Chapter 9 - Qualitative Data Collection and Issues in Analysis

Qualitative Data Collection and Issues In
Analysis1
In: Designing and Managing a Research Project: A Business
Student’s Guide
By: Michael J. Polonsky & David S. Waller

Pub. Date: 2021
Access Date: May 25, 2022
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc
City: Thousand Oaks
Print ISBN: 9781544316468
Online ISBN: 9781071849279
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781544316499
Print pages: 195-221
© 2019 SAGE Publications, Inc All Rights Reserved.
This PDF has been generated from SAGE Research Methods. Please note that the pagination of the
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2019 SAGE Publications, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Qualitative Data Collection and Issues In Analysis1
“The type of method to be used (qualitative or quantitative) will depend on the research
question being examined.”
Business Student
This is the first of two chapters that discuss ways of collecting and examining data. The type of method to be
used (qualitative or quantitative) will depend on the research problem and questions being examined, as this
directs the data to be collected. With many projects requiring both types of data—for example, see the Group
Student Assignment “Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children”—the importance of formulating a clear
research problem and using the research questions to determine what is the best research design (i.e., data
collection method and analysis) cannot be underestimated (see, e.g., Mertens, 2005). All research demands
a rigorous, systematic, and thorough approach, and it will be discussed first for qualitative research (and in
the next chapter for quantitative research). Qualitative research is traditionally used in three different ways.
First, qualitative data can be used to define the domain of an issue being examined, which then feeds into the
quantitative aspects of the research, as per Churchill’s (1979) research paradigm, for example, understanding
the issues associated with recruiting Generation X employees. Second, qualitative research may be the
primary data collection method, which is frequently used when the research question requires rich textual
data and/or in-depth understanding of issues (e.g., Merrilees & Miller, 2008) and is used for hearing the voices
and stories of participants (e.g., Janesick, 2010). For example, examining the various approaches to deal with
organizational downsizing might require in-depth interviews with human resource managers to identify their
views regarding different alternative practices. Third, qualitative data are sought after quantitative data have
been collected and analyzed to assist in obtaining a greater understanding of the relationships identified. This
approach is especially useful when the resulting findings are unanticipated. Thus, additional insights from
participants might assist in understanding the results. For example, you have surveyed marketing managers,
and some of the results are counterintuitive; thus, you undertake some in-depth interviews to give the results
more context and meaning.
Student Example
On the website (https://polonskywaller.com/student-examples), there is an interview with

students discussing the qualitative data and quantitative data issues.
Qualitative research has a strong tradition in the social sciences with extensive theoretical and
methodological underpinnings (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Lincoln, 2011; Marshall & Rossman, 2010; Miles
& Huberman, 1994; Strauss & Corbin, 2007; Travers, 2001; Yilmaz, 2013). Recent developments and
Page 2 of 32 Qualitative Data Collection and Issues In Analysis1

applications in qualitative research show that it is gaining recognition for its unique contribution to the study
of some important business questions in both the for-profit and not-for profit sectors (e.g., Creswell & Plano
Clark, 2007; Merrilees & Miller, 2008; Miller & Merrilees, 2013; Silverman, 2016; Stewart & Shamdasani,
2014), and there are even business journals that focus on research and methodological issues associated
with a qualitative approach (e.g., Qualitative Market Research; Qualitative Research in Accounting and
Management; and Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management).
As already mentioned, the research question(s) you pose may require multiple research methods to be used
(Watts, 2000). For example, you might first undertake focus groups (qualitative), which would identify ideas
that you might then use in a structured survey (quantitative). Such a two-stage process is the norm in many
business disciplines (Brannen, 2017). Although it may be more than is required within an undergraduate
student project, this approach would most likely be used with honors, masters, or PhD research. However,
increasingly, researchers (students and academics) are using qualitative data collection, such as focus
groups after a survey to clarify the survey results (Garee & Schori, 1997; Nardi, 2015). You might even use
in-depth interviews to uncover the meaning of document-based research, that is, what the documents mean
in the organizational context (Zorn & Ruccio, 1998).
Table 9.1 Video and Web Links to What Is Quantitative Research?
“Introduction to Qualitative Research” (2:11 [min:s]) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRz5YYmgTY
“Qualitative Research—Defined” (1:29) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipHiz6dzKFg
http://www.okstate.edu/ag/agedcm4h/academic/aged5980a/
“Qualitative Research”
5980/newpage21.htm
“Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research” (6:11) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddx9PshVWXI
“Brief Comparison of Qualitative and Quantitative Research

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYqDKEsy9gE
Methods” (51:39)
“Undertaking Qualitative Research” (7:14) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bja1dWjVtU
Qualitative research methods involve utilizing a diverse range of data including the spoken and printed word,
recorded sound and vision, and images, forms, and structures in various media. The critical issue is how
to turn this information into meaningful data using various analytical techniques. Because of this, qualitative
research interprets the social world using flexible data generation and produces “rounded and contextual
understandings on the basis of rich, nuanced and detailed data” (Mason, 2002, p. 3). This chapter presents
a systematic way of considering, planning, implementing, and evaluating qualitative research. It discusses
some of the methods you will find effective in your research projects. Moreover, ensuring the quality and
integrity of your qualitative research is imperative, and authors such as Creswell and Plano Clark (2007),
Miller (2006), Patton (2002), and Silverman (2016) provide guidance to help you. Data quality relates to the

completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and consistent state of information, while the data integrity refers to the
validity of data as well as the accuracy and consistency of the stored data (Carvalho, 2014). This indicates
that data quality is the foundation of data integrity, which produces trustworthy data to make decisions.
When you have concluded your research project, you should evaluate the processes that you used and to
what extent they were effective and efficient in answering your research problem or question(s) and producing
appropriate outputs and outcomes. A detailed discussion relating to analyzing the qualitative materials used
will not be provided, so you will need to refer to the references provided throughout and at the end of the
chapter for more detail on the analysis.
Discussion of Qualitative Data Methodology and Analysis in Three Example Reports
Group Report 1: “Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC).” (https://polonskywaller.com)
Section 4.2 (7–8) Discusses the Rational for Undertaking Qualitative Research.
Section 5.2 (11) Discussion of Primary Quantitative Data
Section 5.3 (11–15) Analysis of Qualitative Data
Honors Thesis 1: “Social Influences on University Education Choice.” (https://polonskywaller.com)
Section 3.1 (28–29) Rational for Phenomenology
Section 3.2 (30) A Philosophical Overview
Section 3.3 (30) Interpretivism
Section 3.5 (32–34) Assumptions of Phenomenological Research
Section 3.6 (35) One-on-One Interviews
Honors Example 2: “Game, Set, Match”—An Exploratory Case Study on Congruence in Disability Sport Sponsorship
Relationships. (polonskywaller.com
Section 3.3 (37–42) Data Collection Methods
Section 3.4 (43–45) Data Analysis
Qualitative Data Collection Methods
You can use various qualitative methods within your research project (Dittmar & Drury, 2000; Hamilton,
2000; Janda, 1999; Kamouche, 1995; Silverman, 2016). The following sections will discuss some of those
qualitative data collection techniques, as well as issues associated with their use. We encourage you to
explore both the references provided, the web links provided, and the further readings at the conclusion of
the chapter to help you in designing and implementing your qualitative research.

Focus Groups
The purpose of the focus group is “to get high quality data in a social context where people can consider
their views in the context of the views of others,” (Patton, 2002, p. 286). To conduct focus group research,
you would recruit participants to form a group, or series of groups, comprising individuals who are relevant
to your research question. For example, focus groups of existing students might be used to identify how
your university could improve its courses. Recruitment methods vary from general posters to snowball-type
invitations. Check with your supervisor for the most suitable ethical recruitment mechanisms. It is important
that you use a knowledgeable facilitator to run the focus groups, one who understands the subject area and
guides the group through the issues so that by the end of the session, some clear ideas, themes, or answers
have been generated by the focus group discussion. Table 9.2 provides a checklist for preparing a focus
group (see Stewart & Shamdasani, 2014; and Morgan, 1997, for a fuller explanation of the processes).
From a research design point of view, you should note that “focus groups are excellent tools for gaining
insights about markets, but it should be evident that a group of 10 or so people chosen haphazardly at a
single location cannot be expected to reflect the total population of consumers” (Sudman & Blair, 1999, p.
272). It is, therefore, beneficial to avoid people who know each other, as peer pressure or values could
influence their participation. Having a neutral and interruption-free venue is preferred, as it makes people
more comfortable. It is also important to have some way of recording the proceedings, such as a scribe or
audio or video recordings. When using equipment, it is essential that you know how to use it in advance and
ensure it is in working order. Some researchers have started to conduct focus groups only to find the batteries
in the recorder are dead, and they have had to take manual notes that don’t capture entirely the richness of
the discussions. You should ensure that the participants have been informed (in an information letter) and that
they have approved (in a signed consent form) the recording of the discussions. The information letter should
also explain how you will use the information collected. For example, will you quote individuals or look for
common themes? Will you use only aggregated data, or quote individuals? How will you identify individuals?
Will you use made-up names or coded names, like “Female–A”?
Table 9.2 Focus Group Preparation Checklist
Topic You should clearly identify the specific area for discussion (and the boundaries or limits).
Ensure the chosen moderator understands the subject matter and is well briefed on the purpose of the
Moderator/
study, is skilled in small group facilitation techniques, has a test run of the questions, and is able to clarify
Facilitator
responses and quickly develop and build ideas based on the discussion.
Make sure setting is comfortable, neutral, and quiet with no interruptions; has washrooms and is suitable for
Venue
mobility-restricted access; and has public transport and parking. Check suitability with your supervisor.
Check seating and table arrangements, refreshments and water, and name tags/name plates (first names
Preparation
are fine to allow familiarity); and provide a brief agenda for distribution. Participants usually find it

comfortable if they are seated at a table.
Allow a 10-minute arrival period, so tell people the arrival time is say, 5:50 p.m. for a 6:00 p.m start. Choose
Timing a time of day that is suitable to the types of participants, for example, after business hours for business
people.
Initial welcome, refreshments, name tags, information sheets, and consent forms (to be signed and
Arrival Period
returned).
Explains purpose of the study; how privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity will be managed; where
Information
participants can get further information; and where they follow up if they have any concerns/complaints.
Sheet
They retain the information sheet.
Consent Informed consent. You retain the forms; discuss storage with your supervisor.
Scribe with or without audiotape or videotape. Note that participants must be informed if they are being
Recording
recorded.
Starting Do start on time, welcome the group, give a brief introduction, and refer to the agenda and “The Rules.”
The moderator advises “The Rules” at the start of the session. Usually they include that one person speaks
The Rules at a time, that all ideas are welcome as the session encourages idea gathering, that participants will be
nonjudgmental, and that there are no right or wrong answers. Clarify what is meant by confidentiality.
Make statement within the group and by the moderator and scribe: “What is said in the group stays in the
Confidentiality
group.”
First ask planned open-ended questions; model the interactions that are expected. Use a white board or
Running the
chart paper to record main ideas or terms. Probe answers, build ideas, listen, involve others, and remain
Actual Group
nonjudgmental. Avoid comments like “good.”
“The Main Manage differing points of view. Ask questions such as, What else? Any other examples? The question
Event” “What else should I be asking?” can sometimes be very useful. Discipline use of time.
Ask all participants to think of two key points that have come up from the session. Go around the group to
hear each response individually. You may decide to commence by asking, “Who would like to start?” or you
Closure
may deliberately choose the first speaker. Make a brief summary and conclusion. Thank the group.
Distribute small tokens of appreciation if used or appropriate. End on time.
After the Write-up—moderator and scribe write up separately; have tape transcribed verbatim or in summary form.
Session Note any changes you might make when you next run a focus group.

Find meanings—researcher(s) bring the write-ups together.
Identify inputs to next phase.
File materials securely.
Conducting the focus group successfully hinges on the role of the facilitator or moderator (McDonald, 1993;
Patton, 2002; Stewart & Shamdasani, 2014); therefore, plenty of training and practice are essential for
whomever in your group undertakes this role. This will ensure that the information collected is meaningful for
your project and that participants’ time is not wasted. When acting as a facilitator, you should not lead to a
preferred answer, judge, correct, or assert a personal opinion. Rather, your role is to pose questions or open
up areas of discussion and elicit information from the participants. To do this requires active listening, which
is a hard-won skill, and means using appropriate prompts and probing (e.g., “How could that be different?”
“What else would be important?”) rather than judging (“No! That’s not right” or “Yes! That’s what I wanted
to hear!”). Trying to cover too many areas in a short time will possibly result in superficial information and
probably confuse the focus group members. As facilitator, you help the group “to reveal previously hidden
nuggets” (Murphy, 1997), and a good moderator draws out quiet or shy participants to include them and
uses innovative techniques to delve deeper (Greenbaum, 1997). Sometimes, using visuals such as charts or
photographs can stimulate participants’ responses (Belk, 2013). Try to be objective—adding your own views
would possibly shift and bias the nature of discussion; thus, you would miss obtaining the information you
organized the group for, that is, what the targeted respondents think about the topic.
People participating should be relaxed and open, a mood that might be assisted by serving refreshments
and keeping things relatively informal. It is also helpful to explain briefly how you will use the data, and it is
important to emphasize confidentiality in terms of the data and that what is said in the room stays in the room.
You will also explain that there are no right or wrong answers; rather, the idea is to build on each other’s ideas
and that only one person should speak at a time, to ensure that all voices are heard. You need to ensure that
there is a disciplined use of time and that the session concludes on time (these usually don’t last more than
an hour), with suitable thanks to the participants, and potentially a gift or small payment. In this way, people
feel able to contribute their views, ensuring that you maximize the applicability of information. For example, if
people feel uncomfortable in the group, they may be less likely to contribute openly.
After the session, you and your group members who have acted as the focus group team should write up
your observations immediately and individually. The initial write-up includes relevant details of participants,
facilitator, day-date/time, venue, seating arrangements, emerging themes, nonverbal communication, and an
evaluation of the process. The ensuing discussion should identify the psyche of the participants, any potential
problems with individual participants, the insights gained, and any surprises or unexpected results. The
importance of the write-up cannot be overstated; for example, one group we supervised once undertook five
focus groups over several days and then went to review the tapes, only to find that each day they recorded

over the previous session. They did not write up the sessions right away and lost valuable information.
Moreover, surprising ideas or views arising in one group may be fed into a subsequent focus group in the
series to elicit more ideas.
Depending on resources, professional transcription services may be used. In doing so, it is important to
specify the level of detail required. For example, is it important to identify each individual voice, or is it
sufficient to just note the facilitator’s voice and that any others are respondents? Thus, it is always good to
introduce all participants in the beginning of the focus group, not just so they get to know each other. Also,
any transcriber can allocate comments to particular people.
Table 9.3 Guidance on Focus Groups
“Conducting Focus Groups” (18:34 [min:s]) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-27WjZVDlbk
“Focus Group Tutorial.wmv” (5:21) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGsDGFeff5I
“How to Analyse Focus Group Data” (4:30) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIGHSu04_Jg
The focus groups can serve to assist in developing or revising materials to be used in quantitative research,
such as survey instruments or semi-structured interview questions, clarifying if wording or potential issues
have been covered. You can also determine if more focus groups are needed. Focus groups have the
benefit of speed and relatively low cost and build a synergy of ideas in a dynamic way (Flick, 2002; Patton,
2002). Overall, focus groups can be an important element of your research design and can particularly assist
clarification of issues for inclusion in surveys and interviews, although it must be remembered that the results
from focus groups cannot be generalized to the wider community.
Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions are a means of getting the respondents’ views, opinions, or descriptions of
experiences. These are in contrast to questions that invite only yes or no as a response. Open-ended
questions form the basis of focus groups, and semi-structured interviews including projective techniques,
which are often used as part of structured surveys. Any open-ended question must have a specific purpose.
It must be worded so that it does not lead the respondent or presuppose the answer. For example, if you
are researching promotion and consumers’ perceptions of bottled water, you could ask a question about
what factors influenced the purchase rather than whether promotion of the product affected the purchase
decision. A checklist for open-ended questions (Table 9.4) suggests that planning and practice will guide their
appropriate use.
Open-ended data often help you to understand and explain statistical results; that is, they can add meaning
(Reja, Manfreda, Hlebec, & Vehovar, 2003). In some studies, a follow-up focus group or additional interview
can assist to clarify meanings further.

Semi-Structured Interviews
The semi-structured interview can be used in a variety of research contexts (e.g., Miller & Merrilees, 2000;
Moore & Stokes, 2012). Researchers organize semi-structured interviews so that they cover a range of
questions relevant to the topic at hand, using mainly open-ended questions (Table 9.4). The design of the
interview protocol (list of questions) has many parallels with survey construction. The issues are based on a
suitable theoretical framework that guides the development of questions or themes to explore in the interview.
Table 9.4 Checklist for Open-Ended Questions for Focus Groups and Semi-Structured Interviews
How can I ensure that the questions are purposeful?
This means you should have a deliberate research reason for including each question. The reason should be related to
your main research problem and question(s), and not to personal interests.
Have I constructed questions that are truly open-ended?
Check if you have unintentionally signaled the answer you expect. Recheck that they do not invite yes/no answers. Words
like how, what, when, where, and why are useful for starting questions that will engage the respondent.
Have I developed questions that the intended respondents will understand?
Check your wording so that you have avoided any inappropriate or technical language that the respondent will not
understand.
Have I deliberately chosen the best ways of getting answers? Will written or verbal answers be required?
For verbal answers, you may write down or record answers; you may choose to have respondents write their answers
instead of having them answer verbally. This ensures that you obtain the answer that the respondent wants to give. In that
case, you must make sure that you collect the written answers.
Have I thought through how answers will be recorded?
Written by the respondent? Alone (e.g., in a postal mail, e-mail, fax, or electronic survey) or in the presence of an
interviewer?
Directly by an interviewer? The interviewer can ask direct questions face-to-face, in person, or by telephone or
videoconferencing, and can record written answers either verbatim or in summary. Alternatively, with the respondent’s
permission, the interviewer can record the verbal responses with audio- or videotape.
How will I collate and analyze the data that I have collected?
This is an extremely important question to consider before you continue with an open-ended question. Once you have all

of the open-ended responses, what are you going to do with them? How will you analyze them? If you are searching for
ideas or themes from the responses, will this be done manually by you, the researcher, or independent judges, or
automatically by software like NVivo or Leximancer? If themes are to be coded, how will this be done? This can be a major
decision that affects the validity of the analysis.
What have I learned in pretests?
All surveys should have a pretest, even if it is with a small number of people, to make sure that the wording is correct, the
sentences make sense, and the survey instrument will obtain the data that will help answer your research problem.
The semi-structured interview differs from the personally administered questionnaire, because it gives you
an opportunity to gather in-depth responses that reflect the insights of the interviewee. It also allows you to
probe into issues and pursue potentially unexpected revelations, hence the term semi-structured (a checklist
is in Table 9.5). For example, if you are discussing changes to information systems and the respondent says,
“Oh, we would never consider that supplier,” it then allows you to delve into the underlying reasons, which
cannot be done in a written survey. Mason (2002) describes the qualitative interview as a “conversation with
a purpose” (p. 43) and strongly suggests that it needs extensive planning.
Table 9.5 In-Depth Semi-Structured Interviews Checklist
Structure Have you planned the structure logically and sensitively? What basis did you use for the structure?
Participants Have you clarified who is in the sample and on what basis they are to be included?
Interviewer(s) Have you taken time to confirm skills, practice, and use a “fishbowl” technique for practice so that the
observers can give constructive feedback? Decide how many interviewers there will be. Decide how you will dress—consult
with your supervisor.
Questions Have you prepared the interview schedule? If you are using a combination of open and closed questions, be
sure that there is a clear purpose for each one. Refer also to issues about questions in focus groups.
Decide on Analysis Is any precoding needed? That is, can the interviewer tick some precoded boxes that reflect commonly
chosen answers?
Pretest Have you used the practice sessions to indicate any questions that should be changed to avoid jargon or fuzzy
concepts? Have you pretested any aids such as videos, maps, or drawings? Pretest the analysis.
Timing Sometimes it is appropriate to give the interviewee the questions or at least the domain or scope of them.
Appointment Plan the interview in advance. Have you made an appointment in advance and were you clear about how
much time you want the interviewee to have available for the interview? Have you clarified with the interviewee how many
interviewers will be attending?

Location Have you consulted with your supervisor about the location for the interview, and is it safe, quiet, and comfortable
for both the interviewer and the interviewee?
Consent Ensure that the interviewee gives informed consent and is provided with an information sheet.
Confidentiality Clarify with the interviewee how confidentiality will be maintained.
The Interview Arrive 5 minutes early and be prepared. Ensure that the recording equipment and any other materials are
ready. If there are two interviewers, practice beforehand how you will work as a team and what roles each will have. Work
out how you will conduct the interview professionally. Explain the purpose of the interview carefully.
Closure Ask the interviewee if he or she has any other comments or questions. Finally, ask the interviewee to identify the
two key points that have come out of the session for him or her. This helps the interviewee to close the interview and to
complete his or her own reflections. Explain to the interviewee any next steps such as sending him or her a transcript or,
more usually, summary of the interview to correct any errors of fact. Thank the interviewee for participating.
Transcription If there are two interviewers, each should write up his or her notes independently. If there is a recording of the
interview, you may choose to have a verbatim transcription or a summary prepared, which will require judgment by the
person making the summary. Synthesize findings if appropriate at this stage.
Input to Prepare for coding or other analysis.
Next Phase
As well as being adept in designing and asking questions, you also need to be an active listener, knowing
when to probe answers and when to pause, waiting patiently for the interviewee to think about the question
and then respond. Remember, that you are very familiar with what you will be asking, but the interviewee
needs time to understand your question and then to think about the answer. Try not to feel compelled to
“fill in the gap in conversation” while the respondent is thinking quietly how to reply. Many interviewees find
the experience reflective and informative, even gaining new insights themselves as the interview progresses.
The interview is an interactive method, so practice is essential to help develop an effective (and efficient)
interviewing style.
Semi-structured interviews can use one or more interviewers, as long as each has a clear role. Practice is
strongly suggested before undertaking an interview. You can record interviews with the informed consent of
the interviewee and/or take notes. If multiple interviewers are being used, the others can take more extensive
notes and ask any clarifying questions. Immediately after the interview, each interviewer should write up his or
her own notes and impressions and identify emerging themes and any process changes that might be made
in conducting subsequent semi-structured interviews.
Pretesting the entire interview process and analysis is a must. If you plan a series of semi-structured

interviews, you can make use of a developmental approach in which each successive interview can build
on ideas derived from previous interviews. This approach achieves a cumulative effect rather than a rigid
repetition of the interview protocol. Analyzing the interview means using coding for themes or content against
previously developed coding protocols (see e.g., Boeije, 2010; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007; Patton, 2002;
Roulston, 2010). This is where the student researcher interacts with the data collected. The extensive data
generated by interviews makes analysis a time-consuming but very worthwhile task. This manual approach
to coding is fundamental to student researcher learning.
Table 9.6 Videos on Alternative Interviewing Approaches/Techniques
http://www.youtube.com/
“Market Research Interviewing Techniques: Asking Why” (9:40 [min:s])
watch?v=ECAR871eano
“Research Interviewing Part 1: Interviews and the Interview Society” http://www.youtube.com/

(15:08) watch?v=9yRgBS2JmXU
“Qualitative Research Interviewing—Past, Present, & Future” (6:16) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb70vhcCf8w
“6.3 Projective Techniques” (2:03) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrGMmprttuo
“Phenomenology Crash Course (Beginnings and Key Themes)” (1:30:29)
watch?v=Oev9GAm2MrI
You also might want to use various qualitative software packages to follow up or to evaluate the data, such as
Atlas/ti, Dedoose, Leximancer, and NVivo (but to do this requires transcripts of the responses). For example,
Dedoose is a “cross-platform app for analyzing qualitative and mixed methods research with text, photos,
audio, videos, spreadsheet data and more,” which was developed by University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA) academics (www.dedoose.com, para. 1). Leximancer is another tool that allows you to undertake
content analysis, which is automated and therefore is not biased by researchers’ interpretations (Smith &
Humphreys, 2006), although respondents may also use terms in different ways; thus, it still needs to be
interpreted by the researcher (www.leximancer.com).
Table 9.7 Qualitative Data Analysis Tools
Product Corporate Site Links Discussing Tool
“Introduction to ATLAS.ti” (3:61 [min:s]): https://www.youtube.com/

Atlas/ti http://www.atlasti.com/index.html
watch?v=CmKO2SYdV7s
“Dedoose Video Tutorial 1” (11:51): https://www.youtube.com/

Dedoose http://www.dedoose.com/
watch?v=NP8K7z0MSiw
Leximancer https://www.leximancer.com/ “Leximancer 101” (1:39): https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=Zb6gWctO2ds
http://www.qsrinternational.com/ “NVivo Tutorial” (8:14): http://www.youtube.com/

NVivo
products_nvivo.aspx watch?v=oelXFnJ-7Ms&list=PL68DA95F8E2B15DD4
Phenomenology
This form of research is a completely open-ended interview and is constructivist in nature, where the
participant tells her or his story, and then researchers draw out meaning through analysis (Van Manen, 2016).
This type of research focuses on the issue under examination, as a lived experience that can be understood
only through the participants’ eyes (Babin & Zikmund, 2015; Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2010; Van Maannen,
1995). It is a very rich data collection process, but it does require extensive skill as a researcher to identify
themes or theory across participants, and it has some constraints as outlined by Goulding (2005). This type of
research also is used with ethnography or netnography, where one examines the in-depth interactions within
social networks, whether these be physical or online (Kozinets, 2015).
There are two schools of thought as to whether one should read the literature in this approach prior to
starting the research. One view is that this results in bias as the researcher brings her or his interpretations
to the research based on the literature rather than focusing on the participants’ meaning (Husserl, 2006).
For example, if one were looking at strategies to overcome the glass ceiling for women managers, reading
the literature might suggest specific sets of issues that need to be probed. If the researcher is male, he may
also have some preconceived notions as to how organizations have sought to address this issue. The result
may be that new insights are not necessarily probed, because past theory has not understood the issue
from the participants’ view. That is, the voice of the participants may have been silent in the past. The other
view is that for researchers to undertake phenomenology, there needs to be some grounding in theory first
(Heidegger, 2005). This can not only direct the researcher but also allow him or her to better draw out and
explain the phenomena, by making explicit linkages to theory. In the glass ceiling example, if one did not know
the literature, one would possibly omit exploring the role of mentoring, which may have been identified in past
literature as important. If mentoring were not raised by participants, it would possibly suggest that mentoring
was not effective and thus would be an important insight that was missed because it was not explored.
Like semi-structured interviews, the data can be analyzed using qualitative software, like NVivo, where
structure can be imposed on the rich data. Conducting the interviews requires the same active listening skills
and knowing what issues to probe in more depth, so you have some understanding of the phenomena you are
examining. We would suggest that this type of research, while highly informative, is possibly too challenging
for undergraduate students, and possibly even master’s students.
Table 9.8 Links to Videos on Phenomenology
“Introduction to Methods of Qualitative Research http://www.youtube.com/

Phenomenological Research” (10:34 [min:s]) watch?v=LLjKdvVzKXM&list=PLBF62A1FBF336B33D
“Intro to Phenomenology by J Bigelow” (1:06) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb8AjKmvaCU
“Phenomenological Definitions” (3:57)
watch?v=oAltkF3bySA&list=TLZSJr-ux9C0c
Case Studies
A case study presents the analysis of a study of a single unit, which can be an event (e.g., a motor
race, athletics carnival, firm entering a new market, failed merger); an organization (of any type); or an
aspect of organizational function (staff development; Travers, 2001). It can use single research methods or
combinations of qualitative and quantitative methods (Flyvbjerg, 2011). According to Yin (2013, p. 4), the case
study “allows investigators to retain holistic and meaningful characteristics of real-life events—such as . . .
organizational and managerial processes . . . and the maturation of industries.”
Case-based research can be a very powerful way of examining and “understanding the dynamics present
within single settings” (Eisenhardt, 1989, p. 534). It can combine data from a range of qualitative and
quantitative sources (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2013). Research could involve a single case study or a series of
case studies, built from in-depth interviews and document-based analysis. Case studies can help researchers
to formulate larger studies. For example, in a two-stage study of international entrepreneurial activity,
Merrilees and Tiessen (1999) used case research–based in-depth interviews with twelve Canadian exporters
followed by a comprehensive mail survey of a further two hundred Canadian exporters. Unfortunately,
researchers often overlook case research as an option when designing research projects.
An important benefit of case-based research is that as a researcher, you often have the benefit of hindsight.
That is, you can explore the event after it happened and have the luxury of taking time to draw connections
between events and history (e.g., Miller, 2011; Miller & Merrilees, 2004). In one piece of research, we looked
at the change to diamond cartels and how technology reduced the power the De Beers companies had over
the market (Gupta, Polonsky, Woodside, & Webster, 2010). By analyzing what had happened, it was very
clear that they were trying to maintain a model where they had tight control on the supply chain. New suppliers
and technologies, increased competition, and their failure to respond resulted in a further deterioration of
their market power. There are extensive lessons that can be learned from case studies, both in terms of
individual firms and wider decisions or theory. As researchers you have the time to draw this out, whereas
the businesses possibly did not have the time or understanding of events to systematically explore their
situation. As such, case studies frequently rely on historical documents (internal and external) and/or in-depth
interviews with managers involved in the decision.
Table 9.9 Links to Videos on Case Study Research

“Types of Case Study. Part 1 of 3 on Case Studies” (18:59 [min:s])
watch?v=gQfoq7c4UE4
https://www.youtube.com/
“Research Strategy: Case Study” (7:43)
watch?v=ectS1ote8uA
“Introduction to Methods of Qualitative Research Ethnographies and Case http://www.youtube.com/

Studies” (38:25) watch?v=0XQLXCU_mtA
Document-Based Research
The term document has a wide application. Not only paper documents but other textual materials, such as
signs, advertising, packaging, and training manuals, can be used too, as can photographs, images, recorded
materials (including oral histories, e.g., Janesick, 2010), social media (Branthwaite & Patterson, 2011), and
websites (Herring, 2009). Document-based research is noninterventionist and unobtrusive, and it can be very
useful for responding to research questions (Kellehear, 1993). Document-based research should be selected
only if it is the method, or one of the methods, of choice for collecting data to answer your research question.
All the rigor that is built into other methods needs to be structured into document-based research (Miller,
2006; Patton, 2002).
The sources of data could be primary, such as annual reports, minutes books of boards of directors, letters,
and original reports (about topics such as market research or product development, internal employee
newsletters and advertisements), or secondary, such as newspaper reports, industry analyses, or government
reports. For example, you might examine advertisements to identify the degree to which they include
various characteristics such as the humor, sexist representations, or different types of information (see, e.g.,
“About Ad*Access,” 2013). Other potential sources include catalogs, company histories, media releases, and
newspaper clippings. Some organizations have extensive archives available either on-site or at repositories
in universities (e.g., Miller, 2011), or you may find relevant documents in public holdings, such as the National
Archives or state libraries. Some information in such holdings is also available online (see, e.g., “About
Ad*Access,” 2013; Mass Observation, 2013). For guidance on accessing archival materials, please refer to
Miller (2006).
Document-based studies can contribute to exploring issues as well as building or testing theoretical concepts
and models. They are often a foundation for case studies, discussed previously, or an adjunct to other
qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviews (Miller & Merrilees, 2000). These studies can either be
longitudinal or examine an issue at a single point in time. The value of longitudinal studies is that they can
show changes or stability over time. For insights into longitudinal studies, see Alexander (1997), Hollander,
Rassuli, Jones, and Dix (2005), and Waller (2012), as a starting point. For example, one might refer to a firm’s
annual reports and examine the degree to which corporate social responsibility is integrated. The examination
of this aspect could identify changes in how this matter has been viewed over time, or it could be examined

in regard to whether firms have faced significant public scandals, where one response might have been an
increase in corporate social responsibility to overcome any negative publicity.
To gather data, you need to develop a data collection protocol, similar to the interview or observation protocol,
to ensure that you collect the relevant information from each material examined. This assumes that the
information you collect can be systematically examined. The data generated can be analyzed either using
content analysis (Alison, Benjamin, Hoerner, & Roe, 1998) or thematically (Miller & Merrilees, 2000). Various
means can be used including a table format or development of a database.
Document selection, like participant selection for interviews or focus groups, must be deliberate and based
on the expected contribution it can make (although if using internal documents there may be restrictions in
terms of what you can access). You may also want to note any apparently missing documents. The decision
of how many documents to study will depend on constraints such as time, document scope, and availability. If
documents seem to be giving repetitive data, the researcher may have reached “theoretical saturation,” which
means that including additional data sources does not add additional information, and thus, the data secured
is complete (Glesne & Peskin, 2010). Conversely, when examining documents, gaps in document availability
are often noteworthy as are gaps within documents. That is, what is not said in the document can be just as
important to the research topic as what is said. Such gaps should lead the researcher to critical reflection.
Implementation
The methods for collection and for analysis affect each other, so you must plan with both in mind. It is
too late once you have gathered the data to regret that you cannot change questions or methodology to
analyze it more meaningfully. More importantly, it can be almost impossible to go back and collect additional
qualitative data from the same participants, especially in focus groups and interviews. Pretesting in all phases
contributes to the process of research design, development, and implementation. Having the right skills is also
critical. For example, practice sessions in running interviews or focus groups will help you to apply theoretical
learning and to both pretest your skills and refine your questions. It is difficult for anyone to run groups as
a moderator and to monitor the impact of their own actions on the group proceedings; thus, when testing
your skills, it may be necessary to have a second person observing you. You can even make a short video
of your practice. You may well be surprised at what you see. Often, we see that we use words like “good,”
“OK, OK,” trying to encourage the interviewee but then realize that such phrases are perhaps influencing
the interviewee’s responses and that we need to develop other ways of showing empathy and encouraging
discussion.
The Importance of Training and Pretesting
If the various courses you have taken have not provided you with sufficient training in the methods of data
collection, you should seek suitable additional training:

• Develop understanding. To increase your knowledge of the subject and about the administration of
the methods, you can read and then discuss with experts, such as your supervisor.
• Practice the methods. Do this before starting the actual data collection.
• Peer review and feedback. The aim is to build skills and awareness and to improve performance
by having your colleagues hear you practice your questioning. They will also benefit from developing
skills in giving constructive feedback.
• Personal reflection on your own effort. What did you learn? What needs improvement? What did
you do well?
Ideally, a program of training in essential techniques and methods should complement your other academic
supervision. When undertaking qualitative data collection, you need to be careful that you do not ask
questions that are leading or that suggest particular answers that the interviewer wants. This can bias your
responses and, therefore, your results. You can manage this concern by pretesting interviews, for example,
by interviewing members of your group or other friends to see how the questions sound, whether they are
understood, and what responses you get. You will soon find the “bumpy” parts of the interview: What doesn’t
flow? What additional information do respondents seem to want? How long does it really take to conduct
the interview, including recruiting, informing the respondent about the purpose of the study, and providing an
information sheet? Find out what it is like to be on the other side of the interview—get a colleague to interview
you, using your interview schedule. They can comment too on their reactions to asking the questions, and you
can start developing a codebook of potential answers and themes from the responses. This is also relevant if
there is more than one interviewer.
Inviting people to participate in your study suggests to potential participants that you are a competent and
ethical researcher. This means you have an obligation to ensure that you are familiar with, and capable in,
using the methods you have chosen for data collection. You also have to be competent in the data analysis
and interpretation so that you fairly represent the data you have gathered (see Kellehear, 1998; and Mason,
2002).
Analysis and Interpretation
These two words, analysis and interpretation, are misused frequently as being interchangeable, but they
have distinct meanings and roles. Analysis covers the assembling, cleaning, and examining of the data,
whereas interpretation is making sense of the data that you have generated. Within this section, some basic
issues associated with analysis will be introduced, but specific processes will not be examined in detail. As
mentioned, you will need to refer to the various sources referenced here, as well as others provided by your
supervisor, to be competent in all aspects of the techniques for analyzing qualitative data. While within this
chapter we have summarized some aspects of data analysis, this is a highly complex process, and there are
a number of more detailed texts that discuss this process (for example, Silverman, 2011).
One way of analyzing qualitative data is by using content analysis, which can be applied to research projects

in most business-related disciplines (Kassarjian, 1977). Content analysis is generally text- or visually based
and focuses specifically on analyzing the frequency of particular words or phrases or images. It can be used
to assess the content of advertisement portrayal of minorities in advertising (Bailey, 2006); webpage imagery,
for example, how tourism sites are portrayed (Choi, Lehto, & Morrison, 2007); and how theory has developed
within an area of theory (Roehling, Cavanaugh, Moynihan, & Boswell, 2000). Almost any textual or visual
documents can be examined using content analysis, and while the data are often readily available, they do
require a systematic evaluation (Krippendorff, 2012). Here is another aspect of making sure that your data
collection and analysis are rigorous.
A related technique is thematic analysis, by which the researcher may develop an idiosyncratic coding
system, usually based on a coding protocol. Coding the data pushes the researcher to engage with the
collected material and to seek meaning, connections, and insights. Writers such as Kellehear (1993), Miles
and Huberman (1994), Patton (2002), Boeiji (2010), and Fereday and Muir-Cochrane (2006), are among
those who discuss the many schemas for coding, but a detailed discussion of the process is beyond the focus
of this chapter. You are encouraged to investigate and test the coding of your study before extensive data
collection, although it may not be appropriate if you are undertaking a discovery-oriented phenomenology.
As with any research study, it is important to ensure the integrity of the data collection and analysis. Many
standard measures are used in quantitative studies; however, in the qualitative field, some studies have been
weakened by ignoring this aspect. Patton (2002) is very informative in this respect, and Creswell & Plano
Clark (2007), for example, discuss verification steps. You will want to talk to your supervisor about how you
will deal with data quality and integrity in your study.
How should you interpret your data? Results are meaningless without the researcher’s interpretation. Here,
all the critical thinking skills and synthesizing capabilities of the researcher come into play. The challenge is to
interpret what the results mean, not to assume they say what you want them to say. You must keep searching
and checking for alternative explanations (disconfirmation), which can be an issue where you include different
respondents with different views. In discussing your interpretation, you need to relate the findings to the
research problem or question and the literature (this issue will be discussed again in Chapter 12). Then, you
can relate the findings to your design, including the characteristics of your sample.
Computer-Aided Qualitative Research
As a student researcher, you have sound reasons to carefully evaluate, and potentially avoid, sophisticated
computer-aided qualitative data retrieval systems. The common misperception is that the computer will
perform the analysis, whereas essentially the computer program provides a sophisticated storage and
retrieval tool (Weitzman, 1999). In the hands of experienced researchers, the retrieval can certainly lead to
analysis, but the interpretation of the results comes from the researcher. One of the challenges of some
available packages, such as NVivo (QSR International, 2018) and Ethnograph (Qualis Research, 2018), is the
precision with which data must be entered into the system for storage and later retrieval (Gahan & Hannibal,

1998). The resources needed for extensive transcription, whether from audiotapes or printed documents, may
not be available to you. Your supervisor will be able to assist you in making more informed decisions about
the usefulness of computer-aided qualitative research in particular applications.
Table 9.10 Links to Videos on Qualitative Data Analysis
“Qualitative Analysis of Interview Data: A Step-by-Step Guide” (6:50 https://www.youtube.com/
[min:s]) watch?v=DRL4PF2u9XA
“Coding Qualitative Data” (6:41)
watch?v=GZKZKUycqFU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT-
“Qualitative Data Analysis—Coding & Developing Themes” (10:38)
EDgwRvRU
“Qualitative Data Analysis 1” (1:22:44) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhgrY3ocjgY
The skills and other resources required to use advanced software may be outside the scope of your project
(Davidson & Skinner, 2010). However, Tallerico (1992) gives a concise description of the generic features
of computer technology that assist with qualitative research. Even using automated coding systems, such
as Leximancer (Smith & Humphreys, 2006), requires expertise in interpreting and drawing together themes
within the textual evaluation.
A number of studies have relied on using these data. For example, in a paper we looked at why people did not
attend cultural institutions, by interviewing those who did not attend these institutions (Kay, Wong, & Polonsky,
2009). The process of coding data provides structure where broad themes are identified (called nodes); under
these are more narrowly defined subdomains of the topic (Gibbs, 2002). The NVivo software used for coding
allows the researcher to use the text (i.e., qualitative data) to identify nodes and subthemes and then links
these together in a branchlike structure. These can be created across one individual and drawn together
across individuals. While the various systems are automated, they do require that researchers define the
nodes and subthemes, which are then linked to data provided by respondents. In this way, there is a thematic
structure drawn out of responses, and software tools, such as Leximancer, also allow for a visual presentation
of the key themes and concepts as well as connections between these (see Penn-Edwards, 2010, p. 259, for
an example).
Data collection is useful from a range of qualitative types of research, such as focus groups or in-depth
interviews, which are all sound methods to pursue provided that suitable means of data analysis are planned
well in advance of the data collection, so that enough time can be given to all phases of the project. You
also need to be willing to learn how to use the various tools available to assist with drawing out meaning,
whether these are done using more manually or automated systems. Table 9.7 provides information on
four alternative computer systems that can be used to assist you in coding and analyzing data. Of course,
these are dependent on your having appropriate data to analyze that addresses your research problem and

questions.
“Results are meaningless without the researcher’s interpretation.”
Conclusion
This chapter has given a brief overview of qualitative methods that you can use to enrich your work. Table
9.11 presents a checklist for undertaking qualitative research, and Table 9.12 gives a general overview of
qualitative research techniques, analysis procedures, and interpretation. There are many sources of further
information, which are listed as Further Reading at the end of this chapter, after the chapter’s reference
list. There may be many issues you need to follow up that directly relate to your data collection approach.
This chapter gives a foundation so that you have an overview of the issues, ways of generating data, types
and methods of analysis, importance of data integrity (Miller, 2006; Patton, 2002), the unique perspectives
you can bring to interpretation, and avenues to pursue for further information. Ideally, it has inspired you
to consider if qualitative research could help you to address your research question. The next chapter will
discuss quantitative data collection techniques.
Table 9.11 Qualitative Research Checklist
Remember: Q.U.A.L.I.T.A.T.I.V.E.
Questions that are important and worthy of study
Unique studies
Attention to detail in all stages
Learning before doing and through doing
Informed consent of participants
The data collection soundly based on literature review and planning
Analysis—preplanned, pretested, soundly based, thorough, reliable, and valid
Teasing out explanations, alternative explanations, and identifying gaps
Interpretations using the researcher’s thoughtful synthesis
Vivid implications made clear to researchers and practitioners
Evaluate the entire process, especially the research design and implementation
Table 9.12 Qualitative Research—An Overview

Data Generation Source Data Analysis: Type Data Analysis: Method Interpretation

Focus groups
Survey questions—open-ended
In-depth, semi-structured interviews
Observations
Case study
Content analysis
Delphi Coding
Thematic analysis Researcher-driven
Nominal group Manual
Case study Synthesis
Brainstorming Computer-aided storage and retrieval
Protocol
Documents
Audiotapes, CDs, DVDs, film
Visual—print, video, film
The Internet
Websites
Project Checklist
* What is your research question?

* Will your project have a qualitative component?
* Who will be in charge of this?
* When will it occur?
* What preparation must be done?
* Who will analyze the collected data, and how will it be interpreted?
* How will you ensure the quality of your data collection and analysis?
Table 9.13 Additional Video, Audio, and Interactive Resources

Resource Brief Description Link
An example of an actual focus group session conducted by an

“Focus Group: innovative commercial packaging company
Salad Dressing” http://www.youtube.com/
Resource type: video watch?v=MuiI7BFhQl4
Weatherchem
Approx length: 4 minutes

Outlines the features of a successful focus group

“Focus Group”
University of Resource type: video tutorial
watch?v=TGsDGFeff5I
Limerick
Approx. length: 5 minutes
“When You Should

Use Focus Groups” A brief guide to when focus groups are effective
https://marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/
J. Scott Armstrong Resource type: handout (pdf) wp-content/uploads/2016/12/
FocusGroups.pdf
The Wharton Length: 2 pages
School
Demonstration of NVivo, a popular program used in qualitative

Get up and running
research; covers data collection and organization, interpreting
with NVivo 9 |
and questioning data, and sharing findings https://www.youtube.com/
NVivo Tutorial
Video watch?v=K3wdeZUZGVY
Resource type: video Resource
QSR International
Approx. length: 8 minutes.
Case Study
Qualitative research can help in exploring the general views of what staff thinks about establishing new
environmentally aware policies. This may be the main research approach or might assist in refining ideas
to be pursued in the quantitative phase of the research (if required). Your group has decided to begin this
process by undertaking a focus group with potential customers. The plain language document, consent forms
associated with receiving institutional review board (IRB) approval, and the transcript of a focus group are
included in the online supplementary materials for this chapter. The full ethics application is included in the
supplementary materials for Chapter 4.
• Do you want any specific job roles in the focus groups?

• What are some of the key themes that arise within the focus group (see transcript online).
• Are there any questions that you would have thought should have been asked differently or were
missed and should have been included?
Chapter Questions
1. Imagine you are required to undertake a qualitative project; define a research question around
your topic that would suit this approach.
2. Would you prefer to use a focus group or in-depth interviews for your assignment? Explain
why, focusing on the benefits and disadvantages of each.

3. Would it be possible to design a phenomenology study to explore your question? Explain why
or why not?
4. Do you think it would be easier to undertake a thematic examination of your data or to use the
node and tree type structural approach? Explain your response.
5. How would you prepare to undertake in-depth interviews and focus groups?
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Qualitative Analysis
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(4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2012). Collecting and interpreting qualitative
materials (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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of qualitative approaches. Management Learning, 31(2), 163–179.
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Content Analysis
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Qualitative content analysis: A focus on trustworthiness. Sage Open, 4(1).
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Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic content analysis (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Focus Groups and Interviewing
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Sage.
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Morgan, D. (1997). Focus groups as qualitative research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Stewart, D. W., & Shamdasani, P. N. (2014). Focus groups: Theory and practice (Vol. 20).
Projective Techniques
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insightful reality? International Journal of Market Research, 47(3), 239–254.
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computer-aided analysis of data gathered by projective techniques. Qualitative Market
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research (pp. 3.85–3.100). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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social marketing (pp. 165–181). Singapore: Springer Singapore.
Soley, L., & Smith, A. L. (2008). Projective techniques for social science and business
research. Milwaukee, WI: Southshore Press.
Qualitative Research: Document-Based and Visual Methods
Basil, M. (2011). Use of photography and video in observational research. Qualitative

Market Research, 14(3), 246–257.
Dakoumi Hamrouni, A., & Touzi, M. (2011). Technique of collage for store design
atmospherics. Qualitative Market Research, 14(3), 304–323.
Davenport, T. H., De Long, D. W., & Beers, M. C. (1998). Successful knowledge

management projects. Sloan management review, 39(2), 43.
Miller, D. (2006), Marketing perspectives on the value and conduct of archival research.
Canadian Journal of Marketing Research, 23(1), 47–55.
Miller, D. (2011). Building customer confidence in the automobile age: Canadian Tire
1928–1939. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 3(3), 302–328.
Rindell, A. (2013). Time in corporate images: Introducing image heritage and image-in-
use. Qualitative Market Research, 16(2), 197–213.
Case Studies
Ghauri, P. (2004). Designing and conducting case studies in international business

research. In Handbook of qualitative research methods for international business (pp.

109–124). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.
Mills, A. J. (Ed.). (2010). Encyclopedia of case study research (Vol. 1). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
Rowley, J. (2002). Using case studies in research. Management research news, 25(1),
16–27.
Woodside, A. G. (2010). Bridging the chasm between survey and case study research:
Research methods for achieving generalization, accuracy, and complexity. Industrial
Marketing Management, 39(1), 64–75.
Woodside, A. G., & Wilson, E. J. (2003). Case study research methods for theory building.
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 18(6/7), 493–508.
Qualitative Research and Action Research
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2008). The landscape of qualitative research (Vol. 1).
Kates, S., & Robertson, J. (2004). Adapting action research to marketing: A dialogic
argument between theory and practice. European Journal of Marketing, 38, 418–432.
Miller, D., & Merrilees, B. (2013). Rebuilding community corporate brands: A total
stakeholder involvement approach. Journal of Business Research, 66, 172–179.
Additional Online Sources

Resource Brief Description Link
“Focus An example of an actual focus group session conducted by an
Group: Salad innovative commercial packaging company

Dressing” Resource type: video watch?v=MuiI7BFhQl4
Weatherchem Approx. length: 4 minutes
“Focus
Outlines the features of a successful focus group http://www.youtube.com/
Group”
Resource type: video tutorial watch?v=TGsDGFeff5I
University of

Limerick Approx. length: 5 minutes
When You
Should Use
Focus Groups A brief guide to when focus groups are effective
https://marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/
J. Scott Resource type: handout (pdf) wp-content/uploads/2016/12/
Armstrong FocusGroups.pdf
Length: 2 pages
The Wharton
School
Tutorials explaining NVivo, a popular program used in qualitative

NVivo research; covers data collection and organization, interpreting and
Tutorials questioning data; and sharing findings http://www.qsrinternational.com/
QSR nvivo/free-nvivo-resources/tutorials
Resource type: video resource
International
Approx. length: multiple sources
Notes
1 Note: The editors gratefully acknowledge Dale Miller, Griffith University, Gold Coast, for writing the initial
version of this chapter. Dr. Miller would like to recognize the editors for their ongoing commitment to inspiring
excellent student research and also the valuable ongoing discussions about qualitative research with students
and colleagues, especially Professor Bill Merrilees at Griffith University, Gold Coast.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781544316499.n9

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Qualitative Data Collection and Issues In

By: Michael J. Polonsky & David S. Waller

Qualitative Data Collection and Issues In Analysis1

On the website (https://polonskywaller.com/student-examples), there is an interview with

Page 2 of 32 Qualitative Data Collection and Issues In Analysis1

“Qualitative Research—Defined” (1:29) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipHiz6dzKFg

“Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research” (6:11) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddx9PshVWXI

“Brief Comparison of Qualitative and Quantitative Research

“Undertaking Qualitative Research” (7:14) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bja1dWjVtU

Page 3 of 32 Qualitative Data Collection and Issues In Analysis1

Section 5.2 (11) Discussion of Primary Quantitative Data

Section 5.3 (11–15) Analysis of Qualitative Data

Honors Thesis 1: “Social Influences on University Education Choice.” (https://polonskywaller.com)

Section 3.1 (28–29) Rational for Phenomenology

Section 3.2 (30) A Philosophical Overview

Section 3.3 (30) Interpretivism

Section 3.5 (32–34) Assumptions of Phenomenological Research

Section 3.6 (35) One-on-One Interviews

Section 3.3 (37–42) Data Collection Methods

Section 3.4 (43–45) Data Analysis

Qualitative Data Collection Methods

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comfortable if they are seated at a table.

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Find meanings—researcher(s) bring the write-ups together.

Identify inputs to next phase.

File materials securely.

Page 7 of 32 Qualitative Data Collection and Issues In Analysis1

“Focus Group Tutorial.wmv” (5:21) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGsDGFeff5I

“How to Analyse Focus Group Data” (4:30) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIGHSu04_Jg

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Have I constructed questions that are truly open-ended?

Have I developed questions that the intended respondents will understand?

Have I thought through how answers will be recorded?

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What have I learned in pretests?

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Confidentiality Clarify with the interviewee how confidentiality will be maintained.

Input to Prepare for coding or other analysis.

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“Research Interviewing Part 1: Interviews and the Interview Society” http://www.youtube.com/

“Qualitative Research Interviewing—Past, Present, & Future” (6:16) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb70vhcCf8w

“6.3 Projective Techniques” (2:03) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrGMmprttuo

“Introduction to ATLAS.ti” (3:61 [min:s]): https://www.youtube.com/

“Dedoose Video Tutorial 1” (11:51): https://www.youtube.com/

Leximancer https://www.leximancer.com/ “Leximancer 101” (1:39): https://www.youtube.com/

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http://www.qsrinternational.com/ “NVivo Tutorial” (8:14): http://www.youtube.com/

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Phenomenological Research” (10:34 [min:s]) watch?v=LLjKdvVzKXM&list=PLBF62A1FBF336B33D

“Intro to Phenomenology by J Bigelow” (1:06) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb8AjKmvaCU

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“Introduction to Methods of Qualitative Research Ethnographies and Case http://www.youtube.com/

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The Importance of Training and Pretesting

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Analysis and Interpretation

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Computer-Aided Qualitative Research

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“Qualitative Data Analysis 1” (1:22:44) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhgrY3ocjgY

Page 19 of 32 Qualitative Data Collection and Issues In Analysis1