Qualitative Methods

Kemly Camacho and Angélica Ospina

Methodological Design

General Research questions

Sites and participants (historically and contextually determined)

Collection of data

Analysis/Interpretation of data

Conceptual and theoretical work

Writing up findings and conclusion

Rigor in qualitative research (Guba & Lincoln)

•Trustworthiness

– Credibility, submitting research findings to the participants for confirmation that the researcher has correctly understood their social world (respondant validation and triangulation techniques)

– Transferability, qualitative findings are

oriented to a specific context and to a specific historical moment. The research includes a “thick description” of its cultural context.

Rigurosity in qualitative research

(Guba & Lincoln)•Trustworthiness (others to discuss)

– Dependability, choose an “audience” and guarantee that all the research activities, findings and writing can be understood by this audience who act as an auditor during the research process.

– Confirmability, because is not possible to be objective in a research process, there is a need to establish the “good faith” of the researchers, in the sense they integrate all the voices and not overtly their personal values and theoretical inclinations.

Rigor in qualitative research (Guba & Lincoln)

•Authenticity– Represent viewpoints among members of the social setting?

– Help members to arrive at a better understanding of their social milieu?

– Help to appreciate better the perspectives of other members of their social setting?

– Promote engagement to change the circumstances?

– Empower members to take the steps necessary for engaging in action?

Basic Characteristics

Analytical categories are developed and modified as part of the research, as a work in progress.

The researcher is an observer, an interpreter and a participant in the reality.

Qualitative Research is not looking for generalization, it refers to a specific context and to an historical moment.

It can be time consuming and expensive.

When to use qualitative research

The interest is not the generalization

Best way to understand in depth cultural factors for a specific social group, in one context and one historical moment

Generate theories or understandings based in the perspectives of participants (the researcher as one of them)

In the ICT field there is a need for rigorous qualitative

research!!

Data Collection/ Generation

•

Observation (participant and no-participant)

Life stories

Focus Groups

Interviews (structured, semi-structured, opened)

Oral History

Visual-Sound Collection

Qualitative Data

Qualitative Data

Qualitative Data

ICT are very significant for qualitative research

EXAMPLE: Oral History

Collection of stories and reminiscences of persons who have firsthand knowledge of any number of experiences

“Oral History of ICT4D Civil Society Organizations representatives , collected to better understand the evolution of this field from their perspectives”.

ICT are very significant for qualitative research

EXAMPLE: Oral History

We tell the story through spoken text, images (photo collections), video text, websites evolution, and all other media.

All voices have to be documented

Digital stories including videos, blogs, photo, social networking, etc.

Oral history based in images

Data Analysis

It is not just to “sistematyze” the information.

Coding

Categorizing data according to factors

Connecting factors

Discovering patterns

ICT impact in Youth Consumption Patterns

Comparative analysis Research

IMAGE: Collective Colages

IMAGE and TEXT: Observation

QUANTITATIVE: Survey

TEXT: Narratives

Profesional women at IT sector

Quantitative: Survey

TEXT: Life stories

TEXT: Focus Group

Quantitative: Statistical review

ICT and qualitative research

Netnography and virtual Ethnography

Web sites analysis: discourse analysis and content analysis. Hyperlinks and social network analysis

Sensitive analysis: to discover consumption patterns in the social networks

Participant observation in the cyberspace

Software for qualitative methods

• Atlas-ti

• Ethnograph

• Computer assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (CAQDAS)

INTERVIEW EXERCISE

• VIDEO – Small groups

• What key issues characterised the interview in your opinion? How could things have been done differently?

CODING EXERCISE

• Selective transcript of an interview held with an individual involved in lobbying and advocacy activities in relation to ICT policy in Uganda.

• Study on the nature of the ICT policy process in Uganda and in particular on the type of relationships that take place between different policy actors.

PART I (individual work)

• What particular themes or other aspects of interest emerge from the interview? And how would you code the interview transcript based on these themes?

Try to identify specific statements or paragraphs of the interview that you think cover a specific theme, and code these accordingly (e.g. highlight or underline these statements or paragraphs, and write next to them the name of the corresponding theme).

PART II

• Now consider the predefined analytical aspects/themes described in the Table.

• Look at the interview transcript again to determine if the categories/themes that you identified correspond to the ones included in the Table (analytical framework).

Table 1: Sample Aspects/Themes for Interpretive Research on ICT Policymaking, and Related Questions to Ask/Elements to Note

Aspects/Themes Questions to Ask Elements to Note

Nature of the policy process How is ICT policy made, i.e. how does the policy process work? What does making policy mean in practice, i.e. what particular actions or operations does one do when ‘making policy’? What are the “rules of the game” in ICT policy formulation in Uganda?

Descriptions of ‘stages’ or aspects in the policy process; references to particular actions or practices undertaken by respondent or by others when ‘making policy’; references to ‘typical’ ways of making ICT policy.

Roles and relationships between policy actors

What has been your role in relation to the policy process? What is the role of other actors? Who is particularly influential, i.e. who sets the ‘rules of the game’? Are there conflicts between actors sometimes? And when do relationships work well, instead?

References to self as actor in the policy process (role, reasons for involvement etc.); references to others and their roles; references to particular policy actors as ‘influential’; references to problems/conflicts with others, and reasons why; references to ‘ideal’ relationships (‘how things should go’)

Resources necessary for policy formulation

What types of material or knowledge resource are essential in order to ‘make policy’? What are your ‘tools of the trade’ when you make policy, and what do you think you ‘need’ to have to make it? Are these resources easy to obtain/use?

References to material objects and resources, or types of knowledge perceived as necessary to policymaking; references to differences in access/possession of relevant resources by specific policy actors.

Participation in policy formulation What does ‘participating’ in ICT policy formulation mean? How does one ‘participate’, and what are the outcomes? Is it ‘easy’ to participate? Have there been particular impediments for you in this respect?

References to instances of participation/public consultation; definitions of what ‘participation’ means; personal experiences of participation, and references to outcomes (e.g. expected, or unexpected?).

Complexity of policymaking work How easy is it to ‘make policy’ on ICTs? What are the biggest challenges? How are these resolved/should they be resolved?

References to complexity; lack of skills or information, failures and challenges; references to solutions to problems of complexity.

DISCUSS IN GROUPS:

• Would it be useful to use the framework to organize the data? What difference would have made to have this framework in advance?

Some conclusions

• ICT are redefining the way in which qualitative methodologies are implemented

• But, the need for rigorous qualitative research is increasing

• Importance of flexibility (unexpected findings)