A Guide to Qualitative Field Research

1. A Guide to Qualitative Field Research Bailey Chapters 10, 11, & 12

2. Typologies Chapter 10 • Help make sense of a large amount of data • Group things based on mutually exclusive categories based on key characteristics • An example is labeling different kinds of chocolate based on its taste. • Bittersweet • Semi-sweet • Dark Chocolate • Milk Chocolate • When used incorrectly, typologies can misrepresent data

3. Taxonomies • Very similar to typologies but where typologies separate similar things based on characteristics that differentiate them, taxonomies illustrate relationships among the categories that are ordered. • For example we can categorize desserts into taxonomies.

4. For Example

5. Visual Representations • In order to analyze qualitative data, researchers will create maps, tables, charts, etc. • From the information on the table you can draw conclusions regarding patterns.

6. Themes • Researchers create themes from the data • To develop themes, a researcher needs to ask questions while coding • Themes result from careful coding of data and by constantly comparing data for similarities and differences • Themes are often presented using quotes or excerpts from field notes

7. Storytelling Chapter 11 • Storytelling provides researchers another way to analyze data • Researchers can gain insight into settings and participants by organizing data so that it creates a story • Key elements of storytelling are: • Plot – actions (reveal the what, how, and why) • Characters- participants, people observed, can even be the researcher • Place and Time – essential elements of a story • Dialogue • Scenes • Point of view • Themes

8. Critical Event Analysis • Similar to a narrative analysis but with a smaller focus • Researchers need to identify the critical events and analyze them because they provide a window into the research

9. Analytic Induction • Analytic induction overlaps with other techniques which makes it difficult to define • Researchers use it in the development of conceptual models • Emphasizes the search for negative cases • It involves five distinct steps • Choosing the phenomena to be explained • Proposing an explanation or model • Begin coding the data • Locate negative cases • Support and refine the conceptual model until a universal explanation is found

10. Evaluation Criteria and Final Manuscript • Validity, reliability, and generalizability are important components researchers must address. • Validity and trustworthiness require the researcher to present findings in a way that the reader can trust the results • Internal validity is demonstrated when there is a correspondence between what is reported and the phenomena being studied • To establish credibility, the methods used to collect and analyze data must be appropriate and rigorous • External validity is the ability to generalize results from the sample to a larger population. This is difficult to achieve in qualitative research

11. Naturalistic generalizability involves the reader determining if the findings are transferable • Analytic generalizations occur when the researcher identifies concepts that have significance beyond the scope of the setting of their research

12. Reliability and Dependability • Reliable questions will be the same no matter when they are asked • Reliable respondents provide consistent answers • Conclusions are reliable if different researchers draw the same conclusions • Reliability may be unobtainable in a field setting • Dependability requires internal consistency • To increase dependability, researchers give detailed information about the entire research process that shows a correspondence between the methodology and the conclusions

13. Objectivity, Value Neutrality, and Conformability • Researchers try to make sure that their own values, opinions, prejudices, or beliefs influence their research • When researchers replace objectivity and value neutrality with conformability, they can embrace the role that values play in the research. They engage in reflection about the data and interpretations

14. Strategies for Enhancing Validity and Trustworthiness • Member checking: for analysis to be considered valid, it must be checked with members of he setting and colleagues who are experts on the topic • In some situations it is not possible or advisable to check with members of a setting • Peer Debriefing and Expert Reviews also increase validity and trustworthiness. This should occur early and frequently. Detailed record-keeping and note taking are vial to the process

15. The Final Manuscript • There is no one “right way” to write the final draft • Realist tales: traditional forms of ethnographic writing. Perfectly capture the members’ point of view and give accurate descriptions of the setting • Experimental writings: They are the most controversial because they use the writing conventions of fiction • The researcher must decide how much of their own voice will be in the manuscript. Voice ranges from neutral observer to “I” statements • The researcher must also decide how much of the participant voices will be included. Will they be summarized, paraphrased, or directly quoted