part 3 – analysing and presenting qualitative research dr janice whatley september 2014 dr j...

Dr J Whatley September 2014

Part 3 – Analysing and Presenting Qualitative Research

Dr Janice WhatleySeptember 2014

Agenda


Conceptual frameworks Methods for analysis Presenting findings Validity

Internal External

Reliability Ethics Concluding remarks

Conceptual Framework To outline possible courses of action or to present a

preferred approach to an idea or thought May act like a map to give coherence to empirical

inquiry As an intermediate theory that attempts to connect

the different aspects of the inquiry (e.g., problem definition, purpose, literature review, methodology, data collection and analysis)

Because conceptual frameworks are potentially so close to empirical inquiry, they take different forms depending upon the research question or problem

See document in your pack for some examples


Methods for analysis Transcribe the recorded data to electronic

format What about observation data? Notes, memos and reflective diary useful There is no standard approach

But your choice must be consistent with your research philosophy and strategy

Lots of different sorts of data These need to be compared and contrasted Identify key themes or patterns Develop theories based on these patterns Draw conclusions


Be guided by the research questions Research objectives operationalise your

research aim or research question Identify categories, add chunks of data, and a

structure emerges: Guided by research question and objectives Some may arise from literature, conceptual

framework Some may emerge from the data

What is happening here? Why is it happening? How has it come to happen this way? When did it happen?


Example of data analysis “In the first instance the comments related to each

question were extracted from questionnaires returned, and put together on a spreadsheet, first in teams, and then sorted by version of the prototype. These were then copied and pasted into a Word document, showing the questionnaire comments sorted by question”

“The interview transcripts were analysed firstly by question, retaining a common structure for all of the interviews, by copying and pasting into a new Word document. Next the comments were separated out according to a number of the issues identified from the literature search, such as team cohesion, culture and skills development, which were related to the getting started stage of the projects and their relationships”


“All of the comments were coded to a theme and entered onto a table listing all of the themes and all of the comments from each year of the trial”

“The comments from the focus groups were treated in a similar manner, coding all comments from the transcripts according to themes identified from the literature, those relating to task allocation and ground rules, and those concerned with the interface and implementation, and these were entered onto a table where the comments from both focus groups were put side by side”

“Each comment is unique, but it was possible to identify issues that were commented on more frequently than others. In this way descriptions and explanations for phenomena observed in this research could be examined and used to answer the research questions”


Presenting findings Communicate answers to the research

questions Guided by research questions, themes or

conceptual framework Illustrate findings:

Graphs Tables Verbatim quotes Narrative accounts

Present the facts, rather than give opinions: What I found out What judgements I formed based on what I found

out Dr J Whatley September 2014

Examples ... and also to extend their skills, by learning from

each other: “Pair off people with contrasting skills, e.g. report

writer with researcher, to collaborate” TM, T16, 2006 “Team Leader makes decisions on the basis of what

you have seen, but the system allows you to let them have a go at something.” TL, T5, 2007

... there is a recognised need for training in using groupware effectively (Duffy 1996), and this system is no different: “Down to purpose, and explaining the purpose – if

people understand that it is there to help them” FG, 2004


Validity INTERNAL VALIDITY is affected by flaws within

the study itself such as not controlling some of the major variables (a design problem), or problems with the research instrument (a data collection problem).

How sound the research is: Design and the methods of your research Do the findings truly represent the phenomenon

you are claiming to measure


EXTERNAL VALIDITY is the extent to which you can generalize your findings to a larger group or other contexts

Controlling all possible factors that threaten the research's validity is a primary responsibility of every good researcher



Some factors that can affect internal validity: Subject variability Size of subject

population Time given for the

data collection or experimental treatment

History Attrition Maturation Instrument/task

sensitivity

Important factors affect external validity: Population

characteristics (subjects)

Interaction of subject selection and research

Descriptive explicitness of the independent variable

The effect of the research environment

Researcher or experimenter effects

Data collection methodology

The effect of time

Reliability Reliability is the extent to which repeated

experiments will produce the same results, indicating there are minimal errors or bias in the methods used by the researcher

Although positivist research may ensure reliability through methods that are repeatable and giving the same results (Williams 2003), reliability of interpretive research through replicability is unlikely to be possible, because situations under investigation are often unique, and subject to change, meaning that the original conditions may never occur again.


Ethical considerations Any research should be designed and carried

out in an ethical manner, i.e. that it is methodically sound and that data is gathered from participants without causing them any detrimental effects.

Informed Consent: A document explaining the purpose of the

research, and asking individuals to indicate their consent to be a part of this research


Concluding remarks Creation and interpretation of knowledge,

extending the discipline Ability to conceptualise, design and

implement projects Qualities for employment:

Making informed judgements Innovative ways to tackle problems


Additional records to keep Reflective diary to record your experience of

undertaking the research Reflexivity – examine your reactions to what is

being researched, relationship to subjects and how you interpret the data


Advice Keep records of everything you do. Don’t throw anything away, it might come in

handy later, when the direction of your work deviates from originally planned.

Be reflective, part of this process is your development as a researcher.

Reflection on your learning and on the research methods is part of the process.


Summary The aim of interpretive research is to produce

findings that have been honestly arrived at and plausible, in the particular situation investigated. In many cases both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection are employed, and triangulation of data used to offer different perspectives on the results, in order to provide a measure of reliability to the findings.

Although it is difficult to reproduce qualitative studies identically, efforts can be made to minimise variations in participants, interviewer technique and potential bias, to maximise reliability (Silverman 2000)Dr J Whatley September 2014

part 3 – analysing and presenting qualitative research dr janice whatley september 2014 dr j...

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