Qualitative Research Designs

Day 4

The Curious Skeptics at work

Agenda• Quickly revisit literature reviews• Revisit variables• Analyzing a Qualitative Research Article• Characteristics of qualitative research

– Sampling– Interviews/observations– Data analysis– Trustworthiness

• Practice in Analyzing!

Revisiting variables…

• Independent & Dependent

– Independent variables act as the “precursor” in that they precede, influence, and predict the dependent variable

– Dependent variables act as the “outcome” in that they change as a result of being influenced by an independent variable

Independent & Dependent

• Examples– The effect of two instructional approaches

(independent variable) on student achievement (dependent variable)

– The use of SAT scores (independent variable) to predict freshman grade point averages (dependent variable)

Extraneous & Confounding

• Extraneous variables are those that affect the dependent variable but are not controlled adequately by the researcher– Not controlling for the key-boarding skills of students in a study

of computer-assisted instruction

• Confounding variables are those that vary systematically with the independent variable and exert influence of the dependent variable– Not using counselors with similar levels of experience in a study

comparing the effectiveness of two counseling approaches

Continuous & Categorical

• Continuous variables are measured on a scale that theoretically can take on an infinite number of values

• Test scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 100• Attitude scales that range from very negative at 0

to very positive at 5• Students’ ages

Continuous & Categorical

• Categorical variables are measured and assigned to groups on the basis of specific characteristics– Gender: male and female– Socio-economic status: low, middle, and high

Continuous & Categorical

• Thought Question…– Can continuous variables be converted to

categorical variables, or categorical variables be converted to continuous variables?

• IQ is a continuous variable, but the researcher can choose to group students into three levels based on IQ scores - low is below a score of 84, middle is between 85 and 115, and high is above 116

Schlosser Article

• Group 1 – up to “Method”• Group 2 – up to “Procedures for Analyzing Data”• Group 3 – up to “Results”• Group 4 – up to “Discussion”

1) Indicate what is happening in paragraphs/ sections

2) Identify terms3) Evaluate based on criteria at end of McMillan

Ch. 11

Qualitative Research Problems

• When to use a Qualitative design– To understand a phenomenon about which

little is known (exploratory)– To gain a novel slant about a phenomenon

we do know about (novelty)– To obtain greater detail about phenomenon

that are difficult to understand through solely quantitative methods (process)

Qualitative Research Problems

• Characteristics– Includes a single, central phenomena– Open-ended– General in nature– Emergent – Neutral with respect to what will be learned

• No hypotheses, but still may have “hunches”• Open to new information• No expected outcomes

Sample Research Question

• “How do students at an alternative school for students at-risk of dropping out of school perceive their learning environment?”

• “What changes do teachers and counselors make when their school is placed on probation under the No Child Left Behind Law? What remains the same?”

Interviews: Selecting Participants

• Use of purposeful sampling strategies to select “information rich” participants

• Not intended to be representative of larger population! (i.e., not random sampling). Contrast with most quantitative studies.

• Be clear about why selecting participants or state “convenience sampling”

Selecting Participants

• Purposeful sampling strategies– Maximum variation - selecting individuals or

cases to represent extremes• Very positive or very negative attitudes• Highest and lowest achieving students

– Snowball (i.e. network) - initially selected participants recommend others for involvement

Selecting Participants

• Purposeful sampling strategies– Sampling by case - selecting individuals or cases for

their unique characteristics• Extreme• Typical• Reputation

– Key informant - selecting an individual(s) particularly knowledgeable about the setting and/or topic

– Comprehensive - selecting all relevant individuals or cases

Interview Protocols

• Rapport

• Unstructured in nature, yet have focus

• General (“grand tour”) questions to specific questions based on participant responses

• Tape recording and transcribing interviews afford the opportunity to study the data carefully

Observations

•Unstructured in nature, yet have focus•Participant-observer role of the researcher–Continuum between observer and participant

Complete Observer Participant Complete Observer Participant Observer Participant

–This should be clear in the study!

Trustworthiness

Qualitative Quant Meaning

Credibility Internal Validity

Degree of truth for individuals

Transferability External Validity

Degree of application to other contexts

Dependability Reliability Replicable

Confirmability Objectivity Findings are product of inquiry

Data Analysis

• Systematically examine, summarize, and synthesize the data

• Data collection and data analysis tightly coupled (constant comparative method)

• This should be explained thoroughly in the report!

Data Analysis

• Coding– Organizing the data into reasonable,

meaningful units that are coded with words or very short phrases that signify a category

– Use of major codes and sub-codes is common

– Types• Open• Selective• Negative case analysis/ deviant cases

Data Analysis

“Because the creation of codes is up to each researcher and is critical to the study, it is important to know something about how the codes were created” (McMillan, 2004, p. 268).

BE SPECIFIC AND EXPLICIT!

Data Analysis

• Summarizing the coded data

• Pattern seeking and synthesizing– Identify relationships – Draws inferences– Enlarge, combine, subsume, and create

new categories that make sense– Seek data that does not fit

Let’s do some Data Analysis!

Field Notes

• Researcher records observations– Descriptive– Reflective

• Theoretical (TN) – identify underlying issues• Methodological (MN) – possible adjustments to

research methods• Personal (PN) – personal interpretations of

observations

– Accuracy vital