Qualitative methods exam - SIB

Joakim Kirkegaard Genz

Number of characters 11.139

 Table of Contents
PROBLEM FORMULATION ......................................................................................................................................... 3

SUB-QUESTIONS ......................................................................................................................................................... 3

COLLECTING/GENERATING DATA .............................................................................................................................. 3

PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION .................................................................................................................................... 3

SEMI-STANDARDIZED INTERVIEW .......................................................................................................................... 4
WHAT NOT TO DO ....................................................................................................................................................... 5

METHOD OF ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................................................. 6

METHOD // INTERPRETATION ................................................................................................................................. 6

BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................................................... 8

Page 2 of 8
 Problem Formulation
à What measurements does the youth in Denmark take to push a green agenda
actively and individually in public policy?

Sub-questions
à How does the youth in Denmark facilitate effect on public climate policy in
Denmark?
à How does climate -activist organizations like Extinction Rebellion utilize growing
interest from youth to promote their agenda?

Collecting/Generating data
Participant observation
When answering the question how the youth in general or climate-activist organization
seek to influence public policy, a way to do so is via participant observation. In order to do
this, I could look at a number of new members in an organization such as Extinction
Rebellion. Observe how they interact with more established members and if they join
activist projects. This would be direct observation; this is useful as it makes it possible to
establish relationships with those involved. Opening for the possibility collecting extra
information and establishing trends among the youth that have just recently joined the
climate movement (Flick, 2018).

To make it reflect social reality the observation should take place with all parts of what the
organization does to effect public climate policy. This means looking at different
newcomers doing, actual activism and protests, planning, relaying, and recruiting other
newcomers. The reason of doing so is investigating the background and decision making
going into establishing an agenda to push. And then how that agenda is portrayed and
brought to life via activism. This makes it a representative sample via categorizing. In
order to integrate key persons, the participant observation should be within the same
organization. Gaining trust and empathy whilst also keeping a distance as the observer
joins different key persons with the same agenda.
While collecting data sampling decisions are important but vary from method to method.
In this example, the situation observed is in focus. One of the most important decisions is
what individuals to observe (Flick, 2018). To make a foundation of data that represents the

Page 3 of 8
general youth living in Denmark the participants should reflect this. Later in the process
when data is collected a decision to be made is to sample within the material or not. In this
case looking at excerpts from different observation protocols could give a versatile function
of interconnecting.

It is useful as it combines a lot of collected data in the form of document analysis,

interviewing, participation, and general observation (Flick, 2018). This makes a broad
foundation of data to sample making the foundation of the conclusion more solid. The
method of collecting data does not limit itself as the observant becomes one with the
natural surroundings, ideally.
Semi-standardized interview
In order to collect data from both the youth and the organizations gaining from the
“climate generation” it becomes possible to conduct interviews with prominent staff of
Extinction rebellion, for example. It is not unusual for interviews to occur when doing
participant observation (Flick, 2018) but in this case it is more a question of collecting data
from different sources and functions.

In this particular case it would suit the project with open questions based on hypothesis.
The hypothesis being based around young people effecting public policy with a green
agenda. The method is used to study everyday knowledge and that is one of the bases of
the young generation being so focused on the climate (Flick, 2018). The fact that the world
is suffering, and action is needed is seen in constant news flows targeting young people.

The open form of the interview makes it possible to ask different forms of questions. It
could be regarding the organization itself or young individuals making an impact. The
structure of the interview also invites clarification between the interviewee and the
interviewer. At last, as the interview progresses the interview has to opportunity to become
dynamic. Based on the results and knowledge descripted by the interviewee (Flick, 2018).
For this to be maximum efficient the interviewees should be based around several
individuals, straying away from group interviews. This assures interviewees not affecting
each other’s answers. Also making it more manageable to isolate different points being
made and investigate further by pushing the interview in a direction of that point (Flick,
2018).

Page 4 of 8
It would be beneficial to conduct interviews after having collected data from observations.
Making it possible to base questions around observations previously made. Especially
when interviewing an individual within the same organization as where observations are
made. This way the interview can be used oriented towards collecting additional grounding
for points already established. Making the results more credible. It can of course also do
the opposite – if results of the interview and the observations does not co relate (Flick,
2018). I argue that this could also be useful as the participants have different criteria and
positions – as these conflicting results could imply that the green agenda is pushed
differently based on function and background. For example, being a young new member or
holding a more prominent position.
What not to do
In relation to this specific problem formulation “What measurements does the youth in
Denmark take to push a green agenda actively and individually in public policy?” a
misleading method of collecting data would be via visual data such as photography, film,
and video.

The reason for this is individuals themselves providing documentation for how they
promote a green agenda. But as there are many ways to do this (and different green
agendas) it would most likely result in documentation variating a lot. Making it difficult to
draw analytical points from the results. This could be limited by making criteria for the
documentation itself but in this case the data could be corrupted by framing. The medium
itself can also become a problem. When documenting actions made by groups their actions
may change when faced with a camera. Contradicting the purpose of the camera making
the observer more invisible (Flick, 2018).
The results may also become less reliable. When working with individuals wanting to push
a certain agenda it is not unthinkable that they will provide data that is in favour of that
agenda – this could mean manufacturing digital data that supports their point (Flick,
2018). That means that being present and in control of collecting the data becomes
important when working with a loaded subject and people who wish to push a certain
point of view.

Another reason why it is difficult to collect visual data in this case is the fact that the aim of
the problem formulation is to investigate the measurements taken towards the green

Page 5 of 8
agenda. Looking into how they facilitate those agendas are in order to understand these
measurements. The measurements can be abstract and the meaning of them can be hard to
denounce from a photograph.
At last, there is once again the question of sampling. When using a mostly static media
such as photography there can occur situations where different photographs of the same
situation can portray different realities. This is a result of angle and other technical
features (Flick, 2018). Thus, can a statement be made along with analytical points simply
by picking the visual data that shows it from the ideal angle.

Method of analysis
Method // Interpretation
In an effort to convert the collected data into analytical points it is necessary to choose a
method of analysis. When doing so via interpretation the aim is at explaining the collected
data. Understanding the internal logic of the organizations and individuals either
interviewed or observed. Leading to answer why certain actions or answers occur in the
light of making measurements. For this data to be valid when answering the problem
formulation, it should be put in context to the problem formulation. This could be done so
by creating an overview of the relevant status quo – in this case that would be current
climate related public policy (Flick, 2018). From thereon it is a matter of contextualizing
the data to this status quo. That means interpreting what the observations and the answers
relate to the already established situation. When there is a contrariety in the status quo
and the data collected is when the problem formulation can be answered. In this case. This
means contextualizing results with the problem formulation. In this case the problem
formulation is regarding social change via practises. This means that it is relevant to
interpretate and investigate these social practises observed. This is done by creating
tendencies and cross-referencing them with the collected data (Flick, 2018). On that
account the foundation of the argument is establishing what is significant. What is the
typical tendency, what is present before this phenomenon occurs and is it effective in
regards of answering the problem formulation?

For the argumentation to be strong the analysis should be structured around the material
(Flick, 2018). Suggesting the importance of having versatile data from many perspectives.

Page 6 of 8
But it is equally important to have a status quo to hold these findings against. As it is the
nature of social sciences to investigate and create.

As interpretation can be broad it is necessary to establish an aim for the interpretation.

Depending on the data I argue that there are two favourable aims.
The first one being looking for patterns and contexts. This is if the results show a tendency
where the green agenda varies from individuals and how they wish to push this agenda
varies. Why is this the case and does those having a similar approach have things in
common? Creating patterns and contexts in order to make general statements for single
cases.
The second aim for the interpretation is if the data shows a general viewpoint in social
groups. Making it possible to make broader claims making statements on a higher level
than just individual cases (Flick, 2018). This could be if the collected data showed a
tendency where, the frequency of similar measurements and green agendas are referring to
an Extinction Rebellion. Meaning that the viewpoints are created by the social dynamics
within the social group. In this case the interpretation would be focused on consistencies in
the collected data. Investigating similar viewpoints from different participants and
contextualizing why they are similar. In this situation for the argumentation to be strong it
seems reasonable to include already existing data based on other organizations and look
for anomalies in the established viewpoint from this collected data.

Page 7 of 8
Bibliography
Flick, U. (2018). Introduction To Qualitative Research. London: Sage.

Page 8 of 8