Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Presenter
Muthuvenkatachalam S., D.Pharm, M.Sc (AIIMS), PhD Scholar
(RGUHS)
Scheme
Introduction
No single or ultimate truth to be discovered, more likely there are multiple perspectives
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Agenda
Introduction
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What is Qualitative Research?
Research using qualitative data in the form of text and pictures, not numbers
Takes a holistic approach with a specific focus and tells a richer story than quantitative
research
Used to answer questions about the complex nature of phenomena, often with the
purpose of describing and understanding the phenomena
Builds on researcher’s ability to interpret and make sense of what he or she sees for
understanding any social phenomenon
Takes longer to tell a story and usually ends with tentative answers of hypotheses about
what was observed
Often used in combination with quantitative methods and data, and can be objective or
subjective, and makes considerable use of inductive reasoning
Although objective methods may be appropriate for studying physical events such as
electricity, chemical reaction, and black holes, an objective approach for studying human
events , relationships, social structures, etc., is neither desirable nor, perhaps, even
possible (Eisner, 1998; Moss 1996).
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Major Qualitative Research Designs
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.
Ethnography
Focuses on the sociology of meaning through close field observation of
sociocultural phenomena. Typically, the ethnographer focuses on a community.
Phenomenology
A study that attempts to understand people’s perceptions, perspectives, and
understandings of a particular situation. In other words, what is it like to experience such
and such?
Grounded theory
Theory is developed inductively from a corpus of data acquired by a participant-
observer.
Content Analysis
A detailed and systematic examination of the contents of a particular body of material for
the purpose of identifying patterns, themes, or biases within a material
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.
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Observations
Qualitative research usually starts by questions like:
How do people feel while living under occupation?
How can a teacher use principles from behaviorist psychology to help a student with
Autism succeed in an elementary school?
Good percentage of research could start as qualitative and then morph into
other types. For example, medicine and biology.
Qualitative research may start using any technique of the previously described
designs, and could shift towards another design as more information may
suggest a better approach
Qualitative research does not yield quick results and easy answers
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When To Choose A Qualitative Approach
Description
Qualitative research can reveal the nature of certain situations, settings, processes,
relationships, systems or people
Interpretation
To enable a researcher to gain new insights about a particular phenomenon
Develop new concepts or theoretical perspectives about the phenomenon
Discover the problems that exist within a phenomenon
Verification
Allow researchers to test the validity of certain assumptions, claims, theories or
generalizations within real-world contexts
Evaluation
Allow researchers to judge the effectiveness of particular policies, practices and
innovations.
In general, not a good method to identify cause-effect relationships, i.e. Why questions, and
“what caused what” type of investigations
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Agenda
Introduction
Researchers may study two or more cases, often cases that are different in
certain key ways, to make comparisons, build theory, or propose
generalizations. This is referred to as collective case study.
Major weakness of case study design is that we cannot be sure that the
findings are generalizable to other situations, especially if only one case
study was performed.
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Case Study
Method
Gather Case Study Data
Researcher collects extensive data on the individual(s), program(s), or
event(s) on which investigation is focused.
Observations, interviews, documents, past records, audiovisual materials
(photographs, videotapes, audiotapes)
Spend time on site to interact with people who are being studied
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Case Study
Data Analysis Steps
Organize details about case
Case facts are organized in a logical order
Categorize data
Cluster data into meaningful groups
Interpret data
Examine specific documents, occurrences, and other bits of data for a meaning that may be
important to the case
Identify Patterns
Data and their interpretations are scrutinized for underlying themes and other patterns that
characterize the case more broadly than a single piece of information can reveal
Triangulation of data; many separate pieces of information must all converge to the
same conclusion 13
Qualitative Research Designs:
Case Study
Research Report Content
Case study rationale
Why the case study worthy of in-depth investigation and how it will contribute to human
beings’ knowledge about the world
Focuses on entire group that shares a common culture where the group is studied in its natural
setting for an extended period of time, months to years
Focus of the investigation is on the everyday behaviors (e.g. interactions, language, rituals) of
the people in the group, with an intent to identify cultural norms, social structures, and other
cultural patterns
Was first used in cultural anthropology, and now seen in sociology, psychology, and education
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Ethnography
Method
Gain access to a site appropriate for answering the research question
Ideally, the researcher should be a stranger with no vested interest in the
outcome of the study
The researcher may have to go through a gatekeeper, a person who can
provide a smooth entrance into the site
Establish rapport with people being studied and gain their trust and be open
about reason of study
Gather Information
Intermingle with everyone and get an overall sense of the cultural context (big
net approach)
Identify sources of information, i.e. key informants
Observe, interview, listen, and take extensive field notes
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Ethnography
Analysis
Categorize data according to their meanings.
Identify patterns, regularities, and critical events
Interpretation
General nature of the culture is inferred from the Analysis step outcomes
Existing theoretical frameworks in the field may lend structure and support
during the interpretation process
Interpret with “rigorous subjectivity” since objectivity is hard to attain
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Ethnography
Research Report Content
Rarely written in impersonal style. Often personal and literary narrative designed to
engage the reader’s attention and interest.
Provide a conclusion
Relate your findings to the research question and to concepts and theories in your
discipline
Avoid making judgments
Convey the voice of the people 19
Agenda
Introduction
The researcher may have had the experience related to the phenomenon in
question and wants to gain better understanding of the experiences of
others
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Phenomenological Study
Method
Almost exclusively limited to lengthy interviews with a carefully
selected sample of participants
Typical interview’s length: 1-2 hours
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Phenomenological Study
Data Analysis Steps
Identify statements that relate to the topic
Researcher separates relevant from irrelevant information
Break relevant information into small segments that each reflect a single,
specific thought
Construct a composite
Researcher uses various meanings identified to develop an overall description
of the phenomenon as people typically experience it
The final result is a general description of the phenomenon as seen through the
eyes of the people who have experienced it firsthand.
Focus on common themes despite diversity in the individuals and settings
studied
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Phenomenological Study
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Agenda
Introduction
A type of research that begins with the data and use it to develop a
“grounded” theory
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Grounded Theory Study
Method
Gather Data
Researcher collects extensive data on Gather Data
the individual(s), program(s), or event(s)
on which study is focused.
Observations, interviews, documents,
past records, audiovisual materials
(photographs, videotapes, audiotapes)
Data collected must include the
perspectives and voices of the people
being studied
Analyze Data
Researcher develops categories to Analyze Data
classify the data into proper categories
Revise categories and gather enough
data to “saturate” categories
Constant Comparative
Method
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Grounded Theory Study
Data Analysis Steps
Open coding: a process of reducing the data to a small set of themes that appear to
describe the phenomenon under investigation
Data is divided into segments and then scrutinized for commonalities that reflect categories
or themes
After data is categorized, it’s further examined for subcategories that characterize each
category
Development of a theory
Develop a theory, in the form of a verbal statement, model, series of hypotheses, to explain
the phenomenon in question and explains how certain conditions lead to certain actions or
interactions. And how those interactions lead to other actions, and so on.
Based entirely on the collected data
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Grounded Theory Study
Research Report Content
What do you think of report style?
Report style is objective and impersonal
Present a theory
Discuss implications
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Agenda
Introduction
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Content Analysis
Method
Identify specific body of material to be studied
Small amounts of material is usually studied in its entirety
Large amounts of material are sampled randomly
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Content Analysis
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Qualitative Research Designs:
Content Analysis
Research Report Content
Description of the material studied
Describe the overall studied material and any sampling procedures used, if any
Observations
Experiment with various recording strategies
Get introduced to the people you are watching
Remain quiet and inconspicuous, yet be friendly when approached
Record and interpret at the same time
Interviews
Rarely structured. Either open-ended or semi-structured
Could interview multiple people in a focus group
Identify questions in advance with, carefully pick your sample, proper location, written
permission, rapport, actual vs. abstract or hypothetical, listen, record verbatim, keep reactions to
self, and interviews do not necessarily reveal facts
Pay attention to group dynamics when conducting focus groups
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Organizing and Analyzing Data from Qualitative Studies
Classification
Grouping the data into categories or themes
Finding meaning in the data
Perusal
Getting an overall sense of the data
Jotting down preliminary interpretations
Organization
Filling
Creating a computer database
Breaking large units into smaller ones
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