RADHIKA VIRURU, PH.D.DEPT. OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES

QATAR UNIVERSITY

An Introduction to Qualitative Research

Day 2

Qualitative axioms (Lincoln and Guba, 1985)

The nature of reality: multiple, constructed and holistic

The relationship of knower to known: interactive, inseparable.

Generalization: a “working hypothesis” that describes a single case

Causal linkages: mutual simultaneous shaping.

Inquiry is value bound.

Characteristics of qualitative inquiry (ibid)

Natural setting: phenomena take their meaning as much from their contexts as they do from themselves. Demands attention to multiplicities in situations.

The human instrument: no other instrument can adjust to/appreciate multiple realities. Can cope with indeterminacy. Can respond immediately to data. Can be trained to be trustworthy

Uses tacit knowledge.Qualitative methods (though not exclusively) : not

anti quantitative but focuses more on the particular

Characteristics of naturalistic inquiry

Purposive sampling: try to choose a sample that gives you the widest range, to include as much information as possible (maximum variation sampling). Sampling is emergent; serial; continually focused and selected to the point of redundancy

Inductive data analysis. Grounded theory: theory that emerges from the

data and that “explains” the data. Negative case analysis

Emergent design: “Tell me what questions I need to ask, and then answer them for me”. Emerges through continuous data analysis, interactions, peer debriefing, journals.

Characteristics of naturalistic inquiry:

Negotiated outcomes: obligation to consult participants.

“Case study” reportingIdiographic (particular) rather than

generalizable interpretations.Tentative application.Special criteria for trustworthiness.

When to use qualitative research

“Quality” versus “quantity”.For problems that need explorationFor problems that need a complex detailed

understanding.To empower individual and collective voices.To write in styles that push the limits of

formal academic narrativesTo understand contextsThe question of “fit”

Five Approaches to Qualitative Research:

Based on “Creswell, J. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Narrative Research

Narrative research: begins with the experiences as expressed in lived and told stories of individuals

Can take the form of biographical studies, life histories or oral histories.

Collecting stories and “restorying them

Example abstract

In my research, which has involved collecting women’s accounts of becoming mothers, I am seeking to understand how women make sense of events throughout the process of child bearing, constructing these events into episodes, and thereby (apparently) maintaining unity within their lives

Miller, T. (2000). Losing the plot: narrative construction and Miller, T. (2000). Losing the plot: narrative construction and longitudinal childbirth research. Qualitative Health Research, longitudinal childbirth research. Qualitative Health Research, 10, 309-32310, 309-323.

Phenomonological research

Describes the meaning for several individuals of their lived experience of a certain phenomena.

Can center around basic broad questions: “what have you experienced in terms of the phenomena” and “what contexts have influenced your experience of the phenomena”

Example abstract

Given the intricacies of power and gender in the academy, what are doctoral advisement relationships between women advisors and women advisees really like?

Heinrich, K. T. (1995). Doctoral advisement relationships between women. Journal of Higher Education. 66, pp. 447-469.

Grounded theory research

Employed in situations where it is perceived as necessary to go beyond description and generate theory.

Use of the constant comparative methodCan lead to follow up quantitative research

Example abstract

The primary purpose of this article is to present a grounded theory of academic change that is based on research based by two major research questions: What are the major sources of academic change? What are the major processes through which academic change occurs?

Conrad, C.F. (1978). A grounded theory of academic change. Sociology of Education, 51, 101-112.

Ethnographic research

This kind of research focuses on an entire cultural group: describes their shared patterns of values, behavior, language and culture…

Field work as method of data collection.

Example abstract

This article examines how the work and the talk of stadium employees reinforce certain meanings of baseball in society, and it reveals how this work and talk create and maintain ballpark culture

Trujillo, N. (1992). Interpreting (the work and talk of) baseball. Western Journal of Communication, 56, 350-371.

Case study research

This kind of research involves the study of an issue explored through one or two cases within a setting or context.

Example abstract

The purpose of this study was to take a look into education through the eyes of three teachers who are facing their final year as professional educators. The overarching goal was to determine how they have seen children, teachers, administration, policy, and testing change across the thirty year span of their work as teachers in Texas’ public schools. Through their comments they give a considerable amount of insight into the transformation education has experienced in the last three decades. But unexpectedly, they reveal as much about our changing society than they do education itself.

Project submitted in EDCI 690, Summer 2005, Texas A&M University.

Designing and carrying out qualitative studies

Designing naturalistic inquiries

Naturalistic designs must emerge and unfold as the study progresses.

Not all of the elements can be specified ahead of time, but some can.

Determining where and from whom data will be collected. Identifying initial sample and making provisions for orderly

evolutionPhases of inquiry: (can overlap)

Orientation and overview. Focused exploration Member checking

Determining instrumentation: teams and training

Designing naturalistic inquiries

Planning data collection and recording: Interview/participant observation.. Recording: advantages of field notes over recording

Planning data analysis procedures: must begin early and be ongoing.

Planning logisticsPlanning for trustworthiness

Participant observation (Spradley 1980)

Dual purposes of participant observation: To engage in activities To observe activities

Explicit awareness: becoming aware of things that you normally block out.

Wide angle lens: wider circle of awarenessInsider/outsider experiences.IntrospectionRecord keepingAwareness of what is not there

Kinds of participation

Non participation (study of TV programs)Passive participation (courtroom spectator)Moderate participation (“watching” video

games)Active participation (learning to do what

others are doing)Complete participation

Descriptive observations

Based on descriptive questions that ethnographer has in mind

Grand tour observations and mini tour observationsKey things to observe:

Space Actor Activities Objects Acts Events Time Goal Feelings

Field notes

Issues with taking notes openly: Assures that research is being carried out openly Cannot always take breaks (take time out) Do not always fit the situation Being careful about when to take them.

Jottings: Include initial impressions Include descriptive and reflective notes. Small notepads Symbols Key events (both personal and collective)

Increasing the value of jottings

Include key components of scenes or interactions observed.

Avoid making generalizations: don’t describe someone as inefficient, include details.

Include sensory details: instead of describing someone as “angry”, describe them. Include speculation about motives as questions rather than facts.

Experiment with what kinds of details jog the memory.

Limit the time in the setting

Form of field notes (Bogden and Biklen)

Title and other identifying data.If taking notes on site, experiment with

different ways of organizing notes. There is no one right way!!

Use many paragraphsLeave large margins on the left sideLanguage identification principle (Spradley)The verbatim principle

Qualitative interviews

Kinds of interviews: Informal. Not a major source of data but not without

purpose. Can have some questions ready. Informants must know that these too are “data”

Formal/semistructured: Planned ahead. Researcher in charge. Combination of structure and flexibility. Expect the unexpected.

Standardized interviews: limited use in qualitative studies. Answers transcribed by researchers.

Getting prepared: Thinking through what interviews can be done and with

whom.

Selecting participants

Extreme or deviant case samples (Teacher of the Year) Maximum variation samples (different perspectives on same

phenomena) Homogenous samples (individuals with similar characteristics) Typical samples (considered typical) Stratified purposeful samples (representing samples of

interest) Snowball samples (one person identifies another) Criterion samples (individuals who fit certain criteria) Theory based samples Confirming and disconfirming samples Convenience samples In all cases, participants should know/negotiate the ground

rules for the interviews.

Developing questions

Most qualitative interview questions are open ended. Hatch’s categorization

Essential Extra or follow up questions Probing Throwaway/Background

Spradley’s categorization: Descriptive Structural Contrast

Writing effective questions: Language familiar to respondents Clear/neutral Respectful

Qualities of good interviews

Begin with small talkListening:

Follow up on of course statements Listen for key words Probing questions Use of why questions (Don’t ask for meaning, ask for

use) Self disclosure

Member checking (Lincoln and Guba, 1985)

When to finish an interview: Information is redundant Fatigue on both sides Responses get guarded

“play back” for the informant what has been said Invites respondent to validate the constructions made. Can induce respondent to add new materials that he

or she is reminded of. Puts the respondent on record, so harder to deny it

later.

Taking notes (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).

Disadvantages: One cannot record everything. Rapid handwriting is sometimes undecipherable. Respondent may slow down to accommodate the

interviewer and lose train of thought.Advantages:

Forces careful attention Can interpolate questions or comments on to the

notes without knowledge of interviewee. Notes can easily be flagged for follow ups Member checking is easier.

Unobtrusive measures

Gathered without direct involvement of the participants: does not interfere with ongoing activities.

Artifacts.Traces: wear spots.DocumentsPersonal communicationsRecordsPhotographsHistorical data

Working with unobtrusive data

Helpful in triangulationExplanationsMust be careful about making interpretationsCollections of data may not be organized.Specify ahead of time what kinds of

unobtrusive data will be collected.Organize it carefully

Building trustworthiness

JournalsTriangulationDebriefingAudit trail

Validity and reliability in qualitative research or trustworthiness (Lincoln and

Guba, 1985).

Common criticisms of qualitative research: Subjective; “loudest bangs or brightest lights”.

Four common criteria: Internal validity (measuring what was intended):

that changes in the dependent variable are caused by controlled variation of the independent variable. Common threats such as maturation, testing.

External validity: relationship can be generalized across similar populations.

Reliability: dependability, stability and consistency. Usually tested by replication.

Objectivity: usual criteria is intersubjective agreement.

Naturalistic trustworthiness criteria

Credibility: activities that make it more likely that credible findings and interpretations will be produced. Prolonged engagement: the investment of sufficient

time to where one can take account of distortions that might creep into data. Also a time to build trust.

Persistent observation: identify salient characteristics of the situation.

Triangulation: use of different sources, methods, investigators and theories (more problematic in naturalistic inquiry).

Credibility

Peer debriefing: talking to a disinterested peer about inquiry. Can test hypotheses Opportunity for catharsis.

Referential adequacy: making data available for scrutiny.

Member checks: not just at the end of an interview but at end of case study. May take an entire day with multiple stakeholders.

Transferability and dependability

Transferability is similar to external validity. Provision of thick description.

Dependability and confirmability (similar to reliability): Overlap methods. Audit trails for both process (how study was

conducted) and the product (if accurate or not).

Reflexive journals

Includes information both about self and method.

Can include: Daily schedule and logistics of study. Personal diary Methodological log