1. No category

Qualitative Research
Methods
There’s more to it than meets the
eye!
Qualitative Methods
1. Get over the idea that research means
counting.
2. The focus is on subjective experiences, or the
meanings that people use.
3. Because meaning resides in language (people
think with language), qualitative research
largely involves studying text.
4. The best device for collecting and analyzing
qualitative information is the human brain.
Introduction
Qualitative Methods
5. Qualitative research is local, concrete.
6. Observations and findings depend on
understanding contexts and the meanings held
by the people in those contexts and the
meanings of the things in those contexts.
7. Observations are typically of interactions in
smaller groups or selectively defined settings.
8. Exploration is very often the motive, but not
always.
Introduction
Qualitative Methods
9. Qualitative research often provides idiographic
(as opposed to nomothetic) causal
explanations.
10. Qualitative research is typically inductive.
11. The research is reflexive—design is flexible
and can change given the needs of the
research. E.g., Theoretical Sampling
12. The researcher must be reflexive as well—the
brain tool must be calibrated, understood,
active, paid attention to, controlled
Introduction
Qualitative Methods
13. Qualitative research is very practical,
logical, and critical of itself. Researchers
constantly ask, “Am I accurately
depicting the social world given the ways
I am collecting and analyzing my data?”
14. Good qualitative research is often the
most rigorous, difficult research.
Introduction
DEDUCTIVE & INDUCTIVE REASONING
Elements of the Research Process
Deductive thinking (Quantitative)
THEORY
HYPOTHESIS
OBSERVATION
CONFIRMATION
Elements of the Research Process (Cont.)
Inductive thinking (Qualitative)
OBSERVATION
PATTERNS
HYPOTHESIS
THEORY
IDEAL
QUANTITATIVE
Research process is
deductive.
Measure objective facts.
Focus on variables.
Firewall between research
process and researchers’
values.
Cross-contextual.
Many cases.
QUALITATIVE
Research process is
inductive.
Document social reality,
meaning is constructed.
Focus on in-depth meaning.
Values are present & explicit
(empathy).
Contextual dependence.
Few cases.
IDEAL
QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Statistical analysis
Thematic analysis
Highly structured research
process.
Loosely structured
research process.
Particularistic, specific
Holistic perspective
Separation from data
Intimacy with data
Generalize to population
Generalization to properties and
contexts
Qualitative Methods
When should I use qualitative methods?
•When variables cannot be quantified
•When variables are best understood in their natural
settings
•When variables are studied over real time
•When studying intimate details of roles, processes,
and groups
•When the paramount objective is “understanding”
Qualitative Methods
What skills do I need?
• Must have requisite knowledge and skills about
methodology, setting and nature of the issue.
• Must be familiar with own biases, assumptions,
expectations, and values.
• Must be empathic, intelligent, energetic, and interested in
listening
• Must be open to embracing multiple realities.
• Must be prepared to produce detailed, comprehensive, and
sometimes lengthy reports.
Source: (Kuh & Andreas, 1991)
Qualitative Methods
Before collecting data, you have to determine what you want to
accomplish.
Tight versus Loose Design
Ask yourself:
–
–
–
–
How much time do I have?
What resources are available?
What is the purpose of the study?
In what am I really interested?
More structure can prevent waste
–
–
–
Design
If we already know about the context, it would be wasteful to go
exploring
If you have targeted topic, you can reduce data at the collection stage
and cut down on analysis time
Loose produces more data, more “surprise discoveries” can be
made
Qualitative Methods
Choose your unit of analysis.
• Individuals
– Certain experiences
– Experiences in particular settings
– Identities such as student with disabilities, ex-con
• Groups
–
–
–
–
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Design
Demographic groups
Intervention groups
Types of people such as ball players, secretaries
Those in one setting versus another
Organizations
Qualitative Methods
Qualitative research quickly exhausts resources and time.
Limit the amount of data collected.
It’s not the size that matters, it’s what you do with the data.
•
Be very clear about the research focus
– Write down your foggy ideas and then get more
specific.
• Concentrate on most important issues and not others.
– Start writing specific questions you want to answer.
– Now get even more specific…reduce
Design
Sampling
Plan Data Collection
• Define sampling boundaries:
–
–
–
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Space
Time
Social position
Context
• Record nothing that is not in your sampling
parameters
Design
Sampling:
Qualitative versus Quantitative
Quantitative Sampling
Select Elements Representative of Target Population
Generalize from sample to population
Make claims about the population
Test theories within population
Qualitative Sampling
Select Elements Representative of Research Focus
Generate Detailed and Subjective Understanding
Answer research questions
Build theories
Sampling
•
Make choices that narrow or delimit research focus
and activities to a level that
– A researcher’s brain can handle
– Can be done in a reasonable amount of time
– Is within a reasonable budget
•
Seek exposure to topic-related information
•
Focus only on information directly useful for the
research
– Samples should be small, not large
•
Sampling
Sampling decisions are made throughout data
collection
Data
Text is generally collected from or in the form
of…
– Field notes
-- Newspaper or magazine stories
– Interviews (recorded and transcribed)
– Focus groups
-- Web pages
– Audio & video tapes (transcribed and described)
– Copies of documents
– Narrative descriptions
– Diaries
-- Photographs (described)
ANALYSIS
1. Read Data, develop ideas and
feelings
2. Code Data, tag items with same
meaning using a unique code
3. Search and extract instances of
codes
4. Identify patterns among codes
(pattern coding)
THEMES
5. Create figures, tables, or
descriptions of patterns
Analysis
• Process of Qualitative Analysis:
– Data Reduction
– Data Display
– Conclusion Drawing and Verification
Analysis
Coding
Coding
What is coding?
• In qualitative analysis, coding is the process of
identifying categories and meanings in text, creating and
applying a name or code to each, and systematically
marking similar strings of text with the same code name.
• Coding permits systematic retrieval of categories and
meanings during analysis. Codes help researchers
identify patterns in data.
Coding
• One codes only relevant data (Not all text must be
coded to complete the project)
• Codes may be based on:
Actions, Behaviors,Topics, Ideas, Concepts,
Terms, Phrases, Keywords, and so forth
• Coding is purposeful interpretation, with mindful
reflection on the meanings of the persons, context,
interactions, statements, assumptions, and so forth
Coding
An example of
“old school”
coding
Source: http://onlineqda.hud.ac.uk/Intro_QDA/phpechopage_titleOnlineQDA-Examples_QDA.php
Coding
Sources of codes (typically both):
1.A priori codes—expected, looked for
–
–
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Previous research
Previous theory
Research question
Your intuition of the data or setting
2.Grounded codes—discovered
(suspend ideas about the subject and let the data determine codes)
Coding
• It helps if code names are meaningful.
• When new relevant content is discovered,
a new code is created.
• Codes may evolve
• A string of text may contain more than one
code.
Coding
• Codes must be consistently applied
• Keeping a list of codes helps to:
– Identify the content of each code, and
– Reveal the contents of the text.
• Codes should be grouped in some form
(e.g., related clusters) to advance analysis
Coding
http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/209/461
Displays
Making sense of the data
Displays
• There are numerous legitimate ways to move
from codes to final narrative, but core among
them is systematic work and adherence to logic.
• Systematic analysis is advanced when codes
are put into “data displays” which reflect the
researcher’s judgments about the data
• Data displays link various codes and help to
build themes
Displays
Thematic
network of
YouTube
comments
about Borat
Source: http://journals.culture-communication.unimelb.edu.au/platform/yecrea_2011_kaprans.html
Displays
• Such arrangements help researchers:
1. “dimensionalize,” or recognize dimensions of similar
thoughts or
• E.g., thoughts about how to appear masculine:
• Clothes
Presence
– Short hair
– Plain shoes
– Shirt with collar
-- Confidence
-- Taking up space
2. Connect codes in more sophisticated ways
3. Document patterns in “user-friendly” ways (never
rely on memory)
Displays
• Relationships between codes become more
apparent as codes are grouped
• Themes should be explored
– Why do some codes co-occur?
– Why are some dimensions related to other codes
while others are not?
– Are some codes linked to particular emotions?
• Exploration of themes is analysis. The
discoveries should be written down. These
eventually (with very heavy and serious editing)
turn into your written text.
Analysis
• Process of Qualitative Analysis:
– Data Reduction
– Data Display
– Conclusion Drawing and Verification
Drawing Conclusions and Verification
• As one creates and views displays, the salient
components of meaning and activities become apparent.
• Research may be:
– Descriptive: Represents the data (meanings, observations) to
readers in such a way that they will “understand” what the
researcher “sees” in the data.
– Causal: Links concepts in the data together to explain observed
meanings or phenomena, and to write in such a way that readers
will “understand” what the researcher “sees.”
• This stage relies very heavily on logical evaluation and
systematic description
Drawing Conclusions and Verification
• The researcher WRITES what he or she sees as
logical descriptions of themes
• The researcher always refers back to the data
displays and raw data as descriptions or causal
statements are made.
– Systematic, organized, and good coding and notes
will really pay off at this point, allowing efficient,
accurate access to data
• Conclusions are made through this process
Drawing Conclusions and Verification
• Articles and reports often include quotes.
They are not the text “speaking for itself.”
• Quotes are used for:
– Evidence
– Explanation
– Illustration
– Deepening understanding
– Giving participants a voice
– Enhancing readability
Drawing Conclusions and Verification
In the end, like good quantitative research, good
qualitative research gives a portrayal of the human
experience that is as accurate as possible, but which
always has limitations.
Qualitative Methods
•
•
It is often difficult to plan qualitative research
Group Discussion:
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Spend several minutes generating ideas for a
qualitative research study. What are you going to
study and why?
Create a plan for:
•
Sampling
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•
•
Data Collection
Data Analysis
–
•
Introduction
How will you determine whether your sample is representative
of a target group?
How will you evaluate causality?
How will you write about or present your findings?