The Process of Qualitative Research Methods

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The Process of Qualitative Research Methods

• Research Project Design
• Assoc. Prof. Chiwoza R Bandawe

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What is the purpose of my research?

• What is my research for?
• How will this contribute to the socio-political
  and cultural context of Malawi?
• Who will benefit? How emancipatory or
  participatory is it?

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What topic or broad area is the research
concerned with?

• Health?
• Policy?
• Sociological?
• Historical?
• Multi disciplinary approach?

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What puzzle am I trying to unwind?

• Development puzzle? How and why did x or y
  develop?
• Mechanical puzzles? How does x or y work? Why
  does it work in this way?
• Comparative puzzles? What can we learn from
  comparing x and y? How can we explain the
  differences between them?

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What are my research questions?

• What is the social reality I wish to investigate?
• What explanations or arguments can I build from
  my data?
• Can I generalise my findings?
• Are my RQs consistent linked with each other?
  Do they add to a sensible whole?
• Are they worth asking and grounded in an
  understanding of the relevant background?

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How is the social world organised?

• What is my theory/ cosmology or world view?
• What are my life values?
• How might my cosmology influence my research?

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Research questions Data sources methods Justification Practicalities Ethics


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Qualitative data analysis

• Principles of data analysis (Patton,1990)
• 1. No exact replication. Each study unique
• 2. Dependent on skills of researcher at each
  stage of study
• 3. No absolute rules, but guidelines for analysis
• 4. Report and monitor and report analytical
  procedures in detail

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Principles of qualitative data analysis

• Important for researchers to recognise and
  account for own perspective
• Respondent validation
• Seek alternative explanations
• Work closely with same-language key informant
  familiar with the languages and perspectives of
  both researchers and participants

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Principles of qualitative data analysis

• Context is critical
• i.e. physical, historical, social, political,
  organisational, individual context
• Dependence/interdependence
• Identify convergence / divergence of views and
  how contextual factors may influence the
  differences

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Principles of qualitative data analysis

• Role of theory guides approach to analysis
• Established conceptual framework predetermined
  categories according to research questions
• Grounded theory interrogate the data for
  emergent themes

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Principles of qualitative data analysis

• Pay attention to deviant cases / exceptions
• Gives a voice to minorities
• Yield new insights
• Lead to further inquiry

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Principles of qualitative data analysis

• Data analysis is a non-linear / iterative process
• Numerous rounds of questioning, reflecting,
  rephrasing, analysing, theorising, verifying
  after each observation, interview, or Focus Group
  Discussion

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Steps to Analysis

• Step 1 Familiarisation and immersion
• Step 2 Inducing themes/ Hypothesis
  Formulation
• Identifying
• Coding
• Categorisation
• Step 3 Discursive Elaboration (context)
• Step 4 Interpretation (telling the story)

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Discourse (language)

• Realised in texts
• Is about objects
• Contains subjects
• Reflects its own way of speaking/ presentation
• Is historically located

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Ideology

• A set of ideas that explains reality, provides
  guidelines for behaviour and expresses the
  interest of a group
• Elaborate Christianity, capitalism, Marxism.
• Consistent framework guiding action
• Narrowly aimed at one side of issue

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Step 1 Familiarisation and immersion

• Read the whole, read parts and see how they fit
  into the whole picture.
• What are the contradictions?
• What are the taken for granted statements?
• What vivid expressions, figures of speech and
  metaphors emerge?
• What repetitions, gaps are noticed?

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Step 1 continued

• Why is this pattern like this?
• How are the sentences constructed? Active or
  passive?
• How is the language being used? E.g. police
  they did it, I keep law and order for
  protection.
• Comb the data and immerse yourself

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Step 2 Inducing Themes

• Order the text into segment and solicit themes
• - Way in which people categorise
• -Who is doing the categories?
• -Look for consistent patterns
• Coding
• Categorisation

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Processes in qualitative data analysis

• Coding Identifying emerging themes
• Code the themes that you have identified
• No standard rules of how to code
• Researchers differ on how to derive codes, when
  to start and stop, and on the level of detail
  required
• Record coding decisions
• Usually - insert codes / labels into the margins
• Use words or parts of words to flag ideas you
  find in the transcript
• Identify sub-themes and explore them in greater
  depth

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Coding Identifying emerging themes

• Codes / labels
• Emergent codes
• Closely match the language and ideas in the
  textual data
• Insert notes during the coding process
• Explanatory notes, questions
• Give consideration to the words that you will use
  as codes / labels must capture meaning and lead
  to explanations
• Flexible coding scheme record codes,
  definitions, and revisions

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Code continuously as data collection proceeds

• Imposes a systematic approach
• Helps to identify gaps or questions while it is
  possible to return for more data
• Reveals early biases
• Helps to re-define concepts

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Step 3 Discursive Elaboration

• Texts work to reproduce status quo of power
  relations OR disrupt, challenge, deconstruct,
  show marginal voices.
• Explore function of texts in relation to
• Power
• Ideology
• Institutions domination

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Developing hypotheses, questioning and
verification

• Extract meaning from the data
• Do the categories developed make sense?
• What pieces of information contradict my emerging
  ideas?
• What pieces of information are missing or
  underdeveloped?
• What other opinions should be taken into account?
• How do my own biases influence the data
  collection and analysis process?

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Step 3 Tools for Analysis

• How are persons, situations named, referred to
  linguistically?
• What traits, qualities, characteristics
  attributed?
• What arguments are used to justify, legitimise
  the status quo?

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Step 4 Telling the Story

• Bringing the whole analysis together into a
  coherent whole. For a competent and useful
  guideline, refer to the article
• Malterud, K. (2001). Qualitative research
  standards, challenges, guidelines. The Lancet,
  358, 483-488.

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Interpretation

• Dependability
• Can findings be replicated?
• Confirmability
• Audit trail
• Permits external review of analysis decisions
• Transferability
• Apply lessons learned in one context to another
• Support, refine, limit the generalisability of,
  or propose an alternative model or theory