PRACTICAL RESEARCH QUIZ TRANSES
questioning may be necessary
CHAPTER 2
LESSON 1: Kinds of Quali Research,
Approaches, Characteristics, Uses, Strengths
& Weaknesses
WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
● Cresswell (1994) — an inquiry process of
understanding a social or human problem
based on building a complex holistic
picture formed with words, reporting
detailed views of informants and
conducted in a natural setting
● Locke, Spiduso and Silverman (1987)
—to understand a particular social
situation, event, role, group or interaction
● Franenkel and Wallen (1990) —
researchers are interested in
understanding how things occur.
● a descriptive analysis and follows
inductive process of reasoning, that is,
from specific situations to arriving at a
generalization of what has caused such
behavior, based on observations,
interviews or self-disclosures in written
forms.
● Two styles comes from the nature of the
data:
- Soft data in the form of
impressions, words, sentences,
photos, symbols and so forth
- Hard data in the form of numbers
KINDS OF QUALI RESEARCH
● PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION
- The research participant is able to
hear, see and experience reality as
the research participants perform
activities and deal with one another
during a period of time.
- demands immersion in the natural
setting
● OBSERVATION
- Entails the systematic noting or
recording of events, behaviors and
artifacts
- learns about behaviors and the
meanings attached to those
behaviors
- able to note body language and
affect, in addition to the person’s
words
● IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWING
- resembles conversation, but with
pre-determined response
categories
- degree of systematization in
- Large amounts of data are
gathered quickly and immediate
follow-up and clarifications are
possible
- Interviewers should have excellent
listening skills, and be equally
skillful at personal interaction
● FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWING
- Involves 7-10, at times 6-8 people,
who are unfamiliar with one
another and have been selected
because they share certain
characteristics that are relevant to
the research inquiry
- interviewer creates a permissive
environment, asks focused
questions, in order to encourage
discussion the expression of
differing opinions and points of
view
- interviewers are conducted several
times with different individuals so
that the researcher can identify
trends in the perception and
opinions expressed
- provides quick results; the
discussion is freewheeling, not
“stiff”
● CONTENT ANALYSIS
- systematic examination of forms of
communication to document
patterns objectively as shown in
letters, minutes of meetings, policy
statements and a lot more.
● NARRATOLOGY
- applied to any spoken or written
story
- requires a great deal of sensitivity
between participant & researcher
- a friendly atmosphere pervades
during the story telling, retelling
and reliving of personal
experiences
- researcher must be an active
listener and an adept reader
● FILMS, VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHS
- provide visual records of events,
especially the films and videos
which capture the perspective of
the filmmaker or videographer
- Pictures manifest the intent,
interests and values of the
photographer
CHARACTERISTICS AND USES
● researcher takes place in a natural setting
(home, office, institution or community)
where human behavior and events occur.
This enables the researcher to be
immersed in the actual experiences of the
 research participants and to get as much ● WEAKNESS
detailed data as s/he needs. - Total immersion in the natural
● focus of qualitative research is on the setting of the research can be
participants’ perceptions and experiences time-consuming and tedious and
and the way they make sense of their lives resource-draining
● method are interactive and humanistic, - the personal-self and the
call for active participation of research researcher-self are inseparable, so
participants, and on the part of the ,subjectivity, on the part of the
researcher, sensitivity to the needs of the researcher, can happen. To
participants. prevent this, from the beginning of
● uses various ways of collecting data: the study, the researcher must
observations, structured or identify his/her personal values,
semi-structured interviews, documents, assumptions and biases.
and now, emails, blogs, videos, stills and a ● CHARACTERISTICS OF 5
host of others. APPROACHES
● Qualitative research results being - FOCUS
emergent, new discoveries during the
data gathering process can lead to a total
revision of research questions, among
others.
● theory or general pattern of
understanding will emerge as it begins
with initial codes, develops into broad
themes, and coalesces into a ground
theory or broad interpretation
● fundamentally interpretative. This
includes a description of an individual or - TYPES OF PROBLEM BEST SUITED
setting, analyzing data for themes or
categories, and finally, making an
interpretation or drawing conclusions
● may filter the data through a personal lens
that is situated in specific sociopolitical
and historical moments.
● researchers is the primary instrument in
data collection. S/he views social
phenomena holistically. The more
complex, interactive and encompassing
the narrative, the better is the qualitative
study. - UNIT OF ANALYSIS
● researcher systematically reflects on who
he or she is in the inquiry and is sensitive
to his/ her personal bias and how it shapes
the study.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
● STRENGTH
- can offer the best light on or best
answers to certain
phenomena-social, economic,
political or even psychological.
- results are exhaustive; even - DATA COLLECTION
underlying meanings surface.
- offers several avenues to
understand phenomena, behavior,
human conditions and the like.
- can build on, or even develop
theories through consistent
themes, categories, relationships,
interrelationships that are
crystallized during the data
gathering and data analysis
processes.
 LESSON 2:
Importance of Qualitative Research Across
Different Fields
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION
● Ethnographic studies of learning &
knowledge in education ask the question
what counts as knowledge and learning in
classrooms to teachers and students.
● Ethnographer is concerned with the social
and cultural dynamics of a school or
classroom.
● Concluded that ethnographic practice-like
any set of social & cultural practices are
ways that people in a site & react to each
other to pursue an agenda:
- research agenda
- educational agenda
- social, cultural & instructional
change agenda
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN TECHNICAL
COMMUNICATION
● Determines the effective use of technology
in the workplace to ensure smooth flow of
communication
● Research results in order to describe/
illustrate current practices which can take
the forms of Email, fax messaging, video
and voice conferencing, intranet &
extranet, jargons and graphics.
● Psychology has been strongly shaped by
the behavioral and cognitive traditions,
within which psychology should seek to
understand & determine an observable,
objective psychological reality.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN ADVERTISING
● uses a variety of methods & involves an
interpretative , naturalistic approach to
whatever is the focus of study
● character of qualitative research makes it
& its associated methods extremely useful
for uncovering complex consumer insights
that can lead to successful advertising
● great advertising comes along from an
understanding of consumer’s wants and
needs.
● Uses: Theory and Approach
- THEORY – refers to an organizing
scheme for the data that place
them in orderly patterns and give
meaning and insight into the lives
of others.
- APPROACH – researchers begin
with inductive analysis and the,
often swing back & forth between
inductive & deductive analysis.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN SOCIAL WORK
● describe the range of ways of
reconstructing experiences from full
reliving of the experiences to its disowning
● “Knowledge focus”, “awareness”,
“alienation”
- Knowledge: direct remembering &
reliving, with complete details of
the events
- Awareness of mental processes:
Including awareness of emotions &
of cognitive processes
- Awareness of identity: awareness
of values & the construction of
personal characteristics of each
partner and of the couple as a unit
- Alienation: characterized by a
refusal to observe, reflect or
remember
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN MARKETING
● Influenced by social research, marketing
researchers embedded projective devices
within the approach of in-depth interview
CHAPTER 3
Lesson 1: Designing a research project related
to daily life
INTRODUCTION
● Closely tied to reality. Since qualitative
research mostly investigates the
complexities of human situations, human
behavior social phenomena and poses
inquiries about events in daily life.
● Do not use hypotheses . They merely
state a problem or pose questions.
● Data Collection. Data are gathered
through interview, participant observation
and focus group Discussion, etc.
● Sources of research topics are likewise
tied to real life experiences.
● Research Project includes the goals of the
study, theoretical frameworks, research
questions, ethics and methods.
CONGRUENCE OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS,
DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS
● Qualitative research experts say that there
must be congruence between methods of
data analysis and the research questions,
and where the method of data collection
turns out data that are appropriate to the
method of analysis.
RESEARCH TOPICS AND THEIR SOURCES
● Pressing issues on an individual,
organizational or societal level or success
stories.
● Wide Reading/Critical Film Viewing
● Social Networking
● Replication
● Lectures, Talks, Seminars
● Gray Areas – These are points of interest
but very little is known about them.

Lesson 3: Justification and Reasons for

Conducting Qualitative Research

INTENT OR PURPOSE OF STUDY

● the root causes and manifestations of lack

of self-confidence in adolescents and to
determine ways of addressing or solving
said problem
● the impact of social networking in
addressing or solving said problem
● the causes, prevention, treatment and
care of Zika virus
● the dangers to health of direct and indirect
smoking, as well as their prevention and
cure
● the success factors in marketing a
selected garment popular brand
● the causes of HIV, its prevention,
treatment and care of patients
● why some livelihood projects fail (or
succeed)
● how retail business succeeds
● why some barangays are successful in
their peace and order campaigns or health
and sanitation projects
● the humanitarian conditions of war victims
and intervention done by peace-keeping
agencies
JUSTIFICATION OF QUALI STUDY CHECKLIST
FACTORS THAT JUSTIFY THE CONDUCT OF
QR
● Credibility. This refers to the “truth value”
of the qualitative study, its applicability,
consistency and neutrality.
● Validity. This refers to an in-depth
description that shows the complexities of
variables and the embedding of
interactions in data derived from the
setting.
● Transferability. This is the applicability of
one set of findings to another context.
Under this factor is triangulation which is
the act of bringing more than one source
of data to bear on a single point.
● Dependability. This is the researchers’
attempts to account for changing
conditions in the phenomenon chosen for
study, as well as change in the design
created by increasing refined
understanding of the setting.
● Conformability. Answers the following
question: Do the data help confirm the
general findings and lead to implications?
● Credibility, transferability, dependability &
conformability are assured when:
- the research design is
well-explained
- assumptions are stated
- there is evidence much evidence
from raw data to show the
connection between the findings
presented and the real world
- the research questions are stated
- the research study answers those
questions and leads to further
questions
- when data collection strategies are
efficient
- evidences are presented
- different methods are used to
check the findings
- participant observations are made
of a full cycle of activities over a
period of time
- data are preserved and available
for analysis
- field work analysis is fully
documented
- when meaning is derived from
cross-cultural perspectives
LESSON 4: STATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
GOALS IN CONDUCTING RESEARCH
● Help
- people, groups or organization
● Understand
- better phenomena, human
behavior, human interactions
● Others
- complex events
Throughout the research process, the researcher
makes crucial decisions, particularly in:
● choice of data collection
● data analysis
The research questions formulated:
● give
- focus to the research
● guide
- the appropriately of decisions
made by the researcher
● If the research questions are not clearly
formulated, or have no direction, so to
speak, the researcher will find
himself/herself with too much data, and
yet, not knowing what to do with them.
TYPICAL RQ
● How did the social situation originate?
● How was the condition/situation
maintained over time?
● What are the processes by which a
condition/situation changes, develops or
operates?
TECHNIQUES TO NARRROW DOWN TOPIC
● Examine the literature
● Talk over Ideas with others
● Relate the topic to a specific context
● Define the aim or desired outcome of the
study
PROCESS FOR RQ
● Formulation of the overall question
● Formulation of specific research question
● Formulation of sensitizing concepts
● Selection of research groups with which to
study the question
● Selection of appropriate designs and
methods
● Evaluation and reformulation of the
specific research questions
● Collection of data
● Evaluation and reformulation of the
specific research questions
● Analyzing the data
● Generalization and evaluation of the
analysis
● Formulation of the findings
LESSON 5: Scope and Delimitation
The scope and delimitation of the study
● sets boundaries and parameters of the
problem inquiry and narrows down the
scope of inquiry.
● You need to make as clear as possible
what you will be studying and what factors
are within the accepted range of your
study
LIMITATION VS. DELIMITATION
● Limitation is associated with qualitative
study as related to validity and reliability.
● Delimitation refers to boundaries of the
research study, arising from the
researcher’s decisions of what to exclude
Formulating research questions delimits the
research topic to a specific area:
● Doing so reduces variety and thus,
structures the field under study. Important
aspects are brought to the fore; others are
regarded as less important and left in the
background or excluded.
● Flick (2002) cites the following delimited
example of a broad subject like
“counselling” into specific areas of interest:
- Interactive processes between
counsellor and client
- Organization of the administration
of clients as “case”
- Organization and maintenance of a
specific professional identity
- Subjective or objective
manifestations of the patient’s
“career”
LESSON 6: BENEFITS AND BENEFICIARIES
OF RESEARCH
● Qualitative studies investigating impact of
certain projects, activities or programs can
best showcase benefits and beneficiaries
of the study in the fields of accountancy,
business, management, science,
technology, mathematics, humanities,
social sciences, engineering and other
fields
● When you mull over who/what benefit from
your study, focus on your problem which
will guide you in identifying the specific
contribution of your study
ASPECT OF SIGNIFICANCE
● In this section of the problem statement,
the researcher can outline the research
study’s contribution to fundamental
knowledge by describing how the study fits
into the theoretical traditions in the
sciences or applied fields in ways that will
be new, insightful or creative
● The significance statement should show
how the study will contribute to research
traditions.
● The research study identifies gaps in the
literature to which the study will contribute.
● If the research is an area where theory is
well-developed, the study may be
significant test or expansion of the theory.
● The researcher may use concepts
developed by previous researchers and
formulate questions similar to those used
in previous research. Data collection,
however, may be in different setting, with
different groups, and at a different time.
● The significance of a study for policy and
practice can be established by presenting
data that show often the problem and how
costly it can be.
● Presentation of statistics on how serious
the traffic problem is in the metropolis can
make a study on this practice truly
significant
● Who has an interest in my research?
● What do we already know about the topic?
● What has not been answered adequately
in previous research and practice?
● How will this new research contribute to
theory, policy and practice in his area
LESSON 7: Presentation of Written Statement
of the Problem
● Research studies generally include the
following interrelated parts, with each one
building on the other:
- The introduction which includes an
overview of the research study.
- The statement of the problem.
- It’s Significance
- The research questions
- The Scope and limitations of the
research study
- The review of the related literature
- The research design
- The research methods
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
● Marshall and Rossman (1995) explain
clearly the purposes of the problem
statement or inquiry:
- To describe the substantive focus
of the research study
- To frame it as
a) a larger theoretical
b) a practical problem and thereby,
develop its significance
- To pose initial research questions
- To forecast the literature to be
discussed in the second section
- To discuss the limitations of the
study
● Do a close reading of the article that
interest you.
● Decide to do a qualitative research on the
topic of interest and come up with a
specific problem.
SPECIFIC PROBLEM
● What are the underlying causes of
narcissism?
● How has technology contributed to
narcissistic behavior?
● What are the manifestations of narcissistic
behavior in adolescents?
● What forms of intervention can be done to
address this behavior of adolescents?
● How can the following help in developing
healthy self-esteem, positive outlook and
attitudes in adolescents? (parents,
curriculum planners, administrators,
teachers, guidance counselors and peers)