“A man is least himself when he talks in his own person; when given a mask he will tell the truth.”

--- Oscar Wilde

Exploratory Research Descriptive Research Correlational Research Explanatory Research

What Did We Learn In The Previous Lecture?

Qualitative

Research

Qualitative Research‘Qualitative Research…involves finding out what people think, and how they feel - or at any rate, what they say they think and how they say they feel. This kind of information is subjective. It involves feelings and impressions, rather than numbers’(Bellenger, Bernhardt and Goldstucker, Qualitative Research in Marketing, American Marketing Association )

Definitions Findings not arrived at by means of statistical

procedures or quantification (Source: Strauss and Corbin 1990)

… qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomenon in terms of the meanings people bring to them. (Source: Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p.3)

The qualitative researcher is interested in illumination and understanding NOT causal determination or prediction.

They look beyond the façade, the superficial, to search for purpose, meaning and context.

Phenomena have meaning in a context and their meaning differs in different contexts. Helps us capture the ways in which people interpret events, experiences and relationships (lived experiences).

Purpose of Qualitative Research

Why do people do the things they do?

What makes an organization functional or dysfunctional?

What effects behavior, systems and relationships over time?

Why Qualitative Approaches?

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts” (Albert Einstein)

“Welcome aboard, BOB, your job is to figure out what the hell happened here…………………….”

Example: Smoking And Lung Cancer

Research has established the association b/t smoking and lung cancer

Qualitative methodology helps to explain:The power of tobacco companies and

advertisingReasons why people continue to smoke

despite the evidenceSocial meaning of smoking (e.g among women

and the youth)

Limitations of Qualitative Research

It is anecdotal (stories told for dramatic quality without critical evaluation)

Unscientific Producing findings that are not

generalisable Impressionistic Subjective

Methodologies Of Qualitative Research

What Is A Methodology? ‘Logos’ in Greek means ‘knowledge of’. Methodology can be described as the knowledge

of methods. In science and technology there is not a single

method that leads to the solution of a problem. Methodology can properly refer to the theoretical

analysis of the methods appropriate to a field of study or to the body of methods and principles particular to a branch of knowledge.

What is a Method then?Method

A way of doing something, especially a systematic way; implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps)

Methodology The branch of philosophy

that analyzes the principles and procedures of inquiry in a particular discipline

The system of methods followed in a particular discipline

Experimental Quasi experimental Action Research Case Study Surveys

Some Possible Methodologies Ethnography Phenomenology Ethnology Biography etc

Observation Interviews Focus groups Questionnaires Surveys Structured Time lapsed

Possible Methods Frequencies etc Diaries Scales & Tests Documentation Video and audio Recording, etc

Methodologies Of Qualitative Research

Action Research Case Study Ethnography Grounded Theory Phenomenology

Action Research

History of development within social psychology Places researchers in a ’helping-role’ Diagnosing a problem, action planning, action taking implementing and evaluating outcomes. Evaluation leads to a new diagnosis… Contribution to the practical concerns Joint collaboration with the people experiencing the problem Contextuality and participation

Case studies involve in-depth examination of a single instance, event or example: a case.

A case study is an empirical inquiry that: investigates a contemporary instance or event within its real-life context, boundaries between instance, event or example and context are not clearly evident.

Methods: interview, observation, document analysis.

Types Of Case Study Intrinsic

The case itself is of interest Instrumental Case Study

A particular case is studied to provide insight into an issue or to refine a theory

Collective Case StudyA number of cases are studied jointly in order

to investigate a phenomenon (instrumental study extended to several cases)

Ethnography

Rooted in anthropology Also called participant observation/ naturalistic

enquiry Ethno = people Graphy = describing something Ethnographers are interested in how the

behavior of individuals is influenced or mediated by culture in which they live.

Methods: Direct observation, Participant observation, Unstructured Interview, note taking, photo, drawings, documents.

Role Of The Observer Complete observer

Behind one-way mirror, invisible role Observer as participant

Known, overt observer Participant as observer

Pseudo-member, research role known Complete participant

Full membership, research role not known

Phenomenology

Rooted in philosophy Central question: what is the meaning, structure,

and essence of the lived experience of this phenomenon for this person/group of people?

It focuses on individuals' interpretation of their experience and the ways in which they express them.

The researchers task is to describe phenomena as experienced and expressed by individuals.

Method: Interview

Grounded Theory

Rooted in social sciences Emphasizes the development of theory Which is grounded in data systematically

collected and analyzed (constant comparative analysis to produce substantive theory)

Theory must be faithful to the evidence Looks for generalisable theory - by making

comparisons across situations Focus is on patterns of action and interaction Methods: Interview, Constant comparison,

Theoretical sampling

Sampling In Qualitative Research

Considerations In Sampling

Purpose of qualitative researchProduce information-rich dataDepth rather than breadth Insight rather than generalisation

Conceptual rather than numerical considerationsChoose information-rich sites and respondents

Common Sampling Approach

Purposive sampling Deviant case sampling Intensity sampling Heterogeneous sampling Homogenous samples Typical case sampling Snowball sampling Opportunistic sampling

Considerations In Sample Size

Saturation Redundancy Minimum samples based on expected reasonable

coverage, given the purpose of the study and constraints

Qualitative Data Analysis

Stages In Qualitative Data Analysis

Qualitative data analysis is a non-linear / iterative processNumerous rounds of questioning, reflecting,

rephrasing, analysing, theorising, verifying after each observation, interview, or Focus Group Discussion

During data collectionReading – data immersion – reading and re-

reading Coding – listen to the data for emerging

themes and begin to attach labels or codes to the texts that represent the themes

After data collectionDisplaying – the themes (all information)Developing hypotheses, questioning and

verificationReducing – from the displayed data identify

the main points

Interpretation (2 levels)At all stages – searching for core meanings

of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours described

Overall interpretationIdentify how themes relate to each otherExplain how study questions are

answeredExplain what the findings mean beyond

the context of your study

Processes In Qualitative Data

Analysis

Ninny Eagle, “Tell us if these berries are poisonous.”

Processes In Qualitative Data Analysis

1. Reading / Data immersion2. Coding3. Displaying data4. Developing hypotheses, questioning and

verification5. Data reduction6. Interpretation

1.1. Read For Content Are you obtaining the types of information

you intended to collect Identify emergent themes and develop

tentative explanations Note (new / surprising) topics that need to

be explored in further fieldwork

1. Reading / Data Immersion

1.2. Read Noting The Quality Of The Data Have you obtained superficial or rich and deep

responses How vivid and detailed are the descriptions of

observations Is there sufficient contextual detail Problems in the quality of the data require a review of:

How you are asking questions (neutral or leading) The venue The composition of the groups The style and characteristics of the interviewer How soon after the field activity are notes recorded

Develop a system to identify problems in the data (audit trail)

1.3. Read Identifying PatternsAfter identifying themes, examine how these

are patternedDo the themes occur in all or some of the

dataAre their relationships between themesAre there contradictory responsesAre there gaps in understanding – these

require further exploration

No standard rules of how to code Emergent Borrowed

Record coding decisions Record codes, definitions, and revisions

Usually - insert codes / labels into the margins Building theme related files

Cut and paste together into one file similarly coded blocks of text

NB identifiers that help you to identify the original source

Identify sub-themes and explore them in greater depth

2. Coding

Capture the variation or richness of each theme

Note differences between individuals and sub-groups

Return to the data and examine evidence that supports each sub-theme

3. Displaying Data

Extract meaning from the data Do the categories developed make sense? What pieces of information contradict my

emerging ideas? What pieces of information are missing or

underdeveloped? What other opinions should be taken into

account? How do my own biases influence the data

collection and analysis process?

4. Developing Hypotheses, Questioning And Verification

5. Data ReductionDistill the information to make visible the most essential concepts and relationships

Get an overall sense of the data Distinguish primary/main and secondary/sub- themes Separate essential from non-essential data Use visual devices – e.g. matrices, diagrams

6.InterpretationIdentifying the core meaning of the data, remaining faithful to the perspectives of the study participants but with wider social and theoretical relevance

Credibility of attributed meaning Consistent with data collected Verified with respondents Present multiple perspectives (convergent and divergent views) Did you go beyond what you expected to find?