Qualitative Research

Outline

Defining Qualitative (QL) Research Understanding the Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods Uses, Features and Processes of QL Designing QL Research Methods in QL Research Participant Observation Method and In-depth Interview Analysis in QL Research

What is Considered Scientific Knowledge?

Importance of methodology Need for empirical data Procedures and protocols in research Competing sources of knowledge Social and scientific conventions

Research Topics Appropriate for Quantitative Research (Survey Methodology)

Behaviours Attitudes/Beliefs/Opinions Characteristics Expectations Self-classification Knowledge

Philosophical Questions Guiding Research Choices

Reason for research Nature of social reality Nature of human beings Role of common sense Nature of theory Good evidence Place for values

C Wright Mills

It is best to begin, I think, by reminding you, the beginning student, that the most admirable thinkers within the scholarly community you have chosen to join do not split their work from their lives. They seem to take both too seriously to allow such dissociation, and they want to use each other for the enrichment of the otheryou must learn to use your life experience in your intellectual work: to examine and interpret itget together what you are doing intellectually and what you are experiencing as a person(Mills 1959)

Positivism

Ontology
(Nave) realism
real reality

natural laws & mechanisms

context-free generalizations reductionistic deterministic

Epistemology

Objectivist Dualist Replicable findings are considered to be true Distinction between epistemology and methodology Distinction between method and methodology

Methodology

Verification / falsification of hypotheses Quantitative research methods

Constructivism / Interpretivism

Ontology

Relativism Local and specific constructed realities Historical realism shaped by social, political, cultural, economic, ethnic, gender values Reality: a social and ideological construction

Epistemology

Transactional Subjectivist Created findings Constructed truths Value-mediated findings

Methodology

Dialogic Dialectic Hermeneutical No distinction between epistemology and methodology: experientially and interactionally linked Joint production between the inquirer and inquired: a social text

The Interpretive Turn

Importance of social context Inclusion of meanings and purpose Symmetry between grand theory and local contexts: resolving the etic/emic dilemma Documentation of lived realities Inclusion of the discovery dimension in inquiry

The activity of interpretation isthe very condition of human inquiry itself

(Guba and Lincoln: 1998).

The interpretive turn is not simply a new methodology, but rather a challenge to the very idea that inquiry into the social world and the value of the understanding that results is to be determined by methodology
(Rabinow and Sullivan 1987: 20)

Other Modes of Inquiry

Phenomenology

focuses on how ordinary members of society constitute and reconstitute the world of everyday life focuses on ways the life world is produced and experienced by members

Ethnomethodology

Focuses on members everyday procedures for creating, sustaining, and managing a sense of objective reality and structure

Get the seats of their pants dirty by real research join the ranks of all heroes who knew the world through its edges deviant, strident, and foulmouthed If you want to write about society, you have to know about it first-hand Robert Park (1918)

Definition of Qualitative Research Qualitative research is usually defined as the interpretive, humanistic and naturalistic approach to the analysis and understanding of the patterned conduct and social processes of society

Three Pillars of QL Research:

Observation Participation Interviewing

Researcher as Instrument
Solely responsible for the Collection Collation Interpretation Analysis of data

Three Basic Uses of Qualitative Research

Attributes a point of view, a perspective to the people whose actions we analyze Uncovers the meaning and value systems which organize social action and the everyday lives of people whom we study. It therefore helps the social scientist to contextualize the lived experiences of the members. Adheres to the sociological practice of Verstehen

Focus of Qualitative Research

Qualitative researchers study social phenomena in their natural settings a commitment to the value of naturalism
They attempt to make sense of, or interpret, the social phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to their lives and social actions

Key Methods of Qualitative Research

Participant observation In-depth Interviews Focus group interviews

Definition of Participant-Observation

The methodology of PO is exceptional for studying processes, relationships among and of people and events, continuities over time and patterns, as well as the immediate socio-cultural contexts in which human existence unfolds

Research Topics Appropriate For QL

Little in known about the phenomenon There are important differences between the views of the insiders as opposed to outsiders (conventional society?) Phenomenon is obscured from the view of outsiders

Research Topics Appropriate for QL

Understand and explicate (re)constrcution of meanings as they relate to social actions Unveiling of social contexts Documenting the lived realities and the everyday lives

Basic Features of Qualitative Research (1)

Capture and discover meaning once the researcher becomes immersed in the data Concepts are in the form of themes, motifs, generalizations and taxonomies Data are in the form of words and images from documents, observations and transcripts

Basic Features of Qualitative Research (2)

Research procedures are particular and replication is very rare Theory can be causal or non-causal and is often inductive Analysis proceeds by extracting themes or generalizations from evidence and organizing data to present a coherent, consistent picture

Processes of Qualitative Research (1)

Qualitative design is holistic. It looks at the larger picture, the whole picture, and begins with a search for understanding of the whole Looks at relationships within a system or culture Refers to the personal, face-to-face, and immediate Focused on understanding a given social setting, not necessarily on making predictions about the setting

Processes of Qualitative Research (2)

Demands that the researcher stay in the setting over time Demands time and analysis equal to the time in the field Demands that the researcher develop a model of what occurred in the social setting Requires that the researcher becomes the research instrument. This means the researcher must have the ability to observe behaviour and sharpen the skills necessary for observation and face-to-face interview

Processes of Qualitative Research (3)

Incorporates informed consent decisions and is responsive to ethical concerns. Incorporates room for description of the role of the researcher as well as description of the researchers own biases and ideological preference Requires ongoing analyses of the data

The activity of interpretation isthe very condition of human inquiry itself

(Guba and Lincoln: 1998).

The interpretive turn is not simply a new methodology, but rather a challenge to the very idea that inquiry into the social world and the value of the understanding that results is to be determined by methodology
(Rabinow and Sullivan 1987: 20)

Other Modes of Inquiry

Phenomenology

focuses on how ordinary members of society constitute and reconstitute the world of everyday life focuses on ways the life world is produced and experienced by members

Ethnomethodology

Focuses on members everyday procedures for creating, sustaining, and managing a sense of objective reality and structure

Conceptualising Qualitative Analysis

Formulation of Research problem Survey of Literature Review Entering the Field: A research or field site is a context in which events or activities occur, a socially defined territory with shifting boundaries - Conceptualization and Operationalization

Conceptualising Qualitative Analysis (Contd)

Analysis: Inference and Interpretation Extraction of Themes Identification of recurring trends and patterns Grounded Theory: Inductive Model of Research

Designing Qualitative Research

Three Important Phases in qualitative research Warming up Research process Exiting the field

Warm-up period

Questions that guide the study Selection of site and participants issues of sampling Access and entry to site Presentation of self and politics of disclosure Gate Keepers and Informants Timeline of study Selection of appropriate research strategies Personal/Political/Ethical considerations

Sampling in Qualitative Research I

Haphazard Get any cases in any manner that is convenient Quota Get a preset number of cases in each of several predetermined categories that will reflect the diversity of the population Purposive Get all possible cases that fit particular criteria, using various methods

Sampling in Qualitative Research II

Snowball get cases using referrals from one or a few cases, and then referrals from those cases, and so forth Deviant Case Get cases that substantially differ from the dominant pattern (a specific type of purposive sample)

Sampling in Qualitative Research III

Sequential - Get cases until there is no additional information or new characteristics (often used with other sampling methods) Theoretical sampling Get cases that will help reveal features that are theoretically important about a particular phenomenon

Roles Available to the Qualitative Researcher

Complete Observer (covert) The field researcher assumes an invisible role that permits undetected and unnoticed observation and eavesdropping
Observer as Participant (overt) The researchers identity is known from the beginning and has limited contact with members

Roles Available to the Field Researcher

Participant as Observer (overt) Both the researcher and member are aware of the researchers role and the researcher takes part in all activities as a pseudomember
Complete Participant (covert) Non-disclosure of role. The researcher acts as a member and shares the secret information of insiders

Research Process

Attitude of strangeness Maintain social relationships Normalize research (anonymity & confidentiality) Observing and Collecting Data Field notes (jotted; direct observation; researcher inference & analytic) Field interviews (open-ended; ethnographic; unstructured; non-directive; in-depth)

Exiting the Field

Considerations to leave the field: When is enough? What is enough? Continue rapport with participants? Movement between theory formulation and data collection stages Continual reassessment and refining of concepts

Analysis of Qualitative Data

Data analysis means a search for patterns in data recurrent behaviours, objects, or a body of knowledge Qualitative researchers examine patterns of similarities and differences across cases and try to come to terms with their diversity Qualitative researchers moves from the description of a historical event or social setting to a more general description of its meaning

Analysis of Qualitative Data (contd)

Qualitative data analysis is less standardized compared to quantitative analysis as qualitative data are in the form of text, written words, phrases, or symbols describing or presenting people, actions and events in social life. Importantly, there is no one stage devoted to qualitative analysis; it takes place throughout the research process

Analysis of Qualitative Data (contd)

Relationship between theory and data subscribes to an inductive model of analysis where data guides the development of theory (limited generalization) In qualitative research, data (evidence) and ideas (theory) are interdependent

Analysis of Qualitative Data (contd)

Inference and interpretation are central to qualitative analysis Importance of social context Inclusion of meanings and purpose Symmetry between grand theory and local contexts: resolving the etic/emic dilemma Documentation of lived realities Inclusion of the discovery dimension in inquiry

Analysis of Qualitative Data (contd)

Focuses on the processes by which these meanings are created, negotiated, sustained, and modified within a specific social context of human action. The process by which the interpretive sociologist arrives at this kind of interpretation of human action is called Verstehen (understanding)

ways of experiencing action in society which are expressed in the language and descriptions constitutive of institutions and practices (Taylor 1971) The task of the inquirer is to offer a construction of the constructions of the actors we study Relates to the first, second and third order interpretations

Analysis of Qualitative Data (contd)

Researchers goal is to organize specific details into a coherent picture, model, or set of interlocked concepts In other words, to tell a scientific story

Coding in Qualitative Research

Process of coding is central to interpretive analysis in qualitative research The organization of raw data into conceptual categories and the subsequent creation of themes or concepts to guide the analysis of data is known as coding. Enables movement from raw data to more abstract thinking Coding is two simultaneous activities: mechanical data reduction and analytic categorization of data

Types of Coding

There are 3 types of coding Open Coding researcher locates themes and assigns initial codes or labels in a first attempt to condense the mass of data into categories Open coding brings themes to the surface from deep inside the data

Types of Coding (contd)

Axial Coding researcher concentrates on the coded themes and constructs links with new codes and themes that emerge from the data Enables the creation of sub-dimensions and sub-categories It guides data collection henceforth

Types of Coding (contd)

Selective Coding researcher scans the data and decides on a few key themes to be presented in the research report after making comparisons with both dominant and deviant cases Organize their overall analysis around several core generalizations or ideas Bridging the challenge of letting the data to speak for themselves and making the data speak

Analytic Strategies for Qualitative Data

There are seven strategies commonly used by qualitative researchers to analyze data, used either singularly or in combination.

Analytic Strategies for Qualitative Data

The narrative. Tell a detailed story about a particular aspect(s) of social life Ideal types. Compare qualitative data with a pure model of social life

Analytic Strategies for Qualitative Data

Success approximation. Repeatedly move back and forth between data and theory, until the gap between them is closed The illustrative method. Fill the empty boxes of theory with data or reconcile contradictions that emerged in statistical data

Analytic Strategies for Qualitative Data

Path dependency and contingency. Begin with an outcome and trace a sequence of events back to its origin to see a path that constrained the set of events. Domain analysis. Locate the included terms within cover terms that make up the cultural domain

Analytic Strategies for Qualitative Data

Analytic comparison. Identify many characteristics and a key outcome, then check agreement and difference among the characteristics to learn the which ones are associated with the outcome.

In-Depth Interviews
The conversations of human beings are an important part of the data of social research, as well as an important part of social research technique (Palmer 1928: 169) assumes the appearance of a natural interesting conversation. But to the proficient interviewer it is always a controlled conversation which he guides and bends to the service of his research interest (Palmer 1928: 171).

In-depth Interviews (Contd)

For the greater part of his information the investigator must find his own witnesses, induce them to talk, and embody the gist of this oral testimony on his sheets of notes. This is the Method of the Interview, or conversation with a purpose, a unique instrument of the social investigator (Webb and Webb 1932: 130)

Purposes of In-depth Interview

It enables to gain access to the cultural categories and assumptions according to which one culture or social context construes the world It takes the researcher into the life world of the individual and to appreciate the content and pattern of daily experience It allows the researcher to contextualize the biography in terms of the structural realities and historical circumstances

Characteristics of In-depth Interview

The interviewers presence and form of involvement how she or he listens, attends, encourages, interrupts, digresses, initiates topics, terminates responses is integral to the respondents account. The beginning and end are not clear it is like a conversation with a purpose interspersed with jokes, asides, stories, diversions, and anecdotes

Characteristics of In-depth Interview (contd)

The questions and the order in which they are asked are tailored to specific people and situations Field interviews are a joint production between the researcher and researched Open-ended questions are the order of the day but a skilled interviewer would know how to control the interview situation

Characteristics of In-depth Interview (contd)

The social context of the interview is noted and becomes important for interpreting the meaning of the responses The interviewer must be empathetic enough to adjust to the members norms and language usage

Levels of Directiveness

Nod of the head Reflection: repeating the last word Ask specific question about the last thing the informant had said Probe on an idea earlier expressed... but I thought you said that religion is not a problem for you Introduce a new topic altogether

Measurements
Should measure both the objective quality as well as capture the subjective experiences Grand questions to specific ones and then to grand questionswill change after repeated sessions

Factors influencing an informants reporting

Knowledge of subject matter Familiarity Personal or professional interest Ulterior motives Informant may desire to please Idiosyncratic factors

Distortions Occur when:

Informant has no knowledge of the situation, incident, subject matter etc Data has already been processed Consciously modifies the fact

Insider and Outsider Doctrines (Merton 1972)

Insider Position assumes that minorities have monopolistic and privileged access to empathic knowledge about the socially shared realities about minority experiences Identification with research participants ethnically, socially and culturally Provides authenticity to the articulation of experiences of the researched Data are experientially grounded

Empirical Issues:

Involve matched researcher-researched in data collection and data analysis Enhanced rapport between researcher and researched Increase legitimacy of the research Ethical responsibility towards research participants

Problems:

Introduction of bias Issues of advocacy Essentializing research participants Exploitation of research participants

Outsider position assumes that knowledge is only accessible to non-members of minority groups

there exists an objective truth increase legitimacy of research problem of objectification of experiences contextualization of power relations between the researcher and the researched

Presentation of data Writing-up (1)

locate within the personal experience, or self-story, key phrases and statements that speak directly to the phenomenon in question Obtain participants explicit cultural knowledge and their interpretation of that knowledge (tacit cultural knowledge)

Presentation of data Writing-up (2)

Interpret these meaning as an informed reader Inspect these meanings for what they reveal about the essential, recurring features of the phenomenon being studied Offer a statement or definition of the phenomenon in terms of the essential recurring features identified

Some issues to think about:

Points of departure and how do we minimize them Do we construct knowledge or discover knowledge? Do we construct meanings or report those meanings? How do we know it is interpretation and not imposition? Do we report common sense or question common sense, or reconstruct common sense? Do we suspend our values and stock of knowledge? How do we resolve the subjectivity / objectivity divide? Problem of observations, descriptions and inscriptions

Issues of Credibility: Legitimation and Representation Crisis

What techniques and methods were used to ensure the integrity, validity, and accuracy of the findings? What does the researcher bring to the study in terms of experience and qualifications? What assumptions underlie the study?

The logbook (1)

Write in any style your observations, feelings, intellectual thoughts etc. Diary of fieldwork: recording of time/place/date, sketches of site, method used Thinking on methods, use of particular methods in certain contexts, and their justification Fieldwork ideas: hunches and images you feel and see: instances where you could follow and could not follow, detailing why you could not do so. Any departure from established paradigms and stereotypical images?

The logbook (2)

Reflections on the site: fears, obstacles, practical/ethical/personal problems Self-reflexivity as a researcher: documenting the self and how it affects data collection process Diary of observations: record thoughts and observations arising from introspection after you have exited from the field each time. Develop analytic notes based on your inference (this involves interpretation) Index what you have written- foundation for creation of conceptual categories