Feeling Down and Upset: A Qualitative Exploration of Friendship

The assignment content revolves around Trevor's account of his experience with a long-time friend who requested him to be the best man at his wedding, but he failed to show up at the last minute. This event left Trevor shattered and led to the breakdown of their friendship. The study highlights that true friendships can be tested in difficult situations, and it is crucial to weigh positive and negative aspects before making decisions. Trevor's story also emphasizes the importance of controlling situations to maintain the well-being of a friendship. The findings suggest that not all friendships are beneficial, and sometimes it becomes necessary to walk away from toxic relationships.

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Qualitative Techniques and Research Design for Psychologists
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Course Number:

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Abstract
The entire study will revolve around the qualitative techniques and the research design by the
psychologists. The research topic is entirely based on the subject matter of friendship and the
data obtained for this research is by using the primary methods. The main topic was more
highlighted by conducting an interview with a person named Trevor who was once an instructor
of a fitness center and met a lot of people of different mentality during that time. Trevor very
well discussed and gave his valuable views on friendship. On the other hand, it was also noticed
that he was thrown out of his duty when he became sick and at that point of time he made a lot of
friends where some were genuine others were not. The specific method used for this study is
qualitative in nature and known as the thematic analysis. It has been also found out from this
study that there are different kinds of friends. The vital conclusion that can be drawn from this
research is friendship has different faces and all of the friends are not same. Some friends are like
family while others are not.
Research question
It has been already mentioned that obtaining qualitative data is quite time-consuming and also it
needs to be ethically approved so the data is already provided by the college. It has been also
observed that there are overall 5 interviews in total but only one form needs to be analyzed. For
this study, the Trevor form of interview is taken into account. However, the data that is collected
for this study is completely based on the Interpretative Phenomenological analysis (IPA). The
interview questions are mainly for encouraging the ongoing participants to reflect and discuss the
meaning and experience of friendship. The nature of friendship is identified as thematic analysis
of friendship. The research questions for this particular case study are as follows:

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 Why is friendship important for Trevor? And is he happy to talk about friendship?
 What friendship in general means to everyone?
 What does it mean to be friends with someone who is just opposite or likeminded?
 State some of the real-life experiences that highlights the complete meaning of friendship
 How the interviewees met their friends?
 What is the nature of friendship in general?
 Does physical distance affect a true friendship?
 Does quarreling necessary in friendship?
Data collection method
In this particular study, the data that has been analyzed was collected completely by
interviewing one individual among the other three. The name of the interviewee was Trevor. The
study is completely between the two individuals namely the interviewer and the interviewee.
However, the interviewee Trevor was an instructor in a fitness center for the council. It has been
observed that in the fitness center Trevor met and had a conversation with a lot of people. At
present, it has been also noticed that Trevor is not at all working as an instructor because he is
lacking the abilities of an instructor presently. Trevor is not very old but somehow he will be
reaching to the old age soon and semi-structured interview method is used for this study for
obtaining the necessary data. It can be said that this specific method was chosen over the other
methods because it is quite interactive in nature for getting a lot of information in a correct
manner. On the other hand, in this particular research method clarification can be made at any

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point of time with regards to any type of information. Furthermore, an interviewer has all the
rights revolving around getting additional information with regards to the areas of interest. The
interviewee was fit for this specific interview because he has traveled to a lot of places and also
his age was quite appropriate for the interview (Crowley, 2010). Before starting this interviewee
Trevor was briefed about the interview by the interviewer. It was made sure that he feels quite
free so that the information that can be obtained from him remains unbiased in nature. Moreover,
it has been also observed greatly that Trevor was chosen for this interview because he has also
gained a considerable amount of experience in terms of people he met and had friends as
friendship was the main subject matter for this interview. This particular report uses the analysis
that is thematic in nature where the qualitative data is judged completely. On the other hand, the
thematic analysis is one of the strongest methods that are used for a large variety of research
works. There are also some of the important examples that suggest that it has been greatly used
in the research synthesis. The term thematic synthesis is accepted as a method that is translated
for analyzing the primary research that is primarily regarded as thematic for using in the thematic
examination (Willig, 2008).
Method of analysis
The interviewee made it clear to the interviewer that friendship generally has many faces and
individual experiences a lot during the friendship. It has been also closely observed and
witnessed that there are a lot of emotions that are closely attached with a friendship that can be
both bad as well as good emotions. It can be also said that emotions play a vital role in the
subject matter of friendship. Furthermore, in a friendship that matters the most is the relationship
that is maintained with one another. Throwing light on the above-mentioned discussion it can be
very well stated that all of the friendships are not same in nature and each and every friendship

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goes through a tough phase where their friendship is itself tested. There are some of the people
with whom an individual feels good in the friendship while there are other people with whom
friendship generally is a bitter experience. In both of the cases, an individual tends to learn
something (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009). It has been closely witnessed in the interview that
the interviewee namely Trevor acknowledges that there are a large variety of friendships, for
instance, some friends are more like a family while some individuals are only meant for going to
clubs, and parties. There is a huge difference between the two of the people that are mentioned in
the above statement. Then there are also some of the friends or the so call friends he stated where
the individual will not be free enough to do some of the stuff. Furthermore, Trevor also
elaborated that to some people an individual will be more open to sharing their life while with
the other people the individual will give partial details with regards to what exactly is going on in
their life. Arguably, an individual also creates a lot of time for the people who they as their real
friends and they tend to spend hardly any time with the people who are not their real friends.
Findings/results
After analyzing the entire interview there are some findings/results that will be discussed in this
entire segment. One of the main findings from the interview is that friends that are real tend to
bring ultimate joy/happiness to an individual while the friends who only pretends to befriend
they do not bring any kind of joy instead one feels down and upset spending time with them. In
the interview, Trevor stated that he used to have a very good friendship with an individual who
he had known for a long time. There was a time when his friend wanted him as the best man
beside him during his wedding but due to his illness he could not attend instead he requested
another friend who was also quite dear to him for taking his position. The friend canceled at the
last minute after assuring Trevor that he will not fail him no matter what but this incident

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shocked him a lot and left him shattered. It can be said that it was one of the most disappointing
as well as a bad moment where a person has no choice but to walk away from the friendship due
to a bad experience in the friendship. In the interview, Trevor also mentioned that most of the
times he tries to control certain type of situations that occur for ensuring that the friendship does
not break as friendship is quite dear to everyone and no one wants to break a friendship until and
unless there is some strong reason behind it. In the interview, he also stated that a person also
tends to weight the positive and negative things both side by side in the matter of friendship and
it is also a right thing to do. It has been also stated by him that if in the future Trevor thinks about
quitting a certain friendship then he will be judging the friendship as a whole Throwing light on
the above-mentioned statement it can be also said that Trevor walked away from that friend
when he failed him in one of the most vital and toughest phases of life that is when Trevor
requested his friend to be the best man for one his dear friend's wedding but he did not show up.
Hence, he states that the real examination of friendship comes in the toughest phases of life and
it is the time when one can exactly judge if an individual is their true friend or not at that point of
time. On the contrary, Trevor also highlighted the fact that he did not want to walk away from
the friendship but when he realized that the friendship was becoming more damaging then
Trevor thought that it was a wise decision to walk away from it. Additionally, it has been also
found out that some friendships are so good that they tend to develop a person positively by
providing immense happiness and joy. It is mainly highlighted in the friendship of Trevor and his
friend Tom. In the interview, Trevor stated that the kind of friendship he had with Tom made
him feel like he has known him forever and they are also a part of the family. It has been also
said that there was a lot of time when they quarreled a lot but their bond is so true and strong that

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did not break their friendship instead they forgot their differences and moved on. It can be also
concluded from this that friendship that is true in nature never fades away for anything.
Discussion
The entire study and the theme are completely based on the emotions to a great extent. It has
been also highlighted in the entire report that how friendship is based on the various situations
and how a person feels when they are deeply involved in this sacred bond known as friendship.
However, it was also observed that friendship can be good or bad in both ways it teaches
everyone something. Trevor gave a perfect example of what friendship is when he highlighted
both of his good and bad experience with regards to friendship. It has been also noticed that
there are some of the friends who also tends to upset an individual by taking away their mental
peace. In this situation even if a person tries to mend the situation nothing can be done if the
situation becomes toxic and unbearable one has to walk away. The conclusion of these findings
can be practiced by the individual for creating happiness in their friendships otherwise one day
they might wake up and find out that they have lost one of their dear friends and when they
realize it will be very late. It can be also said that disagreements are part of any kind of
relationship but a person who really values a friendship will always make a sincere effort and
control the particular situation (Frost, 2011). The above-mentioned elements are some of the
useful findings and the research in future should strongly stress on the efforts which can be made
to return joyfulness to the friendships which go bitter.
References
Crowley, C. (2010). Writing up the qualitative methods research report. In M. Forrester (Ed.)
Doing Qualitative Research in Psychology: A practical guide. London: Sage.

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Frost, N., 2011. Qualitative research methods in psychology: Combining core approaches.
McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Smith, JA., Flowers, P. and Larkin M. (2009). Interpretative Phenomenological
Analysis. London: Sage.
Willig, C. (2008). Introducing qualitative research in psychology: Adventures in theory and
method. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill/Open University Press.

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