level: Medium30. It is often true in qualitative research that process is very important and change is continual in the lives of individuals and cultures. What is this idea called?

a. Holistic perspective

b. Personal experience and engagement

c. Dynamic systems

d. Context sensitivity

Ans: aLearning Objective: 1Cognitive Domain: AnalysisAnswer Location: Table 15.1Difficulty Level: Hard32. Which approach to qualitative research focuses on the characteristics of a single case or on a comparison case?

a. Phenomenology

b. Ethnography

c. Case study

d. Narrative inquiry

Ans: cLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: ApplicationAnswer Location: Case Study ResearchDifficulty Level: Easy34. The research approach that attempts to study people’s experiences through their lived and told stories is known as:

a. Quantitative research

b. Narrative inquiry

c. Case study

d. Phenomenology

Ans: aLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: Analysis Answer Location: 1. Introduction: The Importance of Coming to Terms and DefinitionsDifficulty Level: Easy

36. Tish is conducting a quantitative research study. She collects her data from talking with her participants in their homes, schools, and workplaces. What type of qualitative study does it appear that Tish is conducting?

a. An intrinsic case study.

b. An instrumental case study.

c. A narrative inquiry study.

d. A within case analysis

Ans: dLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: KnowledgeAnswer Location: II Designing a Narrative StudyDifficulty Level: Easy38. Living stories are:

a. People’s experiences

b. The stories people tell of their experiences

c. The result of researchers asking about participants’ stories

d. People’s different ways of living as a result of retelling stories

Ans: dLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: 1. Four Key Terms to Structure a Narrative InquiryDifficulty Level: Medium40. Telling stories are:

a. People’s experiences

b. The stories people tell of their experiences

c. The result of researchers asking about participants’ stories

d. People’s different ways of living as a result of retelling stories

Ans: cLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: 1. Four Key Terms to Structure a Narrative InquiryDifficulty Level: Medium42. The starting points of narrative inquiry are:

a. Living stories and reliving stories

b. Living stories and telling stories

c. Telling stories and retelling stories

d. Retelling stories and reliving stories

Ans: bLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ApplicationAnswer Location: 1. Four Key Terms to Structure a Narrative InquiryDifficulty Level: Hard44. The three justifications that must be addressed by narrative inquiry are:

a. Personal, practical, and social/theoretical.

b. Social, methodological, and practical.

c. Methodological, theoretical, and practical.

d. Contextual, relational, and temporal.

Ans: dLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: 3. Attending to Justifications at the Inquiry Outset and Throughout the InquiryDifficulty Level: Medium46. A narrative inquiry project was focused on understanding why students do well in school. The justification for this narrative inquiry that focuses on potentially changing current educational practices is:

a. Social justification

b. Practical justification

c. Theoretical justification

d. Personal justification

Ans: aLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: KnowledgeAnswer Location: 3. Attending to Justifications at the Inquiry Outset and Throughout the Inquiry Difficulty Level: Easy48. A research puzzle:

a. Is the end point of a narrative inquiry process.

b. Leads to the development of a very specific research question.

c. Begins with a particular wonder about something.

d. Is the final report of a narrative inquiry.

Ans: aLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: 5. Entering Into the MidstDifficulty Level: Medium50. In narrative inquiry, the field is the:

a. Social relationships among participants

b. Different academic disciplines that the narrative apply to

c. Inquiry space created by researchers and participants

d. The time the researcher and participants spend together

Ans: aLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: 6. From Field to Field TextsDifficulty Level: Medium52. The representations of a narrative inquiry that are made public are:

a. Field texts

b. Interim research texts

c. Final research texts

d. None of the above

Ans: dLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: 7. From Field Texts to Interim and Final Research TextsDifficulty Level: Medium

54. Another name for reliving stories is:

a. Restorying

b. Co-composing

c. Shared narratives

d. Being alongside participants

Ans: dLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: AnalysisAnswer Location: 2. Inquiry Starting PointsDifficulty Level: Medium56. Narrative inquirers work within a three-dimensional inquiry space of:

a. Self, dyads, and social groups

b. Reliability, validity, and consistency

c. Past, present, and future

d. Temporality, sociality, and place

Ans: bLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: 1 Four Key Terms to Structure a Narrative Inquiry Difficulty Level: Medium

58. In George’s narrative inquiry study, he is concerned about how his participants feel about having participated in his research. George’s concern is characterized as:

a. Fidelity to the relationship

b. Legal ethics

c. Relational ethics

d. Theoretical ethics

Ans: dLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: AnalysisAnswer Location: Data Collection, Analysis, and Report Writing.Difficulty Level: Medium

60. In David’s case study of third grade reading teachers, he is looking to see if individual teachers mentioned particular difficulties that other researchers had identified. David is conducting:

a. Report writing

b. Within-case analysis

c. Cross-case analysis

d. Statistical analysis

Ans: aLearning Objective: 4 Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: 2. Inquiry Starting PointsDifficulty Level: Medium2. Narrative inquiry is characterized by a fluid inquiry process.

a. True

b. False

Ans: bLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ApplicationAnswer Location: 5. Entering into the MidstDifficulty Level: Medium4. A narrative inquiry needs to be fully justified before the inquiry begins.

a. True

b. False

Ans: aLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: 4. Research Puzzles Rather than Research QuestionsDifficulty Level: Medium6. Ethical concerns with narrative inquiry are resolved at the beginning of the study.

a. True

b. False

Ans: aLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: 3. Attending to Justifications at the Inquiry Outset and Throughout the InquiryDifficulty Level: Easy8. The ethics of living in relational ways with participants are known as relational ethics.

a. True

b. False

Ans: bLearning Objective: 4Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: II. Designing a Narrative StudyDifficulty Level: Easy10. Narrative inquiry is interested in people’s experiences and the stories they tell about those experiences.

a. True

b. False

Ans: aLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: Types of Case Study Research DesignsDifficulty Level: Easy12. A case study can be conducted using an intact classroom of students.

a. True

b. False

Ans: bLearning Objective: 2Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: Narrative Inquiry and Data Collection, Analysis, and Report WritingDifficulty Level: Medium

14. Case study research and narrative inquiry only involve single participants.

a. True

b. False

Ans: bLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: Table 15.2, Data Collection, Analysis, and Report WritingDifficulty Level: Medium

16. Case study research uses a holistic approach to data analysis.

a. True

b. False

Ans: aLearning Objective: 1Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: Table 15.1

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. Qualitative research is characterized by purposive sampling, researcher sensitivity to participants, and deductive approaches to data analysis.

a. True

b. False

Ans: bLearning Objective: 3Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: Exhibit 15.1Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Research puzzles are the basis for narrative inquiry and case study research.

a. True

b. False

Ans: aLearning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: ComprehensionAnswer Location: What is a Case?Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Compare and contrast the research participants, methods, and analysis that occur in narrative inquiry and case study research.

In case study research participants can be individuals or groups of individuals with clear identities who also share an event. Case study research can focus on understanding a particular case, generalizing from the case to similar cases, or concurrently studying multiple cases at the same time. In case study research, the researcher uses multiple methods (interviews, observations, questionnaires, tests, etc.) and collects multiple types of data. Relevant findings are used to answer specific research questions as they relate to the case as it is defined. Analysis can occur by looking for themes and patterns in a single case (within-case analysis) or by looking for similarities and differences across multiple cases. Learning Objective: 2Cognitive Domain: AnalysisAnswer Location: Narrative Inquiry Research, Case Study ResearchDifficulty Level: Hard

2. Compare and contrast poststructuralism and postmodernism.

Ans: The characteristics chosen and the examples will vary.Learning Objective: 1, 2, 4, and 5Cognitive Domain: ApplicationAnswer Location: Table 15.1, Narrative Inquiry Research, Case Study ResearchDifficulty Level: Hard

4. Develop an example of a narrative inquiry research study that you could carry out. Be sure to include information on the participants, justifications, research puzzle, and analysis.

Ans: Answers will differ but will address the participants, type of case study research design, data collection and analysis plans, and potential results. Learning Objective: 5Cognitive Domain: ApplicationAnswer Location: Case Study ResearchDifficulty Level: Hard