WRITING CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY [Qualitative Research]

In chapter 3, "Methodology", you discuss in great detail how you conducted the study,

the research design, how you selected the sample and the data collection techniques.

Writing Chapter 3 - 'METHODOLOGY' [Qualitative Research]

In Chapter 3 of your Thesis, you discuss details about the methodology you employed

in collecting data for your study. Here the title 'Methodology' is adopted for this chapter

in which you tell the reader how you collected the data to answer the research

questions in Chapter 1 - Introduction. You will describe the methods and procedures (or

techniques) used in the your study in sufficient detail that will enable future researchers

to follow your methodology for their respective study. You should write the methodology

of your study as though it were a 'recipe' which can be followed closely by individuals

who read what you have written.

In short, Chapter 1 describes why the research question is being asked and Chapter 3

describes how the research question is answered. Note that there are several ways of

writing Chapter 3 and the following is a suggestion on the sub-sections to include. Here,

Chapter 3 for qualitative research has been divided into 8 sub-sections. Please check

with the requirements specified by your respective institution.

1. PREAMBLE

The 'Preamble' sub-section would normally consist of TWO parts. In the first part, you

restate the 'problem statement', the 'purpose of the study' the 'research questions'

(unless your study is based on the grounded theory method) and the theoretical
framework. Again you may ask, why should I keep on 'retelling' about the purpose,

problem statement, research questions and theoretical framework of the study! You

would assume that the reader should know what the study is all about. You should keep

in mind that when your thesis is later kept in the university library or in an online

database, researchers interested in your study may 'jump' straight to Chapter 3 to find

out how you went about collecting data for your study. Hence, it would be appreciated

by future readers if you told them briefly the problem statement, purpose, research

questions and the underlying theory of your study so that they understand this chapter.

In the second part of the 'Preamble', you tell the reader the sub-sections in Chapter 3

and how you will address each sub-section. Think of this part as the 'warm up' for the

full discussion of your data collection strategy. Note that the information regarding

methodology should be comprehensive and detailed enough to permit replication of the

study by other researchers.

Excerpt of the 'Preamble' sub-section:

"The study examined decision-making styles and its effects on employee performance

in the workplace. Previous studies have demonstrated that leaders may make decisions

that are not popular with employees (Boachie-Mensah, Dogbe & Ophelia, 2011). The

main objective of this study was to assess the impact of performance-related pay on

motivation of employees. Pay increases or the lack of for employees can have an effect

on employee's and the productivity of their work. If the employee feels they are not

compensated for their work, they may tend to decrease in being productive in their

work. Specifically the study sought to answer how might leaders's decision-making

styles effect employee performance and how leader's decision-making styles are
informed by emotions or feelings This chapter is divided into several section addressing

the choice of research design, selection of informants, data collection procedures, pilot-

testing, instrumentation and data analysis".

2. RESEARCH DESIGN or METHOD

Generally, 'methods' used in qualitative research are more flexible compared to the

'designs' or 'methods' used in quantitative research. Some argue that in qualitative

research, the 'Research Design' sub-section is not essential. However, having this

sub-section enables you to tell the reader from the on-set whether your study used an

ethnographic, case study, phenomenological, narrative analysis, historical inquiry,

grounded theory or the generic qualitative method that does not subscribe to any

specific qualitative philosophy.

 You should state the rationale for your choice of the research design or

method and its appropriateness. For example, why did you choose the case

study method or the grounded theory method or the narrative inquiry method.

 Show how the method you had chosen helped accomplish the goals of the

study. Focus only on what you employed and implemented in your study.

 Discuss in detail the steps you took when using a particular design. For

example, if you study used the ethnographic design or method, write as

though it were like an 'operators's manual' that you might share with others so

they can be assured that someone can replicated your design.

 Description of your research design needs to have enough detail to

eliminate assumptions of the need to ask questions by someone who want

to adopt or adapt your research design. "It is a balancing act between too
 much information and not enough information". Cite from textbooks and

articles on qualitative methods by the greats such as Guba, Lincoln, Creswell,

Merriam, Patton, Charmaz and others. However, do not take chunks from

these authors but focus on what you need in telling readers about the

particular design or method you used or had adapted accordingly.

 Readers are interested in knowing HOW YOU USED the ethnographic

method or the case study method or the phenomenology method in YOUR

STUDY and not a generic description of the ethnographic or case study or

narrative inquiry or phenomenology method.

Excerpt of the Research Design or Method Sub-Section:

"The case study method was used in this study because it is well-suited in answering

the research questions appropriately and adequately. The strength of the case study

method is because it allows for the examination of the phenomenon in depth using

various kinds of evidence obtained from interviews with those involved, direct

observation of events and analysis of documents and artifacts (Yin, 2003). Also, the

case study was used because the focus of the study is more to describe and explain

rather than prediction, and the variable variable studied is note easily unidentifiable or

embedded in the phenomenon to be extracted for study (Merriam, 1988). In addition,

the case study allows for empirical inquiry of phenomenon within its real-life context,

especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly

evident (Yin, 2003)

[source: adaptation of Elic Brown. Chapter 3 Methodology.

3. DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES

Irrespective of which qualitative research design you adopted for your study, the three

most common data collection techniques are the:

1. INTERVIEW TECHNIQUE [or Focus Groups]

2. OBSERVATION TECHNIQUE &

3. DOCUMENT ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE

You may have used one or more of these data collection techniques in your study. Do

not tell what is an interview, or observation or document analysis technique but

rather tell how you used these techniques in your study.

 Discuss where the Interview with your subjects or informants took place.

 How did you arrange the setting to ensure the level of quiet, intimacy and

privacy.

Excerpt of the 'Data Collection Techniques' sub-section:

"On-site interviews and observations was the main data collection techniques for the

study. Secondary data sources included documents provided by participants that

pertain to the study Interviews were conducted based on questions listed in Interview

Guide (see Appendix C). However, participants were allowed the freedom to talk about

their experiences in a way in which they were comfortable

4. INSTRUMENTATION

 If you used INTERVIEW as a data collection, you will invariably have used

an Interview Schedule or Guide

  Tell the reader if your interview schedule was semi-

structured or unstructured

 Discuss the types of questions included in the interview schedule or guide

 Provide examples of the questions you asked your informants

5. INFORMANTS (or Sampling)

In this sub-section, you give details about how you got your subjects or informants for

your study. The issue of sampling can be quite confusing in qualitative research.

Students often ask "how many subjects or informants" do I need for my study. Can I

base my PhD on information obtained from ONE informant? Oftentimes, it is a difficult

question to answer. Students should avoid applying the sampling principles of

quantitative research. The key consideration in sampling in qualitative research

is"saturation" and not representativeness and the size of the sample is not statistically

determined (Neuman, 2003).

 HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THE INFORMANTS?

 Tell the reader how you chose the informants for your study -

Usually, 'purposive sampling' is used because the informants are

available, convenient and most importantly represent characteristics

you want to study (Silverman, 2000).

 Outline the procedures you adopted for selecting the sample of 10

Managers including justification for thesampling method or sampling

procedure; i.e. why did you choose the particular sampling method.

 WHO ARE THEY? - Provide as much information as possible about

the characteristics of your informants.

  WHY YOU CHOSE THEM? - This is based on your judgement - the

informants will be able to provide you with information needed to answer the

research questions; also you can argue that the informants are most

characteristic, representative or possess attributes typical of the population.

 HOW MANY? - For example, you chose 10 Managers - why 10 and not 15? -

You can argue that the sample of 10 Managers is adequate

enough to provide a manageable volume of data that is able to answer the

research questions.

 SETTING - Discuss where you conducted the study - was it in an office,

school canteen, discussion room? - explain how you got around the

'gatekeepers"?

Excerpt of 'Sampling' sub-section:

In this study purposive sampling was adopted which is “a method of sampling where the

researcher deliberately chooses who to include in the study based on their ability to

provide necessary data” (Parahoo, 1997, p. 232). The rationale for choosing this

approach was that the researcher was seeking knowledge about the nurses’ opinion of

pain in patients who suffer from dementia, which the participants would provide by virtue

of their experience.

The researcher worked in conjunction with the Head of Department, in choosing

participants, based on their level of experience in caring for patients that suffer from

dementia as well as their qualifications. There were 12 potential participants, of whom

seven participated in the study. Some of the nurses were not available as they were off

duty, off sick, on holiday, while others did not want to participate in the study.
In-person interviews were conducted and recorded in a quiet, neutral location where the

participants were not in danger and there was no intimidation or coercion.

6. PILOT-TEST

Some experts suggest that pilot-tests are not important for qualitative research while

others suggest it would be useful for novice researchers to do pilot-test. For example, if

you are using interviews for the first time, it would advisable for you to conduct interview

as a pre-exercise to get used to the type of data collection. The pilot test will assist the

researcher in determining if there are flaws, limitations, or other weaknesses within the

interview design and enable the researcher to make necessary revisions prior to the

implementation of the study. However, the informants or participants involved in the

pilot-test should similar to the informants involved in the final study. It has also been

suggested that the pilot test can the researcher with the refinement of research

questions.

Example:

A pilot-study was conducted with 3 senior managers and were interviewed at their

workplace. The interview was audio-recorded to ensure correct use of the device.

During the exercise, attention was given to body language and non-verbal responses

and the manner of asking questions. As the researcher was the main data collection

instrument, the pilot-study provided an insight into phenomenon studied, increased

experience in interviewing as well as enhanced interpersonal skills. Also errors in

interviewing skills were rectified and not repeated in the main study.
7. DATA ANALYSIS

Data analysis in qualitative research is subject to wide variation and this makes it

important that you tell in great detail how YOU ANALYSED the data YOU collected.

You should include the following in this sub-section:

 Explain how you analysed the data collection. It has been suggested to think

of it as “How to” guide that others would follow your data analysis and

coding method.

 Give a step by step narrative description how you conducted the entire

analysis of your data.

 You might start by making a bulleted list in another document, and then

narrate that list here in this section

 It is important for your reader to know what you did with the collected data

and that it fits well with your research philosophy, research design and

research questions.

 There should be enough detail to reduce the likelihood of a reader making

assumptions and forcing him or her to ask questions seeking clarification

which may cast doubts on the findings.

 However you need to balance between too much details and not enough

information. Too much details may also put off the reader from reading this

sub-section.
8. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

 Letters of permission to conduct the study.

 Letters of invitation to participate with attached consent forms.

 Show compliance with protection of human subjects (as required by your

respective institution)

 A paragraph must be inserted that states the study is deemed to be one

of minimal risk to participants and that the probability and magnitude of

harm or discomfort anticipated in the research will not be greater than any

ordinarily encountered in daily life, or during the performance of routine

physical or psychological examinations or tests.

 Care should be taken to ensure that the participants fully understood the

nature of the study and the fact that participation is voluntary.

 A statement should be made that confidentiality of recovered data will be

maintained at all times, and identification of participants will not be available

during or after the study. For example, all data collected was anonymised by

replacing the participants' names with ascending code numbers (P116 -

P119) in the order of the initial interviews

 Participants should be informed that they could withdraw from the study at

any time without questions being asked.

9. RESEARCHER'S POSITIONALITY

Throughout the research process, you have interacted with your informants or

participants or subjects and there is always the likelihood that you may impact the
methodology or findings of the study. Especially in qualitative research, it is difficult for

you to distant yourself from the subjects you interact with. Hence, it is necessary that

you state your 'position' which is described as 'reflexivity'. "Reflexivity involves a self-

scrutiny on the part of the researcher; a self-conscious awareness of the relationship

between the researcher and an 'other' (Bourke, 2014, p.2). In short, it is a process of

continuous self-analysis in which you reflect more deeply on the experiences you

encountered when doing the research.

For example, if you study involves issues of race, ethnicity or religion, you would be

concerned how your race, ethnicity or religion being different from your subjects

influence interactions with them. The nature of qualitative research puts you in the

position of having to be close with your subjects and it is reasonable to expect your

beliefs, political stance, gender, socioeconomic status, educational background and so

forth to influence the research process. It is critical that you be mindful of your own

biases whenyou interview or observe your subjects.

Under the section 'Researcher's Positionality', you state:

 your interest in the phenomenon you have investigated

 your background and experiences in conducting the study

 your role in data collection and analysis

 significant effects you may have had on the data at any stage of the

process

LINK: http://valmikiacademy.com/writing-chapter-3-methodology-qualitative-research/