QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH
 Qualitative Research

—  Refers to observations and measurements that can

be made objectively and repeated by other
researchers
—  Social sciences found it difficult to measure human
behavior in the simpler quantitative methods,
therefore qualitative research methods were
developed in order to look beyond how, how often,
and how many
—  Typically used for research in the social sciences,
such as, psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc.
—  It also looks at “why” and attempts to further and
deepen our understanding
—  Understanding is sought by taking a holistic
approach, rather than looking at a set of variables
 Strengths vs Challenges

—  Aims to understand —  Bias

meaning; explore and —  Time consuming
communicate —  Access to samples
—  Concern with opinion,
—  Record keeping
feelings, and experiences
—  Data reduction
—  Rigorous and systematic
data collection and —  Relationship between the
analysis researcher and the
researched
—  Data rich in descriptions
—  Subjectivity
—  Concepts derived from
the data itself —  Difficulty in studying
large populations
 Nature of Qualitative Research

—  This is concerned with ‘…developing

explanations of social phenomena...’

1.  The world in which we live

2.  Why things are the way they are
3.  Concerned with social aspects of our world
4.  Seeks to answer questions about: why people behave
the way they do, how opinions and attitudes are
formed, how people are affected by what goes on
around them, and differences between social groups
5.  Qualitative questions: how, why, what
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
METHODS
1.  Ethnography – focuses on the sociology of meaning
through close field observation of sociocultural
phenomena. Typically, this is focused on a
community.
2.  Case study – attempts to shed light on a phenomena
by studying in depth a single case example of the
phenomena. The case can be an individual person, an
event, a group, or an institution.
3.  Grounded theory – theory is developed inductively
from a corpus of data acquired by a participant-
observer.
—  Historical – systematic collection and objective
evaluation of data related to past occurrences in order
to test hypotheses concerning causes, effects, or trends
of these events that may help to explain present events
and anticipate future events.
—  Phenomenologcal – describes the structures of
experience as they present themselves to
consciousness, without recourse to theory, deduction,
or assumptions from other disciplines
 Methods of Data Collection

1.  Interview– people asked to verbally describe their

experience
2.  Written descriptions by participants – people asked
to write descriptions of their experience
3.  Observation – descriptive observations of verbal and
non-verbal behavior
4.  Field notes, journals, logs
ANALYSIS BEGINS WHEN THE
DATA IS FIRST COLLECTED AND
IS USED TO GUIDE DECISIONS
RELATED TO FURTHER DATA
COLLECTION.
 Making Questions for the Interviews

—  Introduce yourself to the setting in which

interviewees engage in order to understand their
point of view
—  Use language that is relevant and understandable to
everyone
—  Try not to ask leading questions – e.g. “Do you have
any problems with your boss?” or “How fast was the
red car going when it smashed the blue car?”
—  Write down background information of each
interviewee
 ESTABLISHING
TRUSTWORTHINESS
 Triangulation

—  Method to enhance the validity and reliability of

qualitative research and helps confirm that the data
collected is not due to chance or circumstances
—  Collect data from multiple sources; e.g. May
interview teachers, principals and parents
—  Collect data in multiple ways from subjects; e.g. May
interview and observe students
—  Collect different kinds of data in multiple ways from
multiple subjects; e.g. May review student records,
interview teachers, observe students
 Qualitative vs Quantitative Research

Qualitative Quantitative
Objectives •  Exploration and discovery •  Quantify
(when to use) •  Context and depth •  Generalize information
•  Interpretation about a population
•  Describe characteristics of a
population
Examples Focus groups, in-depth Telephone surveys, web
interviews, etc. surveys, etc.
Data format Text Numerical
Flexibility in study •  Data collection and questions •  Stable from beginning to
design adjusted based on discussion end
and what is learned
Cost •  Can be a cheaper option •  Typically more expensive –
pay interviewers, phone
bill, sample, etc.