Introduction Qualitative Research

7/30/2019 Introduction Qualitative Research

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Spring 2006 Qualitative Research--Simpson 1

What is Qualitative Research?

A holistic approach to questions--a

recognition that human realities are

complex. Broad questions.

The focus is on human experience

The research strategies used generally

feature sustained contact with people in

settings where those people normallyspend their time. Contexts of Human

Behavior.


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Qualitative Research cont.

There is typically a high level ofresearcher involvement with subjects;strategies of participant observation and

in-depth, unstructured interviews are oftenused.

The data produced provide a description,usually narrative, of people living through

events in situations.Cited from Boyd, pp. 67-68 in Munhall, 2001


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Types of Qualitative Data

1. Interviews

2. Observations

3. Documents


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Types of Qualitative Data

1. Interviews

Open-ended questions and probes yieldin-depth responses about peoples

experiences, opinions, perceptions,feelings and knowledge.

Data consist of verbatim quotations

with sufficient context to beinterpretable.


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Types of Qualitative Data cont.

2. Observations

Fieldwork descriptions of activities, behaviors,

actions, conversations, interpersonal

interactions, organizational or communityprocesses, or any other aspect of observable

human experience.

Data consist of field notes: rich detaileddescriptions, including the context within

which the observations were made.


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Types of Qualitative Data cont.

3. Documents

Written materials and other documents,programs records; memoranda andcorrespondence; official publications and

reports; personal diaries, letters, artisticworks, photographs, and memorabilia; andwritten responses to open-ended surveys.

Data consists of excerpts from documentscaptured in a way that records and preservescontext.


7/43Spring 2006 Qualitative Research--Simpson 7

Qualitative Traditions of Inquiry

1. Biography--Life history, oral

history

2. Phenomenology--The livedexperience

3. Grounded theory

4. Ethnography5. Case Study



Biographical Study

The study of an individual and her or hisexperiences as told to the researcher or

found in documents and archivalmaterial.

Life history--The study of an individuals

life and how it reflects cultural themesof the society.



Biographical Study cont.

Oral history--The researcher gathers

personal recollections of events, their

causes, and their effects from and

individual or several individuals.

The researcher needs to collect

extensive information about the subjectof the biography



Biographical Study cont.

The writer, using an interpretive

approach, needs to be able to bring

himself or herself into the narrative andacknowledge his or her standpoint.



Phenomenology

Describes the meaning of the lived

experience about a concept or a

phenomenon for several individuals.

It has roots in the philosophical

perspectives of Husserl, Heidegger,

Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, etc.--Max Van Manen, Munhall (Nursing)



Phenomenology

Moustakas, 1994, p. 13: todetermine what an experience meansfor the persons who have had the

experience and are able to provide acomprehensive description of it.From the individual descriptions,general or universal meanings arederived, in other words, the essencesof structures of the experience.


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Grounded Theory

Based on Symbolic Interactionism

which posits that humans act and

interact on the basis of symbols,which have meaning and value for

the actors.


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Grounded Theory cont.

The intent of grounded theory is

to generate or discover a theory

that relates to a particularsituation. If little is known about

a topic, grounded theory is

especially useful


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Usually have a question, dont do

a literature review in thebeginning.

Usually do 20-30 interviews

(maybe more than one time foreach person)


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Data collection and analysis occur

simultaneously, until saturation is

reached.

Data reviewed and coded for categories

and themes.


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Ethnography

A description and interpretation of a

cultural or social group or system. The

researcher examines the groups

observable and learned patterns ofbehavior, customs, and ways of life.

Involves prolonged observation of thegroup, typically through participant

observation.


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Ethnography

Field Work

Key Informants

Thick description

Emic (insider group perspective) andEtic (researchers interpretation ofsocial life).

Context important, need holistic view.

Need grounding in anthropology.


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Ethnography cont.

Need extensive time to collect data

Many ethnographies may be written in anarrative or story telling approach

which may be difficult for the audience

accustomed to usual social science

writing.


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Ethnography cont.

May incorporate quantitative data

and archival documents.


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Case Study

A case study is an exploration of a bounded

system or a case (or multiple cases) over time

through detailed, in-depth data collection

involving multiple sources of information rich

in context.

The context of the case involves situating the

case within its setting. which may be physical,

social, historical and/or economic.


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Case Study cont.

Data collection strategies include directobservation, interviews, documents,archival records, participantobservation, physical artifacts andaudiovisual materials.

Analysis of themes, or issues and an

interpretation of the case by theresearcher.


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Designing a Qualitative Study

Problem Statement or Statement of Need

for the Study

No hypothesis; Research questions which

you want to answer instead.

Opinions differ about the extent of

literature needed before a study begins.

Need to identify the gaps in knowledgeabout the topic.


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Qualitative Study Design cont.

Research questions that are too

broad:

Does Buddhism account for the

patience that seems to dominate the

Thai world view?

How do leaders make their decisions?


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Research questions better answered

by quicker means:

What television programs do Brazilianswatch most?

Where can you buy postage stamps inItaly?


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Examples of Qualitative Questions

What do people in this setting have to know in

order to do what they are doing?

What is the story that can be told from these

experiences?

What are the underlying themes and contextsthat account for the experience?


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Qualitative Sampling

Strategies

No probability sampling


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Sampling Strategies cont.

Decisions about sampling andsampling strategies depend on theunit of analysis which has beendetermined.

individual people

program, group organization orcommunity

genders, ethnic groups, older andyounger


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Purposeful or Judgment Sampling In judgment sampling, you decide the

purpose you want informants (or communities)

to serve, and you go out to find some

Bernard, 2000:176

Key Informants are people who are

particularly knowledgeable about the inquiry

setting and articulate about their knowledge.


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Purposeful Sampling StrategiesMaximum variation

Homogeneous

Critical caseTheory based

Confirming and disconfirming cases


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Snowball or chain

Extreme or deviant case

Typical case

Intensity

Politically important cases

Random purposeful


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Stratified purposeful

Criterion

OpportunisticCombination or mixed

Convenience


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Qualitative Data Collection

Rather than developing an

instrument to use, the qualitative

researcher is the instrument.

Recording data: Field notes, tape

recorders, video and photographic

data

Interviews must be transcribed.


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Fieldwork Strategies and

Observations

In the fields of observation, chance

favors the prepared mind. Louis

Pasteur

People only see what they are

prepared to see. Ralph Waldo

Emerson


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Fieldwork Observations

Learn to pay attention, see what there is to

see, and hear what there is to hear.

Practice writing descriptively

Acquiring discipline in recording fieldnotes

Knowing how to separate detail from trivia

to achieve the former without beingoverwhelmed by the latter.


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Fieldwork Observations cont.

Use rigorous methods to validateand triangulate observations.

Reporting strengths and limitations

of ones own perspective, whichrequires both self-knowledge andself-disclosure.

Participant observer or onlooker orboth


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Qualitative Interviewing

1. Informal conversational interview

2. Interview guide approach

3. Standardized open-ended interview

4. Closed, fixed-response interview


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Qualitative Interviewing cont.

Sequencing questions Use words that make sense to the people

being interviewed.

Ask truly open-ended questions Avoid questions which can be answered

with a yes or no.

One idea per question.

Be careful with Why questions.


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Qualitative Data Analysis

When does analysis begin? Duringdata collection.

Thick description is the foundation

for qualitative analysis and reporting.Organize the data. Read all the data

and get a sense of the whole.

Coding for recurring themes andcategories


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Computer-assisted qualitative data

management and analysis

Ethnograph

NUD*IST (Non-numerical Unstructured

Data With Indexing, Searching and

Theorizing) QSR N6 and QSR NVivo

ATLAS.ti


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Coding data

Finding Patterns

Labeling ThemesDeveloping Category Systems

Looking for emergent patterns in the

data


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References

Bernard, H.R. (2000). Social Research Method s:Qual i tat ive and Quanti tat ive approaches.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Creswell, J.W. (1998). Qual i tat ive Inquiry and

Research Design: Choosing Among FiveTradi t ions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Munhall, P.L. (2001). Nursin g Research : AQual i tat ive Perspective, 3rd Edition. Sudbury,MA: Jones and Bartlett

Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative Research &Evaluat ion Methods, 3rd Edition. Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage