Common Qualitative

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Common Qualitative Research Designs
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Qualitative Research

• Broad term that incorporates a variety of
  approaches to interpretive research
• Historical, sociological, political, educational
• Basically four types
• Case study
• Ethnography
• Phenomenology
• Grounded Theory

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Outline the Four Types by

• Definition
• Purpose
• Process
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Final reports ( Communicating Findings)

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Case Study

• Explores a single entity or phenomenon bounded by
  time and activity (a program, event, process,
  institution, or social group)
• Any case can be used, but usually a case is
  selected because it is unique or exceptional
• In depth study of the phenomenon in its natural
  context

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Case Study

• Used to shed light on a phenomenon, be it a
  process, event, person, or object of interest to
  the researcher
• Usually done to produce detailed descriptions of
  the phenomenon, develop possible explanations of
  it or evaluate the phenomenon
• Evaluative case s are becoming more common
  because program receiving funding are required to
  undergo formal evaluation.
• Multiple cases are used to make comparisons,
  generalizations

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Case Study Process

• Researchers typically spend an extended period of
  time on-site with their research participants
• A substantial amount of data is collected from a
  wide variety of sources
• Sometimes researchers often assume an interactive
  role with participants

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Case Study Data Collection

• Data can be in the form of words, images,
  physical objects
• Also collect quantitative data such as
  achievement scores
• Fieldwork
• Important to analyze data as its being collected
  because it can be used to determine what to
  collect next

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Case Study Data Analysis

• Three approaches
• Interpretational analysis examining the data for
  constructs, themes, patterns that can be used to
  describe and explain phenomenon
• Structural analysis searching the data patterns
  this time with little or no inferences made as to
  the meaning
• Reflective analysis using primarily intuition
  and judgment to portray or evaluate the
  phenomenon

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Case Study Final Reports

• Rich, descriptive narrative that attempts to
  reconstruct the participants reality (
  reflective)
• Interpretational or structural methods tend to
  use an objective writing style and make effective
  use of tables and figures

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Ethnographic Research Designs

• Type of qualitative inquiry where the researcher
  studies an intact cultural group in a natural
  setting during a prolonged period of time
• Usually used by anthropologists ( now also by
  sociologist, psychologist and educators)

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Ethnography Purpose

• Explicit focus on the features given culture with
  the purpose of describing the relationship
  between culture and behavior
• Originally, culture was defined in large units (
  country of Fiji), but now see a single school
• Cultures - Massage Parlor, Homeless,
  Winnebago Grandpa

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Ethnography Process

• Requires extensive time onsite to systematically
  observe, interview, and record processes as they
  occur naturally at the selected location
• After gaining entry into the site and
  establishing rapport and trust with the
  participants, the researcher tries to gain a
  sense of the total context

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Ethnography Data Collection

• Participant observation, interviews with
  informants who are purposefully selected,
  artifact collection
• The researcher becomes a complete observer
• Informants to obtain important insights or
  information
• Artifacts journals, diaries, letters
• Field notes

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Ethnography Data Analysis

• As with case studies, data collection and
  analysis tend to occur simultaneously
• Indexing or coding their data using as many
  categories as possible and focusing on events as
  the unit
• Use a constant comparative method where the
  researcher checks and cross-references new data
  with previously obtained data

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Ethnography Final Report

• To present a holistic description of the people
  they have observed and to portray the everyday
  experiences of the individuals
• Stated in assertions supported by quotational
  data intertwined with interpretive commentary

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Phenomenological Research Designs

• A persons construction of the meaning of a
  phenomenon
• Attempts to understand participants perspectives
  and views of social realities

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Phenomenology Purpose

• Attempt to understand what a specific experience
  is like by describing it as found in concrete
  situations as it appears to people living it.
• The researcher often has personal experience with
  the phenomenon
• Common childhood topics being left out,
  falling asleep, being afraid of the dark

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Phenomenology Process

• Personally meaningful
• Identifying what it is that deeply interests the
  researcher
• The deep personal interest characteristic is most
  common in phenomenological research than to other
  approaches

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Phenomenology Data Collection

• Can be conducted with a single person, usually 5
  to 10 people
• In-depth interviews for this reason the
  participants need to chosen purposefully
• Arrive at the heart of matter, so it is not as
  structured as ethnographic interviews

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Phenomenology Data Analysis

• Ethnographers focus on events, phenomenologists
  focus on meaning units
• Describe themes and patterns in the data

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Phenomenology Final Report

• Narrative that describes a theme or pattern
• Examine the experiences of others ( themselves)

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Grounded Theory Research Designs

• A way of thinking about and conceptualizing data
• Is a set of procedures for analyzing data that
  will lead to the development of theory useful to
  that discipline
• Range of topics that have been the focus of
  grounded theory research (many) Examples
  marriage after divorce, the work of scientist

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Grounded Theory Purpose

• Start with broad research question that provides
  freedom and flexibility to explore a phenomenon
  in depth
• Questions identify the general focus and tend to
  be action and process oriented How do patients
  respond to chronic pain?
• The above question can lead to several analyses,
  interactions (nurse and patient), organizational
  policies (handling of additive drugs),
  biographical histories (long vrs short experience)

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Grounded Theory Process

• Multiple stages of data collections and the
  refinement and interrelationships of categories
  of data
• The theory is grounded in that it is developed
  from the data, as opposed to being suggested by
  the literature
• Identify and describe the plausible relationships
  among concepts and sets of concepts

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Grounded Theory Data Collection

• Flexible
• Characterized by openness to changing conditions
• Have used historical records, interviewing,
  observation strategies
• Typically data gathered from more than one unit
  because want to maximize similarities and
  differences among information obtained.
  (multi-case studies) The sampling of different
  units for the purpose of maximizing information
  is called theoretical sampling.

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Grounded Theory Data Analysis

• Use a process of coding
• Open coding breaks down, examines, compares,
  conceptualizes and categorizes data
• Axial coding data put back together in new ways
  after open coding by making connections between
  categories
• Selective coding selecting a core category and
  systemically relating it to other categories

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Grounded Theory Final Report

• Relationships developed are stated as
  propositions and are presented in discursive form
• Discursive presentations captures the conceptual
  density and the substantive content of the study
  a story line
• The main story seems to be about

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Qualitative Research Design Summary

• Are overlaps, some distinct boundaries
• Similarities identify them as being qualitative
• See Table 7.2 (page 166) for concise
  distinguishing characteristics
• Remembering that identifying the type of research
  you are doing can aid you to locate appropriate
  references for your type of research