ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a detailed description of the qualitative research framework and specific methods used in the investigation. It includes a discussion of sampling strategies, methods of data collection and analyses, the role of the researcher, and ethical considerations. A psychological analysis of human behaviour as perceived through the lens of symbolic interactionism allows one to evaluate factors such as stimuli, and features of personal organization to account for given forms or instances of human conduct. Thus, interpreting human behaviour is based on psychological processes and meanings derived in and through how people interact as social beings. One essential benefit of using sensitizing concepts in qualitative research is that they help to draw attention to essential features of social interaction in a particular social milieu. Stigma and the possibility that probationers with mental health illness perceive their interactions with Probation Officers as stigma-laden represents a sensitizing concept that helped guide data-collection processes, and informed evaluation of findings and subsequent analysis.
