Tema 1: History of qualitative research

1.1. Introduction
“I want to understand the world from your point of view. I want to know what you
know in the way you know it. I want to understand the meaning of your
experience, to walk in your shoes, to feel things as you feel them, to explain
things as you explain them. Will you become my teacher and help me
understand?”. (Spradley)

In the words of Spradley (1979), qualitative research describes the close

relationship between researcher and participants. That is why, it is imperative
for the researcher to achieve a depth understanding of the way participants
interact in their daily activities in particular settings.

This approach, which is used largely in the social sciences, explores social
interactions in order to get the picture of different perspectives and behaviours.

The following activity will provide you an opportunity to express your thoughts
and feelings by sharpening your observational skills.

1.2. The historical background

As stated by Academia (n.d), anthropology, philosophy and sociology constitute
the basis of qualitative research. Already during the first years of the twentieth
century, this was used as a method of inquiry to find out about native and
foreign cultures by anthropologists such as Malinowski (1922) and Mead
(1935), and sociologists such as Park and Burgess (1925).

Bronislaw Malinowski, an Austro-Hungarian anthropologist, was considered one

of the most important anthropologists of the 20 th century because of his findings
of social anthropology. Among his field studies, the following stand out:

 The family among the Australian aborigines: A sociological study (1913)

 Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An account of native enterprise and
adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea (1922)
 The sexual life of savages in North-Western Melanesia: An ethnographic
account of courtship, marriage, and family life among the natives of the
Trobriand Islands (1929)
Symbolic interactionism was conceived by George Herbert Mead, an American social
philosopher and sociologist, who stated that people’s selves are social products. The
book published by Huebner and Hans, Mead’s students, Mind, Self and Society (1935)
highlights the core concept of social interactionism in which Mind refers to the
individual’s ability to use symbols to create meanings for the world around
him/her, Self implies the individual’s ability to reflect on the way that the individual is
perceived by others, and Society is where all of these interactions are taking place.    
In the 1920s, Robert E. Park, Ernest W. Burgess and Roderick D. McKenzie, American
and Canadian sociologists published their study The City (1925), which contains “both
key theoretical expositions and interpretative essays about the cultural patterns of
urban life”. (Introduction, 1925, p. 5)

These early qualitative studies were considered unsystematic and journalistic

therefore unscientific in those days. However, since the 1960s, these have
grown steadily so much so that relevant approaches emerged, like symbolic
interactionism (Blumer et al., 1969), grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss,
1967) and publications in ethnography (Spradley, 1980).
Based on Mead’s Theory of Self, Herbert Blumer (Chicago School), Manford
Kuhn (Iowa School) and Sheldon Stryker (Indiana School) developed the
symbolic interactionism (Carter & Fuller, 2015). This aims that individuals use
language and significant symbols in their communication with others to make
sense of their world from their unique perspectives. The basic principles affirm
that:

 Individuals act based on the meanings objects have for them;

 Interaction occurs within a particular social and cultural context in which
physical and social objects (persons), as well as situations, must be
defined or categorized based on individual meanings;
 Meanings emerge from interactions with other individuals and with
society; and
 Meanings are continuously created and recreated through interpreting
processes during interaction with others (Blumer, 1969)

In the 1960s, Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss, American sociologists, developed
the Grounded theory based on a study of staff’s handling of dying patients in hospitals.
In line with Punch (cited by Bulawa, 2014), this theory is a research strategy aimed at
generating theory from data. Addressing it is essential to make comparative analysis
constantly in order to force the researcher to be close to the data and keep away from
subjective understanding of it (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Rennie, 2000).

The American ethnographer, James Spradley wrote some relevant books on

ethnography and qualitative research.

The Ethnographic Interview (1979) is a self-teaching handbook that focuses on

interview techniques used to research ethnography and culture. This describes
three important ethnographic elements:

1. Explicit purpose
 2. Ethnographic explanations
3. Project explanations
4. Recording explanations
5. Native language explanations
6. Interview explanations
7. Question explanations
8. Ethnographic questions
9. Descriptive questions
10. Structural questions
11. Contrast questions

Participant Observation (1980), an ethnographic research handbook, describes

the degree of the involvement, both with people and in the activities they
observe.

It was undeniable that qualitative research, no matter the different terms to define it,
has contributed in different disciplines of human activities. Even though this has been
dismissed as non-scientific, it has been proved that this approach can play a key role in
understanding deeply the context within a social controversy takes place and based on
that, establishes foundations for significant interventions.

Tema 2: Definition, characteristics and ethic

2.1. Definition
Because of its increasingly prevalent at the present time, some definitions of
qualitative research from different philosophical perspectives will be exposed in
order to better understand its usefulness and relevance.

John Creswell (1994) defines qualitative research as an inquiry process of

understanding that is based on distinct methodological traditions of inquiry to
explore a social or human problem. In this inquiry process, a qualitative
research builds a complex and holistic picture, analyses words, reports detailed
views of informants, and conducts the study in a natural setting.

Sharan B. Merriam, professor emeritus at University of Georgia, emphasises on the

qualitative theory and focus. Merriam states (2009) that “Qualitative researchers are
interested in understanding the meaning people have constructed, that is, how people
make sense of their world and the experiences they have in the world. (p. 13)
Dr. Leslie Curry (2015), professor at Yale University, explains that qualitative research
is a strategy to collect, organise and interpret textual information systematically to
generate insights into phenomena that are difficult to measure quantitatively.

2.2. Characteristics
As claimed by Bogdan and Biklen (2007), there are different types of qualitative
research that have common characteristics and similar procedures even though
differences in data collection and analysis exist.

 Naturalistic

The word naturalistic comes from ecological approaches in biology and is

defined as a no experimental approach in which subjects are studied in their
natural settings. They are observed by the researcher, whose presence might
be either known (overt observation) or unknown (covert observation).

There is no manipulation of the environment; that’s why, activities are observed

in the setting in which they occur habitually. Most of the time, this is used during
the initial stage of a research study because of its worth of descriptive value and
as a base for hypotheses.
Based on naturalistic approach, Grady, Ale and Morris (2012) conducted a
study to assess the impact of parental departure during daily drop-off at
preschool on children’s settling into daily preschool routines.

 Descriptive data

The data collected in qualitative research take the form of words or pictures
rather than numbers. The data could imply interview transcripts, photographs,
field notes, videos, personal documents, and other official records.

Researchers describe the data deeply, which means all the details must be
considered. Qualitative articles and reports often contain quotations in order to
narrate a particular situation as accurately as possible.

Sandelowski (2000) noted that researches present comprehensive narratives of

phenomena or events based on open-ended questions. No matter what type of
question, exploratory, descriptive or interpretative, they have to produce
findings closer to the data.

In-depth narrative descriptions were used in educational research. Some

studies include The Good High School (Lightfoot, 1985), Life in Classrooms
(Jackson, 1990), Teaching and Learning in an Innovative Middle School
Program (2007), and The Impact of Texting on Writing Professors (Carr, 2015).

 
  Concern with process

Qualitative research focuses on process rather than outcomes; that’s why, this
uses multiple interactive. The three main methods of data collection, focus
group, in-depth interviews and participant observation, involve more active
participation by participants.

The concept of growing involvement of participants has a decisive importance in

case of qualitative research, and then qualitative strategies suggest the
participant expectations are translated into daily activities, procedures and
interactions. (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007)

This research has been particularly helpful in clarifying students or teachers’

performance in education field. A participant observation study was conducted
by Luschen (1998) in a day care centre for high student-mothers in order to
show how teachers continually worked to shift the students’ understanding of
mothering; and in 2000, Middleton and Hewitt studied the transition of caring
when people with deep learning difficulties were moved from long-term care in
hospitals to community-based living (p. 6). 

 Inductive

Qualitative research analyses the data in an inductive which means that

theories or concepts are built on the base of gathering data. This approach uses
a bottom-up direction to understand situations, focus on behaviours, construct
theories and reach conclusions.

When researchers develop theories, they have to spend time with participants
to experiment themselves particular situations. In the words of Bogdan and
Biklen (2007), the qualitative researcher “constructs a picture that takes shape
as he/she collects and examines the parts”. (p. 6)

 Meaning

Qualitative researchers know that meaning is of essential concern to the

qualitative approach; and that is the reason, why they are really interested in
participants’ perspectives (Erickson, 1986); and these perspectives focus on the
assumptions participants make about their lives and what they take for granted.

Then the key element is to capture perspectives as precise as possible. For

this, sometimes researcher’s interpretations will be checked with those of the
participants; and even though this procedure is criticized, this reflects a deep
concern to discover “what they are experiencing, how they interpret their
experiences, and how they themselves structure the social world in which they
live”. (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007, p. 8)

 2.3. Ethical considerations

In qualitative research, participants have a vital role and as explained by
Hossain (2011), they contribute to the analysis of the data they generate. So the
treatment of participants becomes an ethical issue to be considered.

Codes of ethics have to be set by researches in order to protect participants

and support ethical approaches to fieldwork. Bodgan and Biklen highlight the
following basic ethical considerations:

1. Avoid research sites where participants may feel coerced to participate in

the research.
2. Honour the participants’ privacy.
3. Consider difference in participants’ time commitment.
4. Protect participants’ identities to avoid embarrassment or harm.
5. Treat participants with respect and seek their cooperation in the
research.
6. Negotiate with the participants the terms of the agreement to do a study.
 7. Tell the truth when writing up and reporting the findings.

Ethical principles can make researchers achieve the goals of a research as well
as respect the participants’ rights, and this is discussed in a study about Ethics
in Qualitative Research conducted by Orb, Eisenhauer and Wynade (2000).

In qualitative studies, conducting an ethical research is vital because dealing with

human subjects in depth can affect both participants and researchers. Then clear
strategies must be adopted to carry out sensitive studies and provide trustworthy
outcomes.

Tema 3: Epistemological foundation

3.1. Epistemological dimensions

As discussed earlier, in qualitative research it is required to know the relevance
of data, setting and participants. However, in order to have an in-depth
understanding, it is crucial to analyse the meaning that individuals attribute to
the construction of this knowledge – their thoughts, feelings, beliefs and actions
(Illingworth, 2006).

There is no an outstanding method or theory; that is the reason why

researchers have to use a wide range of epistemological dimensions to
understand participants’ interpretations. To do this, there is a range of
epistemologies that underlines how knowledge can be generated.
As claimed by Bryman (2004), researchers who are interested in the social
world are critical to some of these epistemologies but this reflection enables
them to describe, explain or interpret the social reality.

In the videos below, relevant issues about these three epistemologies are
analysed.

3.2. Philosophical assumptions

Researching qualitatively implies to find meaning in action; that’s to say,
researchers have to interpret in a particular way what participants are doing
(Schwandt, 2000). This interpretation can be represented through
hermeneutics, phenomenology and symbolic interactionism.

These philosophical assumptions provide a key idea through which researchers

can examine the research process and data.
Phenomenology

Phenomenology has its origin in the Greek word phainomenon that

means appearance, and in the opinion of Edmund Husserl (as cited in Mambrol,
2018) phenomenology focuses on the way objects appear to people away from
the external world and the subjective contribution to this process of appearing.

Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics is conceived as the methodology of interpretation which can

contribute to solving problems of interpretation of human actions (Mantzavinos,
2016). And with the same vision, Heidegger (1927) developed the concept of
hermeneutic circle to explain that understanding moves back and forth between
the whole and the parts constantly.

Symbolic interactionism

Symbolic interactionism is a sociological perspective developed by George H.

Mead in 1920. In the words of Mead, this is the study of the subjective meaning
that people give to objects, events and behaviours based on what they believe
and not what it is objectively true (as cited in Carter & Fuller, 2015).
No matter how challenging epistemology could seem, this is the only way to provide
reliable foundation to qualitative research. An epistemological perspective provides not
only a framework for collecting, describing and interpreting data, but also and mainly to
construct or deconstruct knowledge that leads to understand people’s cosmology, and
only then propose alternatives to human dilemmas.

Tema 4: Methods of qualitative research

4.1. Deciding on methods

The important thing to remember when a method has to be chosen is that there
is no a perfect epistemological assumption either a method. To do this, it is
advantageous to consider the context of the research and only then a method
or a combination of methods can be used.

In agreement with Mack et al. (2005), the three most common qualitative
methods are:

4.2. Participant observation

This qualitative method based on ethnographic research – observation of
participants in their natural environment- aims to gain a deeper understanding
of participants’ perspectives about what they believe and do. (Mack et al.)

Being participant according to Dawson’s criterion (2002) implies that “The

researcher becomes much more involved in the lives of the people being
observed.” (p. 32)

Participant observation can be conducted in two different ways:

 Covert participant observation means that the researcher participates

in the participants’ activities without anyone knowing what he/she is
doing.
 Overt participant observation entails that everyone knows who the
research is and what he/she is doing.

 Behaving ethically

When participant observation is conducted, it is advisable to consider some

ethical guidelines (Mack et. al).

 Obtain the participants’ consent before beginning the observation and

communicate them that there will be no repercussions if they do not
participate or not continue participating.
 Not to interrupt participants’ activity; that’s to say, the researcher has to
be discreet enough about who he/she is and what he/she is doing.
 Be confident with participants’ data, including eventual presentation in
public events, as well as in printed publications.

Planning observation

When observation is conducted, Mack et al. (2005) focuses on the following

tips:

 Preparing for participant observation

 Determine the purpose of the participant observation activity as related to
the overall research objectives.
 Determine the population to be observed.
 Consider the accessibility of the population and the venues in which you
would like to observe them.
 Investigate possible sites for participant observation.
 Select the site, time of day, and date, and anticipate how long you will
collect participant observation data on each occasion.
 After participant observation
 Schedule time soon after participant observation to expand notes.
 Type notes into computer files using the standard format set for the
study. (p. 27)

Writing field notes

As claimed by Emerson et al. (as cited in Mason, 2002) “Field notes are a form
of representation, that is, a way of reducing just-observed events, persons and
places to written accounts.” (p. 98)

Each researcher takes notes in a very personal way; however, there are some
tips that could be useful when writing field notes.

Focusing on strengths and weaknesses

Conforming to Mack et al. (2005), there are strengths and weaknesses of

participant observation that have to be considered.

 Strengths
 Allow for insight into context, relationships, and behaviour.
 Can provide information previously unknown to a researcher that is
crucial for project design, data collection, and interpretation of other data.
 Weaknesses
 Time-consuming.
 Documentation relies on memory, personal discipline, and diligence of
researcher.
 Require conscious effort at objectivity because method is inherently
subjective. (p. 15)
 4.3. In-depth interviews
In-depth or unstructured interviews are described as life history interviews
because the interviewer (researcher) has to make an attempt to achieve an all-
inclusive understanding of the interviewee’s (participant) interpretation
(Dawson, 2002).

In order to ensure of interviewee’s life history, the interviewer has to ask few
questions and permit the interviewee talks freely. And even though this method
could seem easy, the interviewer has to be alert to identify relevant information
and inquiring for more details. Besides he/she has to be very tactful, diplomatic
and perseverant to create an appropriate environment. Another and no less
important issue is the great deal of data to be analysed.
Being a reliable interviewer can make the difference between the success and
failure when collecting meaningful data. Some interviewer’ characteristics
include:

Behaving ethically

Some ethical guidelines (Mack et. al) to bear in mind are the following:

 Explain the purpose of the interview clearly and in the same way possible
risks and benefits.
 Obtain interviewee’s consent first of all. Depending on the research, it
can be oral or written.
 Protect participants’ privacy. This can make them trust on interviewer
and elicit well-founded data.

Planning in-depth interview

Mack et al. (2005) points out some steps to be counted:

 Getting familiar with the instruments

 Study the interview guide.
 Study the informed consent document if necessary.
 Day of the interview
 Use a checklist to have a look of instruments.
 Label all data documentation materials.
 Arrive early at the interview site to set up and test equipment.
 Conducting the interview
 Greet the participant in a friendly manner to begin establishing positive
rapport.
 Describe the steps of the interview process briefly.
 Conduct the interview according to the interview guide.
 Give the participant the opportunity to ask questions.
 Turn off the equipment and thank the participant.
 Clarify any factual errors expressed by participants during the interview.
 After the interview
  Check the equipment to see if the interview was recorded. If it was not,
expand your notes immediately.
 Make sure all materials are labeled with the archival number.
 Expand your notes within 24 hours if possible. (p. 48)

Writing field notes

When interviews are conducted, field notes aim to backup recording, capture
nonverbal information and note down confidential data.

ocusing on strengths and weaknesses

Strengths and weaknesses should be carefully considered when conducting a

depth interview (Mack et al., 2005; Parveen & Showkat, 2017).

 Strengths
 Provide in-depth responses and detailed data.
 Permit the interviewer not to focus only on oral information but also on
interviewee’s behaviour including gestures and body language.
 Get an interpretative perspective that involves connections between
interviewer and events or beliefs.
 Weaknesses
 Choose only small sample size taking into account researcher’s
judgement.
 Time consuming method because of planning and analysing a great deal
of data.
 Be susceptible to bias.
 Many ethical issues to be considered.
4.4. Focus group
Dawson (2002) claims that a focus group is “A number of people who are asked
to come together in order to discuss a certain issue for the purpose of research”
(p. 76). The focus group is a popular method used in market, political and
educational research.

Even though there are two researches -a moderator who leads the discussion
by asking open-ended questions and a note-taker who takes detailed notes-, it
is advisable to videotape because of the large amount of information.
There is not a perfect number of participants; however, Dawson (2002)
suggests nine or eleven because odd numbers not to allow to pair up in
breakaway conversations.

Being a moderator is a crucial role in a focus; that’s why, Mack et al.

emphasises on these behavioural techniques:

Behaving ethically

There are some ethical considerations to bear in mind before beginning (Mack.
et al., 2005)

 Get participants’ consent and provide them information about the use of
data.
 Explain the purpose of the focus group in a broader way not in detail
because this can influence on participants.
 Maintain confidentiality avoiding using participants’ names.

Moderating a focus group

Mack et al. (2005) emphasises on the following steps:

 Preparing for the focus group

 Study the focus group guide.
 Study the informed consent document.
 Practice both moderating and taking notes.
 Prepare a checklist of everything to conduct a focus group.
 Confirm the reservation of the focus group location.
 Day of the focus group
 Use a checklist to verify the equipment and location.
 Label all data documentation materials.
 Greet and check in participants.
 Assign identifying pseudonyms or numbers to participants.
  Introduce yourself and explain your role.
 Lay the ground rules.
 Lead the discussion or take brief notes.
 Give the participants the opportunity to ask questions.
 After the focus group, clarify any factual misconceptions expressed by
participants.
 Immediately after the focus group
 Participate in the debriefing session led by the note-taker.
 Gather data using a checklist.
 Expand your notes, within 24 hours if possible. (p. 80)

Writing field notes

The note-taker is the responsible for taking detailed notes to backup focus
group discussion.

Focusing on strengths and weaknesses

Dawson (2002) focuses on the following strengths and weaknesses:

 Strengths
 Can receive a wide range of responses during one meeting.
 Participants can ask questions of each other, lessoning impact of
researcher bias.
 Help participants to overcome inhibitions, especially if they do not know
other people in the group.
 Weaknesses
 Some participants may be uncomfortable in a group setting and nervous
about speaking in front of others.
  Not everyone may contribute.
 Venues and equipment can be expensive.
 Difficult to extract individual views during the analysis. (p. 30)

Tema 5: Designing qualitative research

5.1. Research design

Qualitative research design can be defined as a flexible framework of methods
and procedures aimed to achieve the research purposes. Then it is important to
remember that processes and not outcomes are what really matter in this type
of research (Hatch, 2002).
Under the same umbrella, Mason (2002) claims that research processes in
qualitative research are “fluid and flexible, data-driven and context-sensitive” (p.
24).

In the words of Hatch (2002) the basic elements that need to be considered in
qualitative research design are:

 5.2. Basic elements

 Theories

No doubt it is essential to focus not only on the epistemological dimensions but

also on the methodological theories that might lead a research process.

There is no an outstanding epistemological dimension and based on this, Crotty

(1998) suggested these three epistemologies:

 Objectivism
 Constructivism
 Subjectivism

But it is also relevant to focus on these philosophical assumptions that let

researchers conduct the research studies (Crotty, 1998).

 Phenomenology
 Hermeneutics
 Symbolic interactionism

In agreement with Dawson (2002) the research methodology implies the

general principles that guide the research, and the research methods are the
tools to gather data.
  Research questions

According to Maxwell (as cited in Hatch, 2002), identifying the research

questions is a crucial activity because they lead the research.

Research is most useful when there is a genuine uncertainty about the answer
to a question (Patton & Cochran, 2002); that’s why, it is advisable to search
literature previously.

Some characteristics that Hatch (2002) states useful are the following:

 Open-ended
 Few in number
 Direct language.
  Context

Bondy (as cited in Hatch, 2002) explains that context in qualitative research
involves the physical setting, the relationships between participants and the
activities they are involved. This is not static instead this is dynamic and
complex because of cultural, political and historical aspects.

Unquestionably a meaningful context should provide useful data but it should

also be:

- Accessible

- Feasible

- Familiar

 Participants

In the light of Hatch (2002), selecting contexts and identifying participants are
closely related because of the participants’ interpretation of their contexts.

Qualitative researchers attempt to understand participants’ perspectives about

particular events without regard to the number of participants. That is the
reason why the sample size is selected based on researcher’s judgment.

For qualitative studies, Dawson (2002) states that purposive sampling is

suitable because this describes rather than generalises, and proposes the
following samples:
  Data collection and analysis

As specified by Hatch (2002), qualitative research is flexible and does not

respond to a strict process, then strategies for data collection and analysis can
be considered all along the research design.

In the next themes, outstanding and extensive discussion about data collection
and analysis will be reviewed.

 Findings

For qualitative researchers it is essential to anticipate the findings in order to

have a reference to reflect upon what they are doing at each step of the
research process (Hatch, 2002).
In agreement with Wolcott (as cited in Hatch, 2002) describes three alternatives
to anticipate findings:

 Description

Taking into account that researchers describe what they observe through their
own lenses, they could anticipate findings.

 Analysis

The analysis is the result of systematic methods, then the process can be
generalised using excerpts from the data.

 Interpretation

Interpretation is a mental process and it is here that the researcher uses his/her
own thinking to describe and analyse data.

To sum up, building a qualitative research design is a flexible process that can
be modified if the study evolves or changes (Hatch, 2002), but it is enforced to
have a reliable plan that ensures that the purposes of the research are
achieved.
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Tema 6: Data collection and analysis

6.1. Data collection

As claimed by Mason (2002), it is essential to make difference between data
sources and methods for generating data. Data sources are people, places or
phenomena from which data can be generated; however, methods are
techniques and strategies used to gather data.

When a qualitative researcher wants to collect data, this can be provided from
different sources (Mason, 2002).
Once the data sources have been selected, the design of instruments to collect
data is indispensable.

On the authority of Cohen (2007), it is advisable to identify the appropriate

qualitative instruments for different situations.

 In-depth-interviews point out the interviewer and interviewee’s

interpretation of the setting in which they are involved. Woods (as cited in
Cohen, 2007) states that trust, curiosity and naturalness are attributes an
interviewer needs to have.

Mason (2002) suggests some ideas to consider when an in-depth interview is

conducted:

 Listen -really listening- to what participants are saying.

 Remember not only what participants say but also what the researcher
already asked them.
 Achieve a good balance between talking and listening.
 Observe verbal and non-verbal language.
 Conducting in-depth interviews skilfully. 

 Observation lets the researcher gather live data occurring in a natural

setting. Even though it can be direct or participant, this enables the
researcher to understand not only the participants’ interpretation but also
his/her context.

There are some reasons for doing observation:

 Be interested in human interactions.

 Generate meaningful and maybe unique data.
 Be active and reflexive.
 Be more ethical.
  Focus group occurs within a context of debate in which the moderator
tries all the members of the group participate. This can be time-
consuming but participants’ behaviour and attitudes could contribute to
achieve a deep understanding.

It is possible to have awkward situations, then these expressions can be

valuable (Dawson, 2002).

 Break-away conversations

I’m sorry, would you mind rejoining the group as this is really interesting?

 Digressions

That’s interesting, what do the rest of you think about ….?

 Dominance

Thank you for your contribution. Can we get some opinions from the rest of you,
please?

 Leadership

Can you let others express their opinion as I need to get as a wide a variety as
possible?

 Disruption by participants

Would you like to adhere to what we all agree at the beginning?

 Defensiveness

Would you like to express your opinion later?

 Documents are different sorts of physical or digital data from secondary

sources. The two easiest and most accessible to get this data are
libraries and the internet.

When surfing the net, there are some convenient precautions to consider
(Dawson, 2002)

 Use websites known and reliable.

 Check the About Us section.
 Use another source to check information.
 Look for a stamp of approval.
 Check national sources for specific information. (p. 43)

6.2. Data analysis

Data analysis implies organising, accounting for and explaining the data but in
qualitative studies, this describes data considering participants’ interpretation
(Cohen, 2007).

Cohen presents some ways to organise and present data analysis as follows:

 By groups of participants
 By individuals
 By issues
 By research questions
 By instruments

In the opinion of Miles and Huberman (as cited in Cohen 2007), there are some
tactics to be considered when transcribing data:

 Counting frequencies of occurrence

 Noting patterns and themes that can distract
 See plausibility
 Set items into categories
 Use metaphors and narrative language
 Split variable to be analysed
 Build a logical chain of evidences
 Be coherent

Developing a coding scheme, as specified by Patton and Cochran (2002), is an

essential activity to be developed as soon as initial data is collected. A coding
scheme is a list of all the themes generating from the data. Once the coding
scheme is created, it has to be applied to the whole data.

In the example provided by Saldaña (as cited in cessda training, 2019) key words or
phrases are identified in order to link the data to the research idea.
In agreement with LeCompte and Preissle (as cited in Cohen, 2007) there are some
methodological tools for analysing qualitative data.

 Analytic induction

Data are examined to generate categories and relationships between

categories. When negative or discrepant cases are identified, they are analysed
to modify a theory if necessary.

 Constant comparison

The researcher compares newly with existing data in order to achieve a perfect
fit with categories or theories.

 Typological analysis

Data is put into groups or categories in order to identify dimensions or key

characteristics.
  Enumeration

Words, units of analysis, ideas, categories or frequency of codes are counted to

determine incidence.

Data collection and analysis undoubtedly are significant processes to bear in mind in
qualitative research. It is necessary to be as rigorous as possible when collecting and
analysing information, only then it can be feasible to get credible outcomes and
achieve research purposes.

Tema 7: Presentation of results

7.1. Findings
Writing up findings is a process that goes beyond reporting results, findings are
used to construct meaning in text considering relationships and patters in
different ways, and if necessary to go back to data analysis in order to generate
new analysis.

Haanen (as cited in Hatch, 2002) proposes some general considerations when
writing up findings.

 How much data has to be included

 Balance depends on what the researcher wants, and this will be different
for each study.
 Identify representative data excerpts to support results of analysis
 One or two excerpts are usually sufficient to support major points.
 Balance theory when finds are presented
 Explanation about the relationship between findings and theory has to be
simple and clear.
 Use visual representations if necessary
 Visual material should help clarify complex data and not to confuse it.
 Level of generality used to frame presentation
 Units of analysis (participants, settings, events, etc.) have to be
identified.
 Determine a narrative form
 Organisation and presentation depend on the different kinds of data.

The Setup-Quote-Comment model focuses on presenting in a practical way the

qualitative findings (Weaver-Hightower, 2014).

7.2. Writing choices

It is now clear that qualitative research contributes in many human disciplines
by describing, interpreting and generation theories. That’s the reason once a
qualitative study has been completed, the results must be presented.

Under this perspective, SAGE (2009) emphasises on three main reasons to

present results.
  Presenting findings
 Evaluating procedures
 Reflecting on future considerations

Regardless of the reason, it is important to bear in mind not only the interaction
between the researcher and the study but also the interaction between the
researcher and the prospective readers (Clifford, as cited in SAGE, 2009). Then
it is of the utmost importance to write a qualitative report.

There are many qualitative report criteria, but the standards suggested by
O’Brien et al. (2014) summarises the main ones for reporting a qualitative
research.

Using different methods, Dawson (2002) proposes these main ways to be analysed.
  Written reports

When writing reports, rules and guidelines established by universities or

organisations have to be followed (Dawson, 2002).

Thinking about the aimed audience, including relevant material and selecting an
appropriate written report format are guidelines that should be considered.

Dawson (2002, p. 139) states ten reasons for the failure of written reports.

 Journal articles

If the idea is to have a wider audience, the alternative is producing an article for
a journal. Writing for a journal is not an easy activity; however, the following
suggestions could be practical (Dawson, 2002).

 Choose newsworthy and original piece of research.

 Do market research.
 Check on submission guidelines.
 Read several copies of the journal to get an idea about the preferences
of editors.
 Approach editors and send a short summary of the proposed article.
 Produce a concise, clear, interesting and well-written article.
  Make sure there are no mistakes.
 Ask for advice. (p. 140) 

 Oral presentations

An oral presentation at a conference could be another alternative to present

findings. And if the researcher wants to have a wider audience, the written
report and the oral presentation might be a better choice.

Dawson (2002) presents a list of DOS and DON’T to be taken into consideration
when a slideshow is created.

Conducting a research is not complete till the research report has been presented in
such a way as is deemed convenient for the researcher. However, it is important to
bear in mind some useful considerations when findings are presented.