Khoroshilov D.A. On the contribution of O.T. Melnikova to the development of qualitative methodology and methods in Russian psychology (on the 75th anniversary of her birth)

Qualitative methods are considered an important tool in modern psychology for studying the individual and society in a situation of uncertainty. O.T. Melnikova, relying on her vast practical experience in marketing research and the concept of social cognition by G.M. Andreeva, acted as the founder of what was effectively the first scientific school of qualitative research in Russian psychology. The article discusses O.T. Melnikova's contribution to the development of qualitative methodology, methods and techniques of socio-psychological research in our country.

The purpose of the article is to present a holistic methodological approach to qualitative research in psychology, which has been developed by O.T. Melnikova (together with her students and colleagues) for over thirty years.

The article uses methods of hermeneutics and comparative analysis, which allow us to trace the conceptual logic of qualitative research as a unique scientific research style. The article summarizes the results of methodological studies of the structure and process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting qualitative data in psychology. The complex structure of the qualitative approach to the study of personality and social phenomena is demonstrated, including several levels: qualitative methodology – methods of data collection and analysis – methods and techniques of qualitative research. In addition, the principles and strategies for planning qualitative research are formulated (sample construction, specificity of hypotheses, possible designs, criteria of validity and reliability, ethical code). A classification of the main qualitative methods of data collection and analysis used in modern psychology is presented.

Reflection on the scientific heritage of O.T. Melnikova confirms the words of A.G. Asmolov that qualitative methodology is an exact science about personal meanings and values that develop in the everyday consciousness of a person into a multidimensional image of the world. The qualitative approach becomes a detailed development of a specific scientific methodology for studying the construction of the image of the world in conditions of uncertainty.

Key words: qualitative research in psychology, qualitative methodology, qualitative methods, qualitative analysis, qualitative data

For citation: Khoroshilov, D.A. On the contribution of O.T. Melnikova in the development of qualitative methodology and methods in Russian psychology (on the 75th anniversary of her birth) // New psychological research, 2024, No. 4, 12–43. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2024_04_04_01

Acknowledgment

The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project 22-18-00140 “Dynamic stability of personality in the space of sociocultural uncertainty”.