Qualitative Research

Methods
Lecture 6
 Outcomes
• Describe the purposes and main characteristics of ethnographic
research
• Describe the purposes and main characteristics of case study research
• Describe the purposes and main characteristics of content analysis
• Explain the steps to follow, when using the above three methods in
research
• Identify advantages and limitation of these three research methods
• Apply either of the three methods discussed as appropriate, when
conducting educational research
 Ethnographic Research
• It is a way of studying and describing human culture.
• Stress human behaviour in the context of culture, in order to gain an understanding
of the cultural phenomena, rules and norms
• The emphasis on culture, distinguishes this method from other forms of qualitative
research
• This study of a particular group of people over a long period of through detailed
observation and discussion about the culture in which they exist.
• This process is known as “participatory observation”, which is the main data
collecting technique in ethnography
• The researcher has to play a dual role (group member as well as a observer)
• Data reflect the participants’ own point of view
 Definitions
• Ethnography refers primarily to a particular method or set of methods. In its
most characteristic form it involves the ethnographer, participating overtly or
covertly, in people’s daily lives for an extended period of time, watching what
happens, listening to what is said, asking questions – in fact collecting whatever
data are available to throw light on the issues that are the focus of research
(Hammersly and Atkinson, 1989).
• Ethnography is a research process based on fieldwork using a variety of research
techniques (observation, interview, collection of objects & artifacts) which
includes engagement in the lives of those being studied over an extended period of
time. The eventual written product –an ethnography – draws its data primarily
from this fieldwork experience and usually emphasises descriptive detail as a
result (Davis, 1999).
WHY IS THE ETHNOGRAPHIC METHOD CHOSEN IN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ?
• you want to know “why” people behave in a certain way over a period of time
• you want to understand a phenomenon in its natural setting
• you want to know how, when and why people behave the way they do when
they interact with others in a particular setting or situation (i.e. social
interaction)
• you want data to support your understanding of the complexity of society
• Furthermore, ethnography with the emphasis on people's lived experiences is
well suited for locating the meanings people place on the events, processes, and
patterns of their lives (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 11).
 What is it, and when can we use it?
• A classic example in the field of medicine was reported Rosenhan (1973), in
which researchers managed to get themselves admitted as patients to a mental
hospital. - participant observation
1. The search for meanings (cultural norms, the use of language, worldviews etc)
2. The examination of certain behaviour and practices
3. The examination of ‘episodes’ (things such as divorce, crime, illness etc)
4. The examination of ‘encounters’ (social interaction)
5. The examination of ‘roles’ (in families, organizations, relationships etc)
6. The examination of ‘relationships’ (in groups, social circles, sports teams, etc)
7. The study of organizations
8. The study of ‘settlements’ (while, unlike anthropologists, we don’t study entire
societies, we are often interested in finding out how certain subsets or segments of
it work
Common Characteristics of Ethnography
• 1. Participant observation: As we have noted, fieldwork is about participating
in the actual (i.e. naturalistic) research setting as much as possible.
• 2. Social relationships: fieldwork assumes that the researcher(s) establish a
long term relationship with those being researched. This extends over time and
a variety of settings.
• 3. Long-term contact: The research is based on long term contact with those
being researched. This allows the researcher to experience the regular patterns
and routines of the community/organization of study, as well as seeing how it
responds to novel situations.
• 4. The researcher as learner: The researcher assumes a role where they know
very little and are in the research setting to learn. This contrasts with the
conventional quantitative paradigm where the researcher is often presented as
an ‘expert’ in a particular area at the outset
 Characteristics …..
• 5. First-hand information: Information gathered by the researcher is gathered firsthand from direct
contact with the respondents. It is this first-hand contact that is used to achieve the understanding of
complex issues, structures etc.
• 6. Eclectic approach: The use of different data-collection techniques (also known as ‘methodological
pluralism’) is a cornerstone of fieldwork. The various techniques and sources of information are used
to cross-check the concepts and constructs generated.
• 7. Reflexive: Fieldwork involves a dynamic form of data collection that evolves and is self-
correcting. Initial interviews and observations are used to fine-tune the research instruments or
redirect the research process. New knowledge and information are used not only for understanding
and explaining the research object but also for adjusting the approach, design, and methods so that the
research topic can be studied more effectively.
• 8. Comparative: Fieldwork is comparative. Anthropological fieldwork compares cultures but in
sociology (like psychology) we are mostly interested in studying our own cultures. To assist here, we
feign what we call ‘anthropological strangeness’ to enable that comparison. This involves the
suspension of our cultural understandings and attempting to record something as though we are
seeing it for the first time
 How Do Ethnographers Collect Their
Information
• Fieldwork is based on the collection of first-hand information,
gathered from direct contact with the people in the research setting of
choice.
• Fieldwork uses two basic techniques to collect information - looking
(observation) and asking (unstructured interviewing).
• The most common way we achieve this is with an ‘observation guide’.
These guides are written before going into the field. They alert us to
the important elements of the setting, based on the relevant theories,
that we need to lookout for.
• Fieldnotes should stress what is seen, rather than what it is assumed.
 Analysis
• 1 data reduction
• 2. data organization
• 3. data interpretation
• Interpretation of their field notes, the ethnographer attempts to find out
whether the observed events can be explained
• These interpretations form a grounded theory – a theory of what is
happening grounded in what the researcher has seen
• Later observations cause this theory to be confirmed or modified.
 Stages in an ethnographic research
• Locating a field and a group to be studied
• Gaining access and joining the group
• Developing field relations and initial data collection
• Data collection
• Analysis and interpretation of data
• Report writing
 Advantages of ethnographic research
• The possibility of making a study of a social process through
observing human behaviour in its natural settings
• Provides a better understanding of a specific culture/subculture
• Emphasis is on describing the meaning of the situation for those
involved in it
• Provide an insider’s view of the social setting
• Will generate hypothesis or theory grounded in observations and it
will lead to new insights
• To provide detailed description about the culture and life style of the
group of people being studied, in a way they see it themselves
• Better understanding about the beliefs, motivations and behaviours
of the group of people under study, from their point of view
 Limitations
• Vary laborious, time consuming and may be expensive
• Training and practice are needed to be a skilled participant – observer
• Conflict may arise between the two roles
• Danger of researcher becoming over-involved in the group and losing
detachment is also present
• Observations are subjective and biases. Issues with the reliability and
validity of data
• Cannot be repeated
• Findings cannot be generalized
 2. Case study
• A detailed examination of one setting or one single subject ,or one single
depository of documents, or one particular event (Bogdan & Bikien,
1982)
• It is an intensive study of an individual unit, that may be a student, a class, a
school community, a programme, or even and event, which is called ‘the
case’
• When,”how” or ‘why’ questions are being asked
• When the investigator has little or no control over events, and
• When the focus is on a contemporary phenomenon within some real-life
context (Yin, 1994)
 Main steps in a case study research
• Identification of a problem/issue
• Selection of the case and identification of boundaries
• Formulating initial case study questions
• Making study propositions
• Collection and recording of data
• Analysis and interpretation of data
• Report writing
 3. Content Analysis
• Content analysis is a method of analyzing written, verbal or visual
communication messages (Cole 1988).
• The purpose of content analysis is to finding out ‘Who says what, to
whom, why, to what extent and with what effect?’ (Lasswell, 1948)
• Shannon and Hsiu (2005) defined qualitative content analysis as a
research method for interpretation of text through a systematic
method of coding and identifying themes or patterns.
 MANIFEST CONTENT AND LATENT
CONTENT
• What is Manifest?
• • That which is clear or obvious to the eye or mind. • Obvious, clear,
apparent, evident, overt, glaring, explicit, conspicuous, noticeable,
observable
• What is Latent?
• • That which is present but not visible or apparent • Something that is
lying dormant, hidden or concealed or untapped.
 The following are what can be counted
when doing content analysis
• Words.
• Themes
• Characters
• Paragraphs
• Items
• Concepts
• Semantics
 FIVE main types of texts in content
analysis:
• 1. Written text, such as books and papers
• 2. Oral text, such as speeches and theatrical performances
• 3. Iconic text, such as drawings, paintings, and images
• 4. Audio-Visual text, such as TV programmes, movies, and videos
• 5. Hypertexts which are texts found on the internet such as websites,
social media, blogs and others
DEDUCTIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS
• Content analysis is a systematic and objective method of analyzing
documents with the aim of grouping words and phrases into
categories or themes which share the same meaning. The themes or
categories will give new insights about the data. In other words, the
researcher uses content analysis to condense the broad text into
themes and categories to describe a phenomenon.
• The approach is often used in cases where the researcher wishes to
test general principles, categories, concepts, models or hypotheses. In
deduction, thought always moves from the general to the particular.
Steps in the Deductive Content Analysis Approach
 Steps in deductive analysis
• Step 1 - Preparation
• a) Decide on the theory or hypothesis to be tested.
• b) List the Research Questions for the study.
• Step 2 – Select Unit of Analysis (or What Gets Counted?)
• a) Start with selecting the unit of analysis which can be word, paragraph
and so forth. [Refer to above the discussion on “What to Count or Unit of
Analysis”]
• b) If the text is very large, some researchers take samples of word or
paragraphs. However, the words or paragraphs taken must be
representative of large text (or population) from which it was drawn
 Step 3 – Develop Categories

a) Develop categories based on an earlier theory or model or what earlier research has
demonstrated.
b) Name and Label each category. e.g. Anger and the words that can be classified under the
Category of Anger may be – fed-up, irritated, disgusted and others.
Step 4 – Make Sense of the Data
• a) The researcher analyses the data with predetermined categories.
• b) When reading the data, the researcher asks these questions:
• • who is telling what?
• • where is this happening?
• • when did it happen?
• • what is happening?
• • why?
 Step 5 – Slot Coded Data into Categories

a) See Figure 9.4 which shows the researcher having predetermined 3 Categories: •
Category # 1 = Self-Confidence
• Category # 2 = Self-Regulation
• Category # 3 = Empathy
b) The researcher examines in detail the text and identifies several words expressing
‘Self-Confidence’. The following is an example of raw data which is coded under the
Category – Self-Confidence
“Of course there had been some little problems, but we solved them all, either I
myself or the student gave in, depends who made a mistake”
c) The same process is repeated for the other categories. • In the example, the
researcher has identified 4 words that can be fitted into Category #2: Self-Regulation.
 Step 6 – Reporting

a) This is the writing stage where the researcher explains

whether the coded data fits into the different categories.
b) Provide examples of coded text to illustrate a category.
c) Are there categories which cannot be supported by the text
you examined, even though earlier study and theory argues
there is such a category?
d) It is also possible that there is more evidence for Category
A but there is very little evidence for Category B from the text
examined? Explain why?
Inductive Approach in Content Analysis
Step 1 - Preparation
Inductive analysis steps
a) Keep and open mind because the researcher does not have predetermined categories. b) The
researcher has a broad idea on what is to be achieved.
Step 2 – Select Unit of Analysis (or What Gets Counted?)
a) Start with selecting the unit of analysis which can be word, paragraph and so forth. [Refer to
above the discussion on “What to Count or Unit of Analysis”]
b) If the text is very large, some researchers take samples of word or paragraphs. However, the
words or paragraphs taken must be representative of large text (or population) from which it was
drawn
c) Use probability or judgment sampling when the document or text is too large to be analysed in
its entirety. “You can’t count it all”
d)Decide on the unit of analysis, i.e. whether the researcher is intending to use individual words
and phrases or whole paragraphs from the text
 Step 3 - Open Coding
• Open coding means that notes and headings are written in the text while
reading it
• The data: “We could find another municipality to live in, if we wanted and
there are other options, and it was very clear, that it was not just a hint that
there were other places to live, so it was very comfortable”.
• From the data above, the researcher extracted TWO codes:
• • Lack of empathy
• • Lack of help from the system
The written material is read through again, and as many headings as
necessary are written down in the margins to describe all aspects of the
content
Example of Open Coding of Text
 Step 4 – Generate Categories
• The headings are collected from the margins on to coding sheets and categories are freely generated at this
stage.
• • After this open coding, the lists of categories are grouped under higher order headings. The aim of
grouping data is to reduce the number of categories by collapsing those that are similar or dissimilar into
broader higher order categories
• The 3 different words and phrases are extracted from the text and combined to generate Category #
• 1: Understanding their Emotions. Similarly, 4 words and phrases are extracted from the text to generate
Category #
• 2: Using their Emotions. • However, Dey (1993) points out that creating categories is not simply bringing
together observations that are similar or related; instead, data are being classified as ‘belonging’ to a
particular group and this implies a comparison between these data and other observations that do not
belong to the same category.
• • The purpose of generating or creating categories is to provide a means of describing the phenomenon, to
increase understanding and to generate knowledge (Cavanagh 1997).
• • When formulating categories by inductive content analysis, the researcher comes to a decision, through
interpretation, as to which things to put in the same category.
 Step 5 – Abstraction
• Abstraction is the process of grouping categories to reduce
the number of categories to provide a general description of
the research topic.
• Each category is named using content-characteristic words.
• One could move from sub-category to generic category to
main category. Subcategories with similar events and
incidents are grouped together as categories and categories
are grouped as main categories.
• The abstraction process continues as far as is reasonable and
possible.
 LEARNING ACTIVITY
• a) What is induction process?
• b) Discuss the inductive content analysis approach.
• c) How is inductive content analysis different from deductive content
analysis?
• d) What is open coding?
•Thank you for
listening