Further notes on methodology

Indebted to Patton (1990)

To begin with …

There is no burden of proof. There is only the world of experience and understanding. Shed the burden of proof to lighten the load for the journey of experience … Qualitative inquiry cultivates the most useful of all human capacities – the capacity to learn from others (in Patton, 1990, 7).

Questions to start with (1)

Who wants or needs the information I am generating?Who will use the findings?What kinds of information are needed?How is the information to be used?When is the information needed?What methods are therefore appropriate?Remember, “research, like diplomacy, is the art of the possible” (in Patton, 1990, 13).

Themes in qualitative inquiry (1/1)

Naturalistic inquiry Studying real world situations as they unfold; openness

to whatever emerges

Inductive analysis Begin by exploring genuinely open questions; immerse

yourself in the details and specifics of the case

Holistic perspectives Understand that what you are studying is a complex

whole – more than the sum of the parts you might examine; interdependencies are typical

Themes in qualitative inquiry (1/2)

Qualitative data Detailed, thick, description; in-depth inquiry; the task of

capturing people’s personal perspectives and experience

Personal contact and insight Closeness to participants; the researcher – as the

instrument of investigation – becomes part of the study

Dynamic systems Pay attention to process and not just content; assume

that change will be constant

Themes in qualitative inquiry (1/3)Unique case orientation Assume that each case is special; be true to the details

you capture; generalize where you must but understand disconfirming cases

Context sensitivity Be sensitive to the historical, cultural, spatial and

temporal settings at hand

Empathic neutrality Pure objectivity is not possible; pure subjectivity is not

appropriate – be sensitively or empathically neutral

Design flexibility Adapt your inquiry as your understanding deepens or

the situation changes

Questions to continue with (2/1)

What is the primary purpose of the study?What is the focus?What are the units of analysis?What will be the sampling strategy?What types of data will be collected?What controls will be exercised?What analytic approaches will be used?

Questions to continue with (2/2)

How will the study be made rigorous and dependable? When will the study occur? How will the study be phased or sequenced and planned?How will the logistics and practicalities be handled?How will ethical matters be dealt with?What resources are available? What are the costs?

Random probability sampling

About representativeness – sample size a function of population size and desired level of statistical confidence Simple random sample

Permits generalization from sample to population it represents

Stratified random sample and cluster samples Increases confidence in making generalizations to

particular subgroups or particular areas

Purposeful/purposive/non-probability sampling

Selects information-rich cases for in-depth study; the size and specifics of the case depend on the study being conducted 16 sub-types, among which the following are

important for our purposes: Criterion – picking all cases that meet some criterion Snowball or chain – identifying cases of interest from

people who know people who know something you want to know

Disconfirming – seeking cases that provide exceptions to the rule, that unsettle ‘saturation’ (where the same basic themes emerge again and again)

Guidelines for interviews (1/1)Select well what are your criteria for selecting an informant? Who else does the informant know who can help? What documents or other resources might the

informant have that might help your investigation? Who do they think you should talk to?

Make an impression Be prepared before making contact Be clear about what you need and expect Be clear about what the informant can expect in terms

of content of questions and the interview procedure

Guidelines for interviews (1/2)Start with non-controversial questions about the present – e.g. what the person’s job entails, how they came to be involved in ‘x’

Move to more difficult questions and sequence in terms of past, present, and future perspectives (what happened? And now? And in the future?)

Try to phrase singular questions in an open fashion – e.g. note the difference between “Were you the program coordinator?” and “What was your role in the program?” The latter is a more open question. Avoid ‘why’ and ask ‘what or how’ more often

Guidelines for interviews (1/3)Take immaculate records of Why you selected who you did What you want to ask and why What the informant had to say The setting in which the interview occurs Any issues arising from interview that you need to chase up

Thank the informant formally for his/her timeDo the extra yards and write down your immediate impressions after the interview – how does what you found out link to your study? What themes emerge?How do the themes from interviews link to the themes in the literature? In quantitative data? In other interviews? How do they help you answer the basic research question?