our mission
In the Mind Of… is a series of interviews conducted with persons currently in mental health treatment. The goal is connect with patients from varied backgrounds and circumstances, at institutions, hospitals, and foundations, and conduct interviews in order to yield qualitative insight about the little-known epidemiologies surrounding these disorders.
Another goal is to interview patients to highlight the environmental or other external factors involved in their diagnosis and care, and to bring psychological disorders to the forefront of our daily conversations and interactions in an attempt to de-stigmatise the conditions of these patients.
Do you know
what is a qualitative study?
A qualitative study is one that uses open ended and non-numerical forms of data collection in order to understand the “what” and the “why” of a person/situation in-depth. Qualitative studies can either be conducted using primary or secondary research, and is often used in Psychological case studies. The aim is to break down information in order to make meaningful inferences, and increase reliability of the study because the quantity of information gathered is more robust.
Qualitative studies include:
One-on-One Interviews: This method of gather details from the respondent is taken place face-to-face or on the phone, and is a purely conversational method of gathering precise data about the person.
Focus Groups: One of the most commonly used qualitative research methods; a group of 5-10 people are brought together to form a targeted sample. Surveys and questionnaires are usually used during focus groups as well.
Ethnographic Research: This is the most in-depth method of studying a person and/or their environment. The researcher adapts to the environment of the person/group in order to understand the cultures, challenges, motivations, and settings that occur. The process usually lasts anywhere from a few days to a few years.
Case Study Research: These are detailed studies of an individual/group of individuals that are carried out in order to explore and effective describe a kind of phenomenon experienced by them. They are usually narrowly focused, highly detailed and combined objective and subjective data.
Record Keeping: Record keeping is when a researcher uses already existing, verified and reliable documents as data sources which are collected and compiled in order to be made sense of.
Observation: In this case, the researcher uses observation to understand the behaviour and characteristics of an individual/group/phenomenon. It is typically divided into participant (researcher is involved in the activities of the individual/group under observation) or non-participant (no intervention by the researcher) observation.