Uom Educational Research Research Methods MEd - Ver2

Qualitative
Research
Methods M.Ed. Course 2006-8
Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Department of Youth and Community
Studies
University of Malta
These are my personal lecture notes and will not replace the reading
course participants are expected to engage with.
E-mail:
andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt
Telephone: 23402919
Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 2

Assignment

Themes:
Session 1:
 Development of qualitative research
Dr Andrew Azzopardi
Session 2:
 Methodological and ethical issues in qualitative
research
Dr Simone Galea
Session 3:
 Research processes and research methods
Part 1: Dr Andrew Azzopardi
Part 2: Dr Simone Galea
Session 4:
 Analyzing and interpreting data. Checking for
standards in qualitative research
Part 1: Dr Andrew Azzopardi
Part 2: Dr Simone Galea and Dr Andrew Azzopardi

Course Description
This course is primarily intended to assist students to
build the required competencies for the undertaking
of research.
The course includes a critical account of the

developments of qualitative research with particular
reference to the emergence, use and purpose of
educational research. The course is grounded in a
critical tradition of research that encourages
researchers to reflect on their ideological,
theoretical and political stances and the way they
shape their particular interpretations of the world.

Thinking Point :
1. Is research important to you?
2. Is research important to society?
3. In what way/s can we do research?
4. Can research change anything?

Thinking Point :
A young man is found at the bottom of a cliff, dead.
Right next to him there is a a box of tranquilizers.
How will these ‘people’ react to this situation?
3. A psychologist
4. A sociologist
5. The family lawyer
6. The doctor
7. The parents
8. The person in the street
9. The youth and community worker
10. The police officer

Thinking Point:
 What is your experience with research?
 What are the projects you have worked on?

 When social processes are involved, questions and
answers multiply
 Why are there so many different answers?
Social perception:
5. Selection - What stimuli or messages do we take
in?
6. Organization – What sense do we make of them?
7. Interpretation – What meaning do we give to them
once they reach awareness?

Thinking Point :
 Why research?
 Policy
 Academic
 Personal

Main concepts:
 Research is the search for truth
 Research helps us understand social reality

Qualitative research approaches began to
gain recognition in the 1970s. The phrase
'qualitative research' was until then
marginalized as a discipline of
anthropology or sociology, and terms like
ethnography, fieldwork, participant
observer were used instead. During the
1970s and 1980s qualitative research
began to be used in other disciplines, and
became a dominant - or at least significant
- type of research in the fields of women
studies, disability studies, education
studies, social work studies, information
studies, management studies, nursing
service studies, human service studies and
others. In the late 1980s and 1990s after a
spate of criticisms from the quantitative
side, new methods of qualitative research
have been designed,
to address the
E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 12
Defining Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is an inquiry

process of understanding based on
distinct methodological traditions or
inquiry that explore a social or
human problem. The research builds
a complex, holistic picture, analyses
words, reports detailed views of
informants, and conducts the study
in a natural setting (Creswell 1998:
15).
Quantitative oriented research studies are
undoubtedly a pivotal aspect of policy and
service development efforts. This study-unit
revisits the principal constructs of qualitative
methods, and provides a detailed examination
of statistical, computer assisted research
techniques. We hope that this course will
assist prospective service providers and
planners in building an informed appreciation
of the importance that robust quantitative
research strategies play in the process of
securing evidence-based planning approaches.
The myriad instruments that are used in
quantitative research inquires and their
applicability to the planning process will thus
be duly emphasized. This course also focuses
on specific issues related to quantitative
studies, including generaalisability and the
limitations of official data, representation,
and 14
E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt
 Although researchers in anthropology and
sociology have used the approach known as
qualitative research for a century, the term
was not used in the social sciences until the
late 1960s. The term qualitative research is
used as an umbrella term to refer to
several research strategies.
 It is unfair to judge qualitative research by

a quantitative research paradigm, just as it
is unfair to judge quantitative research
from the qualitative research paradigm.
 "Qualitative researchers seek to make

sense of personal stories and the ways in
which they intersect" (Glesne & Peshkin,
1992). As one qualitative researcher noted,
"I knew that I was not at home in the world
of numbers long before I realized that I was
at home in theDr.world of words."
Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 15
The Assumptions of Qualitative Designs
 Qualitative researchers are concerned
primarily with process, rather than
outcomes or products.
 Qualitative researchers are interested
in meaninghow people make sense of
their lives, experiences, and their
structures of the world.
 The qualitative researcher is the
primary instrument for data collection
and analysis. Data are mediated
through this human instrument, rather
than through inventories,
questionnaires, or machines.

In the social sciences, qualitative research is a
broad term that describes research that focuses
on how individuals and groups view and
understand the world and construct meaning
out of their experiences. Qualitative research
methods are sometimes used together with
quantities research methods to gain deeper
understanding of the causes of social
phenomena, or to help generate questions for
further research. Unlike quantitative methods,
qualitative research methods place little
importance on developing statistically valid
samples, or on searching for statistical support
for hypotheses.

The data collected in qualitative research has
been termed "soft", "that is, rich in description
of people, places, and conversations, and not
easily handled by statistical procedures."
Researchers do not approach their research
with specific questions to answer or hypotheses
to test. They are concerned with understanding
behavior from the subject's own frame of
reference. Qualitative researchers believe that
"multiple ways of interpreting experiences are
available to each of us through interacting with
others, and that it is the meaning of our
experiences that constitute reality. Reality,
consequently, is 'socially constructed'"
(Bogdan & Biklen, 1992).

 Qualitative research involves
fieldwork. The researcher physically
goes to the people, setting, site, or
institution to observe or record
behavior in its natural setting.
 Qualitative research is descriptive in
that the researcher is interested in
process, meaning, and understanding
gained through words or pictures.
 The process of qualitative research is
inductive in that the researcher builds
abstractions, concepts, hypotheses,
and theories from details.

 Human behavior is significantly influenced by
the setting in which it occurs; thus one must
study that behavior in situations.
 Past researchers have not been able to

derive meaning...from experimental
research.
 The research techniques themselves, in

experimental research, [can]...affect the
findings. The lab, the questionnaire, and so
on, [can]...become artifacts. Informants [can
become]...either suspicious and wary, or
they [can become]...aware of what the
researchers want and try to please them.
 Additionally, informants sometimes do not

know their feelings, interactions, and
behaviors, so they cannot articulate them to
respond to a questionnaire.
 One cannot understand human
behavior without understanding the
framework within which informants
interpret their thoughts, feelings,
and actions. Researchers need to
understand the framework. In fact,
the "objective " scientist, by coding
and standardizing, may destroy
valuable data while imposing her
world on the informants.
 Field study research can explore the

processes and meanings of events.
.....Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (1980).
Designing qualitative research.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Positivism is the view that serious
scientific inquiry should not
search for ultimate causes
deriving from some outside
source but must confine itself to
the study of relations existing
between facts which are directly
accessible to observation.

A doctrine which claims that social life
should be understood and analysed in
the same way that scientists study the
'natural world'. Underpinning this
philosophy is the notion that
phenomena exist in causal
relationships and these can be
empirically observed, tested and
measured. [Tony Bilton et al.,
Introductory Sociology, 3rd edition.
London, Macmillan, 1996:666]
Quote:
“Whether you plan to conduct your own

research projects, read others’ research
reports, or just think about and act in the
social world, knowing about research
methods has many benefits. This
knowledge will give you greater
confidence in your own opinions; improve
your ability to evaluate others’ opinions ;
encourage you to refine your questions,
answers, and methods of inquiry about
the social world” (Russell 1999:18).
Scientific/Quantitative
 Positivism is an early influential approach advocated by
Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim which suggests that
sociology can be scientific. Positivism argues that:
 Objective social facts
 Facts can be expressed in statistics
 You can look for correlations (patterns in which two or
more things tend to occur together)
 Casual relationships may represent causal relationships
(one thing causes another)
 It is possible to discover laws of behavior which are true
for all
 Human behavior is shaped by external stimuli rather than
internal stimuli
 To be scientific you should only study what you can
observe. It is therefore unscientific to study people’s
emotions, meanings or motives which are internal.
Instead, qualitative research focuses on
the understanding of research
phenomena in the original position,
within their naturally-occurring
context(s). One aim of the qualitative
researcher is to tease out the
meaning(s) the phenomena have for
the actors or participants. Quantitative
studies, however, may also observe
phenomena in situ and address issues
of meaning, and one criticism of this
approach to qualitative research is
that the definitions offered of it do not
distinguish it adequately from
quantitative research (for more on this
issue, and about the debate over the
merits of qualitative and quantitative
approaches
Because of its emphasis on in-depth
knowledge and the elaboration of
images and concepts, qualitative
methods have been viewed as
particularly useful to areas of social
research such as "giving voice" to
marginalized groups, formulation of new
interpretations of historical and cultural
significance of various events, and
advancing theory, as in-depth, empirical
qualitative studies may capture
important facts missed by more general,
quantitative studies. Such
investigations usually focus on a
primary case, on the commonalities
among separate instances of the same
phenomenon identified through
Another way to describe these differences is cited
by [Pamela Maykut, Richard Morehouse]:
 Qualitative approaches use multiple realities
which can only be understood by the
intersecting socio-psychological constructions.
Quantitative approaches have one reality
created from dividing and studying parts of an
entity.
 Qualitative approaches have interdependency
between the knower and the known.
Quantitative approaches believe true
objectivity exists because the knower can be
studied outside of the known.
 Qualitative approaches have non-numerical
values that mediate and shape what is
understood. Quantitative approaches believe
that non-numerical values can be ignored or
otherwise rendered unimportant.
Differences between qualitative & quantitative
research
 Qualitative research develops theories
whereas quant itative tests theories as well
as develops them
 Qualitative research describes meaning or
discovery whereas quantitative establishes
relationship or causation
 In qualitative research the researcher is
explicitly a part of the data gathering process
whereas in quantitative, the researcher is
formally an independent entity
 Qualitative research uses communication and
observation whereas quantitative research
uses instruments
 Qualitative research uses unstructured data
collection whereas quantitative research uses
structured dataDr. Andrew
collection
Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 29
 Generally (though there are
exceptions), qualitative research
studies rely on three basic data
gathering techniques:
2. Participant observation
3. Interviews
4. Social artifacts (documents)

Good Qualitative Research
(Creswell1998)
 Employ rigorous data collection procedures
 Frame the study within the assumptions and
characteristics of the qualitative approach to
research
 We use a tradition of inquiry
 We begin with a single focus
 The study is to include detailed methods, a rigorous
approach to data collection, data analysis and
report writing
 We write persuasively
 We analyze data using multiple levels of abstraction
 The writing is to be clear, engaging and full of
unexpected ideas.

 Qualitative approaches involves
multidirectional relationships where events
shape each other. Quantitative approaches
claim that a preceding event can be said to
cause a following event.
 Qualitative approaches have only tentative
explanations for one time and one place.
Quantitative approaches believe that
explanations can be generalized to other times
and places.
 Qualitative approaches seek to discover or
uncover hypotheses. Quantitative approaches
generally seeks verification or proof of
hypotheses.
Interpretive/Qualitative
 Interpretativists usually advocate the use of

qualitative data to interpret social action, with an
emphasis on the meanings and motives of actors
 From this viewpoint, people do not simply react to
external stimuli but interpret the meaning of
stimuli before reacting
 We need to understand why people behave in
particular ways (Weber)

Strategies of Inquiry
 Quantitative
(Experimental designs, non-experimental designs e.g.
surveys)
(Predetermined, instrument based questions,
performance data, observational data, census data,
statistical analysis)
 Qualitative
(Narratives, phenomenology, ethnography, grounded
theory, case study)
(Emerging methods, open ended questions, interview
data, observation data, document data, text and
image analysis)
 Mixed methods/triangulation
(Sequential, concurrent and transformative)
(Predetermined and emerging methods, open-ended
and close ended questions, multiple forms of data
drawing on possibilities, statistical and text
analysis) (Clark,Dr.2005)
Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 34
Key terminology:
Ontological:
What is the nature of reality? Reality is subjective and
multiple, as seen by participants in the study.
Epistemological:
What is the relationship between the researcher and
that being researched? Researcher attempts to
lessen the distance between himself/herself and
that being researched.
Rhetorical:
What is the language of research? Researcher writes
in a literary, informal style using the personal voice
and uses qualitative terms and limited definitions.
Methodological:
What is the process of research? Researcher uses
inductive logic, studies the topic within its context,
and uses an emerging design.
Validity and Reliability (Measurement)
 How are we going to measure?
 What are the criteria of evaluation?
Reliability is concerned with questions of stability and

consistency – does the same measurement tool yield
stable and consistent results when repeated over
time. We want questions that yield consistent
responses when asked multiple times .
Validity refers to the extent we are measuring what we
hope to measure. We want questions that get
accurate responses from respondents.

Traditions
 Biography
 Phenomenology
 Grounded Theory
 Ethnography
 Case studies

Each tradition will be explored by
focusing on:
 Philosophical and theoretical
frameworks
 Data collection
 Analysis and interpretation
 Standards of quality and verification

Biograph
y
Auto/biographical research frequently raises un-
answered questions, as well as identifying the
paths and journeys that have been left behind
because of painful memories and experiences
(West 1996) …Auto/biography also implicates
the researcher in her own personally reflective
truth-seeking and experiential reconstruction.
This search takes her to places where multiple
regimes of truth reveal themselves and may be
highly contested, where the self and the
‘subject’ of the research are challenged,
particularly since auto/biographical research
challenges the conventional distinctions
between self and other. (Chan 2001, p.1).

Biographical forms of research
A biography reports the life of a single individual.
 Biographical study
 Autobiography
 Life history
 Oral history
 Classical biography
 Interpretative biography

 On the other hand we have had criticisms being
made on the value of biographies. Various people
have spoken about the strange and intricate
situation where stories are told but the intention is
to create hero worship or a dimension of perception
on the person involved that is unreal (Goodley
2003). The first taste of qualitative research came
about through the notorious University of Chicago
when a number of benefactors decided to fund a
project which was later to become known as The
Polish Peasant In Europe And America – A Classical
Work Of Emigration History co-authored by William
I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki (1918-1920). This is
a classic in the area of sociological outcomes and
analysis. The value of such a text lies in the fact
that this is probably the first qualitative research
text to have an impact on the social sciences.
Thomas and Znaniecki were amongst the first to
propose this new methodology.
Grounded
Theory

Grounded Theory
 To generate or discover a theory
 The investigator needs to set aside as much as
possible, theoretical ideas or notions so that the
analytic, substantive theory can emerge.
 The researcher must still keep in mind that this form
of inquiry is laden with specific steps in data
analysis
 The researcher faces the difficulty of determining
when the theory is sufficiently detailed
 The researcher needs to recognize that the primary
outcome of this study is a theory with specific
components; a central phenomenon, casual
foundations, strategies, conditions and context, and
consequences.
 Developing theory grounded in data from the field.
Narrativ
e
 A new discipline, narratology (the
term coined by Todorov in 1969)
has slowly emerged which takes
as its central task the analysis of
stories and narratives (Plummer
2001, p.186).

 Two questions can be posed to
explore the position of narrator
and writer in collaborative
narrative inquiry. First, how does
the writer construct the life story
of the narrator? Second, to what
extent do narrators become
involved in the writing of their
own life story? (Goodley 1998,
p.119). Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 48
 I believe that the core of narrative lies in the fact that
narrative and story-telling remain bound to a partiality of
perspective and thus may reject any form of abstract
universalism. Narrative can take different forms of
narrative; historiography, oral life story, myth, novel or
film as their point of departure. Within social action,
there are issues of social, cultural and political belonging.
I believe that the core of narrative and its social and
political importance lies in the fact that narrative and
storytelling remain bound to a particularity of perspective,
and thus must reject any form of abstract universalism.
At first, this seems to contrast ‘theory’, ‘concept’ and
‘narrative’, but we also insist on exploring the possibilities
of narrative theorizing. The argument always seems to
bring it all down to a key notion; can we feature
storytelling as a weak form of universalism? Can we find
commonality in this method to the world of “inclusion”,
exclusion (Slee 2000; Stirling 1992) and diversity.

 We need to keep in perspective that as
Goodley (2003) says, people’s stories
expose their innermost cultural and
social accounts. People seem to
understand better and describe events
better when they are assisted by the
narrative. We are all encapsulated in
stories and this research will aim at
injecting some understanding on the
many matters correlated to
“inclusion”. (Azzopardi 2006).
 In fact maybe stories… let’s take one
of them that we lived a good part of it,
you don’t see it so bad as when you
read about it again. When you read it
again you start to realise how serious
it is. Sometimes you get so used to
being in these circumstances that you
let them go by. But when faced with
the stories you tend to stop and think,
‘what happened was really bad!’
(Carmen, Facilitator).
The most important data that I have gathered on
narrative is not drawn from the observation of
speech production or controlled experiments,
but to from the reactions of audiences the
narratives as I have retold them. In a regular
and predictable fashion, certain narratives
produce in the audience a profound
concentration of attention that creates
uninterrupted silence and immobility, an effect
that continues long after the ending is reached.
It is the effort to understand the compelling
power of such narratives… (Labov 1997, p. 1).

 … I enjoyed reading them (Jack, Teacher).
 I think that they were very true. The stories trigger different
thoughts to the people that read them (Donnha, Parent Activist).
 I liked the stories because we are living them all the time… We
witness these things on television regularly and you end up
putting the sound off. But the way they did it, it was really great
(Maria, Parent Activist).
 I preferred this style (Walter, Disabled Activist).
 Why do you think they are an effective means of research?
(Andrew, Researcher).
 Because they give a realistic picture of the situation (Carmel,
Disabled Activist).
 They are also food for thought (Sandra, Disabled Activist).
 I’ve read the stories and they are real… For example the issue of
over-protection in the first story, where a person with a disability
isn’t even allowed to play. Most of the times, in research, things
are done out of good intention but that lack of consultation gets
at me (Richard, Disabled Activist).

When you read stories, you start
understanding more coherently the
issues that are being passed on.
Because in reading a story you’re
going to engage with it, you’re going
to feel the spirit there is.
Questionnaires are artificial. Just a
question and an answer. In a story
you will get it, read, think about it.
What I found interesting was the
discussion we had in the focus group.
Certain stories I read them
‘differently’ than other people. This
helped because I could reflect and
come up with my own conclusions
 Rather than concealing my
identity, the literature is a key
coordinating attribute of this
narrative work and can be
perceived as a basic means for
individuals to denote the
inclusive agenda we are all
immersed in.

 The processes employed in semi-
fictional and narrative writing include
clear challenges to the offered
narrative and re-writing of events.
This can only be achieved by sharing
responsibility, because no-one can
really contradict authorial clout when
it comes to writing fiction. I interpret
narrative and semi-fictional writing to
change the power relations between
oneself and the informants.
 The value of narrative lies in the capacity to
connect me with the proper story that is
happening. This is not information that has to
go from one medium to another, from one
interpretive stance to another but a whole
movement of debate that draws in the
complexities straight on to the serving dish. It
is precisely like consuming the stark realities
that are encompassing this debate. There is no
way to shed responsibility and shift the debate
or try to interpret the way I, as the author
wanted it written. This is a basic ethical
premise. What is read is interpreted from the
experience one has, allowing the wholeness
and completeness of that debate to merge the
positions that need to be taken. E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 57
 Joan’s story is one of changing self-
identity – first the loss of the self she
was before her illness, then the
reconstruction of a new ‘stronger’ self.
We can see this being played out
through and against the public
narratives of ‘normality’…. Her
difficult struggle to ‘come to terms’
with the changes in her life and an
altered self are clearly bound up with
her long-standing acceptance of the
implicit messages in these public
narratives…. She found a way to re-tell
her story to and of herself (Thomas
1999, p.51).Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 58
 In the process of unpacking life
story research we may end up
deconstructing the life stories
that we initially present. Never
mind, we hope we have done
some justice to our
narrators/narrative subjects and
encouraged others to consider
stories as the very stuff of
research (Goodley et al 2004,
 While narrative researchers draw upon
a variety of epistemological and
theoretical positions, all proponents
share the view that (some)
understandings can be gleaned
through turning to those who have in
some way been labelled. A turn to
narrative is a celebration of the
insider, specificity, indexicality and of
lay-knowledge. The strengths of
narrative accounts are tied into the
inherent personal and constructive
qualities of accounting for oneself
alongside and with others (p.3).
 The essence of this method was in getting the
immigrants to tell their own life stories, either by
hiring them to do so or by finding documents,
especially letters, in which they did (Zaretsky 1996,
p.x). Another important reader for me was The Man
Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat And Other Clinical
Tales by Oliver Sacks (1985). This author has
written several stories that emanated from a
professional autobiography. Moreover, he managed
to bring to the surface a number of interesting
debates and personal reflections that said a lot
about the professional dimension and how this could
be more in line with the ‘patients’ (for him) or
service users we are engaged with. He speaks
about the passions and the galvanisation of people
under the threat of being categorised, pigeon-holed
and having their personality segmented.

 Narrative identity can be defined as a
constantly evolving story, which compounds the
past experience of human life. A person
constantly renews his or her narrative by re-
creating mental experiences in the form of
words and sentences…. Narrative identity is
closely related to the view that identity comes
through a dialogue between the self and the
environment. In order for a narrative to come
about, there has to be true dialogue between
participants who listen to each other. And even
more: people want not only to be listened to,
but also to be understood, which enhances the
self-knowledge of both the narrator and the
listener/reader (Syrjala and Estola 1999, p. 3).
Creswell (1998)
 The author uses description and a high level of
detail
 The author tells this story informally, as a
‘storyteller’
 The author explores cultural themes of roles and
behavior of the committee
 The author describes the ‘everyday life of
persons’
 The overall format is descriptive

Ethnograp
hy
 What is ethnography?
 What lies behind an ethnographic piece of
research?

 An ethnography is a description and interpretation
of a cultural or social group or system. The
researcher examines the group's observable and
learned patterns of behavior, customs and ways of
life (Harris, 1968). It is based on participant
observation where the researcher is immersed in
the process of day-to-day living and one-to-one
interviews. The researcher studies the meanings of
behavior, language and interactions of the culture
sharing group.
 Describing and interpreting a cultural and social

group.

 Ethnographers prefer lengthy and deep involvement
in the natural setting. Social life is complex in its
range and variability. It also operates at different
levels and has many layers of meaning (Berger,
1966). A long stay is necessary to gain access to
these.
 There has been some dispute as to whether there
are such ‘real situations’, let alone whether they can
ever be represented in research accounts.
 ‘The social world is an interpreted world…(Analytic
realism) is based on the value of trying to represent
faithfully and accurately the social worlds or
phenomena studied’ (Altheide and Johnson, 1994, p.
489).
 Ethnographers are interested in how
understandings are formed, how meanings are
negotiated, how roles are developed, how a
curriculum works out, how a policy is formulated
and implemented, how a pupil becomes deviant.
 Social life is ongoing, developing, fluctuating,
becoming. It never arrives or ends. Some forms of
behaviour may be fairly stable, others variable,
others emergent.
 Ethnographers do not, on the whole, start with a
theory which they aim to test and prove or disprove,
though there is no reason why they should not do
that if they wished. They mainly work the other way
round, seeking to generate theory from data. The
theory is then said to be grounded in the social
activity it purports to explain (Glaser and Strauss,
1967).
 Ethnography is often criticised for producing a weak

basis for generalisations to be made. Thus, it might
be demonstrated, very interestingly, that a pupil
indulges in disruptive behaviour or engages in
creative activity when subjected to certain
treatment; some might ask, however, quite
legitimately, 'to how many pupils does this apply?'
We find it useful here to distinguish between
internal and external validity. Internal validity refers
to the accuracy of the account being presented as it
applies to the case or cases researched. External
validity refers to generalisation to other cases.

 Ethnography is concerned with life as it is lived,
things as they happen, situations as they are
constructed in the day-to-day, moment-to-moment
course of events. Ethnographers seek lived
experiences in real situations. In general, they try
not to disturb the scene and to be unobtrusive in
their methods. This is to try to ensure that data and
analysis will closely reflect what is happening.
 The researcher tries to make as few assumptions in

advance on what problems and issues will be found.
It helps if the researcher ‘makes the familiar
strange’, not taking things for granted, questioning
the bases of action (Becker, 1971); though, at other
times, ‘deep familiarity’ with the scene and the
people in it can aid insights (Goffman, 1989; Strauss
and Corbin, 1990).

Ethnography by tradition is an individual pursuit,
which makes working on sensitive issues, and
others as well, all the harder. In what Douglas
(1976) calls the 'Lone Ranger' approach,
ethnographers
…have gone out single-handedly into the bitterly
conflictual world to bring data back alive. This
approach has demanded considerable strength and
courage much of the time and almost always an
ability to operate alone, with little or no support and
inspiration from colleagues. (p. 192)

Phenomenolog
y

A phenomenological study describes the meaning of
the live experiences for several individuals about a
concept or phenomenon. Phenomenologist explore
the structures of consciousness in human
experiences.
 The researcher brackets his/her preconceived ideas
about the phenomenon to understand it through
the voice of informants
 The investigator writes research questions that
explore the meaning of that experience for
individuals and asks individuals to describe their
everyday lived experiences
 The investigator than collects data from individuals
who have experienced the phenomenon under
investigation
 Meanings are clustered
 The phenomenological report ends with the reader
understanding better the essential, invariant
structure or essence of the experience. Recognizing
that a single unifying meaning of the experience
exists. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 72
Case
study
 A case study is an exploration of a ‘bounded system’
or a case (or multiple cases) over time through
detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple
sources of information rich in context. This bounded
system is bounded by time and place and it is the
case being studied-a program, an event, an activity
or individuals.
 It is the development of an in-depth analysis of a

single case or multiple cases.

Almost there…
…!

“Researchers have to be close to
groups, live with them, look out at the
World through their eyes, empathize
with them, appreciate the
inconsistencies, ambiguities and
contradictions in their behavior”
(Woods).

“He was also reflexive, putting himself
into the situation, looking at the
effects on himself as part of the
event” (Woods).

There are dangers, as well as
opportunities, in engagement. We
encountered this in particularly acute
form during our research on teacher
stress” (Woods).

Analyzing data is by no means
straightforward, and writing up typically
takes a number of drafts before one feels
the research is adequate and appropriately
represented” (Woods).

Important pieces of research
 The research on suicide – Emile Durkheim
 The effect of institutionalisation on people – Erving
Goffman
 The Balinese Cockfights - Clifford Geertz

Illum…

Considerations when
identifying research topic
 Workability
 Interests
 Practicality
 Close to own profession
 Considerations/implications
 Relationships
 Necessity (for field/for
profession)
Exploratory stages
 Where?
 Who?
 How?
 What?
 When?
 Why?

Strategies for identifying
relevant literature
 Long Essays, Dissertations, Theses
 On-line libraries
 Journals
 Texts
 Websites
 E-mail discussion groups

 Identify your objectives. What do you want to
find out?
 Determine your sample. To find out what you

want to know, who should respond to the
survey (be in the sample)?
 Determine sample size/confidence. How many

responses do you need to feel confident in the
results?
 Determine a timeframe and schedule. When

do you need the results?

 Determine how much you can
budget to the survey or surveys.
 Develop several sample questions.

Write your questions with the best-
case scenario in mind - you can ask
the most complex question you can
think of. Any very complex
questions or objectives might
determine the type of survey you
use.
 Prioritize the four key factors – sample,
timeframe, budget, and complexity.
If sampling is the most important consideration,

then a telephone survey might be best. If you
need responses very quickly, computer/online
surveys are the only choice. If you need a large
number of responses, mail – or a combination
mail and telephone – survey might be the best
choice. If cost is the key factor, mail or
computer surveys might be your choice. If the
questions require respondent choices and
interaction, telephone or computer surveys are
best.

 Define the universe. Who do you
want to get information from?
 Develop a “sampling frame.” Who

are the people that make up the
group(s) you want to survey?
Always use the most updated list
available.

 Specify the sampling unit and
element. What specific segment(s) will
get you the information I need? All
security company purchasing agents or
your company users?
 Specify sampling method. What

selection criteria will you use: probability
vs. non-probability, simple random,
cluster, or stratified (I call it targeted)?
(There are several other technical criteria
that you might consider as well.)

 Determine sample size. Compute the
ideal sample size using one of the
formulas – or your own judgment.
Several factors, including the study specs,
population variability, analysis
considerations, and cost, combine to
determine sample size. The most common
formula for computing the size of a simple
random sample with a confidence level (CL)
of 95 percent is:
 n is the sample size
 d is the desired precision/margin of error
 Z is the value of corresponding the desired
confidence level obtained from a normal
distribution table (usually 95%)
 P is the proportion being estimated
Compiling a literature
review
 Start today
 Categorising
 Tagging
 Back ups
 Referencing

First impressions:
 Target Population
 Sample Size
 Theme
 Topic

 Whenever a sociologist starts a
piece of research, they always
have in mind a group of people
they want to study. These
people, whoever they may be,
are known as the target
population and are, in effect,
everyone in a particular group
you would like to research.
Positionality
Justify
 Whenever a sociologist starts a piece
of research, they always have in mind
a group of people they want to study.
These people, whoever they may be,
are known as the target population
and are, in effect, everyone in a
particular group you would like to
research.
 Your target population might, for
example, be a small group (perhaps 10
or 12 people in all) who seem to meet
regularly in your local park.
 On the other hand, your target
population might be the 70,000
football fans who attend Manchester
United’s home games at Old Trafford.

 If you think about these
examples, it might be fairly easy
to do some research on the first
group, since the target
population is small. Whether
this research involves observing
the group from a distance,
asking them questions,
participating in their behaviour
or whatever, the size of the
group makes it relatively easy to
manage your research.
 With the second example,
however, things might be more
difficult, since its size is going to
make it very hard for you to
personally observe or question
everyone in it. This, therefore, is
where the concept of sampling
comes into its own...

 As a general "rule of thumb" when
doing sociological research you should
try to make your sample
representative of your target
population. However, there are times
when you might deliberately choose
not to study a representative sample.
 For example, in some types of social
research you might not want to make
generalisations about a very large
group of people based only on a very
small group.
 You might, for example, simply be
interested in the sociological
characteristics of the group itself,
rather than what they may or may not
represent.
Considerations:
 Legal reasons.
A school, for example, is unlikely to give
an outside researcher access to their
registers.
 Confidentiality.
A business organisation is unlikely to
give an outside researcher access to
their payroll records.
 Secrecy.
Some religious groups, political parties
and so forth do not want outside
researchers to study their activities.

Generating positive
relationships
 Knowing the area
 Emancipatory attitude
voice
 Control to informants
 From subjects to informants
 Establishing ground rules
 Identifying sensitive issues

Observation
As we have seen, sociologists who adopt the
method of Participant Observation for their
research aim to discover nature of social reality
by understanding the actor's perception /
understanding / interpretation of the social
world. In this respect, Participant Observation
is sometimes called a "naturalistic" method that
involves the researcher,
"Telling it like it is"
or, if you prefer,
"Really understanding what is going on in any

given situation".

 The participant observer, therefore,
tries to take advantage of the human
ability to "empathise", which in
simple terms involves our ability to
see a situation from someone else's
point-of-view - to put yourself in
"their" shoes to experience the world
as "they" experience it.

 The main idea, in this respect, is to
participate in a social group whilst, at
the same time, employing the
insights and understanding of a
trained sociological observer
(whatever they might be when
they're at home and sleeping in your
bed...). The point, therefore, is to
observe and experience the world as
a participant, whilst retaining an
observer's eye for understanding,
analysis and explanation.

 As you might expect, Participant
Observation is a method of data
collection that attempts to
understand the motives and
meanings involved in people's
behavior from the point-of-view of
the participant. Sociologically, this
method tends to be associated with
the interactionists perspective and
this means that the methodology is
primarily "interpretive" (that is ,
concerned with the attempt to
express the quality of people's
behaviour by interpreting such
behavior from a sociological
viewpoint) Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 104
 Having said this, some form of
quantification measurement may be
used by participant observers,
although the reasons for quantifying
behavior tend to be somewhat
different to those used by non-
Integrationists. We can look at the
example of "suicide" to briefly
demonstrate this idea.

 For a sociologist such as Emile
Durkheim (working within a broadly
structuralist perspective), suicide was
considered to be a "social fact" whose
existence could be deduced from the
study of patterns of suicide taken from
the analysis of official statistics. The
emphasis, in this respect, was placed
upon trying to explain why different
societies had different suicide rates.
Durkheim, therefore, considered
suicide statistics to be "facts" - hard
evidence about people's behavior -
that could be used in the explanation
of that behavior.
 One of the classic studies
conducted using Participant
Observation was carried-out by
Erving Goffman ("Asylums",
1968). Goffman worked in an
asylum for the mentally ill as an
Assistant Athletic Director. His
research was mainly covert (the
inmates /patients and hospital
authorities did not know he was
doing research), with overt elements
(a couple of the staff knew he was a
researcher).
 Goffman attempted to discover
"unofficial reality" of mental
institutions, to:
 a. Answer the question "what is

really going on here?"
 b. To attempt to discover the "sense"

in a place of insanity and, in
particular, to analyze how patients
coped with both their labeling as
"mentally ill" and the "abnormal
social situation" in which they found
themselves.Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 108
For example, patients were:
 Closely observed and had little

privacy.
 They were highly disciplined and

regimented by the staff.
 They're personal possessions were

taken away and, according to
Goffman's interpretation, they were
"treated like children".

 In above respect, the "hidden and closed"
world that Goffman had penetrated was both
"bizarre" and "abnormal" in terms of our
usual understanding of the social world - yet
through his research, Goffman claimed to
have discovered the "tricks and strategies"
employed by staff and patients in order to
cope with their situation. He discovered, in
short, how people made sense of an
apparently senseless situation; how:
a. The Staff and the patients came to terms

with it as best they could.
b. What looked abnormal (in terms of norms of

behaviour) to the outsider, was normal to
those on the inside.

 Many writers have sought to
justify their adoption of
Participant Observation as their
main research method, and we
can look briefly at how a few of
these writers have justified their
use of this research method.

 Howard Parker:
"...because by visiting the deviants in prison, borstal and other
'human zoos' or by cornering them in classrooms to answer
questionnaires, the sociologist misses meeting them as people in
their normal society".
 David Downes and Paul Rock ("Understanding Deviance").
"It is a theoretical commitment that drives the sociologist into
Participant Observation. The claim is made that social behavior
cannot be understood unless it is personally
experienced...Sociologists who lean on external accounts and
objective evidence can have no appreciation of why people act.
Neither can they understand environments and history as their
subjects do...Symbolic Interactionists and others who elevate
meaning to a central place contend that participation is
indispensable to the interpretation of human conduct."
 Cicourel:
This study of juvenile delinquency involved a four-year
observation of proceedings in juvenile courts in America. One of
Cicoural's aims was to understand the "interpretive procedures"
used by court officials in their routine interactions (that is, how
they made sense of the behaviour around them).

 Whether or not overt or covert
Participant Observation is the
best form of Participant
Observation to use is a question
that has produced heated
arguments amongst Interactionist
sociologists. Noted below are two
opposing views...

 1. Polsky ("Hustlers, Beats and Others", 1971):
Overt Participant Observation.
"You damned well better not pretend to be 'one of

them', because they will test this claim out and
one of two things will happen: either you
will...get sucked into 'participant' observation
of the sort you would rather not undertake, or
you will be exposed, with still grater negative
consequences. You must let the criminals know
who you are and if it is done properly it does
not sabotage the research".

 2. Laud Humphreys ("Tea Room Trade", 1970):
Covert Participant Observation.
 "From the beginning, my decision was to continue

the practice of the field study in passing as a
deviant...there are good reasons for following this
method of Participant Observation.
 In the first place, I am convinced there is only one

way to watch highly discreditable behaviour and
that is to pretend to be in the same boat with
those engaging in it. To wear a button [badge]
saying 'I am a watchbird, watching you' into a tea
room would instantly eliminate all action except
the flushing of toilets and the exiting of all
present.

 It seems to be a reasonable
assumption that, in our society,
we do not like to be stared at (or
closely observed). Part of the
reason for not liking to be closely
observed is "self-consciousness".


 For the most part, everyday behaviour such as
eating, drinking and so forth, is something we
do so often and so regularly that it becomes
almost automatic - we do it without thinking
(consciously) about why and how we do it.
 When we are aware of someone watching us,
however, we assume (rightly or wrongly) that
they are doing so for a purpose. As human
beings living in a social environment, we take
note of other's behaviour towards us as part-
and-parcel of understanding "what's going on"
in any process of interaction - it gives us clues
and cues about expected forms of behaviour
and so forth.

 Anthony Giddens ("Sociology")
"Goffman managed to see the asylum from the

patients' point of view rather than in terms of
the medical categories applied to them by
psychiatrists. 'It is my belief', he wrote, 'that
any group of persons, primitives, pilots or
patients, develop a life of their own that
becomes meaningful, reasonable and normal
once you get close to it'. Goffman's work
indicates that what looks "insane" to an outside
observer is not quite so irrational when seen in
the context of the hospital. Asylums involve
forms of discipline, dress and behaviour that
make it almost impossible for inmates to
behave like people in the outside world.".

We can summarise the advantages and disadvantages
with this method of social research in the following
terms:
Some advantages of Participant Observation:
1. It represents a rich source of high-quality

information.
2. The researcher can understand the social pressures

/ influences / group norms etc, that may create
particular forms of behaviour. This gives a
researcher insights into individual and group
behaviour and it may allow researcher to formulate
hypotheses that explain such behaviour.
3. It is a very flexible approach, since the researcher

does not pre-judge the issue by deciding in advance
what is / is not important when studying social
behaviour. In this respect, the researcher can react
to events / ideas, follow leads, pursue avenues of
research that had not occurred to him / her before
their involvement with a group.
4. The researcher is able to formulate
and test hypotheses and may be able
to redefine possible personal pre-
conceptions in the light of experience
within the group.
5. This type of research produces a

depth of detailed information about all
aspects of a group's behaviour.

Some disadvantages of Participant Observation:

1. A researcher has to learn the culture of a group if
they are to participate - this may not always be easy
/ possible.
2. Most research is restricted to small-scale studies
carried out over a long period and the group being
studied is unlikely to be representative other social
groups. It's unlikely a researcher will be able to
generalise their findings from one study to the next
(is Goffman's study applicable to all mental
institutions?).
3. There may be problems of access to all levels of a

group (although this can be over-come, to some
extent, by the type of Participant Observation being
used - this is usually a problem of covert, rather
than overt, Participant Observation).
4. This method of data collection requires great deal of
skill and commitment from the researcher (the
ability to fit-in with the people being studied, the
ability to communicate with groups members on
their level and terms, tact, observation, etc.).
Carrying out and recording
observations
 Memory work…..
 Research diary
 Reflections
 Notes
 Recording
Negotiate with informant/role of supervisor

The Underlife of a Public Institution’ is a
chapter in Asylums, which outlines
adjustments that inmates adopt through
primary and secondary methods for coping
with their situation within the institution.
Primary adjustments are ways inmates
conform to what is expected of him/her in
order to cope better in the institution:
“When an individual co-operatively

contributes required activity to an
organisation and under required
conditions…he is transformed into a
co-operator; he becomes a ‘normal’,
programmed; or built in member.”
(Goffman, E,
1991, p172)

Secondary adjustments are employed by the inmate to
escape or make his situation more enjoyable; this is
usually through unauthorised means in order to get
around the organisation’s restraints set by rules
sustained through surveillance. In looking at Central
Hospital, Goffman identifies ways in which patients
escape surveillance:
“The inmate may smile derisively by half-turning

away, chew on food
without signs of jaw motion when eating is
forbidden, cup a lighted cigarette
in the hand when smoking is not permitted, and
use a hand to conceal
cigarette chips during a ward poker game when
the supervising nurse
passes through the ward”
(Goffman, E, 1991, p205)

Goffman identifies ‘free places’ as places where
surveillance is reduced. ‘Free places’ in Central
Hospital were often used to carry out tabooed
activities such as drinking and poker games, one
could also be on their own in a free place as one can
escape from the noise and stress of the ward, free
places give a sense of freedom to the patient. The
staff at Central Hospital did not know these places
existed, or they where aware of these places but did
not enter them. Patients were able to interact and
become part of the outside world in free places.
Goffman uses the example of the hospital shop
where a selected few patients worked along with
shop attendants. The patients and shop attendants
would often sit around gossiping as the shop
attendants informed the patients of the goings on in
the outside world:
“In addition to being a free place, this area had the

added function of being
the town pump, that is, an information centre of
informational exchange.”
(Goffman, E, 1991,
p208) Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 125
“The practice of reserving something of oneself
from the clutch of
an institution is very visible in mental
hospitals and prisons but can
be found in more benign and less totalistic
institutions, too…we always
find the individual; employing methods to
keep some distance, some
elbowroom, between himself and that with
which others assume he should
be identified.”
(Goffman, E, 1991,
p279)

Geertz
What the cockfight says, it says in a
vocabulary of sentiment-the thrill of risk,
the despair of loss, the pleasure of triumph.
Yet what it says is not merely that risk is
exciting, loss depressing, or triumph
gratifying, banal tautologies of affect, but
that it is of these emotions, thus exampled,
that society is built and individuals put
together. ... it is a kind of sentimental
education... (Geertz, p. 6)
 What he learns there is what his culture’s
ethos and his private sensibility (or,
anyway, certain aspects of them) look alike
when spelled externally in a collective text;
that the two are near enough alike to be
articulated in the symbolics of a single such
text; and the disquieting part-that the text
in which this revelation is accomplished
consists of a chicken hacking another to
mindless bits (Geertz, p. 6)

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Qualitative

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 2

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 3

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 4

The course includes a critical account of the

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 5

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 6

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 7

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 8

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 9

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 10

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 11

Qualitative research is an inquiry

 It is unfair to judge qualitative research by

 "Qualitative researchers seek to make

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 16

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 17

(Bogdan & Biklen, 1992).

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 18

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 19

 Past researchers have not been able to

 The research techniques themselves, in

 Additionally, informants sometimes do not

 Field study research can explore the

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 22

“Whether you plan to conduct your own

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 30

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 31

 Interpretativists usually advocate the use of

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 33

Reliability is concerned with questions of stability and

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 36

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 37

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Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 42

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Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 47

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 49

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 52

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 53

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 55

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 61

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 63

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 65

 Describing and interpreting a cultural and social

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 66

 Ethnography is often criticised for producing a weak

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 68

 The researcher tries to make as few assumptions in

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 69

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 70

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 71

 It is the development of an in-depth analysis of a

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 74

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt 75

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