Research Methodology – The Phenomenological Perspective / Ethnography

The Positivist Approach versus the Phenomenological Approach - The Philosophy of

Research

Why Bother with Philosophy?

“Every Research tool or procedure is inextricably embedded to commitments to particular

visions of the world and to knowing that world….No technique or method of investigation is self
validating…they operate only within a given set of assumptions about the nature of society, the
nature of human beings, the relationship between the two and how they may be known.”
Hughes

Research Methodology refers to the procedural framework within which the research is
conducted.
Research Methodology is an operational framework within which the facts are placed so that
their meaning is seen more clearly (Leedy)

Empirical research and Theoretical research

Empirical research is based on and guided by the results of observation and experiment.
Evidence as opposed to thought or discourse is able to make a satisfactory claim to have
added to the body of knowledge.

The Theorist studies the subject through available writings and through discourse with learned
individuals. He or she then reflects on ideas and using his or her intellect constructs a new set
of ideas or a different perspective of the situation.

The Positivist Approach

The researcher is an Objective analyst of a tangible social reality.

The researcher is independent of and neither affects nor is affected by what is being observed.

It is assumed that in a situation there are Causes that lead to Effects. These causes are
independent of the people in the situation. The aim of the study is to understand these laws of
Cause and Effect which are considered universal.

The aim of the study is to identify variables involved in a phenomenon and construct a model or
a theory which explains the linkage between Cause and Effect. These theories are tested
against empirical evidence through observation and experimentation. Modern Science is
predominantly Positivist.

Research in the Positivist tradition would mean uncovering objective and universally valid facts
by following clear procedures and rules, which include carefully controlled observations of
empirical phenomena, impartial and logical argumentation, and objective analysis, i.e. the
elimination of interpretation by the researcher. This approach assumes that Reality is “out
there” and can be uncovered. Nature will reveal its secrets in an unambiguous way to those
who accurately follow the methods of natural science. These methods emphasise
measurement and quantification.

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Positivism makes explanatory statements about the world and not normative ones; it
distinguishes between “what is” and “what should be”. Eg Science is considered value free.

Modern Science assumes that:

 Humans have powers of reasoning
 Application of reason results in discovery of Universal Laws of Cause and Effect
 Universality means that there is order / regularity
 Order / regularity means that phenomena can be predicted and or controlled.

The Phenomenological Approach

Phenomenology is a theoretical viewpoint that advocates the study of direct experience taken
at face value: and one which sees behaviour as determined by the phenomena of experience
rather than by external, objective and physically described reality. (Cohen and Manion)

Phenomenology focuses on the primacy of subjective consciousness. Each situation is unique

and its meaning is a function of the circumstances and the individuals involved.
Humans always make meanings of their experience of the world; phenomenology seeks to
understand the “meaning” that is important to human beings in a situation or context. It is
primarily interested in how groups of people construct, express, and communicate meaning as
they engage with the world and with one another.

Phenomenology involves the study of the lived experience or life world of actors in the settings
under analysis in terms of the meanings that the actors have constructed of their experiences.
Human beings do not simply grasp the world; they instead make meaning from the chaotic flow
of experience. Human beings are Sense Makers. These meanings are not present “in” the
world to be revealed, but rather are constructed from our interactions.

Human beings bring with them A Priori knowledge of the world to a situation; this knowledge
shapes and filters perception. This knowledge intercedes between what is sensed and ‘sense
data”, the thing that is perceived or the phenomenon. A Priori knowledge consists of all our
experiences from the past, our class, caste, community, gender etc. This lived experience
shapes all our future experience which in turn reshapes our past lived experience. This lived
experience can be understood as the Self. Thus all knowledge is an interpretation of the world,
a sense making process rather than just simple “grasping”.

Human actions and artifacts are projections and embodiments of meaning.

Social realities are different for different people, multiple meanings and multiple realities exist.

The researcher is not independent of what is being studied, but is an intrinsic part of it. The
researcher seeks to understand phenomena in depth, in terms of the meaning held by actors in
the situation under study. The researcher seeks answers to questions of What, Why, and How.
People cannot be understood outside of the context of their ongoing relationships with other
people or separate from their interconnectedness with the world – Clarkson.

The researcher understands that his or her A priori knowledge is used to interpret the
phenomenon under study. Researchers are subject to cultural and social prejudices as well as

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values and beliefs. Phenomenological study requires the researcher to understand his or her
“world view”.

Positivism vs. Phenomenology

Positivist
Basic Beliefs World is external and objective
Observer is independent
Science is value free
Phenomenology
World is socially constructed and
subjective
Observer is part of what is observed
Science is driven by human interest

Researchers Focus on facts Focus on meanings

should
Look for Fundamental Laws
Reduce phenomena to
simplest elements
Formulate and test hypotheses
Try to understand what is happening
Look at totality of each situation
Develop ideas through induction from
evidence

Preferred Operationalise concepts so that Small samples investigated in depth over

Methods they can be measured time
Take large samples

What we need to pay Serious Attention to!

Any “fact” has already been interpreted, at least in the sense that meaning has been assigned
to an empirical observation.

To understand is to interpret.

When we make “sense” of empirical observations by attributing meanings to them, two

interconnected frames of meaning making interact, the political, historical, and socio cultural
context of the observed data and the political, historical, socio cultural context of the
researcher.
We capture “Reality” through observation, i.e. translate bits of information from an unknowable
“reality” into subjectively interpreted and context bound, yet knowable realities.

The Researcher has to be clear about his research tradition. Researchers have a priori
knowledge based on their theoretical stances. This guides the formulation of the research
topic, and also aspects of the topic to be studied.

Data is what we can observe.

Data is what we think is relevant to answering the research question.
Data collection is the process of selectively choosing empirical phenomena and attributing
relevance to them with respect to our research question. Therefore data is nothing but
interpreted observations. Our findings depend on what we call “data”. Data is always selected.

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 Data Selection is justified by Authority arguments, prior empirical studies, Theory, and Logical
Argument.

Unobservable Empirical
Unobserved Empirical Phenomena
phenomena

All Empirical phenomena

relating to a particular Observable but
Research question unobserved Empirical
Phenomena

Observed Empirical
phenomena

Observed but not selected Research data

Empirical phenomena

Data analysis is about Categorization and Classification.

Categorization is putting a number of things into a smaller number of groups. A category is an
idea (word or phrase) that stands for a set of objects or events with similar characteristics.
Classification is the rule / rules by which such allocation is made.
Categorization is dependent on socio cultural and political contexts. Categorization is
fundamental to human understanding. The act of categorization imbues what is observed with
meaning.

Knowledge and meaning is understood and communicated through categories. Things or

events or phenomena do not produce categories “in themselves”. Interpretation of things /
events / phenomena produces categories. This interpretive process is totally dependent on pre
existing interpretations. There are no “natural” categories. All categories are active
interpretations constructed by us. Categories help us sort data. Categories pre exist and
emerge from the sorting process. Categories are never exhaustive.

Research findings are human constructions and not objective Truth. Positivist research
assumes that attainment of objective Truth is both possible and desirable.

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Science and the Scientific Method

1. What is Science?

Science is both a process of gaining knowledge and the organized body of knowledge
gained by the process. The process that science uses to gain knowledge is called the
Scientific method. The organized body of knowledge that science generates consists of a set
of facts and the theories that explain the facts. Science is also commonly understood to be the
activities carried out by “scientific institutions”.

The Scientific Method:

The Scientific method rests on logic. Logic is the reasoning used to reach a conclusion from a
set of assumptions. Logic is concerned with inference; the process whereby new assertions
are produced from already established ones.

There are two ways in which one can reason, Inductive Logic and Deductive Logic.

In Deductive Logic, which was first originally elaborated by Aristotle, premises are postulated
and then rules of logical deduction are used to derive inferences or consequences implicit in
the premises. The premises are assumed to be true, or the evidence provided must be a set
about which everything is known before the conclusion can be drawn.
Deductive logic then infers specific instances from the general premises.

E.g. Premise 1 – All men are mortal

Premise 2 – Socrates is a man
Inference: Socrates is a mortal

In, Inductive logic, one generalizes from a number of cases where a certain result is
observed, and infers to a general rule claiming that these results can be observed in all cases
of a class to which the observed cases belong to. Conclusions about future events are drawn
from past observations.
E.g. this swan is white (I have made repeated observations, and all the swans that have been
seen have been white. Let us say 50 such observations have been made).
Conclusion: All Swans are white.

The Scientific method is the iterations and recursions of the following steps:

Hypothesis

Experiment

Laws

Theory

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Observation demands careful measurement of variables and the use of Operational definitions
– special processes by which measurements are made. E.g. a thermometer to measure
temperature.

A Hypothesis may denote an empirically testable statement about the exact relation of two
defined variables or the term may stand for a tentative and imprecise conjecture about possible
relationships between two domains of interest. It will generally provide a causal explanation or
propose some correlation. E.g. Increased humidity in the air leads to increased sweating.

The hypothesis is tested by designing a controlled experiment. In a controlled experiment

two virtually identical experiments are run, in only one of which the factor being tested is varied.
All the other factors are controlled. For e.g. to identify whether a drug causes a particular
reaction, two sets of people are chosen who are identical. Then one group is given the drug
and the other given a placebo, and the effects are compared.

Laws are then defined which state the relationship and this law enables us to summarize a
large number of individual facts. From the example given above, the law could be that Drug A
when administered to healthy individuals produces a certain skin infection. Laws are about
kinds of events and show a functional relationship between two or more kinds of events. They
are supported by a large number of experimental data.

A Theory then offers a means of relating the laws describing a class of events to a framework
and a set of principles described in terms differing from those used in the laws. E.g. the above
law may be explained by a theory that would explicate the impact of different chemical
molecules on the cellular components of the human body.

The Scientific Method also includes the Verifiability of Claims. The Verifiability of claims is
tested by Repeatability of experiments and by the process of Refereeing. In the refereeing
process, scientists in the same field of study, review the experimental data, and also attempt to
understand the results in the light of its impact on the existing field of knowledge.

To Sum Up

Scientific Method generally consists of four stages:

1. Forming hypotheses or research questions
2. Gathering data relevant to the hypotheses or research questions
3. Testing hypotheses with these data
4. Either rejecting or failing to reject the hypotheses or adequately answering research
questions.

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 The Ladder of Inference

I take Actions based on my beliefs

I adopt beliefs
I draw Conclusions
I make Assumptions – based on
meanings
I add Meanings – Cultural and
Personal
I Select data
Observable data and experiences

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Participant Observation

What is Participant Observation?

Direct involvement in the here and now of people’s daily lives, this involvement is a
process and the logic behind participant observation.
Generates knowledge about human meaning and interaction as viewed from the
“insider” perspective.
Develops a form of theory and theorizing stressing interpretation and understanding of
human existence. This theory / theories provides a perspective or a way of seeing
aimed at understanding the phenomenon under study.

It is appropriate when

Little is known about the phenomenon

There are differences between “insider” view vs. the “outsider” view
Phenomenon is obscured from view of “outsiders”
The phenomenon is observable within an everyday life setting
One wishes to develop a holistic understanding of the phenomena under study

Participant observation aims to uncover, make accessible, and reveal the meanings people use
to make sense of their everyday experience. This interpretation or interpretive theory does not
generate explanations which contain law like propositions providing causal explanations.
Participant observation does not begin with preconceived concepts or hypothesis about the
phenomenon of study. It builds theories grounded in concrete human realities.
The researcher participates in the here and now everyday life to study the phenomenon, in
contrast to lab settings. The researcher aims to generate richly detailed descriptions that
describe the behaviours, intentions, situations, and events as understood by the participants.

Definitions

“The systematic description of events, behaviours, and artifacts in the social setting chosen for
study” – Marshall and Rossman

“The process of learning through exposure to or involvement in the day to day or routine
activities of participants” – LeCompte

“Exploration of the organised routines of behaviour” - Fine

Getting Started

The researcher starts with some idea or abstraction as the focus of the study, but must remain
open to “ground realities” and modify, refine, and or expand concepts by providing detailed
qualitative descriptions based on his or her observations of what people do and say in their
natural settings. Basic concepts are defined phenomenologically, that is in terms of what they
mean to people in specific situations. The research question or problem may have to be
defined and redefined as per the initial observations and conceptualizations.

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The research question helps the researcher decide what to observe. The researcher focuses
on what is happening and why, regular vs. irregular activities, and looks for variations,
exceptions, and “negative activities and or behaviours”.
.
The first thing is to pay attention to the language used, in terms of important words and phrases
and their associated meanings. The researcher must know or learn the language of the
participants; this is an essential prerequisite for Participant Observation.

The Researcher must also be aware of exclusion processes, as to how participants exclude the
researcher from their interactions. Eg changing the language in front of the researcher,
changing the subject, moving away to talk out of ear shot, or excluding the researcher from
social events.

The Setting

The researcher has to gain access to the “insider” setting. The setting is the physical location
where the people under study carry out their everyday activities. The researcher will have to
participate in multiple settings to carry out his or her participant observations.

The selection of a setting depends on

Whether the researcher can gain access to the setting
The range of possible participant roles that the researcher can assume in the setting
Whether or not the role / roles will provide sufficient access to the phenomena under
study

Settings are more or less open if access to it requires little negotiation. If access to a setting
requires considerable negotiation, then it is more or less closed. The researcher has to
assume a role readily available in the setting to carry out participant observations. A visible
setting is one where information about it is available to the general public.

It is not possible to study all settings and all phenomena in a setting. The researcher has to
work out a logic of observation and make a systematic plan based on his or her initial
groundwork.

The Researcher’s Role

The researcher has to be directly involved as a participant in peoples’ daily lives.

The researcher’s role may be conceptualised on a continuum from a complete insider to a
complete outsider.

Four roles can be distinguished:

1. A complete participant – “immersion in the field, subjective”. The researcher is a

member of the group who conceals his or her role as a researcher to avoid disrupting
‘normal’ activity in the group.
2. Participant as observer – researcher is a participant in the group who is observing
others and who is more interested in observing than in participating. Here the
researcher is a member of the group and his or her participation is a given.

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 3. Observer as participant – enables the researcher to participate in the group activities,
yet the main role is to collect data. Here the researcher is an observer who is not a
member of the group but is interested in participating as a means of understanding the
group’s activities. This is a “peripheral membership” role. The researcher may not get
to participate in the core activities of the group.
4. A complete observer – “objective, neutral, scientific”, the researcher is completely
hidden from view and or the group may be unaware that they are being studied.

A so called conflict arises between Participation and Observation. Most people think that the
more one participates the less one is able to observe, but paradoxically this viewpoint is not
valid. That is because simply observing may not lend itself to a complete understanding of the
phenomena under study. The researcher’s presence will definitely influence the situation, but
the important point is whether the researcher can account for those effects in explaining the
data.

Initially the researcher is an outsider, and this enables him or her to become familiar with the
setting / settings noting major features, relationships, processes, and events. Everything is
New.
The researcher soon becomes involved with people and progressively gains acceptance.

Participating as an insider requires the researcher to select from the roles already available in
the setting.
The researcher becomes a complete participant when he or she “goes native” or becomes the
phenomenon. This helps the researcher penetrate to the heart of the experience existentially,
but at the same time the researcher may lose “objectivity”.

The researcher’s role may be Overt or Covert.

An Overt role would require the researcher to submit a proposal to the concerned authorities
stating the aims and methodology of the study, its expected outcomes, and the possible ethical
and political issues that might arise. People in the group or community or at least some of
them are aware of the researcher and his or her agenda.
Covert roles are much trickier to manage: should the researcher deceive participants? The
researcher has to be aware that he or she is not there to manipulate and control participants.
The researcher has to be aware that the people he or she interacts with or not “objects” to be
examined, manipulated, and experimented with, neither are they respondents. Dignity,
anonymity, and confidentiality have to be maintained.

The researcher has to be aware of his or her own socio cultural context, values, and beliefs
that would impinge on his or her study. The researcher’s social and psychological “locations”
are extremely important. By sociological “location”, what one means is the influence of factors
such as Age, Gender, Class, and Ethnicity of the researcher. The “location” of the researcher
determines what is observed with respect to the phenomenon of interest. In fact, the
researcher’s “location” determines the phenomenon of interest. The researcher’s interpretation
of the phenomenon will also be influenced by his / her “location”. The researcher must be
aware of his or her “biases” and must first practice making detailed observations with out
imposing preconceived categories from the researcher’s interpretive framework.

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The first step in the research is to learn about the insider’s way of life as defined, understood,
and made meaningful by him or her.

In the Field

The researcher needs to develop trust and cooperation in order to improve the quality of data
collected.
Knowledge of a person’s social identity provides grounds for trust and cooperation.

Relationships have to be built to access settings and gather accurate information.

Relationships depend on reciprocity and exchange. Being sincere and respectful might help.
The researcher should get hold of “gatekeepers” who would facilitate entry into the setting. Key
informants can later be identified and the researcher needs to build rapport with them. Key
informants and “gate keepers” need to be people who are respected by other group members
and who enable the researcher to meet people throughout the group.

The researcher has to gain acceptance. To blend into the setting, to be unobtrusive, and not
call attention to oneself is very useful.

“Hanging out” is a process whereby the researcher gains trust and establishes rapport. In the
“hanging out” process, the researcher moves from being an ignorant outsider to that of
“acquaintance”, and finally an “intimate”. In the first stage the researcher learns the rules with
respect to appropriate behaviour and language of the group. In the “acquaintance” stage, the
researcher becomes familiar with the language and has understood some of the rules of
interaction. In the “intimate’ stage, the researcher has established relationships with the
participants to the extent that he or she does not have to think about what to say but is as
comfortable with the participants as they are with him / her. Field work requires more than
“hanging out”, the researcher would work with and participate in every day activities, take
notes, and also question participants to gain clarity of meaning.

Building a rapport requires positive feelings towards one another. Mutual interests,
expressions of concern, willingness to listen, sharing of common life experiences, self
revelation, engaging in joint activities; all of these may help in building rapport.

The Researcher needs to be aware of his or her own strategies of building rapport from his or
her life experience.

What is Observed?

 Physical Space
 Appearance
 Verbal behavior and interactions
 Physical behaviour and interactions
 Content of conversation
 Researcher’s impact
 Personal Space
 Human traffic
 People who stand out (For starters)

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  Researcher’s thoughts, feelings, and actions

Once you are familiar with the setting then focus on specific phenomena.

The researcher has to have a prolonged engagement with the participants; validity of the data
is enhanced if the researcher has spent a considerable amount of time in the setting.
Prolonged engagement leads to increased number of observations, and also “better” access to
participants.

Personal Experience is a very important part of the observation.

Your thoughts and feelings as you observe and or participate are very important, especially
when you assume a role in a setting.

Validity

Internal validity is about checking the data collected and interpretations with the relevant
participants. External validity is about trying to generalize the findings to a larger group.

Documentation

Extensive field notes are to be maintained. Dates, time, places, the people involved, are to be
recorded, and then the observations, including your hunches, guesses, feelings, thoughts, and
speculations.

Start with physical surroundings in any setting. Make notes as soon as you can and transcribe
them at the end of the day. Make as accurate and detailed notes of your observations as
possible, they would include actions, speech, behaviour, casual conversations, and activities.
Look for key words in a conversation to help you remember. Also mentally replay scenes /
situations in your mind during observation breaks to help your recall.

Transcribe and write up your field notes within 24 hours.

Maintain a daily logbook of happenings / activities. Maintain a field journal too.

Remember

1. Be descriptive, rather than interpretive, in taking field notes. Clearly separate

description from interpretation and judgment, travel slowly up the Ladder of Inference.
Do not describe using “meaningless” adjectives.
2. Observations do not become data unless they are written down
3. Gather a variety of information from different perspectives.
4. Use quotations; represent program participants in their own words to the greatest
extent possible. Try and capture participants' perceptions of their experiences,
emotions, etc., in their own words.
5. Organise data into narrative sets; A day in the life for e.g.
6. Select key informants wisely and use them carefully. Draw upon the wisdom of their
"cultural insider" informed perspectives, but keep in mind that those perspectives could
be limited.

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7. Be as involved as possible in experiencing the program, situation, subjects, setting,
etc. as fully as possible while maintaining an analytical perspective grounded in the
purpose of your fieldwork: i.e. 'scientific research designed to answer a research
question.'
8. Include in your field notes your own observations, experiences, thoughts and feelings.
Several prominent qualitative researchers have referred to this as "memoing." These,
too, are field data.
9. The researcher should review his or her notes constantly in terms of what he or she is
looking for. This would help in refining and refocusing. This also helps in identifying
emerging themes / patterns of behaviour.
10. Being attentive for long periods of time is very difficult. The researcher should be
aware of one’s attention span.
11. Arrange your notes and memos with a simple coding system.

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The Long Interview

The Long Interview is a powerful tool that:

Helps the researcher access the categories and logic by which an individual sees the
world
Helps the researcher understand the life world of the individual

The Long Interview gives access:

Without violating privacy of the individual
Saves Time
Captures data without the need for prolonged contact and observation

Long Interview like the method of Participant Observation, construes the researcher as an
Instrument. The researcher’s Self provides ideas, possibilities, experiences and suggestions
that are used to analyse and interpret data.

In the Long Interview, unlike other interviews, the objective is to elicit data in as unobtrusive
and non directive manner as possible.

The Long Interview relies on an Interview Guide.

The function of the Interview Guide is to:

 Ensure that the researcher covers the same terrain in roughly the same order with all
respondents
 To ensure that “prompts” are carefully scheduled
 Allow the researcher to pay attention to what the person is saying
 Channels the scope and direction of the discourse

The Four Steps in the Long Interview Process

1. Review of Analytic Categories

Exhaustive review of literature to familiarize oneself with existing conceptual

categories
Prepares the researcher for “Surprise” and “Manufacturing Distance”
Critiques the existing literature and identifies concepts to be used in the
questionnaire

2. Review of Cultural Categories

The Self as an Instrument of Inquiry

Allows the researcher to systematically examine his or her personal
experience in detail with respect to the topic under study
Identify cultural categories that may not be present in the literature and which
may possibly be used in the Questionnaire
Helps prepare a template of the researcher’s world view
Helps in “manufacturing distance”

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3. Discovery of Cultural Categories

A. Interview Guide Construction

Allow respondent to tell his or her story in own terms
Opening questions are Biographical Questions
Grand Tour questions – opening, non directive questions for each area
Use of Floating prompts
Planned prompts – contrast prompt, category prompt, recall of exceptional
incidents
Open with biographical questions then have a series of question areas. Each
question area will have grand tour questions with floating prompts, followed by
the planned prompts

B. Interview Procedure
Be benign, accepting, and curious
Listen eagerly and with interest
Use body and gestures to “present” yourself
Make opening questions simple and informational
Use small talk and chit chat in the beginning
Go through the interview guide as per the design
Listen for key terms, clarification, explanation
Watch for avoidance of topic
Do not paraphrase, interpret, judge
Look out for below the surface assumptions and relationships

4. Discovery of Cultural Categories

Record on tape and make verbatim transcripts
Analysis is to determine categories, relationships, and assumptions of the
respondent’s world view
“Mannered reading” - come with an open mind, look for metaphors, key
phrases, words, terms. Look at the data, and what data sets off in the self in
terms of associations.
Link observations to evidence in transcript, and also evidence from the
literature review and cultural review from the self. Expand observations as
also implications and possibilities as much as possible.
Link observations to other observations from the transcript. Here the
emphasis is on linking up observations and the pieces of text from in which
they are embedded. Patterns and themes in an individual transcript would rise
into view by this stage. The linking up requires constant references to the
literature and cultural review.
Themes would be identified and relationships between them examined. There
may be one or two main themes under which other themes may be subsumed.
Review all themes from all the transcripts, and synthesize them. Here the
emphasis is on generating analytic categories which are abstractions about
the world as the respondents see it.

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The Focus Group Interview

Emic data are data that arise in a natural or indigenous form. They are only minimally imposed
by the researcher or the research setting.
Etic data represent the researcher’s imposed view of the situation.
Emic is from the inside, Etic from the outside.
Phenomena that are not understood well are usually studied with tools that yield emic data.
The Focus Group Interview is one such method, especially with respect to exploratory research
when it comes to learning how respondents talk about the phenomenon of interest.
A Focus group interview provides synergism, snowballing and stimulation.

Problem Definition
Formulation of the Research
Question

Identification of Sampling Frame

Identification of Moderator

Generation and Pre Testing of the

Interview Guide

Recruiting the Sample

Conducting the Focus Group

Interview

Analysis and Interpretation of Data

The focus group interview has

 A number of interacting individuals

 Focused on limited / specific issue

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  Has a moderator who uses the group to elicit information
 Participants are carefully recruited
 6 to 12 participants
 Comfortable seating
 Non evaluative atmosphere
 Skillful moderator
 Predetermined questions
 Recording of answers

Problem Definition requires a clear statement of what kinds of information are available and
from whom this information should be obtained.
Problem formulation begins with what is known and what additional forms of data are required.

The Moderator Skills required

 To exercise mild unobtrusive control

 Fluent in speaking, frame questions clearly
 A genuine interest in what is being said
 Has a sense of humour
 Supports group – treats group members as equals
 Time management, gauge the extent to which data “saturation” with respect to a topic
or theme has occurred and move on. Make sure that the discussion ends on time as
decided.
 Probing to elicit specific data

The Interview Guide provides a broad direction; it is not a survey questionnaire. It does not
provide potential responses.
It moves from
 General to Specific Questions
 Most important to least important Questions

The interview guide will consist of relatively unstructured questions or questions which do not
draw the attention of the respondents in any particular direction. Leading questions are a
complete no - no. Questions that call for a one or two word response should be avoided.
Primary questions introduce new topics into the interview; Secondary questions are designed
to follow up primary questions.

Beginning the Discussion

 Welcome, participants to introduce themselves

 Introduce moderator and assistant
 State topic, purpose, and moderator role
 State Guidelines
 No right or wrong answers
 All data would be confidential
 Participants anonymity would be maintained
 One person at time (recorder is on/ notes)
 First name basis ( if that is comfortable)
 Listen carefully to others (need not agree)

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  Switch of cell phones
 Can talk to each other
 Time for the discussion to be stated

Conducting the Focus Group

From the phenomenological perspective, a Non Directive approach in asking questions is the
one adopted as we are interested in data in the participants’ own words and what is meaningful
to him / her. The Non directive approach provides more opportunity for the participants’ views
to emerge.

The role of the observers should be made clear to the participants before the interview starts.
They should sit apart and be as non obtrusive as possible. If the discussion is to be recorded
the participants have to be informed at the start.

Ending Questions

o All things considered question – Of all the things we discussed what would you say is
most important to you?
o Summary Questions – Is this an adequate summary?
o Final Question – Moderator reviews the purpose of the interview and asks “Have we
missed anything?”

Possible Problems

 Moderator Bias
 Personal Bias
 Need to please client
 Need for internal consistency – “charming respondents so that they will go
along with the position that you want to hear”

 Presence of “Experts”
 Opinions as facts, Intimidation
 Moderator has to assert or give non verbal cues

 Presence of “Friends” / Hostiles

 May not join in, engage in private talk
 Inhibit expression of the group, imbalance opinion

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Systematic Self Observation (SSO)

It involves training informants to observe and record a selected feature of their own everyday
experience.
Informants are asked to write a report on their observation as soon as possible, giving a
detailed report of their thoughts, feelings, actions, the people involved, the situation, etc that
encompass the Phenomenon.

The informant has to furnish a detailed description of BSO – Behaviour, Situation, and
Outcome.
The SSO data are written up in the informant’s own voices.

An SSO topic should be a Phenomenon which is:

 Single, Focused and Natural to the culture

 Specific
 Localised to certain settings
 Readily noticeable
 Intermittent
 Bounded that is with a clear beginning and end
 Short Duration

The SSO requires the informant to:

 Be Mindfully attentive and Observe

 Be Watchful for the occurrence of the particular kind of event
 Reconstruct the observations into detailed field notes
 Minimise the time between the occurrence of the event and writing up the field notes, if
possible write it up immediately.
 Generate as detailed a description as possible using as far as possible the actual
words spoken and the informants thoughts and feelings
 Be Serious about the research
 Go about their daily life as they do “normally”
 Not generate the phenomenon artificially
 Observe even if the phenomenon is absent
 Not pass Value Judgements about the Phenomenon and the situation
 Distinguish between Self Awareness and Self Consciousness and avoid self
consciousness
The SSO is an event contingent, open ended self interview, that generates a description of
experience that is drawn from self observation. This phenomenon cannot usually be accessed
by interviewing or by observation on part of the researcher.
It generates data in the informant’s own words, expressions, feelings, and point of view.
It is best suited for the study of “hidden” phenomena, like motives, feelings, thoughts, emotions,
and withheld actions.

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Reliability and Validity

1. Reliability refers to the extent to which the method generates consistent results.

It is concerned with ideas such as:

 Consistency of data collected – will the same questions asked of the same person in
similar circumstances produce similar answers?
 Repeatability of the data collection method – if another researcher / researchers
attempted to repeat the research would he or she get similar results?

2. Validity refers to the extent to which the data set actually captures what is being studied. It
is not the “truth”, though many people treat it as such. Data is useful only if it measures what it
claims to be measuring and to this extent the more valid the data is the more “true” is the
description of social reality.

The norms of validity and reliability are not applicable in the Positivist sense to
Phenomenological study. However this does not mean that anything goes.

Triangulation of Data is an important concept which helps us generate Valid and

Reliable data.

Here we use Methodological Triangulation, where one researcher uses three different methods,
The Long Interview, Participant Observation, and or Focus Group Interviews, Systematic Self
Observation / Study of textual sources or documents.

Data collected from three different methods is pooled and analysed in order to yield valid and
reliable findings.

The researcher aims to generate Valid and Reliable data by:

 Have three different methods to generate evidence - Triangulation

 The methodology of the research has to be spelt out in extensive detail. The field
notes, interview transcripts, and other material should be available for others to
examine.
 The researcher should ask himself or herself about the degree of Access to insiders.
Limited access generally results in less valid and reliable findings. Time spent in the
field is also an important criterion.
 Explanations of phenomenon should be stated as precisely as possible
 Explanations should not force readers to make unnecessary assumptions
 Explanations / interpretations should be internally consistent, that is the concept and
categories generated from the data should be linked and create an integrated
framework.
 Explanations / interpretations should be interrelated and not just stated as
independent, serial assertions

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Another way of looking at the issue of Validity is the “consensus of experts” as an indication of
truth and also the free exchange of arguments in an “authority free group”. Both are
problematic.

Inner validity is generated when units / concepts / categories from data are linked to each other
and to additional data. If one can link up the units of data to form an integrated structure, then
inner validity is achieved.

Reliability of the research would mean that data from different perspectives; respondents,
methods, situations, etc get integrated into the framework.

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References

 Participant Observation by Danny Jorgensen, Sage Publications, 1999.

 Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector’s Field Guide – Family Health
International. Available on the Internet.
 Qualitative Research website, Northern Arizona University
 Systematic Self Observation by Rodriguez and Ryave, Sage Publications, 2002
 Doing Research in Business and Management – Remenyi, Williams, Money, and
Swartz. Sage Publications, 2000.
 The Oxford Handbook of Organisational Theory – Tsoukas and Knudsen. OUP, 2003.
 Paradigms Lost by John Casti, Abacus, 1989.
 Designing and Conducting Focus group Interviews – Richard A Krueger, University of
Arizona. Available on the Internet.
 Focus Groups – Theory and Practice, David Stewart and Prem Shamdasani, Sage
Publications, 1990
 Participant Observation as a Social Method – Barbara K. Forum: Qualitative Social
Research, May 2005. At http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:de:0114-fqs0502430.
 The Quality in Qualitative Methods – Bergman, Manfred Max, and Coxon, Anthony PM.
(2005). Forum: Qualitative Social Research.
http://nbn-resolving.ed/urn:nbn:de:0114 –fqs0502344.

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Quiz Observation and Judgment

Given below is a list of data statements. Identify whether the statements would fall under
the category of Observation and Judgment. Give your reasons for the same.

1. Anil is a great guy. He is an excellent worker and he really works hard in the group to
achieve targets.

2. He picked up the pen, wrote something down on a sheet of paper, and showed it to the
person sitting next to him.

3. She said, “You were so eager to point out what you had observed that you did not let
the other members of the group speak. I too felt blocked, but I chose not to say
anything.”

4. It was a nice morning. The air-conditioning was cool, and the team members were
looking fresh and ready to go to work.

5. As soon as the boss walked onto the floor, Masood threw the cigarette packet quickly
into the dustbin.

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6. I observed that the reception area of the company was decorated beautifully with
potted plants and abstract paintings, and had the most amazing colour scheme with
respect to the furniture and the walls.

7. I have noticed that she always mumbles badly when she handles client calls.

8. He spoke in a very frank and free way to his team members while pointing out
mistakes, which made his team members angry.

9. He kept interrupting the feedback discussion with a view to get his point across.

10. While her team was busy discussing the case, she did not pay attention to the work
and had a very casual approach.

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11. The questions that the manager asked the associate were very personal and made the
associate tense.

12. I could see by his body language that he was attentive to what I was saying regarding
his errors.

13. While speaking to his team, he tried very hard to disguise his vernacular / regional
accent.

14. In the discussion on the yearly targets, Anil was resisting all attempts to agree on the
Turn around times.

15. Instead of working together to check the errors in the case, the team was just having
fun.

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16. When it was his turn to speak, Nitin spoke to his team members in a confident manner.
His team members were impressed.

17. She picked up the pieces from the floor and placed them on the table. She then told
her teammates “Look, these had fallen down on the ground. Let us see whether we
can use them to build our model.”

18. He stood up and yawned. He then walked towards the door, but stopped in mid stride,
turned around and said “Let us finish fast, yaar. I am getting bored.”

19. He was very confident during his presentation. He looked mostly towards the
audience, maintained good eye contact, and waited for them to read the material on
the slides. He also spoke fluently; he did not hesitate or have long pauses during his
speech. He did not put his hands in his pockets but instead had them in front of his
chest and used them to make pointing gestures whenever he wanted to emphasise
points.

20. Whenever he spoke, he always had an angry tone or an irritated tone to his voice.
This person will not be able to empathise with his team members.

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 SAMPLE BEI INTERVIEW

Interview of Mr. Joshi (fictitious) – Territory Sales Manager - Metal Engineers (I) Ltd
(I: Interviewer)
I: Good morning Mr. Joshi. What would you like me to call you?
Mr. Joshi: Joshi is good sir
I hope Mr. Joshi you have had a good day. Hope your journey to this hotel was comfortable.
Commuting in Mumbai becomes quite difficult in the monsoons. How did you find it?
Mr. Joshi: (Replies)
I: Let me introduce the panel here. To my left is Dr XYZ to my right is Dr. ABC and I am PQR.
Mr. Joshi, the purpose of this interview is to know more about you as a person. We will do this
by asking you to talk to us about something you have done in your current job. The process of
this discussion is a little different in that I would ask all the questions and my colleagues would
take down notes.
I hope you are comfortable with this.
Mr. Joshi (Replies in the affirmative)
At work we do many things, some are part of our jobs, while some others need us to take
actions before being asked to take up challenging tasks that extend the definition of our work.
Now, (pause)
So, Mr. Joshi think of a time, when you did something difficult and challenging on your own in
your last job, and felt you have achieved something significant.
First give me a brief outline of the event you would be talking to us about. We will go
into the details later.
Mr. Joshi: (Narrates the event)

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I: Before we go into the details, could you tell me when all this began and when it ended, with
two or three significant milestones in between?

Mr. Joshi: (narrates the structure of the event with some help from the interviewer.) As I
understand that you are going to talk to us about how you developed the market for your
company’s bearing in the State Transport Sector. The first stage is meeting with the Engineers
at Central Institute of Road Transport and getting their approval, Setting up a dealer network
across the country to serve exclusively the State Transport Sector, Monitoring the sales for the
first few consignments, Ensuring that the dealers receive the payment and finally handing over
the market to your junior.
Now I would like you to walk me through the event in detail and I am mainly interested in
knowing what you did, said, thought and felt in this event. Let me take you the first stage that
you mentioned.

I: You said that your involvement began at the stage when you approached the CIRT to get
your bearings approved by them for purchase by the State Transport Corporations. Tell me
what exactly happened?

Mr. Joshi: You see that market for bearing is dominated by large multinational corporations
like yours. I was working with Metal Engineers (I), we were a domestic manufacturer. We had
no entry into the State Transport Sector. Our major market was the low end replacement
market in the private Road Transport Sector. We decided to break into the government sector-
especially the State Transport sector in the year 2000

I: You said you decided that you will break into the government sector, tell me what was your
role in this decision.

Mr. Joshi: Well, actually the decision to enter into this market was communicated to me by my
National Sales Manager; he mentioned that the state governments were to receive grants from
the center to improve the road transport in the states. This would mean that they would
purchase new vehicles, thus needing additional spares.

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I: Mr. Joshi can you tell me what is the next key thing you did?

Mr. Joshi: I had some experience with dealing with the state transport; I knew that I would need
the approval of the CIRT. They were responsible for approving the spares list. The individual
corporations were expected to place order with one of the approved spares suppliers. I was posted
in Pune; I immediately got an appointment with the Mechanical Engineer in CIRT and asked my
Application Engineer to fly down from Chennai. You see our main manufacturing facility is outside
Chennai.

I: what happened next?

Mr. Joshi: Well, I went with Mr. Achutan for the first meeting. I thought it was important. I had
found out that the Head of Mechanical Engineering was a Maharashtrian. I thought as Mr. Achutan
discusses the technical issues with the concerned engineer, I would try and establish personal
rapport with the HoD.

I; What were you trying to accomplish by establishing a rapport with the HoD
Mr. Joshi: I knew that it is he who would sign the approval letter. So you see, I went and peeped
into his room. Luckily he was alone. I asked him in Marathi, whether I could come in. I looked at his
surname and guessed that he must be from Vidharba. I am also from Vidharba, you see, we speak
a peculiar Marathi, Marathi that is heavily influenced by Hindi.
I: what happened next?
Mr. Joshi: He allowed me to enter his room and we got into a discussion, it turned out that he was
from Nagpur, so am I.
I: Do you recall your conversation with the HoD?
Mr. Joshi: Yes, off course, we got talking of Nagpur. I had recently been there. I told him of the
changes that have taken place in the city of Nagpur; I also told him the roads have improved so
also the local transport. He mentioned that CIRT had completed a study on the local transport at
Nagpur and some of the route changes were the recommendations of the CIRT report. I asked him
whether he had visited Nagpur in connection with the report. He replied it was his wife who was in

29
the economic feasibility section who had done the report. He, unfortunately, was not that part of the
team. I immediately told him to convey my gratitude as a citizen of Nagpur to his wife.
I: What were you trying to accomplish by conveying your gratitude?
Mr. Joshi: Well I thought that he was quite proud of his wife’s work and my gratitude to her would
help me build rapport. He, in fact, suggested that I should come over for lunch to his house so that
eh can introduce his wife to me. I said surely sir, definitely some time. I did not want to accept the
dinner engagement. You see this market is dirty. I was sure that one of my competitors would
create problems if I go for dinner and this would spoil our case quite unnecessarily. My reply was
very non committal.
I: What happened next?
Mr. Joshi: By then I saw Mr. Achutan peep into the room, he had finished the technical
discussions. I quickly used this opportunity to change the conversation, and introduced Mr.
Achutan. We then told him that we had another meeting and left.
I: What happened thereafter?
Mr. Joshi: We left his room and Mr. Achutan briefed me about his meeting with the Mechanical
Engineer. He said he would send him the samples in the coming week, which would then be
tested. Mr. Achutan told me that there should be no problem in getting the technical approval. The
samples were sent directly by Mr. Achutan; they were tested and were approved.
I: Is there anything significant that happened at this stage?
Mr. Joshi: No nothing much, we got the approval in due course without a hitch. I think our product
quality helped, I think my rapport would have helped if there was some hanky panky by the
competition
I: Can we move to the next stage? That is setting up the dealer network; can you tell me what
happened and what was your role?
Mr. Joshi: Yes, I was responsible for setting up a dealer network that would exclusively serve the
state transport sector. You see the one of the conditions for getting the orders was that the dealer
will maintain exclusively stock for the service of the state transport. The dealer was also expected
to appoint an Application Engineer to help the state transport workshop. The dealer was to be
appointed for the entire state. Our dealer network was divided along cities. We did not have dealer
or a distributor taking care of the entire state.

30
I: Can you tell me: What was the key thing you did?
Mr. Joshi: Well, I went to the offices of the State Transport undertakings. I visited all the HQ of the
state undertakings in the country. I found out who were the regular suppliers to them. In each state
I selected one dealer from among the dealers who were supplying spares to that state transport
undertaking. In all…, (pauses) I must have visited 23 state transport undertakings. I would ask my
sales officer to do an evaluation of the dealers from the list I had obtained from the state transport
undertaking. You see, I have been in this field of auto spares sales for the last 7 years and one
knows of the various dealers. The choice was not difficult…… (Pauses), except in the case of
Gujarat.
I: What happened in case of Gujarat?
Mr. Joshi: Well we selected a dealer on the basis o certain criteria, but you see, the dealer we did
not select was the son of the local transport minister.
I: What happened then? What were you thinking?
Mr. Joshi: I knew that it would be difficult; the transport minister can create problems for us. We
could not appoint his son; he did not meet any of our criteria. I then decided to hand over this issue
to my boss.
I: What was your role at this stage?
Mr. Joshi: I don’t know how, but my boss managed to sort out the issue by promising the transport
minister that he would offer his son the dealership for Vadodra. This was also my suggestion to my
boss. You see I wanted my boss to handle it so that the minister feels that some one higher up has
noted his request.
I: is there anything that is significant at the stage of appointment of dealers that you would like to
tell us, or can we move to the stage where you monitored the first few consignments?
Mr. Joshi: I think we can move to the next stage. You see one of the principals I have learnt in
sales is that the deal is not complete unless you have ensured timely and efficient delivery…… I
think this is a must for all sales people………..
I: I understand that, but I would like you to tell me, the key thing you did at this stage?
Mr. Joshi: You know, how it is, the production never delivers on time. We received a big order
from Assam State Transport. The delivery was to be made to our dealer in Gauhati. I had told my
production people that we must plan in advance. The area has problems, you know: ULFA militants
blocking roads….. As luck would have it the roads were blocked on the way to Gauhati. It looked

31
like we would not be able to meet the guideline of maintaining stocks at our dealer. The trucks
were being blocked; I called up my dealer and suggested that he bring the stock to his godown in
his private car from the Assam border. He was reluctant as it involved cost. I was not authorized
but I said I will adjust that in your commission. I called up my boss and told him what I had
committed. He luckily agreed and the matter was settled and we had the stock in the dealer’s
godown as per the guidelines.
I: Is there anything significant at the stage of monitoring the supplies or can we move to the next
stage?
Mr. Joshi: Yes we can move, at this stage my involvement was to train the dealers to submit the
correct documents. You see the government departments work on documents, even if they are
forged (laughs). I arranged a training program for the Accountants with the dealers, they knew
most of the stuff, and I needed to explain them some specifics. I asked my finance department to
step in. They did a damn good job and everyone received their money on time.
I: What happened next?
Mr. Joshi: I then handed over the task to sales officers in each of the state, and my role ended
I: I: We have gone through this event in detail, is there any thing that we may have missed
inadvertently?
Mr. Joshi: No not really
I: Mr. Joshi, you have given us a lot of information about your involvement in this event of:
Developing the market for your company’s bearing in the State Transport Sector. On behalf of our
panel I would like to thank you for this! Have a good day.

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