Heewon Chang, Ph' D'

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PARADIGM

• Presented by
• Heewon Chang, Ph. D.
• October 3, 2002

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OUTLINE

• Introduction of Myself
• Comparison between QL/QN Research Paradigm
• Different Types of QL Research Methods
• Steps of Doing QL Research
• The Issues of Validity in QL Research
• Strengths and Limitations of QL Research
• Conclusion

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INTRODUCTION

• Assistant Professor of Education
• Educational Anthropologist
• Ethnographer
• Conducted ethnographic research of Adolescents in
  Oregon, Korea, and Philadelphia

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COMPARISON BETWEENQL QN PARADIGM(From
Practical Research by Leedy and Omrod, 2001)

• What is the purpose of the research?
• To explain/predict vs. To describe/explain
• To confirm/validate vs. To explore/interpret
• To test theory vs. To build theory
• What is the nature of the research process?
• Focused vs. Holistic
• Known variables vs. Unknown variables
• Established guidelines vs. Flexible guidelines
• Context-free vs. Context-bound

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COMPARISON BETWEENQL QN METHODS (cont.)

• What are the methods of data collection?
• Representative/large sample vs. Informative/small
  sample
• Standardized instrument vs. Observation/participat
  ion/interview
• What is the form of reasoning used in analysis?
• Deductive analysis vs. Inductive analysis
• How are the findings communicated?
• Numbers vs. Words
• Statistics/aggregated data vs. Narratives/individu
  al quotes
• Formal voice/scientific style vs. Personal
  voice/literary style

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DIFFERENT TYPES OF QL RESEARCH METHODS
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DIFFERENT TYPES OF QL RESEARCH METHODS (cont.)

• Ethnography studies an entire group focusing
  on culture (Leedy Omrod, p. 151)
• Phenomenology attempts to understand peoples
  perceptions, perspectives, and understandings of
  a particular situation (p. 153)
• Case Study studies a particular individual,
  program, or eventin depth for a defined period
  of time (p. 149)
• Grounded Theory begins with the data and use
  them to develop a theory (p. 154)
• Content Analysis examines systematically the
  contents of a particular body of material for the
  purpose of identifying patterns, themes, or
  biases (p. 155)

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STEPS OF DOING QL RESEARCH

• Not a linear process but a cyclical process!!!
• Identifying a research topic
• Doing a literature review
• Locating a field (case, people, event) to study
• Gaining entrée from gatekeepers
• Establishing/maintaining rapport with
  informants/participants

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STEPS OF DOING QL RESEARCH (cont.)

• Collect data through multiple techniques
  (participant observation, interview, document
  analysis, audio-visual materials)
• Recording/organizing/sorting data
• Analyzing/interpreting data (looking for emerging
  topics/themes)
• Writing the report (in a narrative format)
• Validating the analysis/interpretation with
  informants/participants

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THE ISSUES OF VALIDITY IN QL RESEARCH

• Preferred terms other than "validity" for QL
  research credibility, dependability,
  confirmability, verification, and
  transferability  (p. 106)
• To increase validity triangulation--"comparing
  multiple data sources in search of common themes"
• Additional strategies extensive time in the
  field, negative case analysis, thick description,
  feedback from others, respondent validation (p.
  106)

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STRENGTHS LIMITATIONS OF QL RESEARCH

• Strengths gaining a deeper and holistic
  understanding of the problem and a meaningful
  understanding of participants, flexibility of
  design
• Limitations labor intensity, lengthy process,
  subjectivity of the researcher, low
  generalizability

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CONCLUSION

• Review of important concepts
• Questions???