Qualitative Research: The real, practical, & required approach

Qualitative Research: The real, practical, & required approach Prithwi Tilak Banerjee Advisor to HE Minister MoHE, Afghanistan 0776660888/0744111115/0789124124 banerjee@mohe.gov.af; prithwitilakbanerjee@gmail.com Banerjee - MoHE

What is Qualitative Research? A holistic approach to questions--a recognition that human realities are complex. Broad questions. Contexts of Human Behavior - 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.. Banerjee - MoHE

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. Banerjee - MoHE

Types of Qualitative Data 1. Interviews 2. Observations 3. Documents Banerjee - MoHE

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. Banerjee - MoHE

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. Banerjee - MoHE

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. Banerjee - MoHE

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

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. Banerjee - MoHE

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 Banerjee - MoHE

Phenomenology • Describes the meaning of the lived experience about concept or phenomenon for several individuals. • To determine what an experience means for the persons who have had the experience from individual descriptions, general or universal meanings are derived, in other words, the essences of structures of the experience. Banerjee - MoHE

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. Banerjee - MoHE

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 Banerjee - MoHE

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) Banerjee - MoHE

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. Banerjee - MoHE

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. Banerjee - MoHE

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. Banerjee - MoHE

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. Banerjee - MoHE

Designing a Qualitative Study • Problem Statement 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. Banerjee - MoHE

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? Banerjee - MoHE

Qualitative Sampling Strategies No probability sampling ; not random at least Banerjee - MoHE

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 Banerjee - MoHE

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

Sampling Strategies cont. • Purposeful Sampling Strategies • Maximum variation • Homogeneous • Critical case • Theory based • Confirming and disconfirming cases Banerjee - MoHE

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. Banerjee - MoHE

Fieldwork Observations Learn to pay attention, see what there is to see, and hear what 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. Banerjee - MoHE

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

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. Banerjee - MoHE

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 Banerjee - MoHE

Qualitative Data Analysis Coding data Finding Patterns Labeling Themes Developing Category Systems Looking for emergent patterns in the data Banerjee - MoHE

Qualitative Data Analysis All qualitative data can be measured and coded using quantitative methods. Quantitative research can be generated from qualitative inquiries. Example: One can code an open-ended interview with numbers that refer to data specific references, or such references could become the origin of a randomized experiment. Banerjee - MoHE

Thanks a lot. Banerjee - MoHE

Qualitative Research: The real, practical, & required approach