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Although costly, videotaping of the social action in the setting would havebeen a useful observational and analytical tool, especially for retrospectivelyrating interactions to check out hypotheses not formulated initially.QUESTIONS1. What are the author’s main points of criticism of positivism?2. It is sometimes claimed that qualitative research does not involve theformulation of hypotheses. Is this true of this study? Discuss.3. Describe how the author integrated a theoretical approach with herempirical study.4. How did the author implement Denzin’s guidelines regardingtriangulation?5. Qualitative research usually involves taking an insider’s point of view.Discuss in what way this is true of Ferreira’s study.6. Describe briefly how participant observation was employed in the study.7. Discuss the process by which an interview guide was developed to suit thepurposes of this study.8. The overall aim of data-collection is to obtain reliable data. List theprecautions taken by the author in this study in order to ensure a highdegree of reliability.Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.zaNOTES1. This chapter is based on an unpublished dissertation for the MA degree inSociology, entitled “A sociological analysis of medical encounters of agedpersons at an outpatient center”, submitted to the University of SouthAfrica in 1982.2. The term “humanistic” is used here to differentiate between “qualitative”and “quantitative” modes of knowing, emphasising the researcher’sattempt to understand the subjects in terms of their own construction ofsocial reality. This implies a different anthropological position to that ofpositivism. See Hughes (1980).3. References are given as representative examples.220

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