QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

FALL 2021

CHAPTER 16
WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT AND THE POLITICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH
 SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS: QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES
BY W. LAWRENCE NEUMAN, 7TH ED. PEARSON

Presented by: Reem Shaker

Supervision : Prof Adel
Rayan
RESEARCH REPORT

• A research report is a written document (or oral presentation based on a written

document) that communicates the methods and findings of a research project to others.
WRITING PROCESS

• You should know enough about:

• Audience: know for whom you are writing
• Style and Tone: A research report should be objective, accurate, and clear.
• Organizing Thoughts: something to write about, create outlines (figure 1)
• familiarity with the literature before beginning a project, and after
completing data collection and analysis.
• avoid plagiarism, use Paraphrasing
THREE STEPS OF QRITING PROCESS

1. Prewriting: Prepare to write by arranging notes on the literature, making lists of ideas,
outlining, completing bibliographic citations, and organizing comments on data analysis.
2. Composing: Get your ideas onto paper as a first draft, a complete report from beginning
to end, not a few rough notes or an outline, by freewriting, drawing up the bibliography
and footnotes, preparing data for presentation, and forming an introduction and
conclusion.
3. Rewriting: Evaluate and polish the report by revising to add new ideas, delet or move
sentences, and editing such as spelling grammar mistakes.
RESEARCH REPORT

• The Quantitative Research Report : The sections of the report roughly follow the
sequence of steps of a research project.
• The Qualitative Research Report : writing a report on qualitative research is more
difficult, fewer rules and less structure.
THE QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH REPORT
• Field research:
• In presenting field research evidence,
authors often have a data reduction
dilemma
• error of segregation between data
presentation and analysis
• A field research report has no fixed
organization to follow
• There are many acceptable organizational
forms :
• organizing evidence and analysis: writers can organize the report in terms of
• a natural history,
• an unfolding of events as the writer discovered them,
• as a chronology
• As a zoom lens : to begin broadly and then increasingly focus narrowly on a specific topic

• the field research report is organized around key concepts and themes
• The method is discussed in the report, but its location and form vary.
1. One techniques is “confessional” style of writing: interweave a description of the
setting, the means of gaining access, the role of the researcher, and the
participant/researcher relationship into the discussion of evidence and analysis.
2. A chronological, zoom lens, or theme-based organization techniques place the data
collection method near the beginning or the end.
3. ,book-length reports techniques: writers usually put methodological issues in a separate
appendix.
• For ethical considerations : usually the names of members and exact locations in field
reports are changed.
HISTORICAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH

• basic modes of organizing historical- comparative research reports :

• by topic
• by topic and chronological order
• By chronological order
• Mixing both (information can be organized chronologically within topics or organized by
topic within chronological periods).
HISTORICAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH

• researchers “tell a story” or describe details in general analytic categories.

• includes limited generalizations and abstract concepts.
• Explicit sections of the report or an appendix describing methods are uncommon.
• a book-length report has a bibliographic essay that describes major sources used
• detailed footnotes or endnotes identify sources and other evidence
• photographs, maps, diagrams, charts, and tables of statistics appear in the section that discusses the
evidence to which they relate.
• Few tests of specific hypotheses as quantitative research does.
• H-C researchers mimic the quantitative research report and use quantitative research
techniques in writing their studies yielding reports that follow the model of a quantitative
research report.
• Researchers who use narrative analysis often adopt a narrative style of report writing.
They organize data chronologically and try to “tell a story”
THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

• A research proposal is a document that presents a plan for a project to re- viewers for
evaluation. (Can be part of an educational , can be proposed to a funding agency )
• similar to a research report, but is written before beginning research
• describes the research question and its importance, offers a literature review, and provides
a detailed account of the techniques and methods that will be used.
PROPOSALS FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

• more difficult to write because the research process itself is less structured and
preplanned.
• prepare a topic/problem statement, literature review, and bibliography.
• demonstrate your ability to com- plete a proposed qualitative project in two ways :
1. prepare a well-written proposal with an extensive discussion of the literature,
significance of the problem, and sources.
2. describe a qualitative pilot study
• Proposals to Fund Research: A research grant provides the resources required to
complete a worthy project provided by Colleges, private foundations, and government
agencies.
VALUE-FREE, OBJECTIVE RESEARCH

• value-free, objective social science research is impossible. However, the following provides how to
achieve them.
• 1. Objective:
• Opposite of subjective; external, observable, factual, precise, quantitative
• Logical; created by an explicit rational procedure; absence of personal or arbitrary decisions; follows specific
preestablished rules

• 2. Value-free:
• Absence of any metaphysical values or assumptions; devoid of a priori philosophical elements; amoral
• Lack of influence from personal prejudice or cultural values; devoid of personal opinion; no room for
unsupported views; neutral
• 3. Unbiased:
• Nonrandom error eliminated; absence of systematic error; technically correct
• Lack of influence from personal prejudice or cultural values; devoid of personal opinion;
no room for unsupported views; neutral