Qualitative Research

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Chapter 10

• Qualitative Research

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Qualitative Methods

• Qualitative research is an umbrella concept
  covering several forms of inquiry that focus on
  understanding and explain meaning of a social
  phenomena.

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• Qualitative
• Subjective
• Non-numerical
• Nonstatistical analysis
• Small subj
• Open ended data collection
• Narrative for results

• Quantitative
• Objective
• Numeric
• Statistical analysis
• Large subj
• Structured data collection
• Table/graphs to display results

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Quantitative (L) vs Qualitative (R)

• Test hypothesis that the researcher begins with.
• Concepts are in the form of distinct variables.

• Capture and discover meaning once the researcher
  becomes immersed in the data.
• Concepts are in the form of themes, motifs, and
  generalizations.

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• Measures are created in an ad hoc manner, often
  specific to the individual setting or researcher.
• Data are form of words and images from documents,
  observations, and transcripts.

• Measures are systematically created before data
  collection and are standardized.
• Data are in the form of numbers from precise
  measurement.

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• Theory is largely causal (fundamental,
  connecting).
• Procedures are standard, and replication is
  understood.

• Theory can be causal or noncausal.
• Research procedures are particular, and
  replication is very rare.

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• Analysis proceeds by using statistics, tables, or
  charts and discussing how what they show relates
  to hypotheses.

• Analysis proceeds by extracting themes or
  generalizations from evidence and organizing data
  to present a coherent, consistent picture.

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Characteristics of qualitative research
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Eight characteristics of qualitative research

• Natural setting takes place in the natural
  setting, travel to sites.
• Example visited an exercise gym to understand
  how bodybuilders perceive gender identity.

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• Researcher as instrument in most cases, the
  researcher is the primary instrument for data
  collection and analysis
• Observation
• Interview
• Documents
• Audiovisual

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Observation

• Complete participation researcher conceal role
• Observer as participant role as participation is
  known
• Participant as observer observational role is
  secondary to participant role
• Complete observer researcher observe without
  participating

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Interviews

• Can include
• Face-to-face interactions
• Telephone interactions
• Chat room discussions.

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Type of interviews

• Close quantitative questions and responses
  categories are determined in advance
• Standard open-ended same basic questions in the
  same order

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• Interview guide topics are specified in advance,
  but the interviewer decides the sequence and
  wording of questions
• Informal conversational questions emerge from
  the immediate contacts and are asked in the
  natural course

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• Emergent approach the research question might
  change or be refined as the researcher learns
  more about the subject under investigation.
• As the researchers gained data, a research
  questions changeso become familiar with an
  environment or group of people.

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• Interpretive approach the researchers filtered
  data through a personal lens in making
  interpretations or drawing theoretical
  conclusions.

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• Combination of projection (lit review, personal
  experience, and professional practice) and
  evaluation (data is reexamined to see what was
  unseen in the initial interpretation)

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• Interpretive approach (last class) Combination
  of projection and evaluation
• Constant companion a popular and common
  technique for recording, coding, and analyzing
  data.

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Four stages of CC

• Reduce, code, and display the major themes or
  patterns that emerge.
• Integrate the categories and compare them to one
  another and to the themes.
• Delimit and refine the themes.
• Provide examples from the data that show how the
  themes were derived

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• Holistic view views social phenomena
  holistically.
• Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the
  interdependence of its parts concerned with
  wholes rather than analysis or separation into
  parts.
• Such studies are broad rather than focused.

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• Reflexivity and subjectivity researchers reflect
  and on how personal assumptions, biases, and
  values and are sensitive to how their personal
  biography shape the study.

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• Use of deductive and inductive reasoning some
  qualitative research use one, and some use the
  other, and many use both.

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• Strategies of Inquiry use one or more strategies
  of inquiry as a guide in research and inquiry.
• Example formal and informal interviews, field
  diaries

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• Mixed-method can combine both qualitative and
  quantitative research methods.

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Types of qualitative research
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Grounded Theory

• Grounded Theory development of the theory from
  the views of the participants in the study.
• Developed theories are grounded in real-world
  experience.

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• Middle-range theories theories that have
  pragmatic relevance and usefulness to everyday
  situations.

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Life histories

• Life histories story of a single individual or
  groups of single individuals.
• Recall significant events of ones life
• Significant understanding of the historical
  context
• aka narrative research or biographical research
• Finding common themes

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Case Study

• Case Study involves studying an event, activity,
  program, process, or one or more individuals.
• Studies that provides an intensive, holistic, and
  in-depth understanding of a single unit or
  bounded system.

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Case studies can explore

• Nature of the case
• The historical background of the case
• Physical setting
• Other contexts (economic, political, legal,
  aesthetic)
• Other cases through which this case is recognized
• The informants through whom the case can be known

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Phenomenological research

• Describes the meaning of a lived experience for
  several individuals about a phenomenon.
• Identifies the essence or core of human
  experience
• Explores the structures of human consciousness

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• Requires people to set aside all previous habits
  of thought.
• Opened his or her eyes keeping them open
  looking and listening.
• Not to take our preconceived notion for granted.
• Fresh perception of existence and meaning.

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• Has an educational and inquiry task to make
  people conscious of what the world was like
  before we learn how to see it.

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Types of qualitative research

• Grounded Theory
• Life histories
• Case Study
• Phenomenological research

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Ethnographical research

• Ethnography describes and interprets the
  cultural/social group in a natural setting.
• Ethnographic research primarily uncovers and
  describes beliefs, values, and attitudes that
  structure behavior of a group.
• Developed from the discipline of anthropology and
  sociology.

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• Although most people associate culture with a
  racial or ethnic group, it is simply the values
  and behavior shared by a group of individuals.
• Example
• Interview 20 Guatemalan women to understand how
  they use medicinal plants

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Autoethnographical research

• Autoethnographical research a brand of
  ethnographical research that interprets a culture
  or social group by producing highly personalized
  and reviewing texts, in which authors tell
  stories of their experiences while interacting
  with the culture or social group.

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• Example one researcher tell her experience of
  interacting with her parents and plastic surgeons
  while exploring the culture of plastic surgery
  (page 216).

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Steps in the qualitative research problem

• How do you began a qualitative research problem?
  (pages 217-218)
• In some ways, the same steps outlined in chapter
  2 (pages 27-28)
• Identify research question or problem area
• Initial review of literature

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• Distilled the question to a specific research
  problem
• Continue review of the literature
• Formulate hypotheses
• Determine research approach (ethnographic study,
  phenomenology)

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• Identify the problem and sample may have already
  been completed.
• Design data collection plan the methods may need
  to be revised and changed during the course of
  the actual study common in qualitative
  research.

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• Select specific data collection procedures might
  already be completed.
• Can use this step to refine data collection
  procedures (e.g. interview guide or observation
  protocol).

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• Choose the method of data analysis has already
  been completed.
• Implement the research plan
• Prepare their research report

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