Approaches to Research

Sam Dzever

Positivist
– Objective, stable reality governed by context-free
cause-effect relationships
– Scientific, evidence-based, deductive knowledge
– Research methods structured, replicable,
experimental; results are quantifiable
Interpretive

 Interpretive
– Subjective, socially constructed reality, which must be
interpreted
– Knowledge influenced by multiple realities, sensitive to
context; research aims to uncover the meaning of
phenomena
– Researcher is a co-creator of meaning, brings own
subjective experience to the research, methods try to
capture ‘insider’ knowledge, research conducted in
natural settings
Mixing methodologies

“Let us be done with the arguments of

[qualitative versus quantitative methods] …
and get on with the business of attacking
our problems with the widest array of
conceptual and methodological tools that we
possess and they demand.”

Trow, 1957 In: Ulin et al. (2002) p. 49

Paradigm

“A paradigm of choices rejects

methodological orthodoxy in favour of
methodological appropriateness as the
primary criterion for judging
methodological quality ”

McKinlay JB (1993) In:Baum (1995) p.464

Choosing the appropriate
research methodology

 Quantitative research
– Descriptive (who, how many, where, when, how often)
– Analytic (why – causal links)
– Applied (test interventions – what change)

 Quantitative methods on their own do not offer

sufficient understanding of the complex web of
relationships between the factors that determine
health and disease
Qualitative method
 Qualitative methods help to:
– Explain the factors that influence health and disease
– Understand how individuals and communities
understand health and disease
– Study the interactions between players who are
relevant to a public health issue
 Answer questions like:
– Why did it happen in that context? Why do some
participate and others not? How do professionals
exert their power?
Example:
Smoking and lung cancer

 Epidemiological research has established the

association b/t smoking and lung cancer
 Qualitative methodology helps to explain:
– The power of tobacco companies and advertising
– Reasons why people continue to smoke despite
the evidence
– Social meaning of smoking (eg among women
and the youth)
 Match the research methodology to:
- The type of research question
- The nature of the problem being investigated
 Mixing methodologies
– Qual preliminary to QUANT (generate hypotheses)
– Quant preliminary to QUAL (guides purposive
sampling)
– QUANT followed-up by qual (helps interpret findings)
– QUAL followed-up by quant (tests generalizability)
The steps in designing a
qualitative study (1/3)

1. Establish the general problem to be

investigated
– Of interest to the researcher
2. Stating the purpose of the study
– Based on problem analysis
– Arises from previous studies
– Guided by literature review
– Determined by who will use the research results
The Steps in designing a qualitative
study (2/3)

3. Develop a conceptual/theoretical framework for

the study
4. Formulate general and specific research
questions (aims and objectives)
5. Select a qualitative research design
6. Select a sampling strategy
– Establish site of the research
– Selection of participants
The steps in designing a qualitative
study (3/3)

7. Ensure trustworthiness of the study

8. Determine data collection methods and
develop data collection tools
9. Establish how data will be managed and
analysed
10. Interpretation and discussion of findings
11. Prepare research report
Types of qualitative
research designs

 The case study

 Ethnography
 Grounded theory
 Phenomenology
 Participatory research
The case study

Case study method

The Case Study

 Interest is in an individual case rather than in a

method of inquiry
 Data may be quantitative or qualitative
 Focus on what can be learned from the
individual case
 A ‘case’ may be simple or complex
– Single child
– Class of children
Types of case study

 Intrinsic
– The case itself is of interest
 Instrumental case study
– A particular case is studied to provide insight into an
issue or to refine a theory
 Collective case study
– A number of cases are studied jointly in order to
investigate a phenomenon (instrumental study
extended to several cases)
Ethnography

Ethnographic research
method
Ethnography

 Rooted in anthropology
 Also called participant observation/
naturalistic enquiry
 Ethno = people
 Graphy = describing something
 Characterised by immersion
Role of the observer

 Complete observer
– Behind one-way mirror, invisible role
 Observer as participant
– Known, overt observer
 Participant as observer
– Pseudo-member, research role known
 Complete participant
– Full membership, research role not known
 Amount of time in the field site

Not relevant

Researcher’s Focus of Attention All details

in the
field

Amount of time in the field site

Not Important

Figure: Focusing in field research (Adapted from Neuman 1997)

Grounded Theory

What is grounded
theory?
Grounded Theory
 Rooted in social sciences
 Emphasizes the development of theory
 Which is grounded in data systematically
collected and analyzed (constant comparative
analysis to produce substantive theory)
 Theory must be faithful to the evidence
 Looks for generalisable theory - by making
comparisons across situations
 Focus is on patterns of action and interaction
Phenomenology

What is
phenomenological
research?
Features of Phenomenology

 Rooted in philosophy
 Central question: what is the meaning,
structure, and essence of the lived experience
of this phenomenon for this person/group of
people?
 How is each individual’s subjective reality
applied to make experiences meaningful?
 Analysis of the language used
Approaches to Participatory
Research

What is participatory
research?
Participatory Action Research (PAR)

 Emphasizes the political aspects of knowledge

production
 Concerned about power and powerlessness –
empowerment through conscientisation (building
self-awareness and constructing knowledge)
 Importance of people’s lived experience –
‘honour the wisdom of the people’
 Concerned with genuine collaboration
 Democratic values
Action Research

 Build action theories - action science

 Aim is to develop effective action, improve
practice, and implement change
 Cyclical process, alternating between action
and reflection
Action-research groups
 Action-learning group – facilitated or self-
directed
– Emphasis on individual learning
– Reflection-in-action
– Reflection-on-action
 Action-research team
– Focus on operational problems
– Facilitated (technical to empowering continuum)
Sampling in qualitative research

What are the main

issues in sampling?
Considerations in sampling

 Purpose of qualitative research

– Produce information-rich data
– Depth rather than breadth
– Insight rather than generalisation
 Conceptual rather than numerical
considerations
– Choose information-rich sites and respondents
Common sampling approach

 Purposive sampling
– Not haphazard
– Select information-rich cases
– Not the same as convenience sampling
Purposive Sampling Strategies (1/2)

 Deviant case sampling

– Information rich cases that are unusual (e.g. In Search
of Excellence)
 Intensity sampling
– Excellent examples of the phenomenon of interest but
not highly unusual cases
 Heterogenous sampling
– Sample people with diverse characteristics to see
whether there are common patterns
Purposive sampling Strategies (2/2)

 Homogenous samples
– Describe a particular sub-group in depth
 Typical case sampling
– To describe and illustrate what is typical to a particular
setting
 Snowball sampling
– Through informants identify others who know a lot about
the issue
 Opportunistic sampling
– Taking advantage of on-the-spot opportunities
Considerations in sample size

 Saturation
 Redundancy
 Minimum samples based on expected
reasonable coverage, given the purpose of
the study and constraints
Ensuring the trustworthiness of
qualitative research

Is qualitative research
trustworthy?
Criteria for judging the quality and
credibility of qualitative research

 Criteria for judging the quality of qualitative

research specific to the research design
selected
 General criteria include:
– Clear exposition of data collection and analysis
methods
– Generating and assessing rival conclusions
 Alternative themes, divergent patterns, rival explanations
 Attention to negative cases
Triangualtion (1/2)
– Triangulation
 Methods – interviews, observations, document analysis
 Sources – public/private, over time, different
perspectives
 Analysts – multiple analysts, independent analysis and
compare findings
 Theories – to understand how diferent assumptions
affect findings, illuminate inconsistencies
Triangulation (2/2)
– Respondent validation
– Reflexivity
 The researcher as research instrument
– Relevance
 Adds to/affirms existing knowledge
 Generalisable to similar settings
Ethical considerations

 Informed consent
– Possible risks and benefits
– Voluntary participation
– Assurances of confidentiality
– Purpose of the research
– How chosen to be a participant
– Data collection procedures
– Whom to contact with questions and concerns
Data Collection Methods

Issues in data collection

method
Observation
 Purpose of observation
– Describe the setting
– First-hand experience – assists with analysis
– See what is normally taken for granted or not easily
spoken about
– Confirm perceptions of respondents

 Requires training, preparation and discipline

 Develop an observation checklist
Types of observation

 Observer as outsider - unobtrusive

 Participant observation
 Mystery client technique
Sources of observational data
 The setting
 The human and social environment
 Historical information
 Planned activities
 Informal interactions and unplanned activities
 ‘Native’ language
 Nonverbal communication
 Unobtrusive observations
 Documents
 What does not happen
 Oneself
Document review
 Negotiate access to important documents at
the beginning of the study
 Can help the researcher to identify what
needs to be pursued further in direct
observation and interviews
 Respect confidentiality – to what extent is the
document a public document?
 Use checklist to guide document review
Interviewing

 Purpose of interviews
– Elicit feelings
– Thoughts
– Opinions
– Previous experiences
– The meaning people give to certain events
Types of interviews

 Informal conversational interview

 General interview guide approach
 Standardized open-ended interview
 Closed fixed-response interview
 Combination of approaches
Types of questions

 Experience and behavior questions

 Opinion and value questions
 Feeling questions
 Knowledge questions
 Background/demographic questions
Focus Group Discussion

 Purpose of FGD
– Get a variety of perspectives/reactions to a
certain issue
– In a short time
– Mainly for eliciting opinions, values, feelings
Advantages

 Cost-effective
 Quality of data enhanced by group
participants
 Can quickly assess the extent to which there
is agreement or diversity on an issue
 Enjoyable for participants
Limitations
 Restricts number of questions that can be asked
 Responses by each participant may be constrained
 Requires group process skills
 Silences the minority view
 Confidentiality not assured
 Explores major themes, not subtle differences
 Outside of natural setting
Qualitative data analysis

Stages in qualitative
data analysis
Stages in qualitative data analysis (1/4)

 Qualitative data analysis is a non-linear /

iterative process
– Numerous rounds of questioning, reflecting,
rephrasing, analysing, theorising, verifying after
each observation, interview, or Focus Group
Discussion
Stages in qualitative data analysis (2/4)

 During data collection

– Reading – data immersion – reading and re-
reading
– Coding – listen to the data for emerging themes
and begin to attach labels or codes to the texts
that represent the themes
Stages in qualitative data analysis (3/4)
 After data collection
– Displaying – the themes (all information)
– Developing hypotheses, questioning and
verification
– Reducing – from the displayed data identify the
main points
Stages in qualitative data analysis (4/4)
 Interpretation (2 levels)
– At all stages – searching for core meanings of
thoughts, feelings, and behaviours described
– Overall interpretation
 Identify how themes relate to each other
 Explain how study questions are answered
 Explain what the findings mean beyond the context of
your study
Processes in qualitative data analysis
1. Reading / Data immersion
– Read for content
 Are you obtaining the types of information you
intended to collect
 Identify emergent themes and develop tentative
explanations
 Note (new / surprising) topics that need to be explored
in further fieldwork
– Read noting the quality of the data
 Have you obtained superficial or rich and deep
responses
 How vivid and detailed are the descriptions of
observations
 Is there sufficient contextual detail
 Problems in the quality of the data require a review of:
– How you are asking questions (neutral or leading)
– The venue
– The composition of the groups
– The style and characteristics of the interviewer
– How soon after the field activity are notes recorded
 Develop a system to identify problems in the data (audit
trail)
- Read identifying patterns
- After identifying themes, examine how these are
patterned
– Do the themes occur in all or some of the data
– Are their relationships between themes
– Are there contradictory responses
– Are there gaps in understanding – these require further
exploration
2. Coding –
 No standard rules of how to code
– Emergent
– Borrowed
 Record coding decisions
– Record codes, definitions, and revisions
 Usually - insert codes / labels into the margins
 Building theme related files
– Cut and paste together into one file similarly coded blocks
of text
– NB identifiers that help you to identify the original source
 Identify sub-themes and explore them in greater depth
Displaying
3. data
Displaying data
– Capture the variation or richness of each theme
– Note differences between individuals and sub-
groups
– Return to the data and examine evidence that
supports each sub-theme
 Developing hypotheses, questioning,
4.verification
Developing hypotheses, questioning and verification
– Extract meaning from the data
– Do the categories developed make sense?
– What pieces of information contradict my emerging ideas?
– What pieces of information are missing or
underdeveloped?
– What other opinions should be taken into account?
– How do my own biases influence the data collection and
analysis process?
Data
5.Datareduction
reduction
i.e.distill the information to make visible the most essential
concepts and relationships
– Get an overall sense of the data
– Distinguish primary/main and secondary/sub-
themes
– Separate essential from non-essential data
– Use visual devices – e.g. matrices, diagrams
Interpretation
6. Interpretation
i.e. identifying the core meaning of the data, remaining
faithful to to the perspectives of the study participants
but with wider social and theoretical relevance
– Credibility of attributed meaning
 Consistent with data collected
 Verified with respondents
 Present multiple perspectives (convergent and
divergent views)
 Did you go beyond what you expected to find?