Qualitative Research Methods

Derived from Anthropology and SociologyUsed in History, Critical Theory, Cultural Studies

Definition“Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world. It consists of a set of interpretive, material practices that make the world visible” - Denzin + Lincoln, Handbook of Qualitative Research

Multimethod in Focus - interpretive, critical, theoretical, political, narrative: an in-depth strategy

Research studies that aid us in understanding human culture

Qualitative Research MethodsQualitative Research ProcessTheory/Ontology - what is the nature of reality?Epistemology - what is the relationship between the inquirer and the known?Methodology/Analysis - how do we know the world?

“The gendered, multiculturally situated researcher approaches the world with a set of ideas, a framework (theory, ontology) that specifies a set of questions (epistemology) that he or she then examines in specific way (methodology/analysis)”

Qualitative Research MethodsQualitative Research and Scientific Based ResearchCan assume a methodological hierarchyQR as an auxiliary roleExploration -v- confirmation?Value laden -v- value free?

5 points of difference1) Positivism + Postpositivism2) Acceptance of postmodern sensibilities3) Capturing the individual’s point of view4) Examining the constraints of everyday life5) Securing rich descriptions

Qualitative Research Methods

Typical Features:Conducted in natural settingsCompare multiple purposefully selected subjectsValue laden - can be difficult to generalizeResearch design, questions and methods evolveCan have an action oriented or social purpose

Qualitative Research MethodsTheoriesPositivist/postpositivistConstructivist/InterpretiveFeministEthnicMarxistCultural StudiesQueer Theory

Qualitative Research MethodsStrategies of Inquiry:Case StudyEthnography - Participant ObservationGrounded TheoryLife HistoryAction and Applied ResearchDesignClinical Research

Qualitative Research MethodsMethods of Data Collection and AnalysisInterviewingObservingArtifact analysisAutoethnographyFocus GroupsComputer assisted analysisCultural Probes

Case Study

Research strategy involves the study of an issue explored through one or more cases within a bounded system (ie. setting, subject, event or set of documents is examined intensively (Yin, 1989, Creswell, 1997)

Triangulation of Methods: Surveys, interviews, concept maps, journals, artifact study

Popular in psychology, law, political science, medicine

Instrumental, collective, intrinsic

Observation

Participant or non-participantParticipant typically requires a long period of engagementGathers descriptions of participants and patterns of behaviorField notes, video, sample selection, structured interviews, surveys, findings analysis

Non-participant relies on unobtrusive methodsDisguised field observation, stream-of-behavior recordsUse of behavior forms, multiple observers, artifact analysis, read-think-aloud.

Good observation techniquesScope: how broad is your observation?

Bias and role: impact of your presence - confront your bias and possible influences

Credibility and purposive sampling: effects from different participants

Multiple observers: consistency

Recorded data: constant analysis and refinement

Location of observer/equipment: unobtrusive

Interviews

Structured, semi-structured, unstructuredIndividual, groupScheduled and unscheduledLife or career histories

Good techniquesListen patiently - let them leadProbe for clarityMaintain integrity of dataSecure data - anonymize Debrief and share resultsContextual Inquiry

Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Steiner Kvale. 1996.

Artifact Analysis

Text narratives, photographs, field notes, video, websites

Interpret, categorize, encode and reflect

Analytic Induction (Goetz and LeCompte 1984)Form themes, patterns, interpretations and meaningsIterative reduction of dataVisualize, graph and relate

Network Research

Ethnographic Content Analysis. David Altheide. Qualitative Sociology, 1987,10: 65-77

Digital Mediated Anthropology Video EthnographyA visual record of users’ actions provides a basis of consensus from which the disciplines viewing it can work together for new designs. The Methods Lab

Shadowing“Shadowing users over days gives deep insights that stem from involvement in activities rather than passive observation. But there is one “rule” which can serve as a quality control device: don’t turn subjects into “respondents” by behaving formally or asking structured questions. Remember, the key output is the capture of naturalistic observations and events.” The Methods Lab

Raijmakers, B., Gaver, W. W., and Bishay, J. 2006. Design documentaries: inspiring design research through documentary film. In Proceedings of the 6th Conference on Designing interactive Systems

Brun-Cottan, F. and Wall, P.,“Using Video to Re-Present the User”, Communications of the ACM, 38 5 (1995) 61-71.

Cultural ProbesResearch from the tradition of art-design

Focus on “aesthetic control, cultural implications of our designs, and ways to open new spaces for design”

Requires speculation, provocation - design for new pleasures

Impressionistic, inspirational rather than informational or objective

Probe as intervention. Probes as delightful.

User-centered Inspiration

Capture the motivations that shape home life for analysis

Images from: Cultural Probes and the Value of Uncertainty. William W. Gaver, Andrew Boucher, Sarah Pennington, Brendan Walker, Interaction Design, RCA, Interactions, September/October, 2004.

Cultural Probes

Designed to provoke inspirational responsesEnable researchers to get to know a communityOblique strategies - vague, ambiguous, absurd

Postcards - images and questionsTell me about your favorite deviceWhat place does art have in your life?

Informal and friendly

Maps - specific inquiryPlaces you’ve beenWhere you go to daydreamIf this were New York

Cultural Probes

Camera - questionsWhat you will wear todaySomething boringFree-form

Photo-album and Media Diary BookletsUse 6 - 8 photos to tell a storyRecord daily media consumption and communications

Cultural Probes

Cultural Probes

Cultural Probes

Conceptual Proposals

Created a structured workbook from the cultural probes, souvenirs, photos, anecdotes

Presented workshops to elderly participants

Used to crystallize design proposals

Created an interactive multimedia presentation

Animated system diagrams and catalogues of parts

Conceptual Proposals

Design Experiments

“Standing near large coat racks hung with cards making various statements soon made us feel uncomfortably exposed. We found ourselves embarrassed by some of the slogans. They seemed the product of religious fanaticism (‘treat others as you would like to be treated’), crude political protest (‘people ignore us in the Bijlmer’), or of a naive vulnerability (‘I am afraid’). We began to realise that the best slogans were slightly ambiguous or detached in tone (‘I am from another country’), or were particular and personal statements (‘I like a few drinks once in a while’). These seemed to escape classification into known forms of public display, invoking curiosity and imagination rather than immediate dismissal.”

Working Prototypes

Working Prototypes

Working Prototypes

BibliographyResearch design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches John W. Creswell

The SAGE handbook of qualitative researchNorman K. Denzin, Yvonna S. Lincoln

Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Third Edition, Applied Social Research Methods Series, Vol 5Robert Yin

Cultural Probes and the Value of Uncertainty. William W. Gaver, Andrew Boucher, Sarah Pennington, Brendan WalkerInteraction Design, RCA, Interactions, September/October, 2004.