LIS 570

1. LIS 570 Sessions 3.1, 3.2 LIS Qualitative_1

2. Objectives • Have some experience with early steps in research design • Understand the distinction between qualitative and quantitative research • Understand the relationships among quantitative-qualitative and positivist-constructionist philosophies

3. Agenda • Q/A last session; readings • Exercise & Discussion: Life on Campus • Discussions: deduction-induction; qualitative-quantitative; positivist-interpretive (or positivist-constructivist)

4. Readings, Assignments Updates/Announcements • Text: requested to be on reserve • Research methods: • 1pp; font at least 10pt; margins—1” L & R, min. 0.6” top/bottom • Post not later than 8PM Tuesdays • Email anytime w/ questions/issues/clarifications Reflections: focus on learning Q/A

5. Short ExerciseLife on Campus • In groups, discuss 1st group of questions • 10 minutes • Report back on each of the questions • Observers • Observe • Make notes on how the team operated

6. Teams • SGHR: Kate Sellers, Rachel Howard, Jonathan Rochkind, Brian Greene • JAO: Serin Anderson, Karen Jaskar, Stacey O'Shea • OEH: Solveig Ekenes, Heather Higgins, Erin Ostrander • EJM: Laurel Evans, Ben Johnson, Liz Melson • BBW: Hannah Burke, Beth Barrett, Amy Wilcox • SST: Jennifer Seib, Esti Shay, Kyla Tew For today, “observers” of teams will be: Anne, Scott, Adam, Shawn, Rose, John, Dani

7. Qualitative Methods • Definition • Researcher’s role • Features of qualitative research • Context • Description • Process • Participant perspective • Induction • Implications of research setting • Some qualitative field research frameworks

8. Definition - Qualitative Research A process of enquiry that draws from thecontext in which events occur, in an attempt to describe these occurrences, as a means of determining theprocess in which events are embedded and the perspectives of those participating in the events, using induction to derive possible explanations based on observed phenomena.

9. Researcher’s role In qualitative field research: fly on the wall vs. complete participant “scientific” detachment immersing into subjects’ “world” Personal involvement and partiality • Reflexivity • Discuss considerations of local culture Empathetic understanding

10. Features of Qualitative Research Context Description Process Participant perspective Induction

11. Context • Draws from the context or environment in which events occur • Uses the natural setting • Researcher does not remain remote • enters the context or situation to collect data • enhances this data through insights gained onsite

12. Context Identify with your subjects Experience what they are experiencing

13. Description Describes occurrences the ‘flavor’ of events is included in the research • Instruments: researcher, tape recorders, video cameras, notes, camera, diaries, memos • Collection: verbal narratives from the participants, observations. diary. • Report: narrative, themes, corroborated by other analyses

14. Process Not just the result of events but the events themselves • understanding the process of events • how ideas become action • the reactions to actions • components of a process • richer and fuller understanding through immersion in the entire activity

15. Participant perspective What do the people involved in a particular process think • what people believe • how people feel • how people interpret events Often involves participant involvement in or comment on the researchers observations and interpretations

16. Exercise • What is the next number in these sequences? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, ? 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, ? How did you decide the next number in the sequence?

17. Agenda • Presentations/discussions on methods • Serin: Repertory Grid • Brian: Action Research • Jennifer: Self-administered questionnaires • Rose: Quantifying data • Scott: Critical Theory and information studies • Qualitative Methods (Cont.) • Inductive – Deductive • Qual./Quan. – Positivist/Constructivist • Grounded theory • Actor Network Theory • Summary

18. Definition - Qualitative Research A process of enquiry that draws from thecontext in which events occur, in an attempt to describe these occurrences, as a means of determining theprocess in which events are embedded and the perspectives of those participating in the events, using induction to derive possible explanations based on observed phenomena.

19. Induction Analysis of observations in a coherent and meaningful manner a ‘bottom-up” approach after data have been collected • from the particular to the general • evidence is used to develop an explanation of events - to establish a theory based on observed phenomena

20. Deduction Collection of data based on prior assumptions “Top down” approach • From general to specific • Typically begins with theory • Data are used to support or question theory

21. Positivism vs. Constructivism and Qualitative Research • Can one be a positivist and still conduct qualitative research? • What is the relationship between philosophical foundation (positivist or constructionist) and research method?

22. Research setting Effect of the research agenda • E.g. R & D in industry Effect of the research institution • Power relationship?

23. Data recording sheet (Bouma: 182) What you observe Your reactions/ thoughts

24. Grounded Theory • Approach data collection with little or no theory (“let data speak for themselves”) • Once some data are collected, review and see what theories might match • Theory development (or matching) is “grounded” in the observations/data • Theory-data collection are interactive

25. Actor Network Theory • Network structure emerges from interactions among “actants,” who may be both human and non-human • Analyst looks at issues such as • Translation • Enrollment • Delegation • Example: consortium of universities

26. Actants State of Florida Universities ERP Consortium State “Sunshine” Law Role Initiator [“devolution”] Holder of tradition Solution; an ideal Solution to $ limitation Facilitated and inhibited information and knowledge exchange University Consortium

27. Qualitative research • Researchers work within the natural setting of the data, and the key data collection instruments are the researchers themselves • The data (collected) are verbal, not numerical • Researchers are concerned with the process of an activity, not only the outcomes of that activity • Researchers usually analyze their data verbally rather than statistically The outcomes are often the generation of research questions and conjectures, not the verification of predicted relationships or outcomes

28. B Obtrusive Research Operations C Unobtrusive Research Operations A Universal Behavior Systems Particular Behavior Systems

29. Uses of Qualitative Research • Phase 1: Essential First Steps • Phase 2: Data Collection • Phase 3: Analysis and Interpretation

30. Qualitative Research and Essential First Steps Phase 1 • Select, Narrow, and Define Problem • Exploratory Qualitative Research • Refine “problem statement” • Select a Research Design • Design and Devise Measures for Variables • “Operationalization” of the variable • Measurement Process • Select Tables for Analysis • Select a Sample

31. Qualitative Research and… Purpose • Descriptive • What is …. • Exploratory—seek Relationships • Association Between Ideas (Concepts) • Explanatory and predictive • Cause and Effect Relationships

32. Summary – Qualitative Research Often Goes from Bottom Up in Ladder of Abstraction Concept Dimensions Variables Indicators Validity & Reliability

33. Advantages of Qualitative Research • Human behavior is significantly influenced by the setting in which it occurs; thus one must study that behavior in situations. The physical setting­e.g., schedules, space, pay, and rewards­and the internalized notions of norms, traditions, roles, and values are crucial contextual variables. Research must be conducted in the setting where all the contextual variables are operating. • Past researchers have not been able to derive meaning...from experimental research. • The research techniques themselves, in experimental research, [can]...affect the findings. The lab, the questionnaire, and so on, [can]...become artifacts. Subjects [can become]...either suspicious and wary, or they [can become]...aware of what the researchers want and try to please them. Additionally, subjects sometimes do not know their feelings, interactions, and behaviors, so they cannot articulate them to respond to a questionnaire. • One cannot understand human behavior without understanding the framework within which subjects interpret their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Researchers need to understand the framework. In fact, the "objective " scientist, by coding and standardizing, may destroy valuable data while imposing her world on the subjects. • Field study research can explore the processes and meanings of events. --Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (1980). Designing qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

34. For more readings in Qualitative Research in IS http://www.qual.auckland.ac.nz/