Title: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
1QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
Remadevi. S
2WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
- Any kind of research that produced findings not
arrived at by means of statistical procedures or
other means quantification. - It is concerned more with meanings and
processes rather than simply measurements. - Qualitative research is based on a methodology
which seeks to understand human behaviour from
the subjects own frame of reference, hence it
is called Phenomenological.
3WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH (contd)
- Aims to elicit the individual contextualized
understanding of a problem - Achieved through designs that minimize researcher
manipulation of social setting - Close interaction with subjects
- Meaning and interpretation cannot be dealt with
statistically
4WHY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
- Human behaviours is significantly influenced by
the setting in which it occurs - The technique in quantitative research can affect
the findings - One cannot understand the human behaviour without
understanding the framework within which subjects
interpret their feelings, thoughts and actions
5WHY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
- More valid results based on research
experiences. - Nature of research problems some problems
lend more to qualitative research - Helps to understand what lies behind any
phenomenon about which little is known
6WHY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
Contd
- Details of phenomena that are difficult to
convey with quantitative methods - Questionnaires developed in the West threat
to validity in our setting Qualitative
methods in the initial phase avoid type III
error - Culturally appropriate measuring
instruments Etic Vs. Emic approach
7WHY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
Contd
- It helps in identifying variables
important to the phenomenon under study - To understand the perceptions and
experiences of participants and community - Field study research can explore the process
and meaning and provide comprehensive
description
8FUNCTIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
- Developing and delineating program elements
before a quantitative evaluation - Boosting the power of quantitative design
- Broadening the observation field
- Analyzing process and individual cases to
explain the how and why of an outcome - Generating theory
9PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
10POSITIVISM
- Refers to the belief that social science can be
scientific in the same way as physical science
and prefer quantitative methods - Assume that reality is objectively given and
can be described by measurable properties
independent of the observer - Prefers a method standardized, repeatable and
that test a pre-existing hypothesis
11PHENOMENOLOGY(Edmond Husserl)
- Study situations in the everyday world -
viewpoint of the experiencing person - Focus on the social construction of the life
world, emphasizing that peoples actions can only
be understood when they are situated in the
meanings and routines that control their everyday
life. - Gain understanding of the essence of phenomena
Eg. Sufferings of schizophrenia
12 ETHNOGRAPHY
- Closely associated with anthropological research
- Focus on culture of a group of people
- Interpret and present findings from a cultural
perspective - Heart of Ethnography- Thick description obtained
through an immersion in the every day life of the
group or a given social setting
13SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM(G.H.Mead)
- Through the process of role taking a person
imagines how they appear to others ,thus becoming
a symbolic object to themselves - Experiences takes on meaning as they become
symbolically significant through shared
interactions - Meanings are continually created,recreated and
modified in interactions
14FEMINISM
- It is argued (Dorothy Smith) as a consciousness
raising that it attempts to identify how private
experiences of oppression may be understood as
part of a general system of oppression that
shapes womens experience - Many womens private issues are not recorded as
shared public issues - Advocates methods that enable women to express
their experiences from their own perspective
15HERMANEUTICS
- Examine the way people develop interpretation of
their life in relation to their life experiences - Similar to phenomenology ,but takes a broader
view of both past and future and broader cultural
factors Eg Story telling
16GROUNDED THEORY
- An inductive technique developed by Glaser and
Strauss(1967) - Grounded Theories are grounded ( it has its
root) in the empirical data and built up
inductively through a process of careful
analysis and comparison - Developed in opposition to positivist and
deductive approach
17WHEN TO USE Q.R
- To inform what people are doing, thinking, and
saying about a problem - To identify the important problem to be solved at
community/local/policy levels - Generate a list of options for interventions
- To investigate how best to implement promising
interventions - To monitor response to interventions and assess
how best to present its results to public and
scientific community
18WHEN NOT TO USE
- When numbers are needed to make a decision (what
proportion of people ) - Results are to be projected to the total
population (unless generalisability ensured by
researcher through appropriate measures)
19WHAT KINDS OF SKILLS REQUIRED FOR QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH?
- Qualitative Research required theoretical and
social sensitivity - Ability to maintain analytical distance while
drawing upon experience and knowledge to
interpret what is seen - Power of observation
- Good interactional skills.
20WHAT KINDS OF SKILLS REQUIRED FOR QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH?
- Ability to organize and synthesize many
different types of data - Ability to gain trust of individuals / groups
- Respect for individuals and awareness of the
ethical responsibilities - Knowledge and experience of social,cultural,reli
gious and economic characteristic of
group/community/setting.
21COMPONENTS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
- Data come from various sources
- Different analytic or interpretive procedures.
- E.g. Coding, Writing of memos, diagramming
- Written and Verbal reports.
22GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
- NATURALISTIC Natural setting as source of data
- INDUCTIVE It seeks to build theory from data
avoid imposing researcher own categories of
analysis - HOLISTIC It looks at the phenomenon in totality
takes an overall perspective
23GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
- THICK DESCRIPTION Descriptive in that the
researcher is interested in process, meaning
understanding gained through words pictures
use quotations - PERSONAL CONTACT Shares the experience of
subjects , not trying to be an objective outsider - DYNAMIC There is constant shifting with
changing phenomenon context -
24GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
- UNIQUE CASE SELECTION Not concerned about
generalization stress on uniqueness of each
case -
- CONTEXT SENSITIVITY Emphasis many aspects of
social, historical physical contexts - EMPATHETIC Trying to take view of other person
via introspection reflection, yet
non-judgemental -
25GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
- FLEXIBLE DESIGN- Emergent design as opposed to
pre-determined in quan.methods - INTERPRETIVE Aimed at discovering the meaning
the events have for the individuals who
experience them interpretation of these meaning
by researcher - PROCESS ORIENTED Primarily concerned with
process rather than outcome
26GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
- RESEARCHER AS INSTRUMENT Data are mediated
through human instrument rather than inventories
or questionnaires - MULTIPLE SOURCES OF EVIDENCE-Multiple forms of
evidence. Judgment at usefulness and credibility
is left to the researcher
27GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
GOALS
Stress upon verification of theory by using
statistical prediction Tests hypothesis
Discovery of theory understanding of phenomena
under study suggests hypothesis.
28QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
SCOPE
- Particularistic, guided by objectives
- Generalize and extrapolate findings
- Holistic, rich in context, emphasizes
interactions - Recognizes the individuality of responses and
findings.
29QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
SETTING DESIGN
- Unfamiliar, artificial
- PRE-determined structured design. Manipulation
control
- Familiar, natural
- Flexible evolving design
-
30QUANTITATIVE
QUANLITATIVE
Vs.
DATA COLLECTION METHODS
- Cross sectional studies, cohort, case control,
RCT
- Semi structured / unstructured interviews,
Focus group discussions, observations, key
informantinterviews, case study
31QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
TYPES OF DATA
- Deals with words, texts and observations
- Open ended. Depth of information.
- Produce a wealth of detailed data about a much
smaller number of people. Depends on purpose,
resources and interests of those involved.
- Deals with numbers
- Use of standardized approach - the experiences
of people are limited to certain predetermined
response categories - Measure reactions of many subjects to set of
questions, thus facilitating comparison and
statistical aggregation of data
32QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
SAMPLING
- Non-Probability sampling-Typically focus in depth
on small samples selected purposively
SAMPLE SIZE
- No rule for sample size. Depends on what you
want to know purpose of enquiring what will be
useful, what will have credibility and what can
be done with available resources.
33QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
DATA COLLECTION
- Researcher as primary instrument Personal
involvement empathic understanding
- Inanimate Instruments- Scales,Tests,
Questionnaires - Detachment objective portrayal
34QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES
- Analysis tend to be deductive. Test hypothesis
using quantitative methods Statistical
analysis
- Usually inductive. unit of analysis can be
individuals, families, groups. No statistical
techniques used.
35QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
FINDINGS
- Generalizations made. Statistical predictions
because of representative sample. - Reliability
- More in depth data and help us to find out
how and why of an outcome. Sequence of event
depicted. - Validity
36SAMPLING- QUAL. STUDIES
- NON- PROBABILITY SAMPLING
- Purposeful selection
- Goal is to understand phenomena, not to represent
population - Selection of information-rich cases for intensive
study
37Non-probability Sampling
- Quota Sampling
- Snowball Sampling
- Typical Case Sampling
- Critical Case Sampling
- Homogeneous
- Maximum variation
- Extreme or deviant cases
- Criterion Sampling
38Quota sampling
- It is a form of convenient sampling
- Selection of quota groups of accessible sampling
units by age, sex, social class etc - Assignment of quota groups specified by
predetermined traits in specific proportions - A method of stratified sampling in which
selection within strata is non-random
39SNOWBALL SAMPLING
- Subjects are asked to recommend others they know
for the researcher to contact - Useful in studies of social networks or in
difficult to find populations - Use in research on sensitive issues like sexual
practices ,IV drug use etc.
40Typical and deviant case sampling
- To describe a typical case serves as a profile
for understanding the principal features of a
group of programes or class of individuals. - Sample typical case as illustrative
- In deviant case sampling, cases at either end of
a continuum or unusual cases are selected - More useful in finding critical variables
contributing to the phenomenon
41Critical case sampling
- Its effectiveness depends on understanding what
is happening in that case - Identification depends on key factors that make a
case as critical - The results of intervention would provide a
critical case for the feasibility of the programe - If it works here ,it will work everywhere
42Homogeneous sampling
- Subjects with similarities in background are
selected - Better able to focus on a central issue that is
relevant to all of them - Eg. Focus Group Discussion (stimulating people
with a common identity to discuss their shared
experiences)
43Maximum variation sampling
- Selecting sample with maximum variation in
defined attributes eg. Education, gender - To highlight the experiences or outcomes which
these maximally varied samples have in common - Document unique experiences shared patterns
44Criterion sampling
- Sample cases to meet a criterion of importance to
the study eg. membership in a particular group or
participation in a programme - May be done as follow up of a survey to identify
particular subjects for in-depth analyses
45Sample Size
- The validity, meaningfulness and insights
generated from qualitative enquiry have more to
do with the information,richness of cases
selected and the observational/ analytical
capabilities of the researcher than with sample
size (patton)
46Sample size
- Depends upon completion of data- sample selection
to the point of redundancy - Might begin with small sample based on expected
reasonable coverage and expand if needed - Large enough to make meaningful comparisons
- Small purposive samples based on study purpose,
but describe, justify and explain - Care not to over generalize from purposive
samples
47Factors affecting sample size
- No of comparison groups- more groups more
samples - Complexity and depth of information- more
in-depth information go for small sample - Explain similarities and differences in
particular context - Availability of resources
48Data collection methods
- In-depth Interviews
- Key informant Interviews
- Observation
- Focus Group Discussions
- Case studies
- Illness narratives, Surrogate patient studies
- PRA / PLA Techniques
49IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW
50What is an In-depth Interview
- It is a qualitative research technique that
allows person to person discussion which can lead
to increased insight into peoples thoughts,
feelings and behaviour on important issues. - It can be used as one of the effective ways for
understanding reasons for problem behaviours and
gather ideas to guide measures to correct a
problem - Characterized by extensive probing and open-ended
questions
51When to use an In-depth Interview
- Subject matter is complex
- Detailed information sought
- Highly sensitive subject matter
- Interest on individual experiences and its unique
interpretation - Respondents dissimilar to be meaningfully grouped
52Preparing for the interview
- Identification of the respondents
- Ensure Trained interviewer
- Selection of a comfortable location
- Other logistics- transport, audio or video etc
- Consider access to local population
53Selection of Informants
- Limit to a small sample size
- Select people who are well informed about the
issue - Purposive sampling
- Respondents fairly representative of the various
groups in the study population - Informant preferably unknown to interviewers
54Tools for data collection
- Interview guide
- Structured open-ended schedule
- Different sets may be needed suitable to
different categories in the study population - The guide makes the interviewing more systematic
and comprehensive
55Preparing the Interview Guide
- List the important topics to be explored in the
study Eg. Malnutrition among children- Feeding
adequacy, Care of the child, Health seeking - Write sub themes for each topic Eg. Under
feeding adequacy, elicit information Breast
feeding ,weaning, complimentary feeding, food
preferences etc. - Make a draft of possible questions based on
conceptual frame work - Check that they can help you obtain all the
information you need - Questions not to elicit simple Yes or No
answers
56Preparing the Interview guide
- Construction of probes
- Probes are devices used to prompt a respondent to
speak further when an initial question fails to
elicit the desired information - Sequence of topics- Never rigid. Phrasing and
order may be redefined to fit the characteristics
of respondent
57Preparing the interview guide
- Ensure that your questions are
- Clear and unambiguous
- Simple and easy to understand
- Reasonable and within the experience of
the targeted population
58Interviewer qualities
- Experienced/Skilled
- Knowledge about the topic
- Personality traits easily gain peoples
confidence and cooperation, good speech and
language proficiency - Other qualities self confidence, ability to
establish rapport, good listener, politeness,
articulate enough to prompt respondents to talk - Training is a pre-requisite if team work
59Interview Techniques
- Unstructured interviews
- Semi-structured interviews
- Structured open-ended interviews
60Conducting the interviews
- Self introduction
- Explain the general purpose of the interview
- Impress upon the respondent that his opinions are
important - Seek privacy
- Establish rapport and assure confidentiality
- Consent for the interview recording
61Conducting the interviews
- Carry the interview in a natural, conversational
style - Know the objectives of each question to make sure
that the answers satisfy it - Interview runs dry use expressions like
Uh-huh or That is interesting or I see - Be alert to discover drifting of conversation
- Wrapping-up of interview
62Questioning Techniques
- Ask clear and open-ended questions
- Ask behaviour /experience before opinion
questions - Sequence-follow a funnelling method-general to
specific - Probe and follow-up questions Eg . Could you tell
me more about it?
63Managing specific situations
- Reluctant participant
- Speculation can help to open up .eg. I am not
sure, could it be that women do not have access
to health care, compared to men ? - Try to explore their thoughts Eg. Could you
elaborate on that? Or explain why you think that
way?
64Managing specific situations
- Rambler Politely control Eg. Excuse me, could
we change the subject a bit and get back on your
thoughts on .. - Participant uncomfortable- Let them talk about
the part he/she comfortable with. - Confused OK, Sorry, let me rephrase it
- Contradictory statement-seek clarification
65Interviewer Tips the Dos
- Begin with a friendly greeting
- Maintain privacy and confidentiality
- Listen with an open mind
- Use probes where appropriate
- Ensure a natural flow of interview
- play dumb give informant time to talk
- Be open to unexpected information
66Interviewer Tips the Donts
- Judgemental attitude
- Prompting
- Move quickly from one topic to the next
- Letting silence grow while interviewing
- Arguing or enter into dispute
67Managing the field data
- Field editing
- De-briefing
- Transcribing
- Translation if needed
68Interview summaries
- A brief description of the participants
- Memos Helps one to reflect on the interview
- Theoretical memos/notesSummarises theoretical
ideas surfaced - Methdological memos What happened during the
interview, quality of data,participantcomfortleve
l - Personal memos Interviewer relaxed ? Were he
inhibited in asking certain questions?
69Advantages and Disadvantages
- Advantages
- Explanatory tool
- Emic perspective
- Facilitate rapport
- More appropriate in rural setting
- Responses more valid
- Disadvantages
- Replicality difficult
- Results not strictly comparable
- Time consuming
- Require familiarity with language and culture
70Qualitative Data Analysis
71Steps in qualitative data analysis
- Reading Developing an intimate relationship with
the data - Coding Identifying emergent themes
- Choosing and using a software if needed
- Displaying data
- Developing hypothesis, questioning, verifying
- Data reduction Getting the big picture and
interpretation
72Coding
- Deductive coding
- Done prior to data collection
- Use existing literature or theoretical frames to
develop categories for coding prior to field work - Provides a conceptual framework to guide the
research
73Coding Contd.
- Inductive Coding
- Designs coding scheme from data collected through
interviews, FGDs etc - They are like street signs inserted into margins
of notes or typed in after a segment of text - Main purpose is to allow research findings to
emerge from frequent dominant or significant
themes inherent in raw data
74Inductive Coding Contd
- Condense extensive raw text
- Establish clear links between research objectives
and findings derived from raw data - Develop a model or theory about underlying
structure of experience or processes evident in
the raw data
75Coding procedures in grounded theory
- Open coding involves fracturing, taking data
apart and examining discrete parts for
differences and similarities - Axial coding connections are made between
categories and sub categories - Selective coding identifying one or more core
categories to which all other sub categories
relate
76Coding process in inductive analysis
- Create 3-8 summary categories from many pages of
text - If more than 8 major themes re-examine them
- Decisions on combining and removing unimportant
categories need to be made
77Semi-quantitative analysis
- Free-listing
- Pile-sorting
- Domain identification
- Coding
- Summarizing
- Comparative table across stakeholders (if more
than one)
78Government Health Worker
79Responses
- In your opinion, who are the people that
generally do not bring their children for polio
drops on NIDs? - Sometimes, it happens that parents are unaware
of it or neglect it or there are some parents who
do not give importance to it or they go
outstation. Till now, they have not understood
the importance of the drops and that it should be
given. Some parents feel we have given three
doses (routine doses) to out children and if
these are not given it will do. These are the
people who dont bring. Usually they are from
slum areas. Others are educated, they know about
it, constantly hear on TV/radio, so they bring.
The area which I had got was a Mehammedan area so
the women do not go out of the house. They did
not even know that it had to be given. There was
an announcement through the mosque but people
might not have heard or something else, so many
children did not turn up.
80Free listing
- In your opinion, who are the people that
generally do not bring their children for polio
drops on NIDs? - Sometimes, it happens that parents are unaware
of it or neglect it or there are some parents who
do not give importance to it or they go
outstation. Till now, they have not understood
the importance of the drops and that it should be
given. Some parents feel we have given three
doses (routine doses) to out children and if
these are not given it will do. These are the
people who dont bring. Usually they are from
slum areas. Others are educated, they know about
it, constantly hear on TV/radio, so they bring.
The area which I had got was a Mehammedan area so
the women do not go out of the house. They did
not even know that it had to be given. There was
an announcement through the mosque but people
might not have heard or something else, so many
children did not turn up.
81- Domain Evolution
- In your opinion, who are the people that
generally do not bring their children for polio
drops on NIDs? - 0. Dont know
- None (everybody received OPV)
- Laborers / daily wages / beggars (affordability)
- No one at home / adult sickness
- Migrants / tribal (accessibility / out of station
/ traveling - People with remote residence / adverse weather /
transport difficulties (accessibility) - Bad past experience (due to /fear of side
effects) / fear of polio even after polio drops
(acceptability) - Non believers (no faith / believers of other
systems / superstitions / rumours /
socio-cultural / religious / death / caste) - Misinformed groups (rich / educated) / do not
like to go to IP / go to private practitioner /
wrong impression) - Lack of awareness / Illiterate
- Children with illness / new born (acceptability)
- Negative influences of the other family members /
decision of family members - Irrelevant
- Blank
- Not applicable
82Coding In your opinion who are the people that
generally do not bring their children for polio
drops on NIDs? 7. Superstitious people who say it
is all in hands of almighty, there is no need of
drops 3. If somebody feel sick on home, it was
difficult to bring the children to the IP for
polio drops 4. Migrating and tribal population
usually do not bring their children for polio
drops 3. Those who are not at home, are not able
to come 6. People who think that because of pulse
polio they may get problems in future 7. Wrong
beliefs about polio drops 2. In slum areas,
those mothers who go out for work do not bring
their children. They say we go out for work, we
do not have any time 8. Those who gave
immunization in routine, high class families
83Qualifiers for Semi-quantitative expression of
Observations
84Writing a report
- Develop an outline for report
- Review all field-notes and organize along
identified domains in conformity with report
outline - Compare across stakeholder categories if needed
- Compare results of other qualitative methods with
these findings
85(No Transcript)
86FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION
87What is Focus Group Discussion?
- Focus group discussions are group discussions
with a small group of individuals from a well
defined target population on pre-selected topics
that rely on interaction between group members,
under the guidance of a trained facilitator. Each
participant is stimulated by the comments of
others and in turn stimulate them.
88What is Focus Group Discussion
- It is a qualitative method which helps to find
out the How Why of human behaviour - It can provide insight into how a group thinks
about an issue, the range of opinions and ideas,
and the inconsistencies and variations that exist
in a particular community in terms of beliefs and
their experiences practices
89F.G.D.s are useful for
- Obtaining a range of perceptions, opinions or
beliefs about an issue - Gathering exploratory data to be used in future
research Eg. Local names for diseases, local
pattern of healthcare seeking - Hypothesis generating
- Assist in explaining and illustrating results of
a quantitative survey
90FGDs are useful for
- Intervention programmes- To identify various
social or cultural factors that need to be taken
into account in the design and implementation of
the programme - Ongoing assessment of programmes or as an
evaluation tool - Obtaining feed back for the cross cultural
adaptation of materials. - As a means of validating findings obtained by
other means (Triangulation) - As a Rapid Assessment Procedure for getting quick
results
91 Key Considerations
- The topic should is narrowly focused
- Selection of participants is also focused by
targeting individuals who meet specific criteria - Topic should be of interest to both the
investigator and respondents. - The emphasis should be on interaction between or
among the group members.
92Key considerations
- A set of detailed guidelines designed to generate
discussion of concepts and ideas - A trained moderator and a note taker
- Recording the discussion to permit later analysis
of the result
93Designing a Focus Group Discussion
- Setting the objectives
- Determine the target population
- Plan the number of of sessions
- Follow the guidelines regarding selection of
participants, role of moderator/facilitator etc - Developing F.G.D.guide
- Conducting F.G.D.
- Analysis and interpretation of results
94Setting the objectives
- Define the problem and decide on the issues or
areas you want to explore - Decide on how the information be used Is this
the only method to gather information or will it
be used with other methods - For eg. Are they to supplement quantitative
data, used to define pretest questionnaires
95Selecting the Target group
- Determine who can provide the information you
require and what characteristics define the
individuals to be participated - Often incorporate different subsets with
potentially contrasting views or experiences
concerning the issues under investigation - Eg. Rural Vs Urban and Adolescents Vs Elderly
96Number of sessions
- Decide on the no. of sessions to be held
- Number of sessions is based on
- Resources (time and money)
- Types of different groups targeted
- Comparisons you wish to stress in the
analysis.
97GUIDELINES FOR F. G. D .s
98 Group composition
- The composition should be homogeneous.
- Participants with different backgrounds and
experience restrict the openness of discussion - Representative of the population in which the
investigator is interested. - Ideally efforts may be made to select people who
do not know each other personally. - Exclude people previously participated in a FGD
on the same subject.
99Number of people per Group
- The number of participants should range between
six to ten. - Small group lt6 can be dominated by one person and
variation of thought and queries remain
restricted. - Large group gt12 does not provide chance to all
participants and often give way for small group
formation.
100 Venue
- Any place people can easily go.
- Acceptable and convenient to the participants
- Any place where 6 to 10 people can be seated.
- Should not be held in open place (Guard against
unwarranted intrusions)
101 Seating Arrangements
- Best is to have participants in a circular
fashion. - Each participant should have the provision to see
all other participants. - Each one should feel physically and
psychologically comfortable.
102How many groups ?
- Run FGs until you dont hear anything new
Redundancy of information. Not over sample
Sampling and Recruitment
- Either random or convenient sampling .
- Usually recruited through informal networks.
- Make sure representative ness of
study population
103 Focus Group Guide
- A flexible unstructured interview guide is used
to conduct the discussion. - keep the questions open- ended Eg. How do you
feel about - Questions should seek to discover the prevailing
attitudes of the community, not just those of the
group. - Start with general question and then get more
specific as the session progress. ( funnelling
effect) - The number of items in the guide should not
exceed 6 or 7. - The guide must be phrased in simple language
using local terminology.
104Personal Qualities of Moderator
- Adequate knowledge on background information
about the topic and experience in conducting FGD - Good listening skills
- Leadership skills
- Relationship with the participants
- Patience and flexibility
- Clothing
105 Role of Moderator
- Orient the group in a proper manner.
- Put forth issues / sub issues in appropriate
questions. - Create a non-judgmental environment in which
group members feel free to express. - Encourage interaction between participants.
- Encourage quiet participants to speak up and
quieten garrulous talkers.
106Role of Moderator (contd.)
- Guide the direction of discussion so that it does
not wander too far from the designated focus. - Pace the discussion appropriate for the
participant - Subtly control the time allotted to each question
and to the entire discussion.
107 Role of the Recorder
- Primarily an observer, tape record the session.
- Observe the nature of interaction , record
non-verbal communication level of consensus - Should know what type of data she/he is expected
to collect. - If facilitator has omitted a question from the
guide, the recorder can point them out. - Identify the speakers. Note down the first few
words every time a new person speaks and make
brief notes of the content
108Sociogram
- Diagrammatic representation of entire session of
FGD - Offers a useful method of conceptualising group
dynamics drawing comparisons between focus groups
reflecting on moderating technique
109CONDUCTING FGD
110Warming-up
- Greet the participant as they arrive
- Create a warm and friendly environment to build
the rapport and gain their confidence - Speak casual-talk general non-controversial
subjects of mutual interest - Self introduction Socio-demographic details can
be collected - Seek verbal consent and permission for using tape
recorder
111Beginning the FGD
-
- Explain purpose of study and its utility.
- Spell out the ground rules of FGD
- Clarify that it is not a question answer session,
but a discussion. - Ensure confidentiality of their views.
- Emphasis that there is no right and wrong
answers.
112Beginning the FGD
- Encourage participants to talk freely and should
even express contradictory /opposite views - Tell them that they should speak clearly , one at
a time ,avoid interrupting one another - Start with generic topic before coming to
specific area of enquiry
113Discussion Issues Asking questions
- Initiate discussion by suitably framing the
issues as statements - Guide the discussion by logically steering the
issues. Picking up responses and probing further
can be done - Avoid questions eliciting Yes/ No answer
- Make sure not to leave any issue
114Encouraging controlling the discussion
- Atmosphere Warm, friendly and non-judgemental
- Pauses and prompts
- - Pausing allow to think more on the topic, but
should not last more than five seconds - -Establishing eye contact, nodding and other
gestures encourage people to talk - -Verbal prompts I see, keep on,mmm,
uh-huh
115Encouraging discussion (contd)
- The probe Encourage speaker to give more
information - -Prepare probes for each question
- -Use probes where ever needed during
discussion eg. Could you explain further?, Would
you give an example? - Rephrasing- A question can be rephrased using
different words, not diluting the issue
116Encouraging the discussion
- Clarification- To clarify an issue,facilitator
can request Can you repeat it or Please
elaborate - Reorientation-Facilitator use participants
response to restate the question for another
participant - Hypothetical Question- Suppose the baby develops
high fever what would you do?
117Dealing with Specific individuals
- Dominant participant.
- Facilitator should avoid eye contact. Facilitator
can change the subject. If the said strategies
failed, the facilitator can politely request that
the others be allowed to speak. - The Expert
- Can offer lot of useful information, but should
not be allowed to take over and prevent others
from speaking - Reluctant participant
- Facilitator should have more eye contact.
- Facilitator can ask the person to comment on
what another person has said or to summarize what
the group has discussed.
118Dealing with problems during FGD
- Answering one by one-Explain once more that
discussion among participants are crucial - Participant bring small child If dont disrupt,
let him/her remain - Leave the group early- allow
- Bored/ look sleepy- Cut jokes, brief break
serve cold/hot drinks
119Recording of Information
- Note the details of discussion
- The note should also include
- -Information required for the session report
- -Group dynamics
- -The intermission and distractions occur
- - What makes the participants laugh
120Recording information
- What seems to make them reluctant to answer.
- Whether the facilitator lost control of the
meeting. - How the discussion is concluded
- Should use quotation marks to indicate
participants words.
121Closing the discussion
- Inform participants that discussion is going to
end and if they have any query or want to
contribute they can do. - Thank them for their cooperation and valuable
comments. - Assure the participants that under no
circumstances the discussion would prove counter
productive to the interest of the group - During this debriefing period, tape recorder
should remain on valuable comments are some
times made at this time.
122Strengths of Focus Groups
- Lot of information - quickly less costly
- Excellent in obtaining information from
illiterate communities - Flexibility- discover attitudes and opinions that
might not be revealed otherwise - Well accepted by the community
- If simple issues- managed by people not trained
in qualitative research methods - Most valuable when used in conjunction with other
quantitative information
123Limitations of Focus groups
- Not suitable for arriving at generalizable
conclusions - Quality of information depends heavily on
moderator skills - Limited value in exploring complex beliefs
- Number of questions are limited
- Sensitive and personal issues-Socially acceptable
responses unless put as general questions
124(No Transcript)
125ANALYSISAND INTERPRETATION
126- Data source for analysis
- Debriefings
- Quick and easy way of summarizing data
immediately after the field work. - Notes
- Notes and comments of both verbal and non
verbal information compiled by the moderator and
observer. - Transcripts
- Transcribing is very demanding,
- Translation from Local Language if necessary
Contd.
127Analysis of Transcripts
- Two approaches
- Systematic coding using content analysis
- Ethnographic Summary
- Transcript analysis soon after transcripts
available - - Not after completion of all FGDs.
- Edit Transcript
- - Removing sections poorly transcribed or do
not make sense
128Analysis of FGD Contd
- Free-listing
- Read the transcript with objectives fresh in
mind. Look for major opinions and attitude. - Evolving Domains
- Look for patterns and themes evolving from the
data - Coding
- Marking the transcripts using codes
- Summarizing
- Sorting the coded transcripts and summarize.
129Analysis of FGD
- Log Book (Overview grid)
- Useful summarizing tool.
- Enable to find out how many times an issue was
discussed across all the Focus Groups as well as
how many times a response was given. - Try to Avoid quantification while summarizing,
- Semi quantification can be done with groups as
unit of analysis. - Comparison can be done across different
categories of stakeholders
130EXAMPLE OF A LOG BOOK ON OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS
131ETHNOGRAPHIC SUMMARY
The researcher undertakes repeated readings of
the transcript until they feel confident they
understand the underlying meaning being
presented. Quotations are used to illustrate the
key points and again are followed or preceded by
narrative explanation.
132- Writing the report
- Using Log book, codes from transcripts,
observers notes as well as debriefing notes. - Present findings according to topics
- Use quotations to illustrate strongly expressed
thoughts, beliefs and emotions - Describe overall consensus of the group,
Majority minority feelings as well as
differences by characteristics of respondents. - Common style is to say The majority of
participants said .. Or few of
them..
133- Interpretation
- Interpretation involved explaining your findings
in terms of the problem or question you want to
answer. - The format of FGD report should consist of three
parts - 1. Description of setting and participants.
- 2. Discussion of findings.
- 3. Conclusion and recommendations.
134(No Transcript)
135(No Transcript)
136OBSERVATION
137Observation
- Observation may be defined as a systematic
viewing of a specific phenomenon in its proper
setting for the specific purpose of gathering
data for a particular study - It is a technique that involves directly
observing behaviour with the purpose of
describing it . - To observe means to examine an object, an
individual, group of people or an event with all
of the senses in order to describe it. It
includes seeing, hearing and perceiving.
138Observation (contd)
- It is a method to collect firsthand data on
programme, processes or behaviours being
studied-what people actually do - Opportunity to collect data on a wide range of
behaviours to capture a great variety of
interactions to openly explore a topic - Holistic perspective, understanding of the
context within which it operates
139Scientific Observation
- Serves a formulated research purpose
- Planned deliberately
- Recorded systematically
- Subject to checks and controls on validity and
reliability - Validity is assessed by examining how well the
observations agree with alternative measures of
the same construct - Reliability entails consistency and freedom from
measurement error
140OBSERVATION
Non-participant
Structured
Unstructured
- events planed in advance
- use of observational guide
141Participant Observation
- Observer is part of the phenomenon or group which
is observed - Roots in ethnographic research-immerse in the
culture to see how people respond to situations,
how they organise their lives, learning what is
meaningful in their lives - See things from people perspective and a deeper
understanding of them
142Participant Observation
- Often conduct casual informal interviews while
watching and recording to increase understanding - Level of participation depends upon the nature of
study desired outcome - Requires lengthy period of engagement in the
field - The observed may not be aware of the researcher
purpose -
143Participant Observation-Uses
- Useful in understanding basic values behaviour
associated with particular actions - Discover the relationship between knowledge,
attitude and practice - Observer will be able to record context which
gives meaning to the observed behaviour and heard
statements - Can be effectively combined with other methods
144Participant Observation-Demerits
- Narrows the range of observation
- To the extent that observer participates
emotionally, the objectivity is lost - Participation can interfere with observation and
recording. - Time consuming
- Research skills essential
145Non-participant Observation
- Systematically observing and documenting
something in its natural setting - Silent observers
- Researcher watches records information about
people or event without intruding into the scene - Look for many things and describe the situations
at many different levels - Ethical issues need to be addressed
- No rule as to how many- spread observations over
time -
146Un- structured Observations
- Unstructured observation involves broadly
focussed encounters without a pre-determined
guide - Data primarily used for descriptive accounts
- More of exploratory in nature
147Structured Observation
- Observes events that have been planned in advance
- Validate data obtained from other methods
- Standardization of observational technique
- Typified by clear and explicit decisions on what,
how and when to observe (Persons/locations,
duration of observations, time to conduct,
frequency) - Can be quantified , but with little contextual
description
148What is to be observed
- Selection criteria - Depends on the purpose of
the study - Sampling purposive Sampling
- Sources of information consider what is to be
observed, who is the foci of attention, where
will the observation take place and what is the
most appropriate recording system
149 Observer characteristics
- Observer qualities Familiarity with cultural
background of people being observed - Knowledge of social research technique
- Observers role unobtrusive, interest in the
events being observed - Training to enable them take note of un-forseen
events, share study objectives, how to conduct
and how to deal with field problems
150Observation Guide
- Issues to be observed prepared in advance based
on the research objectives - Inputs from observers / observers familiar with
the issues in the study - Goal oriented and suitable to local condition
- The items should appear in logical grouping and
in the order in which to observe them
151Selection of Site
- Prior site selection and permission from
authorities - No of observation sites availability,
accessibility and study specific - Date and time- Remember that observations are
activity linked - No of observations per site - depend upon the
purpose of study
152Conduct the observation
- Inform and explain your presence
- Gain confidence and cooperation of subjects
- Remain detached yet involved with the group
- Take note of the observation situations and also
of non-verbal communication - Avoid making extensive notes during observation
153Documentation in Observation technique
- Use all senses to describe the setting-physical
and social environment non-verbal communication - Field notes- include observation notes, feelings
and reflections - Direct quotations
- Technological tools-Tape recorder, camera, Laptop
etc.
154Analysis and Report Writing
- Categorization of data Qualitative part
- Coding Quantitative aspects and categorized
data - Summarizing Report as percentages and / or in a
narrative style depending on data - Findings combined with other methods to make a
complete report
155Advantages Disadvantages
- Advantages
- Recording in context possibility of cross check
- Basic to other more systematic research
- Emic perspective
- Discover the relationship between K, A and P
- Opportunity for identifying unanticipated outcome
- Disadvantages
- Ideally long periods of intense field work
- Local language fluency
- Replicality a problem
- Difficult to quantify
- No use in studying past event or activity
- Observer bias
- Change in behaviour
156Some problems and solutions
- Observer bias
- Questionable reliability
- Observer may influence behaviour
- Actins can only be observed-not thinking
- Several researchers make observations
- Systematically repeat observations
- Repeat observations. Spent time to reduce
self-consciousness - Mix with other methods like interview
157Thank You
158Assessing the quality of qualitative research
- Strategies to ensure rigour systematic research
design, data collection, interpretation and
communication techniques - Create an account of method and data which can
stand up to independent scrutiny - Produce coherent explanation of the phenomena
under scrutiny
159Ensuring reliability
- Maintain record of interviews and observations
- Document entire processes
- Develop coding framework
- Presence of audio or video tapes provides
opportunities for analysis by independent
observers
160Safeguarding Validity
- Internal Validity
- Quan Measuring what you intend to measure
- Qual Findings need to reflect the truth
- External validity
- - Quan Generalizability through stat
inference - - Qual Transferability through understanding
of relationship between context and findings
161Triangulation
- Main research tool researchers themselves
- Subjective nature of data can open it to
criticism - Method to enhance quality of data through
triangulation data, researcher, combining methods
162Assessing Trustworthiness of Findings
- Can be assessed by
- Careful documentation of research process
- Independent replication of research process
- Comparison with findings with previous research
- Triangulation
163Assessing Trustworthiness Contd..
- Consistency checks Independent coder given
research objectives categories and their
description without raw text - Then given a sample of raw text and asked to
assign section of text from which initial
categories where developed.
164Assessing Trustworthiness Contd..
- Stake holder check Participants, service
providers, funding agencies comment on categories
or interpretations made
165Qualitative data analysis software
- QDA does not completely analyze data
- A tool that supports the process of qualitative
data analysis - Large volume of data can be structured very
quickly and clearly presented - Helps the researcher in searching texts, memos or
coded passage easily
166Advantages of QDA software
- Speed
- Great flexibility
- Complex analysis becomes feasible
- Analysis can be more systematic
- Easy to handle large amount of data
- Increases the status and believability
167Disadvantages
- Danger of loosing touch with data
- We can perform quick but irrelevant analysis
- High degrees of complexity can lead to poor
manageability - Can lead to dull and meaningless analysis result
168QDA software packages
- Text Base Beta
- CDC-EZtext
- Atlas-ti
- NUDIST
- nVivo
- The Ethnograph
169(No Transcript)