What is Qualitative Research?

1. What is Qualitative Research? • A holistic approach to questions--a recognition that human realities are complex. Broad questions. • The focus is on human experience • The research strategies used generally feature sustained contact with people in settings where those people normally spend their time. Contexts of Human Behavior. Qualitative Research--Simpson

2. Qualitative Research cont. • There is typically a high level of researcher involvement with subjects; strategies of participant observation and in-depth, unstructured interviews are often used. • The data produced provide a description, usually narrative, of people living through events in situations. Cited from Boyd, pp. 67-68 in Munhall, 2001 Qualitative Research--Simpson

3. Types of Qualitative Data • 1. Interviews • 2. Observations • 3. Documents Qualitative Research--Simpson

4. Types of Qualitative Data • 1. Interviews • Open-ended questions and probes yield in-depth responses about people’s experiences, opinions, perceptions, feelings and knowledge. • Data consist of verbatim quotations with sufficient context to be interpretable. Qualitative Research--Simpson

5. Types of Qualitative Data cont. • 2. Observations • Fieldwork descriptions of activities, behaviors, actions, conversations, interpersonal interactions, organizational or community processes, or any other aspect of observable human experience. • Data consist of field notes: rich detailed descriptions, including the context within which the observations were made. Qualitative Research--Simpson

6. Types of Qualitative Data cont. • 3. Documents • Written materials and other documents, programs records; memoranda and correspondence; official publications and reports; personal diaries, letters, artistic works, photographs, and memorabilia; and written responses to open-ended surveys. • Data consists of excerpts from documents captured in a way that records and preserves context. Qualitative Research--Simpson

7. Qualitative Traditions of Inquiry • 1. Biography--Life history, oral history • 2. Phenomenology--The lived experience • 3. Grounded theory • 4. Ethnography • 5. Case Study Qualitative Research--Simpson

8. Biographical Study • The study of an individual and her or his experiences as told to the researcher or found in documents and archival material. • Life history--The study of an individual’s life and how it reflects cultural themes of the society. Qualitative Research--Simpson

9. Biographical Study cont. • Oral history--The researcher gathers personal recollections of events, their causes, and their effects from and individual or several individuals. • The researcher needs to collect extensive information about the subject of the biography Qualitative Research--Simpson

10. Biographical Study cont. • The writer, using an interpretive approach, needs to be able to bring himself or herself into the narrative and acknowledge his or her standpoint. Qualitative Research--Simpson

11. Phenomenology • Describes the meaning of the lived experience about a concept or a phenomenon for several individuals. • It has roots in the philosophical perspectives of Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, etc. --Max Van Manen, Munhall (Nursing) Qualitative Research--Simpson

12. Phenomenology • Moustakas, 1994, p. 13: “to determine what an experience means for the persons who have had the experience and are able to provide a comprehensive description of it. From the individual descriptions, general or universal meanings are derived, in other words, the essences of structures of the experience.” Qualitative Research--Simpson

13. Grounded Theory • Based on Symbolic Interactionism which posits that humans act and interact on the basis of symbols, which have meaning and value for the actors. Qualitative Research--Simpson

14. Grounded Theory cont. • The intent of grounded theory is to generate or discover a theory that relates to a particular situation. If little is known about a topic, grounded theory is especially useful Qualitative Research--Simpson

15. Grounded Theory cont. • Usually have a question, don’t do a literature review in the beginning. • Usually do 20-30 interviews (maybe more than one time for each person) Qualitative Research--Simpson

16. Grounded Theory cont. • Data collection and analysis occur simultaneously, until “saturation” is reached. • Data reviewed and coded for categories and themes. Qualitative Research--Simpson

17. Grounded Theory cont. • Data analysis generates a visual picture, a narrative statement or a series of hypotheses with a central phenomenon, causal conditions, context and consequences. • The researcher needs to set aside theoretical ideas or notions so that analytical or substantive theories can emerge from the data. • Systematic approach Qualitative Research--Simpson

18. Ethnography • A description and interpretation of a cultural or social group or system. The researcher examines the group’s observable and learned patterns of behavior, customs, and ways of life. • Involves prolonged observation of the group, typically through participant observation. Qualitative Research--Simpson

19. Ethnography • Field Work • Key Informants • Thick description • Emic (insider group perspective) and Etic (researcher’s interpretation of social life). • Context important, need holistic view. • Need grounding in anthropology. Qualitative Research--Simpson

20. Ethnography cont. • Need extensive time to collect data • Many ethnographies may be written in a narrative or story telling approach which may be difficult for the audience accustomed to usual social science writing. Qualitative Research--Simpson

21. Ethnography cont. • May incorporate quantitative data and archival documents. Qualitative Research--Simpson

22. Case Study • A case study is an exploration of a “bounded system” or a case (or multiple cases) over time through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information rich in context. • The context of the case involves situating the case within its setting. which may be physical, social, historical and/or economic. Qualitative Research--Simpson

23. Case Study cont. • Data collection strategies include direct observation, interviews, documents, archival records, participant observation, physical artifacts and audiovisual materials. • Analysis of themes, or issues and an interpretation of the case by the researcher. Qualitative Research--Simpson

24. Designing a Qualitative Study • Problem Statement or Statement of Need for the Study • No hypothesis; Research questions which you want to answer instead. • Opinions differ about the extent of literature needed before a study begins. • Need to identify the gaps in knowledge about the topic. Qualitative Research--Simpson

25. Qualitative Study Design cont. • Research questions that are too broad: • Does Buddhism account for the patience that seems to dominate the Thai world view? • How do leaders make their decisions? Qualitative Research--Simpson

26. Qualitative Study Design cont. • Research questions better answered by quicker means: • What television programs do Brazilians watch most? • Where can you buy postage stamps in Italy? Qualitative Research--Simpson

27. Qualitative Study Design cont. • Examples of Qualitative Questions • What do people in this setting have to know in order to do what they are doing? • What is the story that can be told from these experiences? • What are the underlying themes and contexts that account for the experience? Qualitative Research--Simpson

28. Qualitative Sampling Strategies • No probability sampling Qualitative Research--Simpson

29. Sampling Strategies cont. • Decisions about sampling and sampling strategies depend on the unit of analysis which has been determined. • individual people • program, group organization or community • genders, ethnic groups, older and younger Qualitative Research--Simpson

30. Sampling Strategies cont. • Purposeful or Judgment Sampling • “In judgment sampling, you decide the purpose you want informants (or communities) to serve, and you go out to find some” Bernard, 2000:176 • “Key Informants” are people who are particularly knowledgeable about the inquiry setting and articulate about their knowledge. Qualitative Research--Simpson

31. Sampling Strategies cont. • Purposeful Sampling Strategies • Maximum variation • Homogeneous • Critical case • Theory based • Confirming and disconfirming cases Qualitative Research--Simpson

32. Sampling Strategies cont. • Snowball or chain • Extreme or deviant case • Typical case • Intensity • Politically important cases • Random purposeful Qualitative Research--Simpson

33. Sampling Strategies cont. • Stratified purposeful • Criterion • Opportunistic • Combination or mixed • Convenience Qualitative Research--Simpson

34. Qualitative Data Collection • Rather than developing an instrument to use, the qualitative researcher is the instrument. • Recording data: Field notes, tape recorders, video and photographic data • Interviews must be transcribed. Qualitative Research--Simpson

35. Fieldwork Strategies and Observations • “In the fields of observation, chance favors the prepared mind.” Louis Pasteur • “People only see what they are prepared to see.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Qualitative Research--Simpson

36. Fieldwork Observations • Learn to pay attention, see what there is to see, and hear what there is to hear. • Practice writing descriptively • Acquiring discipline in recording field notes • Knowing how to separate detail from trivia to achieve the former without being overwhelmed by the latter. Qualitative Research--Simpson

37. Fieldwork Observations cont. • Use rigorous methods to validate and triangulate observations. • Reporting strengths and limitations of one’s own perspective, which requires both self-knowledge and self-disclosure. • Participant observer or onlooker or both Qualitative Research--Simpson

38. Qualitative Interviewing 1. Informal conversational interview 2. Interview guide approach 3. Standardized open-ended interview 4. Closed, fixed-response interview Qualitative Research--Simpson

39. Qualitative Interviewing cont. • Sequencing questions • Use words that make sense to the people being interviewed. • Ask truly open-ended questions • Avoid questions which can be answered with a yes or no. • One idea per question. • Be careful with Why questions. Qualitative Research--Simpson

40. Qualitative Data Analysis • When does analysis begin? During data collection. • Thick description is the foundation for qualitative analysis and reporting. • Organize the data. Read all the data and get a sense of the whole. • Coding for recurring themes and categories Qualitative Research--Simpson

41. Qualitative Data Analysis • Computer-assisted qualitative data management and analysis • Ethnograph • NUD*IST (Non-numerical Unstructured Data With Indexing, Searching and Theorizing) QSR N6 and QSR NVivo • ATLAS.ti Qualitative Research--Simpson

42. Qualitative Data Analysis • Coding data • Finding Patterns • Labeling Themes • Developing Category Systems • Looking for emergent patterns in the data Qualitative Research--Simpson

43. References Bernard, H.R. (2000). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Creswell, J.W. (1998). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Munhall, P.L. (2001). Nursing Research: A Qualitative Perspective, 3rd Edition. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods, 3rd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Qualitative Research--Simpson