Lecture 5 and 6: Qualitative Approaches to Research

Qualitative Research

• Descriptive nonnumerical characteristics of some object

• Based on making observations

• summarized and interpreted in a narrative report

• Allows researchers to study topics that are difficult to quantify

• asks open ended questions

Quantitative Research

• Produces numerical scores

• Submitted to statistical analysis for summary/interpretation

4 Uses of Qualitative Data

1. Generate new constructs, theories or hypothesis

2. Develop detailed stories to describe a phenomenon

3. Achieve a deeper understanding of issues

4. Improve the quality of quantitative measures

1. Generate new constructs, theories or hypothesis

• allows us first to describe a phenomenon or human experience

  • New theories or hypotheses can be drawn from this knowledge

• gives us the ability to build new items

2. Develop detailed stories to describe a phenomenon

• Numerical data can be powerful but is depersonalized and less detailed than qualitative research on the same topic

• Researchers combining both approaches = our understanding of a topic becomes deeper

• Illustrate the implications of quantitative data through well researched qualitative anecdotes and stories is often essential to persuading decision-makers

3. Achieve a deeper understanding of issues

• In-depth Interviews and observations allows for greater understanding on how ppl experience a phenomenon

  • Quan - useful for examining large numbers of ppl

  • Qual - allows us to understand why they view things the way they do

• beneficial in providing a rich description of events

• help to understand how and why the "same" events are seen in different like by different stakeholders

4. Improve the quality of quantitative measures

• Qual and Quan approaches are not an either/or proposition

  • they complement each other

• Qual can be used to create or improve upon existing quantitative measurements

  • E.g surveys

Qualitative Traditions

• Ethnography, Phenomenology, Field Research, Ground Theory

• Each has its own approach to data collecting and analysis

• Each asks the researcher to play a specific role in the research process

Ethnography

• Study of Culture using qualitative field research

• Culture can be a large grp or it can be a smaller grp (e.g country or school)

• Studying a phenomenon in the context of its culture

• Participation Observation

Phenomenolgy

Emphasizes the study of how the phenomenon is experienced by respondents or research participants

• Focus on ppls subjective experiences or interpretations of the world

• wants to understand how the world is experienced by others from their perspective

• Meaning Units = in qual data analysis, a small group of a transcript or other texts that captures a concept that the analyst considers to be important

Field Researcher

A research method where the researcher goes into the field to observe the phenomenon in its natural state

• Researcher takes extensive notes that are later coded and analyzed for major themes

Grounded Theory

Develop a theory rooted in observation about the phenomena of interest

• Development of a theory and collection of data related to that theory builds on each other

• This is NOT abstract theorizing
  - This must be rooted or grounded in observations

• Iternative Process

Iterative Process

• Starts w/ questions that help guide the research

• Links are formed btwn the data and core concepts

• eventually, one reaches a conceptually dense theory, w/ a core concept identified and elaborated on

Qualitative Methods

• Participant Observation

• Direct Observation

• Unstructured Interviews

• Case Studies

• Focus Groups

Participation Observation

• Researcher becomes an active participant in the culture or context being observed

• Involved time commitment (months or years)

• Researcher must work to establish his or her relationship w/ the grp being studied

Direct Observation

• Observing a phenomenon to gather info about it

• Direct observer does not typically try to become a participant in the context

• Strives to be as unobstructive as possible to not bias the observations

• suggests a more detached approach

Unstructured Interviews

• No Predetermined interview protocol or survey

  • Interview questions emerge to analyze unstructured interview data

    • Especially when combining answers from different people

• may have some initial guiding questions or core concepts to ask about, there is no formal structured instrument or protocol

Case Studies

• An intensive study of a specific individual or specific context

• Data may include observations, clinical notes, medical and life history

Focus Groups

• Researcher gathers info about attitudes, opinions and preferences of selected grps of participants

• Generate as many ideas on a topic and to achieve a grp consensus

• marketing and surveying development

Unobstructuvtive Methods in Qualitative Research

• Methods of collecting data that do not interfere with the lives of the respondents

• Context Analysis (Thematic analysis of text)

• Indexing (Keywords in Context)

• presumably reduces the biases that result from the intrusion of the researcher or measurement instrument
  - this method depends on context

How are the qual and Quan approaches to research different, and how do they complement one another?

• They are different as qualitative research uses descriptions and observations while quantitative research focuses on numbers and statistical data.

• They complement one another as using the statistical data from quan research, qual research can then describe the patterns and make solutions

• Quantitative data give the trends and how they either increase or decrease. With Qualitative Data it gives the how and why they increased and decreased.