writing the methodology chapter of a qualitative study
TRANSCRIPT
Conducting Qualitative
Research
Philip Adu, Ph.D.
Methodology Expert
National Center for Academic & Dissertation Excellence (NCADE)
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
Writing the Methodology
Chapter
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Basic Differences Between Quantitative
and Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research
Making observations
Test theory
Qualitative Research
Making observations
Develop theory
Writing Your Chapter 3
(Things to Think About)
Data Problem
PurposeQuestion
Writing Your Chapter 3
(Chapter 3 is all about...)
What (Decisions/Actions/Goals)
What decisions and actions you have taken
Why (Rationale)
Why you took those decisions and actions
How (Process/implementation)
How you implemented the decisions
Main Components of Chapter 3
1. Research question
2. Research design
3. Researcher’s background, beliefs, and biases
4. Population, participants, and sampling technique
5. Procedure
6. Data processing
7. Quality assurance
1. Research Question• State your research question(s)
• Provide an argument supporting the need to address the
research questions
How does mental health stigma
influence help seeking behaviors among teens with mental health problems?
Features of a qualitative research
question
Open-ended
Exploratory
2. Research Design
• State specific qualitative approach for your study
• What the approach is all about
• Why you think the approach is the most appropriate
• Considering:
• Purpose of the study (characteristics of the research question(s))
• Kind of data
• Data source(s)
• State specific philosophical paradigm associated to the research design and informing your study
2. Research Design
(Creswell, 2013; Yilmaz, 2013)
1. Phenomenological approach
2. Grounded theory approach
3. Narrative approach
4. Case study
5. Ethnography
Five Main Qualitative Research Approaches
State specific philosophical paradigm
informing your study
(Creswell, 2013, p 36-37)
• Describe your philosophical paradigm
• Meaning
• Ontological stance (nature of reality)
• Epistemological Stance (nature of knowledge)
• Axiological stance (nature of value)
• Present how the paradigm informs the research design
(discussing the consistency between the paradigm informs and
research design)
2. Research Design
Philosophical Assumptions Related to a
Qualitative Research
Philosophical Assumptions
Ontology
(Reality)
Epistemology
(Knowledge)
Axiology
(Value)
Meaning Multiple realities;
Subjectivity of reality;
Socially constructed
reality
Close interaction
between the
knower and the
known
Value and beliefs
influence actions taken
(Creswell, 2013; Yilmaz, 2013)
2. Research Design
State specific paradigm and philosophical
assumptions informing your study
Philosophical AssumptionsOntological stance
(“Nature of reality”)
Epistemological
Stance (“How
reality is known”)
Axiological stance (
“Role of values”)
Ph
iloso
ph
ical
Par
adig
m
Transformative Active involvement of
participants in the
study in constructing
realities
Active
participants’
involvement in
arriving at the
results (realities)
Consideration of
participants’ beliefs
and values during the
construction of
realities
Social
constructivism
Participants and
researcher develop
multiple realities
through interaction
Co-creation of
reality between
participants and
researcher
Beliefs and values are
socially constructed
Pragmatism “Reality is what is
useful, is practical,
and “work””
Reality is known
through multiple
approaches
Conversation between
participants and
researcher about
Beliefs and values
(Creswell, 2013, p 36-37)
State specific paradigm and philosophical
assumptions informing your study
Philosophical AssumptionsOntological stance
(“Nature of reality”)
Epistemological
Stance (“How
reality is known”)
Axiological stance (
“Role of values”)
Ph
iloso
ph
ical
Par
adig
m
Transformative Active involvement of
participants in the
study in constructing
realities
Active
participants’
involvement in
arriving at the
results (realities)
Consideration of
participants’ beliefs
and values during the
construction of
realities
Social
constructivism
Participants and
researcher develop
multiple realities
through interaction
Co-creation of
reality between
participants and
researcher
Beliefs and values are
socially constructed
Pragmatism “Reality is what is
useful, is practical,
and “work””
Reality is known
through multiple
approaches
Conversation between
participants and
researcher about
Beliefs and values
(Creswell, 2013, p 36-37)
State specific paradigm and philosophical
assumptions informing your study
Philosophical AssumptionsOntological stance
(“Nature of reality”)
Epistemological
Stance (“How
reality is known”)
Axiological stance (
“Role of values”)
Ph
iloso
ph
ical
Par
adig
m
Transformative Active involvement of
participants in the
study in constructing
realities
Active
participants’
involvement in
arriving at the
results (realities)
Consideration of
participants’ beliefs
and values during the
construction of
realities
Social
constructivism
Participants and
researcher develop
multiple realities
through interaction
Co-creation of
reality between
participants and
researcher
Beliefs and values are
socially constructed
Pragmatism “Reality is what is
useful, is practical,
and “work””
Reality is known
through multiple
approaches
Conversation between
participants and
researcher about
Beliefs and values
(Creswell, 2013, p 36-37)
State specific paradigm and philosophical
assumptions informing your study
Philosophical AssumptionsOntological stance
(“Nature of reality”)
Epistemological
Stance (“How
reality is known”)
Axiological stance (
“Role of values”)
Ph
iloso
ph
ical
Par
adig
m
Transformative Active involvement of
participants in the
study in constructing
realities
Active
participants’
involvement in
arriving at the
results (realities)
Consideration of
participants’ beliefs
and values during the
construction of
realities
Social
constructivism
Participants and
researcher develop
multiple realities
through interaction
Co-creation of
reality between
participants and
researcher
Beliefs and values are
socially constructed
Pragmatism “Reality is what is
useful, is practical,
and “work””
Reality is known
through multiple
approaches
Conversation between
participants and
researcher about
Beliefs and values
(Creswell, 2013, p 36-37)
3. Researcher’s Background,
Beliefs, and Biases
• Address the following questions
• What do you want your readers to know
about you?
• What are your background and experience?
• What are your beliefs and biases related to what you are
studying?
• Essence: To help them better understand actions and
findings of your study
3. Researcher’s Background,
Beliefs, and Biases
• Background
• Beliefs
• Biases
Participants
• Background
• Beliefs
• Biases
Researcher• Background
• Beliefs
• Biases
Audience
3. Researcher’s Background, Beliefs, and Biases
Researcher’s background,
beliefs, and biases
Participants’
multiple
perspectives
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT• Being aware of your values (i.e. background, beliefs, and biases)
• Making your values known
• Getting know your participants and building trust
• Distinguishing your views from the views of participants
• Paying attention to context, participants’ background, and beliefs
Collecting participants’ realities and
experiences, and capturing how
context and their backgroundinfluence their realities and experiences
Analyzing their realities and
experiences to develop themes which represent data collected
and address the research
question(s)
4. Population, Participants, and
Sampling Technique
• Describe:
• Population or community you are studying (i.e. presenting
the context/setting)
• Participants you are focusing
• Why they are most appropriate source of data
• Sampling technique and why it is appropriate for your
study
• Number of participants and it is adequate
Qualitative Sampling Techniques
Sampling Technique Meaning
Intensity sampling Appropriate if you plan to explore different
components of a case, phenomenon, situation, and/or
behavior with varied intensity
Homogeneous sampling Focusing on participants who have similar experiences,
beliefs, and/or background
Criterion sampling Selecting participants who meet specified criteria.
Snowball sampling Recruit participants based on the recommendation of
initial participant(s) sampled
Random purposive
sampling
Randomly sampling participants who have been
purposively sampled
(Jacobs, 2013)
Number of Participants for a Qualitative Study
• It depends on:
1. Research approach chosen
2. Recommendations made by qualitative
researchers
3. Homogeneity of participants’ background
4. Accessibility of participants
5. Attainability of saturation
6. Availability of time and resources
7. Adequacy of the potential data to address the
research question(s) (Baker & Edwards, 2012).
5. Procedure
• Step-by-step process of collecting data
• Describing where and how you collected the data
• The kind of data collected
• Who you interacted with and for how long
• Specific actions you took
• What participants did in the study
Qualitative Data Collection
• Data collection strategies:
• Observation
• Participants observation
• In-depth interviews
• Document collection/analysis
• Focus groups
• Characteristics of data:
• Audio
• Text
• Visual/artifact
(Yilmaz, 2013)
5. Procedure
6. Data processing
• Describing how demographic information was
analyzed
• Describing the data analysis process – how the
research questions were addressed
7. Quality Assurance • Credibility (Do the data and findings truly reflect participants’ experience?)
• Accuracy of data and findings
• Direct connection between findings and data collected
• Rich context and in-depth description
• Triangulation – using more then one data source
• Transferability (Can the findings be transferred to similar context?)
• Clearly describing the context
• Detailing research assumptions the inform the study
• Dependability (Would we arrive at similar results if the procedures are followed?)
• Clearly presenting step-by-step data collection and analysis process
• Presenting the paradigm that informed the study
• Describing researcher's role, bias, and background
(Trochim, 2006; Yilmaz, 2013)
Philip Adu, Ph.D.
Methodology Expert
National Center for Academic & Dissertation
Excellence (NCADE)
References
Adu, P. (2014). Qualitative Analysis: Coding and Categorizing. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/kontorphilip/qualitative-analysiscoding-and-categorizing-ncade-webinar
Baker, S. E., & Edwards, R. (2012). How many qualitative interviews is enough? Southampton, UK: National Center For Research Methods.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (3rd). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Jacobs, R. M. (2013, March 20). Educational research: Sampling a population. website: www83.homepage.villanova.edu/richard.jacobs/.../lessons/sampling.ppt
Saldana, J. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. London: Sage
Trochim, W. M. (2006, October 20). Qualitative validity. Retrieved from Research methods knowledge base website: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualval.php
Yilmaz, K. (2013). Comparison of quantitative and qualitative research traditions: Epistemological, theoretical, and methodological differences. European Journal of Education, 48(2), 311-325.