Qualitative Methods in Economics

1
Qualitative Methods in Economics
Ciclo di seminari su Metodologia in
Economia www.debating.it Research methods in
economics interdisciplinary approaches Universi
tà degli Studi di Milano Graduate School in
Social, Economic and Political Sciences Via Pace,
10 - 20122 MILANO

• Stefano Brusoni
• stefano.brusoni_at_unibocconi.it
• www.cespri.unibocconi.it/brusoni

2
Today

• Introduction to qualitative research methods
• What is it? What is its goal?
• Fundamental issues
• Explaining (establishing causality)
• Sampling (establishing validity)
• Respecting (ethical implications)
• Why should economists care

3
What is qualitative research?(or at least what
does it look like?) Part I the basic
ingredients Goals and characteristics Data Purpos
es
4
What is the goal of qualitative research?
The goal of qualitative research is the
development and validation of concepts which help
us to understand, and evaluate, social phenomena
in natural settings, giving due emphasis to the
views and experiences of all the participants, in
order to devise ways to improve human life.
5
What is the goal of qualitative research?
The goal of qualitative research is the
development and validation of concepts which help
us to understand, and evaluate, social phenomena
in natural settings, giving due emphasis to the
views and experiences of all the participants, in
order to devise ways to improve human life.
6
What is the goal of qualitative research?
The goal of qualitative research is the
development and validation of concepts which help
us to understand, and evaluate, social phenomena
in natural settings, giving due emphasis to the
views and experiences of all the participants, in
order to devise ways to improve human life.
7
What is the goal of qualitative research?
The goal of qualitative research is the
development and validation of concepts which help
us to understand, and evaluate, social phenomena
in natural settings, giving due emphasis to the
views and experiences of all the participants, in
order to devise ways to improve human life.
8
What is the goal of qualitative research?
The goal of qualitative research is the
development and validation of concepts which help
us to understand, and evaluate, social phenomena
in natural settings, giving due emphasis to the
views and experiences of all the participants, in
order to devise ways to improve human life.
9
What is the goal of qualitative research?
The goal of qualitative research is the
development and validation of concepts which help
us to understand, and evaluate, social phenomena
in natural settings, giving due emphasis to the
views and experiences of all the participants, in
order to devise ways to improve human life.
10
Why is it done?(more and more!!)

• Big emphasis on social relations and, generally,
  social change.
• Induction is better than induction when things
  change rapidly
• Need to create and explore new categories and
  relationships
• General disenchantment with the old ideals of
  positivism and objectivity
• Everyone is a bit post-something today
• (unless you work in Dept of Economics, of
  course.)
• Little faith left in general theories, more
  emphasis on appropriate theories
• Concerns about lack of applicability of social
  sciences.
• Too far removed from everyday questions and
  problems

11
To do what?

• Gain insight into why results obtained through
  quantitative means occurred
• (possibility to explain strange results)
• (outliers)
• Identify the process or how discovered outcomes
  are generated
• (process analysis)
• Allow the real world of work to inform and
  shape theorizing
• (the out there metaphor)
• (explore in detail how context shapes meaning,
  experience, and behavior -link to practice)
• Concern with realities that are taken for
  granted creates opportunity to challenge status
  quo update old constructs
• Investigate how participants make sense of events
  and behaviors at work
• Investigate new developments in the world
• Surface political arrangements embedded in
  various scientific discourses
• (from outliers to outcasts)

12
Fundamental features

• Appropriateness of methods and theories
• (Context matter. What do you want understand and
  change?)
• (The discourse about causality)
• Perspectives of the participants and their
  diversity
• (The people know better. Then ask them!)
• (The discourse about the Ivory Tower)
• Reflexivity of the researcher
• (Who am I? What am I doing? How am I doing it?
  Why?)
• (The discourse about objectivity)
• Varieties of approaches and methods
• There is no one best way, but many appropriate
  ways to deliver valid results.
• As a researcher, you need to be aware of your
  choices, and you have the duty to explain them to
  your chosen audience!
• (The discourse about ethics)

13
What is qualitative research?(or at least what
does it look like?) Part I the basic
ingredients Goals Data Purposes
14
Data

• Interviews
• Observations
• Documents
• Triangulation!!

15
Purposes

• Program evaluation
• Theory building

16
What is qualitative research?(or at least what
does it look like?) Part II establishing
causality Causalities Appropriateness
17
(causalities)

• Why do we have graffiti on subway cars?
• Because kids want to express their identity
• Why do they want to express their identity?
• Because they are alienated
• Why are they alienated?
• Because they have no jobs
• Why do they have no jobs?
• Because they are unskilled.

• Why do we have graffiti on subway cars?
• Because cars are not protected in their yards at
  night
• Why are they not protected?
• Because the transit budget does not permit it.
• Why ?

18
(thinking about causality)

• Local emphasis
• We must be concerned with the validity of our
  findings in a particular setting
• Causal complexity
• Combination of causes
• (coevolution), (networks)
• Temporality
• Understanding the plot
• Retrospection
• Our explanations necessarily follow the causal
  event
• Variables and processes
• We proceed identifying chunks of data that we
  call variables, looking for patterns,
  similarities, etc
• We organize variables in chronologies, sequences
  and flow charts

19
(causality and qualitative analysis)

• Qualitative analysis can identify micro-level
  mechanisms and processes linking variables
• Beyond sheer association
• Qualitative analysis is inherently local, and
  deals with the complex network of events and
  processes in a given situation
• It can sort out the temporal dimension through
  direct observation and/or retrospection
• It is well equipped to cycle back and forth
  between processes and variables.

20
(the ladder of analytical abstraction)
21

• Same starting question
• different answers
• leading to different policy implications
• what explains down which road we go?
• (on the role of the researcher)
• (on the role of theory)
• (on entering the field)

22
(causality and qualitative analysis)

• Tactics
• Get feedback from informants
• Talk to them again
• Look for plausibility
• Good pointer, not conclusive though
• Look for patterns and similarities
• Clustering
• Look for contradicting cases (and explain them)
• Negative evidence
• (Outliers)
• Look for intervening variables
• Teaching quality in cheating ?
• Age in discussion about women priesthood?
• Count (!)
• How many times does a code come up?
• Look for supporting and contradictory results in
  the literature

23
What is qualitative research?(or at least what
does it look like?) Part III establishing
causality Causalities Appropriateness
24
The big questions

• What epistemology informs the research?
• Theory of knowledge, e.g. objectivism vs.
  subjectivism, etc.
• What theoretical perspective lies behind the
  methodology?
• Philosophical stance, e.g. critical theory,
  feminism, postpositivism, etc.
• What methodology governs our choice and use of
  methods
• Strategy that links methods to outcomes, e.g.
  experimental research, survey research,
  ethnography, etc.
• What methods do we propose to use?
• Techniques and procedures, e.g. questionnaire,
  interview, focus group, etc.

25
ELEMENTS OF ENQUIRY
APPROACHES TO RESEARCH
DESIGN PROCESS OF RESEARCH
Alternative knowledge claims
Questions Theoretical lenses Data collection Data
analysis Write up validation
Qualitative Quantitative Mixed methods
Strategies of enquiry
Methods
26
Alternative knowledge claims
27
Alternative strategies of enquiry
28
Specific methods
29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31
(No Transcript)
32
(No Transcript)
33
How do you choose?

• Match between problem and approach
• Personal experiences
• Reflexivity, again! Who are you? Where do you
  come from?
• Audience
• Who is going to read your work? For what purpose?

34
The reflexive enquirer
35
What is qualitative research?(or at least what
does it look like?) Part IV establishing
validity Sampling issues
36
Key trade offs in research design, both related
to unit of analysis Breadt vs. depth Sample size
37
Theoretical vs. statistical sampling(Flick,
chapter 7)
38
Purposeful sampling(Patton, chapter 5)
39
Purposeful sampling(Patton, chapter 5)
40
Purposeful sampling(Patton, chapter 5)
41
What is qualitative research?(or at least what
does it look like?) Part IV research and
ethical issues
42
The reflexive enquirer
43
Ethical issues(Creswell, chapter 3)

• No formal guidelines
• (maybe wrong, please let me know).
• More than anonymity
• Guarantee internal and external anonymity
• Offer to send transcripts and text reporting
  direct quotations
• What will other people do with your research
  results? What will happen to your informants? Are
  you putting them in danger?

44
Ethical issues(Creswell, chapter 3)

• Ethical issues in purpose statement and RQs
• Convey truthfully purpose of the study
• Deception
• Sponsorship
• Ethical issues in data collection
• Do not put participant at risk
• Informed consent of each participant
• Participation on a voluntary basis
• Fully (?) informed about purposes
• Right to withdraw and/or ask questions
• Written consent (?)
• Access through gatekeepers
• Be careful of biases induced by internal
  sponsorship
• Minimize disruption
• Reciprocating
• Meaning exactly ?
• Internal anonymity

45
Ethical issues(Creswell, chapter 3)

• Ethical issues in data analysis and
  interpretation
• Anonymity
• Keep data and notes for a reasonable period of
  time, then destroy
• Who owns the data?
• (Co-researchers need to clarify upfront)
• Ethical issues in dissemination and writing
• Early agreement on consultation, checks, veto
  power, etc.
• Language issues
• False results, plagiarism

46
Conclusions (?)

• Introduction to qualitative research methods
• What is it? What is its goal?
• Fundamental issues
• Explaining (establishing causality)
• Sampling (establishing validity)
• Respecting (considering the ethical implications
  of the researchers work)

47
Conclusions (??)

• Gain insight into why results obtained through
  quantitative means occurred
• (possibility to explain strange results)
• (outliers)
• Identify the process or how discovered outcomes
  are generated
• (process analysis)
• Allow the real world of work to inform and
  shape theorizing
• (the out there metaphor)
• (explore in detail how context shapes meaning,
  experience, and behavior -link to practice)
• Concern with realities that are taken for
  granted creates opportunity to challenge status
  quo update old constructs
• Investigate how participants make sense of events
  and behaviors at work
• Investigate new developments in the world
• Surface political arrangements embedded in
  various scientific discourses
• (from outliers to outcasts)

48
(Reading list)

• Patton M. Q. (2002) Qualitative Research and
  Evaluation Methods, Sage.
• This is the text book which will provide the
  backbone to the entire course. I will follow
  selectively- its structure and add further
  readings to specific issues.
• Miles M. B. and A. M. Huberman (1994),
  Qualitative Data Analysis, Sage
• On qualitative data analysis. I will also use
  quite a few chapters from this classic
  sourcebook.
• Creswell, J. W. (2003) Research Design
  Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods
  approaches, CA Sage.
• A comparison of quantitative, qualitative and
  mixed research methods

49

• Nice introductory text on qualitative research
• Flick, U. (2002) An Introduction to Qualitative
  Research, Sage.
• Nice collection of thematic chapters by leading
  researchers in the field.
• Huberman, A. M. and M. B. Miles (2002), The
  Qualitative Researchers Companion, CA Sage.
• On qualitative data generation through
  interviews
• Rubin, H. J. and I. S. Rubin (2005), Qualitative
  Interviewing The art of hearing data, Sage.
• On writing up your evidence
• Golden-Biddle, K. and K. D. Locke (1997),
  Composing Qualitative Research, Sage
• The most cited
• R.K. Yin (1994), Case Study Research Design and
  Methods (Second Edition), Sage.
• Compact, well written, to the point and available
  on line
• Trochim, William M. The Research Methods
  Knowledge Base, 2nd Edition. Internet WWW page,
  at URL http//www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/