Chapter 8 Qualitative Methods

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Chapter 8Qualitative Methods
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Introduction

• Qualities and uses
• Collect a great deal of rich information about
  relatively few cases
• Used for pragmatic reasons where formal,
  quantified research is not possible or where the
  people are allowed to speak without the
  intermediary of the researcher and without being
  overly constrained by the framework imposed by
  the researcher.
• Though there is some declining tendency in
  qualitative research in social sciences, it
  becomes now at least as common in leisure and
  tourism studies.

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Merits of qualitative methods

• Corresponds with the nature of the phenomenon
  being studied
• Brings people back in to research
• More understandable to people who are not
  statistically trained
• Better to encompass personal change over time
• Suitable to investigate face-to-face interaction
  between people, gestures and symbols
• Provides an understanding of peoples needs and
  aspirations

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Uses of qualitative research

• Develop hypothesis concerning behavior and
  attitudes
• Identify the full range of issues and views
• Suggest methods for quantitative enquiry
• Identify language used to address relevant issues
• Understand how a buying decision is made
• Develop new product, service or marketing
  strategy idea
• Provide an initial screening of new product,
  service and strategy idea
• Learn how communications are received

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Qualitative research process

• Sequential approach follows in a pre-planned
  sequence
• Recursive approach data analysis and collection
  take place concurrently
• Grounded theory generation of theory from
  research by being grounded in a real empirical
  observations

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The range of qualitative methods

• In-depth interviews
• Conducted with a relatively small number of
  subjects
• Interview guided by a checklist of topics of
  rather than formal questionnaire
• Interview tape-recorded and verbatim transcript
  prepared
• Interview takes at least half an hour and may
  extend over several hours
• Repeat interviews possible

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The range of qualitative methods

• Group interviews/focus groups
• Similar to in-depth interviews but conducted with
  a group
• Interaction between subjects takes place as well
  as interviewer and subjects
• Participant observation
• Researcher gathers information by being an actual
  participant with the subjects being studied
• Research may be known by the subjects as a
  researcher or may be incognito

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The range of qualitative methods

• Textual analysis
• Analysis of the content of texts including
  novels and other literature, mass media coverage,
  film and material culture
• Biographical research
• Focus on individual full or partial life
  histories
• May involve in-depth interviews but also
  documentary evidence and subjects own written
  accounts

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The range of qualitative methods

• Ethnography
• Utilize a number of the above techniques rather
  than being a single technique

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Analysis of qualitative data

• Sometimes difficult to separate the collection
  and analysis process of qualitative data
• Traditionally analyzed by manual manner
• Recently computer programs are available to
  analyze the qualitative data- Nvivo
• Data storage and confidentiality research
  material is not labeled with real name of
  organizations or people and fictitious names are
  created by keeping the relation of fictitious to
  real identities in a separate and secure place

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Case study example

• Study of leisure activity choice
• Prior definition of three sets of influences and
  a set of events are required
• Background / experience / influence
• Present constraints / opportunities
• Personal factors
• Events

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Manual methods of analysis

• How to analyze interview transcripts or notes
• Return to the terms of reference, the conceptual
  framework and the research questions or
  hypotheses of the research
• Reading of notes, transcripts documents or
  listening or viewing audio and video materials
• Emerging themes arising from the conceptual
  framework and research questions by searching in
  a deductive way or in a more inductive way.

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Manual methods of analysis

• Classifying and organizing the information
  collected
• Flagging themes and post-it notes
• Word processing
• Analyzing qualitative data using techniques and
  presentation methods which are similar to those
  used in quantitative analysis