UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

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Names:
Anopa M Shamu R206462X
Hazel C Gwande R205819W
Kuzivakwashe K Chakanya R202768C
Prisca Machingura R1910118
Elizabeth Geo-Chiza R207168A
Finest Masvande R206465A
Shingai S Gwashure R205820W
Sasha V Masona R202804X
Mellisa M Kunaka R202784K
Annie H Musiyazviriyo R206463W

Module: Social Sciences Research Methods (SSRM 201)

Program: BSc (Hons) Government & Public Management
Faculty: Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Question: Examine four types of qualitative research methods

Qualitative research is the process of collecting, analysing and interpreting non-numerical data, such
as language and can be used to understand how an individual subjectively perceives and gives
meaning to their social reality(Glaser and Strauss 2002:13). Qualitative research aims at gathering
viable and substantiated information on experiences, motivations, beliefs, mental and social
dynamics. It also strives for understanding holistic descriptions and deeper insights. Unlike
quantitative research which studies relatively large samples of respondents and uses statistical and
numerical methods of data collection, qualitative research focuses on cases rather than variables
and understanding differences rather than calculating the mean of responses(Marshall and Rallis).
The term research instruments simply denotes research tactics, strategies, techniques or processes
utilized by researchers in uncovering new information or create better understanding of a topic.

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These research methods include interviews, ethnography, surveys and case study and will be further
illustrated as the essay unfolds

According to Picken (2009,pg 338), ethnography literally means to illustrate culture which makes it
most suitable aa way of gathering data for research questions that require an understanding of
cultural norms, politics or transitions within ethnography, the way that culture is illustrated is
through the process of observing, recording and writing. According to Denzin et al 2011,
ethnography, emerge from anthropology and adopted by sociologists, is a qualitative methodology
that lends itself to the study of the beliefs, social interactions and behaviours of social interactions
and behaviours of small societies, involving participation and observation over a period of time and
the interpretation of the data collected. Therefore, one deduce that ethnography is the study of
culture through observing, recording, participation and interpretation of culture in a society.

One of the main advantages associated with ethnographic research is that ethnographic can help
identify and analyse unexpected issues. When conducting other types of studies which based on the
in-sight observation or interaction, it can be very easy to miss unexpected issues. This can happen
either because questions are not asked or respondents neglect to mention important information or
facts. Hence, ethnography research helps to mitigate the above problems because the issues will
hopefully become directly apparent to the researcher. In addition, ethnographies can reveal qualities
of group experience in a way that other research methods cannot. For example when ethnographer
observes a fight, he/she will uncover and analyse the attitude and emotions of the actors.
To add on, ethnographic research can help to determine future questions and types of follow-up
research. It expands the range of knowledge and understanding of the world, researchers often are
able to understand why behaviours occur, rather than just noting the occurrence. For example, a
qualitative study may find that students who are taught composition using a process method receive
high grades in papers than students taught using product method.

However, it is of utmost help to understand that ethnographic studies will tend to take longer to
generate and analyse its data than any other methods. It takes time to build trust with informants in
order to facilitate full and honest discourse. Short term studies are at particular disadvantaged in
this regard. Thus, one can say ethnography as way of qualitative research instrument is time
consuming and requires trained researcher. Lastly, bias on the part of the researcher can affect both
the design of the study and the collection and interpretation of data. To little data may lead to false

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assumptions about behaviour patterns, while large quantities of data may not be processed
effectively.

According to Yin (2000) case study research method is an empirical study that investigates a
contemporary phenomenon with its real life context which is when the boundaries are not clearly
evident and in which multiple sources of evidence are used. According to Foster et al (2000) case
study refers to research that investigates a few cases in considerable depth. Case studies generally
are based on an in depth investigation of different things for instance groups, event to explore
causes of underlying principles. This type of research method is used within a number of areas for
instance education, social sciences and similar. They are types of case studies which includes
illustrative, exploratory, cumulative and critical instance. An illustrative case study is used to
examine a familiar case in order to help others to understand it. It is one of the main types of case
studies in research methodology and is primarily descriptive. In this type of case study, usually, one
or two instances are utilized to explain what a situation is like. An exploratory case study is a primary
project conducted before a large-scale investigation. These types of case studies are very popular in
the social sciences like political science and primarily focus on real-life contexts and situations.
Typically, these are used to identify research questions and methods for a large and complex study.
The main purpose of an exploratory case study is to help identify situations for the further research
process. A cumulative case study is one of the main types of case studies in qualitative research. It is
used to collect information from different sources at different times.
The aim of this case study is to summarize the past studies without spending additional cost and
time on new investigations. So, it is a form of data analysis. Critical instances case studies are used to
determine the cause and consequence of an event. The main reason for this type of case study is to
investigate one or more sources with unique interest and sometimes with no interest in general. A
critical case study can also be used to question a universal assertion.

Case studies include and involve the small sets of data for an example as one or two companies that
may conduct the researcher to get and gain some insights about the trends or viral in the relevant
industries. For example, the case study about the Honda Company might be used to generalize
about similar companies in the automobile industries. The data or information is a reasonable to the
company that chosen as a source of data. But the case studies involve small data and so that
conversational empirical techniques cannot be used or where they are used.

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On the other hand, the case study method involves detailed, holistic, futuristic investigation in all
aspects and can utilize a range of different measurement techniques such as a methodological tool.
The data can be collected over the time and related to the industries. The histories or the stories
that can be told about the company are also something’s that can be assessed and documented not
just empirical
Interviewing focuses on a certain topic and thus it is a reliable research method. As data is collected
and analysed it leads to the refinement of the study’s central focus and thus to new questions for
participants (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). This is in agreement with the sentiments of Kale (1996), who
purported that the design of qualitative interview research is open ended in that it is more
concerned with being attuned to the participant than with necessarily following the same path for all
respondents. Sometimes the interview is more of a ‘friendly conversation into which the interviewer
slowly introduces new elements to assist informants to respond with the information relevant to the
topic in the spyglass of the interview (Spradley, 1979) The basic themes or topic areas of the
investigation are likely determined ahead of time, but not the sequence or the content of the
specific questions. As stated by Kale (1996), ‘‘Sometimes only a first, topic introducing question is
asked and the remainder of the interview proceeds as a follow-up and expansion on the
interviewee’s answer to the first questions’’ ( p. 127). Unstructured interviews, although they may
well yield unexpected responses (Kale, 1996), also make it difficult to compare findings across cases
if participants have not responded to the same questions. Therefore, interviewing is advantageous
as it give the interviewer room to directly ask the questions in his/her line of interest.

However, the validity or truthfulness of an investigation relies so much on the strength of the
interviewer-participant relationship. This is perhaps one of the most important aspects of qualitative
research. A participant is more likely to disclose information if he or she trusts the interview and the
opposite is true. It is through this relationship that all data are collected and data validity is
strengthened (Adler & Adler, 2002; Kale, 1996). How the participants views or understands the
intention of the interviewer most likely affects participant's self disclosure, including the depth of
information they may share about their experience of a particular phenomenon. Consider, for
example, if people in a dictatorship country are asked topics that requires them to disclose their
political affiliation. They may present a certain hostility so as to keep in the safe during these
interviews, participants often express feeling guarded while discussing. If they do not feel at least
some sense of safety with the interviewer, they likely will not engage in such discussions (Thomas &

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Pollio, 2002). Given this one, can presuppose that interviews can be time consuming since it takes
time to establish a relationship with the enough for the participant to disclose a certain degree of
information. Interview is the questioning of a person or a conversation in which information is
elicited often conducted by journalists in conducting research. A researcher interview is a
conversation for gathering information it involves an interviewer who coordinates the process of the
conversation and ask questions, it can be done face to face or over the telephone. An interview play
a crucial role in qualitative research because it provides flexibility to the interviewers because it
accommodate those who cannot read or write, the interview has a better response rate than mailed
questions or other qualitative research methods thus one can allude that interviews are more
advantageous than other tools of qualitative research because it accommodates everyone whether
you can read or not.

Observation in qualitative research “is one of the oldest and most fundamental research methods
approach. The observation approach involves collecting data using ones senses, especially looking ad
listening in a systematic and meaningful way “ ( Mckechnie 2008;573). It aims to understand how
the participants derive meaning from their surroundings and how their meaning influences their
behaviour. Qualitative research uses observation as the data collection method. Observation is the
selection and recording of behaviours of people in their environment. A qualitative observation
involves the use of five sensory organs, smell, taste, touch and hearing and their function to examine
the attributes. Being subjective in nature it focuses on the characteristics and qualities of the
variables rather than the numerical value. It allows the researcher to capture the correct and subtle
factors of the research setting. However, under most circumstances observational data are more
expensive to obtain than other survey data. In marketing research observation lack competence o
the observer. The lack of competence of the observer may hamper the validity and reliability of
observation. Also observation has little control over physical situation.

In conclusion, it is vital to note that interviews remain the most common method of data collection
in qualitative research as they ensure good explanation, better understanding and exploration of
research subjects` opinions, behaviour, experiences and phenomenon. However, there is need to
use more than on research method at a research so as to obtain a thorough research as these
methods tend to be complementary.

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Bibliography
Strauss and Glaser The Discovery of Grounded Theory (2002:13)
Denzin and Lincoln Eds The Sage Handbook
Marshall and Rallis` textbook The Sage Handbook
Check J and Schulte R K Research Methods in Education (2012)
Adler and Adler, Alan W Burkard Qualitative Research Interviews