Qualitative

Research Methods
WEEK 10
COMMUNICATION RESEARCH METHODS (COM569)
Chapter Outline

 Five approaches of Qualitative Paradigm

 Aims and Philosophy
 Mixed Methods Research
 Data Analysis in Qualitative Research
 In-Person vs. Online
 Field Observation
 Focus Groups
 Intensive Interviews
 Case Studies
 Ethnography
 Writing the Qualitative Research Report
Five (5) Approaches of
Qualitative Research
 Five (5) approaches (Cresswell, 2006):
 (i) Phenomenology
 (ii) Ethnography
 (iii) Narrative Research
 (iv) Case Study
 (v) Grounded Theory
Aims and Philosophy
 Three distinct approaches to social science research
(Neuman, 1997; Blaikie, 1993):
 (i) Positivist (objectivist)
 (ii) interpretive (post-positivist)
 (iii) critical (post-positivist)
 Qualitative has been used to refer to:
 (i) a broad philosophy and approach to research
 (ii) a research methodology
 (iii) a specific set of research techniques
 Paradigm (model) of a research:
 An accepted set of theories, procedures, and assumptions
about how researchers look at the world
 It is based on axioms (statements) that are universally
accepted as true
 It is strongly related to the selection of research
methodologies
 Types:
 Positivist Paradigm:
 Involves such concepts as quantification,
hypotheses, objective measures (Comte and Mill)
 Interpretive Paradigm:
 Is to understand how people in everyday natural
settings create meaning and interpret the events
of their world (Max Weber and Wilhelm Dilthey)
 Critical Paradigm:
 Draws on analysis models used in the humanities
(e.g. the interests towards concepts of power
distribution and political ideology in society)
(Cont.)  Positivist Paradigm vs. Interpretive Paradigm
Positivist Paradigm Interpretive Paradigm

Philosophy of Reality: Philosophy of Reality:

Reality is objective (can be seen by Reality is subjective (reality exists as
all) part of the research process)

Views of the individuals: Views of the individuals:

All human beings are similar and All human beings are fundamentally
looks for general categories to different and and cannot be
summarize their behaviors or feelings pigeonholed

Laws of Behaviors: Laws of Behaviors:

To generalize on human behaviors Individuals are unique (they should
and explain it across many settings assessed from various situations and
(strive for breadth) settings) (strive for depth)
  Five major research areas in differentiating
(Cont.) positivist and interpretive approaches:
Positivist Approach Interpretive Approach

Role of the researcher: Role of the researcher:

Strives for objectivity and is separated from
the data
Design:
Being determined before it begins
Setting:
Limiting the contaminating and confounding
variables by conducting investigations in
controlled settings
Researcher is an integral part of the data
(without the active participation of the
researcher, no data exist)
Design:
Design evolves during the research and can be
adjusted or changed upon progress
Setting:
The conduct of study on selected field towards
natural surroundings with the attempt to
capture the normal flow of events without
controlling extraneous variables.

Measurement Instruments: Measurement Instruments:

Exists even in the absence of the original
researcher (another party could use it)
Theory Building:
Theory will be used to test, support and reject
claims
Researcher is the instrument (without having
any individuals to substitute)
Theory Building:
Theory to be developed as part of the research
process—where theory is ‘data driven” and
emerges
Mixed Methods Research

 Cresswell (2003) defines a mixed methods-

design as an approach which researcher
collects, analyzes, and integrates both
quantitative and qualitative data in a single
study or multiple studies in a sustained
program of inquiry.
 Researchers who advocate this approach
are less interested in debating whether
quantitative philosophy is compatible with
qualitative philosophy and are more
interested in using the approach (or
combination of approaches) that works best
in examining the research question.
(Cont.)
 Three basic approaches of Mixed Methods Design)
 (Figure 5.1; page 121)
 Concurrent Model
 (i) QUAL + QUAN
 Both qualitative and quantitative data are
collected at the same time and both are
weighted equally in analysis and
interruption (e.g. a survey questionnaire or
interview that contains both closed-ended
quantitative items and open-ended
qualitative items)
 Sequential Models (one method precedes the
other)
 (ii) QUAL -> QUAN
 e.g. a focus groups that generate items to
be used in a subsequent survey in order to
more fully understand the results
 (iii) QUAN -> QUAL
 e.g. a survey that generate an in-depth
interview to deepen the understanding a
phenomenology
(Cont.)
 Advantages:
 (i) Produce stronger evidence for a conclusion
through a convergence of findings
 (ii) A broader range of research questions can be
answered since the research is not confined to a
single method
 (iii) Information and insights can be provided
from the research that might be missed of only a
single method were used
 Disadvantages:
 (i) It requires more time and effort because the
researcher is actually conducting two studies.
 (ii) The technique requires the researcher to be
skilled in both qualitative and quantitative
methods
 (iii) Data analysis might be more difficult
particularly if the methods yield conflicting
results
Data Analysis in Qualitative
Research
 (i) Preparing the Data: Reduction and Display
 Data are arranged in chronological order according
to the sequence of events that occurred during the
investigation
 Each piece of information is coded to identify the
source, and multiple photocopies and computer files
of notes, transcripts, and other documents are
mandatory
 Then data are then organized into a preliminary
category system
(Cont.)
(ii) Data analysis: Conclusion Drawing
 Constant Comparative Technique (frequently called
grounded theory)
 Four steps:
 (i) Comparatively assigning incidents to categories
 If some units of analysis do not fit any
preexisting category, new classifications may
have to be created
 Units that fit into more than one category
should be copied and included where relevant
 Throughout the process, the emphasis is on
comparing units and findings similarities among
the units that fit into the category
(Cont.)
 (ii) Elaborating and refining categories
 During the category refinement stage, the researcher
writes rules or propositions that attempt to describe the
underlying meaning that defines the category
 Some rules for inclusion might be rewritten and revised
throughout the study
 (iii) Searching for relationships and themes among
categories
 Researcher examines the propositional statements and
looks for meaningful connections
 Some propositions are probably strong enough to stand
alone; others might be related in several important ways
(Cont.)
 (iv) Simplifying and integrating data into a coherent
theoretical structure
 Results of the foregoing analyses are integrated into some
coherent explanation of a phenomenon

 Analytical Induction Technique (blends hypothesis

construction and data analysis) consisting of the
following steps:
 (i) define a topic of interest and develop a hypothesis
 (ii) Study a case to see whether the hypothesis works. It it
doesn’t, reformulate it
 (iii) Study other cases until the hypothesis is in refined form
 (iv) Look for “negative cases” that might disprove the
hypothesis. Reformulate again
 (v) Continue until the hypothesis is adequately tested

(iii) Verification: Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Data
 Why is it important to perform on reliability and validity in
QD?
 (i) Data completeness issue
 (ii) Selective perception (data needs to be fit over
explanations rather than dismiss it)
 (iii) Reactivity—when the act of observing some
situation changes the situation itself (Would the same
things have occurred if researchers were not there?
 FOUR FACTORS that help build credibility:
 (i) Multiple methods of data collection
 (ii) Audit trail (allow others to examine the
thought processes involved in the researcher’s
work and allow them to assess the accuracy of
the conclusions)
 (iii) Member checks (research participants are
asked to read a researcher’s notes and
conclusions and tell whether the researcher has
accurately described what they were told
 (iv) Research team (team members keep each
other honest and on target when describing and
interpreting data)
In-Person vs. Online
 In-Person:
 (i) data are ‘richer’, in that observers can see the
physical responses and surroundings of their
respondents (body language and facial
expressions can add to understanding)
 (ii) Respondents do not need special computer or
keyboarding skills
 (iii) Projective tests and product demonstrations
are possible
 (iv) Group dynamics can offer clues to analysis
and interpretation
 (v) Researcher is an integral part of the data
collection
(Cont.)

 With online qualitative research:

 (i) coverage of wide geographic areas is possible
 (ii) online behavior of large groups (for example
Facebook users) can be observed
 (iii) responses may be more thoughtful and
contain more information. Recruiting busy
respondents is easier since the research can take
place at the respondents’ convenience
 There is no bias for or against vocal or outgoing
respondents
 Expenses are often substantially lower than other
approaches
Field Observation
 Field observation is useful for collecting data and for
generating hypotheses and theories
 It is classified along two major dimensions:
 (i) The degree to which the researcher participates in the
behavior under observation
 (ii) The degree to which the observation is concealed
 Four types:
 Quadrant 1 (Overt Observation): Researcher is identified
when the study begins, and those under observation are
aware that they are being studied
 Quadrant 2 (Overt Participation): The researcher goes
beyond the observer role and become a participant in a
situation
 Quadrant 3: Researcher’s role is limited to that of
observer but those under observation are not aware they
are being studied
 Quadrant 4: Researcher participates in the process under
investigation but it is not identified as a researcher
(Cont.)
 Advantages:
 Helps researchers define basic background
information necessary to frame a hypothesis and
to isolate independent and dependent variables
 It often make excellent pilot studies because
they identify important variables and provide
useful preliminary information
 It is not dependent on the subjects’ ability or
willingness to report their behavior
 It is particularly suitable for a study of the
gatekeeping process in a network television news
department because it is difficult to quantify
gatekeeping
 Provide access to groups that would otherwise be
difficult to observe or examine
 Inexpensive
(Cont.)
 Disadvantages:
 Validation is difficult to be represented (sampling problems)
 Potential biasness
 Problem of reactivity (observation process among subject being
observed may influence the behavior under study
 Field Observation Techniques:
 Choosing the research site
 Qualitative researchers should avoid choosing sites where they are well
known or have some involvement in the area
 Gaining access
 Two common issues in getting access:
 How the public setting is
 Willingness of the subjects in the setting to be observed
 Ways of gaining access (Lindlof, 1995):
 Identify the scene’s gatekeeper and attempt to persuade him or
her of the project’s relevance
 Find a sponsor who can vouch for the usefulness of the project
and can help locate participants
 Negotiate an agreement with partcipants
(Cont.)
 Sampling
 Ambiguous issues of sampling:
 (i) problem in determining number of
individuals or groups to be observed
 (ii) problem in deciding what behavior
episodes or segments to sample
 (iii) Most field observations use purposive
sampling, where observers draw on their
knowledge of the subject(s) under study and
sample only from the relevant behaviors or
events
 Sampling strategies:
 Maximum variation sampling
 Settings, activities, events, and
informants are purposefully to yield as
many different and varied situations as
possible
(Cont.)
 Snowball sampling
 A participant refers the researcher to
another person who can provide
information. This person, in turn,
mentions another, and so forth
 Typical case sampling
 The researcher chooses cases that
seem to be most representative of the
topic under study
 Extreme case sampling
 The researcher looks for highly unusual
examples of the phenomenon under
study
 Politically important case sampling
 The researcher examines cases that
have attracted major attention
(Cont.)
 Collecting data (tools to be used)
 Audio and video recording drawbacks:
 (i) recording devices take time away from the
research process because they need regular
calibration and adjustment to work properly
 (ii) the frame of the recording is different from
the frame of the observer; a human observer’s
field of view is about 180o, whereas a camera’s is
about 60o
 (iii) recordings have to be cataloged, indexed,
and transcribed, and adding extra work to the
project
 (iv) recordings take behavior out of context
 (v) recordings tend to fragment behavior and
distract attention from the overall process
(Cont.)
 Analyzing data
 Constructing a filing system is an important step in
observation (purpose: to arrange a raw field data in
orderly format that is amenable to systematic
retrieval)
 Exiting
 Researcher must plan for leaving the setting or the
group under study
 Exiting can be difficult when participation is covert
 Leaving the scene must be handled with diplomacy
and tact.
(Cont.)
 Field Observation Online:
 In online world, FO usually means observing text
and images on a computer screen
 At one end of the spectrum, the overt participant
would join some online group of interest and
identify himself or herself as a researcher
 At the other end, an overt observer would
monitor, record, and analyze the group’s
messages without taking part in any interactions
 Data analysis in the online setting requires a
different set of skills than those normally used in
real-life observation
 Participant observation takes on a different
meaning online when those being observed are
not people but their representations or avatars
Focus Groups

 FG (or group interviewing) is a research strategy for

understanding people’s attitudes and behavior
 Four defining characteristics (Krueger and Casey,
2000):
 Focus groups involve people (participants)
 The people posses certain characteristics and are
recruited to share a quality or characteristic of
interest to the researcher
 Focus groups usually provide qualitative data
(data of FG are used to enhance understanding
and to reveal a wide range of opinions, some of
which the researcher may not expect)
 FG is a focused discussion
(Cont.)

 Advantages of FG:
 (i) allow researchers to collect preliminary
information about a topic or a phenomenon
 (ii) can be conducted quickly
 (iii) cost is not excessive if the groups provide
valuable data for further research studies
 (iv) flexibility in question design and follow-up
 (v) extended focus group: respondents are
required to complete a written questionnaire
before the group session begins.
 (vi) FG responses are often more complete and
less inhibited than those from individual
interviews
(Cont.)

 Disadvantages of FG:
 A self-appointed group leader who monopolizes the
conversation and attempts to impose his or her opinion on
other participants dominates some groups
 Miss interpretation of benefits of FG among researchers (to
be looking for ‘how much’ or ‘how many’ instead of ‘why’
or ‘how’
 Depend heavily on the skills of the moderator (less skill
lead to poor probing technique)
(Cont.)

 Uses of Focus Groups:

 Self-contained: FG method is the only means of data
collection
 Supplementary: the group discussions form a starting
point or are a source of follow-up data for a quantitative
study
 Multimethod: FG are only one of a number of qualitative
techniques used to collect data about a topic (FG results
might be combined with participant observation, case
studies and interview
 Methodology of Focus Groups:
 (i) Define the problem
 (ii) Select a sample
 (iii) Determine the number of groups necessary
 3 to 4 groups on the same topic to achieve saturation
 (iv) Prepare the study mechanics
 (v) Prepare the focus group materials
 What are good questions (Krueger and Casey, 2000)?
 Sound conversational
 Use the vocabulary of the participants
 Are easy to say
 Are clear
 Are usually short
 Ask about only one topic
 Include clear directions (on how to answer)
 Funnel technique (sequencing FG questions from general to specific
questions)
 (vi) Conduct the session
 (vii) Analyze the data and prepare a summary report
 Online Focus Groups:
 Advantages:
 An online focus group is typically cheaper
 An online focus group can be composed of participants from multiple
geographic areas, eliminating some of the risks associated with regional bias
 The influence of group dynamics may be less in the online situation
 Disadvantages:
 There is no respondent interaction (face-to-face, interpersonal interactions
will always generate more in-depth data than a typed answer from someone
in a foreign location)
 The researcher cannot see the nonverbal reactions of the group (the group
does not have the opportunity to touch and see physical objects, thus
limiting the types of topics that can be discussed)
 To participate, respondents must be able to type and read
 There is no control over the situation (the moderator can never be 100% sure
who is typing the answer)
 In the Web cam situation:
 Respondent interaction is still limited and participants might all talk at
once, making it harder to transcribe the proceedings and lengthening
the time it takes to gather information
 The moderator needs additional skills to manage the web cam situation
 Some respondents may not have web cams or are uncomfortable using
them
 The moderator can see only the participants’ faces and might miss
significant body language information
Intensive Interviews
 Also known as in-depth interviews
 Uniqueness:
 (i) smaller samples
 (ii) provide detailed backgrounds about the
reasons informants give specific answers
 (iii) allow for lengthy observation of
informants’ nonverbal responses
 (iv) long sessions (may last several hours)
 (v) customize to individual informants
 (vi) informant can be influenced by interview
climate
(Cont.)

 Advantages:
 Richness of details
 Accurate responses on sensitive issues
 Stable rapport within researcher and informant
 Disadvantages:
 Generalizibility is limited
 Interviewer biasness
 Interpretations of data if its involved non-original
investigator
Case Studies
 Case studies are conducted when a
researcher needs to understand or
explain a phenomenon
 Four characteristics of case study
research (Merriam, 1988):
 (i) Particularistic (particular event, program, phenomenon;
real-life problems)
 (ii) Descriptive (detailed description of topic being studied)
 (iii) Heuristic (to discover or to learn)
 (iv) Inductive (discovery of new matters rather than verifying
existing hypothesis)
(Cont.)
 Advantages of case studies:
 Provide tremendous details
 Thorough explanation on something that happen
 Ability to deal with a wide spectrum of evidence
(documents, historical artifacts, systematic
interviews, direct observations are incorporated into a
case study)
 Disadvantages of case studies:
 Lack of scientific rigor (a good case study requires a
good deal of time and effort)
 Not amenable to generalization
 Time consuming (and may occasionally produce
massive quantities of data that are hard to
summarize)
(Cont.)
 Conducting a Case Study:
 (i) Design: “How?” and “Why?”
 (ii) Pilot Study: To refine both the research design
and field procedures especially the data collection
strategy from several trial perspectives
 (iii) Data collection:
 Four sources of data can be used in case studies:
 (i) Documents (in a form of letters, memos,
minutes, agendas, historical records,
brochures, pamphlets, posters)
 (ii) Interview
 (iii) Observation/participation
 (iv) Physical artifact (a tool, a piece of
furniture, or even a computer print-out
(Cont.)

 (iv) Data analysis:

 Three broad analytic strategies (Yin, 2003):
 (a) pattern-matching strategy (predicted
pattern comparison)
 (b) explanation building (researcher tries
to construct an explanation about the
cause(s) of the phenomenon
 (c) time-series analysis (researcher tries
to compare a series of data points to some
theoretical trend that was predicted before
the research or to some alternative trend)
Ethnography
 Ethnography
 A process in which researchers spent long periods of time living
with and observing other cultures in a natural setting
 Immersion in the other culture helped the researcher understand
another way of life as seen from the native perspective
 This discipline have been less interested in describing the way of
life of an entire culture and more concerned with analyzing
smaller units: subgroups, organizations, institutions, professions,
audiences
 Sarantakos (1998) suggests Ethnography can be divided into two
groups (i) descriptive and (ii) critical
 Characterized by FOUR (4) qualities:
 (i) it puts the researcher in the middle of the topic under
study; the researcher goes to the data rather than the other
way round
 (ii) it emphasizes studying an issue or topic from the
participants’ frame of reference
 (iii) it involves spending a considerable amount of time in
the field
 (iv) it uses a variety of research techniques, including
observation, interviewing, diary keeping, analysis of existing
documents, photography, video recording, and so on
(Cont.)

 Conducting Ethnographic Research (LeCompte and

Schensul, 1999):
 (i) Define the problem or phenomenon to be explore
 (ii) Determine the field site of research being
studied
 (iii) Gain accessibility and decide in what to
examine
 (iv) Sampling determination
 Key informants: Long-time members of the
group under study who have expert knowledge
of the group’s routines, activities, and
communication patterns
(Cont.)
 (v) Data collection:
Four types of field notes (Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw, 1995):
 Condensed accounts
 Short descriptions written or recorded in the field that highlight the most
important factors that were observed or brought up during an interview
(these descriptions are helpful in highlighting what is to be emphasized in
later accounts)
 Expanded accounts
 Written after the period of observation or after the interview, filling in
details not included in the condensed version (these documents should be as
complete and thorough as possible; it is better to have too much detail than
not enough)
 Fieldwork journal
 Lists the researcher’s personal reactions, impressions, and reflections about
the fieldwork or the interview (it contains primarily personal commentary
rather than strict reporting)
 Analysis and interpretation notes
 Attempts by the researcher to integrate the observational and interview
data into some coherent analysis scheme (these are the researcher’s first
attempts at finding order or patterns in the data.
(Cont.)

 (vi) Data analysis

 (a) the researcher searches for patterns and general themes in
the data
 (b) Eventually, analytic categories will emerge that are
checked back against the data to see whether they provide
consistent explanations
 (c) At the same time, the researcher is interpreting the data
and providing some conceptual bases for a more general
understanding of the groups’ perceptions and behaviors
(Cont.)

 Ethnography Online
 Virtual ethnography extend this notion into cyberspace and
involves a variety of techniques
 A targeted sample of respondents might be asked to:
 Keep an online diary of their thoughts and behaviors
concerning the study’s purpose
 Take pictures relevant to the study and upload them for
researchers to analyze
 Participate in online intensive interviewing based on the
content of their diaries and photos
 Provide researchers with a web cam virtual “tour” of their
surroundings
 Online immersion: a series of exercise and projective tests that
give researchers a glimpse into the lives of their respondents (e.g.
informants might be asked to describe their ideas of ‘home’ using
a photo journal, video clips, and blog entries.
(Cont.)

 Other Online Technique

 Primarily used by market research companies
that have no traditional face-to-face
counterparts
 Two common techniques:
 (i) Online Research Blog
 Personal diary kept by a sample of respondents who have something in
common (e.g. recently buying a car, applying for a mortgage, or using a
moving company)
 Informants are asked to record their experiences at every step along
the way and to make their blogs available for analysis

 (ii) Online Research Community

 It is a targeted group of people who are recruited to join a private
online website to participate in research over period of time
(Cont.)

 Social Media and Qualitative Research

 Netnography
 It is a qualitative research method that uses ethnographic
research techniques to study communities that are linked
together via computer-mediated communication (Kozinets,
2002)
 Internet based source of data
 Differences from conventional ethnography:
 (i) It is based on published messages rather than direct
observation of behavior
 (ii) It relies on archives
 (iii) It examines a form of private interaction that takes place in
public space
Writing the Qualitative Research Report
 Complexity of writing the qualitative research report:
 (i) difficult to condense qualitative data into numerical tables and
charts
 (ii) there is less standardization of the methods used
 (iii) qualitative researchers may try to give readers a subjective “feel”
for the research setting (there may be lengthy descriptions of the
research surroundings, the people involved, and the researcher’s
subjective thoughts about the project)
 (iv) qualitative reports use more free-form and literary styles (loose
narrative style)
 General format for structuring qualitative report:
 (a) Introduction
 (b) Method
 Paradigm mentioning
 Research setting
 Sampling
 Data collection
 (c) Findings
 Organize the material chronologically
 Present the most important findings first
 Use a dramatic presentation and save the most important point
until the end
 Arrange the data according to some theoretical or conceptual
scheme
 Suggested arrangement in avoiding error of segregation (data are
separated so far from the analysis that readers cannot make the
connection)
 Present a summary of the general finding
 Show an example of the finding
 Comment on the example
 Show a second sample
 Comment on the second sample
 When finished with examples, make a transition to next
general finding
 (d) Discussion
Thank you!