STUDY UNIT 2 - QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Wednesday, 28 February 2024 11:38

2.1 Conceptualising Qualitative Research

2.2 Qualitative Research Designs
2.3 Sampling Methods in Qualitative Research
2.4 Qualitative Data Collection: Individual Interviews, Focus Groups, and
Observations

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Unit 2.1 - Conceptualising Qualitative Research
Wednesday, 28 February 2024 11:39
Learning outcomes
1. Describe the philosophical underpinnings of the Interpretivist/Social Constructivist Paradigm and justify
2. Motivate why the Interpretivist/Social Constructivist paradigm is suitable for a qualitative research study
3. Identify and apply the characteristics of a qualitative research project to a scenario
Study material:
• Chapter 1, Section 1.2.: Why do you need a research question?
• Chapter 1, Section 1.5.: How are research questions different from interview questions?
• Chapter 1, Section 1.6.: What are examples of poor research questions?
• Chapter 1, Section 1.8.: Moving beyond the basics: Three categories of research questions
• Chapter 4: Introduction to qualitative research

WHY DO YOU NEED A RESEARCH QUESTION? RESEARCH VS INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

2 Reasons: Research question is a broad, general question to which you seek answers
1. It directs you to appropriate research literature Interview questions are generated with research question in mind
2. Provides you with focus for data collection p. 8
p. 3-4
3 CATEGORIES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS: EXAMPLES OF POOR RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
1. Descriptive - Developmental - how can … ?
a. 'how' & 'what' - Planning - what can be done … ?
b. 'do teachers still practice corporal punishment?' - Obvious-answer - will this be better if that … ?
2. Explanatory - Needs analysis - what are the needs of … ?
a. 'why' - Preaching - what can be done to ensure … ?
b. Hold higher value and significance in general - Low-level - what … does belong to?
c. Goes beyond description and seeks to explain behaviour - Committed - why are … so … to change?
d. 'why do schools persist … ?' - -Solution-seeking - what can be done to stamp out
3. Exploratory drugs in schools?
a. Combine explanatory and descriptive p. 8-9
b. Used under specific conditions
p. 11-12
WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
- focuses on the human experience; the perspectives of people
- concerned with individual behaviours, perspectives, experiences, and understandings of a phenomenon using in-depth
non-numerical data such as interviews, focus groups, or observations.
p. 56-57
NATURE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:
• Emphasis on understanding from within (emic) as opposed to objectively (etic).
• Focus on all aspects of the research process because the knower influences the known
1. The conceptualization
2. Interconnections
3. The effect of the researcher on data gathering and analysis
• Emphasizes meaning making, interpretations, and exploration

PURPOSE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:

• Rich, descriptive data.
• Underlying processes and behaviours in people or communities.
• Understanding natural environments.
• Unique, deep meanings.
METHODS, METHHODOLOGY & PARADIGMS:

• Methods: tools that researchers use to collect data [Hesse-Biber and Leavy]
• Links philosophical standpoints (ontology) and methods (epistemology) together.
• Common features of qualitative research.
• Methodology: the bridge that brings our philosophical standpoint and method together
□ Procedures by which researchers go about their work of collecting data, analysing, describing and
explaining phenomena
• Paradigm: represent what we think about the world (but cannot prove)
 Serve as lens or organizing principles by which reality is interpreted

PHILOSOPHICAL GROUNDING:
Ontology
• Ontology (the nature of truth/reality).
• The social world is external to cognition, with social construction of ideas based on interpretations produced by people.
• Ontology is the understanding of what reality is.
- 3 distinct positions
1. Realism - claims that there is an external reality which exists independently of people's beliefs or understanding about it
2. Materialism - claims that there is a real world but only material features of that world hold reality
3. Idealism - reality is only knowable through the human mind and through socially constructed meanings
• Linked to interpretivism – the world is constructed through interpretations of our own reality.
Objects
Epistemology
> The theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief
and opinion
> Reality is known through the experiences of people and is holistic but subject to bias as the knower cannot be separated
from the known.

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 from the known.
• Methods (how we find things out): Tools to collect data (e.g., interviews, observations).
• Situatedness - The relationship between the researcher and what the research is.
• People are affected by being studied (interactions)
• Value-mediated - Findings are influenced by the researcher. • Researcher and participants can negotiate meaning.
• Knowledge emerges subjectively from a context (insiders) and is not objectively.
•Transferability - Findings cannot be generalized (compare to quantitative) but can give clarity to the contexts.

Interprevist / social constructionist paradigm:

> Multiple, subjective realities (no one truth, the truth depends on the person)
> Meaning is socially constructed (dependent on other people and the community)
> Meaning is dynamic and changes with society and people’s perceptions
> Researchers cannot be neutral – they have their own opinions and ideas which they need to be aware of
> There are multiple interpretations of any single phenomenon
> The interpretivist paradigm focuses on how information is interpreted by people both within the group, in an
interview, and by the researcher.
> It is linked to constructivism as the key to the qualitative paradigms
> Interpretivism believes that:
Human life can only be understood from within.
Cannot be observed from some external reality
Focuses on subjective experiences
> Social life is a distinctively human product.
> Reality is not objectively determined, but socially constructed
> The human mind is the purposive source or origin of meaning.
> By exploring the richenessm depth and complexity of phenomena we can begin to develop a sense of
understanding of the meaning imparted by people to phenomena and their social context
> Human behaviour is affected by knowledge of the social world.
> Multiple rather that singular explanations for phenomena and that realities can differ across time and place
> The social world does not exist independently of human knowledge.
> Our knowledge and understanding are always limited to the things to which we have been exposed, our own
unique experiences and the meanings we have imparted
> Constructivism and interpretivism are sometimes grouped, but constructivism is a core concept in the qualitative
paradigms.
> Meaning is constructed through interpretations by the individual: Subjective experiences which lead to social
constructions of reality.
> Reality is observed from within (emic/inductive stance) not objectively (etic/external/deductive) (compare to
positivism).
> Knowledge and behaviour are affected by the social world and vice versa.
> Hermeneutic circle : way in which understanding and interpretation, part and whole are related in a circular way
> Strongly influenced by phenomenology

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UNIT 2.2 - RESEARCH DESIGNS
Wednesday, 06 March 2024 12:23
Learning outcomes:
1. Identify and describe the different qualitative research designs based on the
characteristics of a research study
2. Apply the characteristics of qualitative research designs to solving research-related
problems and answering research questions
3. Justify the choice of a specific qualitative research design in a research project
Study material:
• Chapter 5: Qualitative research designs and data-gathering techniques

Qualitative Research Designs

- A research design is a method to approach answering the research question, choosing participants, and collecting data
- Research designs help ensure that research is systematic
- Phenomenology is the most common qualitative research design that we will explain
 Table 5.1 p 83
- Common types of qualitative designs
→ Individual experiences and meanings assigned to phenomena
→ Common themes about what phenomena mean to the individual
→ Individual and group interpretations of a phenomenon
→ In-depth descriptions of a specific phenomenon

NARRATIVE
- Story-telling
- Lived stories about a phenomenon or event
- Chronological: The phenomenon or story over time
- Episodic: The specific story or event
- Highly detailed
- Narrative research tries to provide a picture of the lived experience and story of a particular person, or small group of people
who share a common story
- focus -> stories participants tell about their own experiences.
- This studies a (often chronological) story about the phenomenon of interest.
- Individual interviews are often used for participants to tell their stories.
- Clandinin asserts that time and place become written constructions of the narrative in the form of plot and scene respectively
- Scene - place where action occurs
- Plot- structure of story
- Narrative designs try to understand these events or sequences of events, which are in some way important to the research and
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- Narrative designs try to understand these events or sequences of events, which are in some way important to the research and
to literature.
- Several data collection methods may be used for this design:
→ Interview.
→ Focus groups if a small group of homogenous people is used.
→ Naturalistic observations, and more.
- Participants are sampled based off of two factors:
→ Being highly relevant and important to the topic.
→ Being able to actively, and intentionally, participate in the research.
 This is somewhat similar to purposive sampling, but more specific and homogenous.
- Narrative study is appropriate when:
1. People’s STORIES / LIFE STORIES will provide understanding of a phenomenon.
2. People are willing to tell their stories and accept that researchers will 'restory' their stories.
3. People's stories are chronological.
4. One has the opportunity to ask people to tell their story (interview-manner) or you have access to people's written stories
as well as their written thoughts.
p. 84-85

Case studies
- Case studies are important to study a specific “thing” within a bounded system.
- They refer to something that has happened or a specific way things are which the researcher wants to investigate
- Case studies usually use multiple forms of data collection
- Highly detailed account of a bounded system or event
- Single, specific person, company, or event
- Highly detailed
- Variety of data collection methods
- A “case” is a unique and bounded system; these are highly specific and, in some way, important.
- In a case study, you would not consider a group’s opinion or an individual interpretation – the researcher studies the “case”
in its totality (all aspects).
- Case studies are highly descriptive and detailed analysis of the unique/bounded system.
- Holistic approach
- This holistic approach requires multiple data sources, which can include:
1. Interviews.
2. Documents.
3. Articles
4. Observations
5. Histories
6. Other artefacts.
- Cases are selected “sampled” based on them being unique in some manner.
- You cannot conduct a case study on multiple things – only one system is focused on, which is why it is called “bounded.”
- Often, the “how” and “why” is considered.
- An example would be a case study focusing on the Apple corporation:
→ How the corporation became popular. • What was done to enhance popularity with the consumer market.
→ Why marketing campaigns and technological advancements were successful, and what is done now.
→ The totality of this information can be used as an example or resource by other companies or researchers.
- A case study is appropriate when:
1. The detailed study of a bounded system (e.g., an activity, event, process, or individual/s) provides understanding of a
larger issue.
2. You can contextualise the case.
3. You have opportunity to collect multiple forms of data (observations, interviews, documents, artefacts)

Ethnography
- Ethnography is used to study culture-sharing groups in-depth.
- Long-term access is used for a comprehensive understanding of previously little understood groups.
- Ethnography does not refer to just living in, or studying, some phenomenon in a community, but rather to studying the
culture itself.
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 culture itself.
- Different data collection methods are combined to fully understand the group.
- Study of a “peoples”
- Unique, culture-sharing groups
- Long-term access
- immersion in the culture
- Considers context and culture shared interpretations of the world
- Complex descriptions of various phenomena
- important to researchers who wish to study cultures or a culture-sharing group.
- An example of such groups could be a tribe in the Amazon rainforest.
- is often used by anthropologists.
- requires becoming immersed in the culture (object of study) -> this is a form of participant observation.
- Although the researcher becomes “part of” the culture, the people are still observed.
- The researcher may also conduct interviews or having discussions to better understand the culture.
- This is done in the act of immersion –> the researcher stays with the group (and participates in the culture) for long periods
of time to become “part of” the culture in question.
→ This allows the research to consider the contexts in which cultural actions take place, the way in which people live,
what interpretations and beliefs are shared (consider again the interpretivist/constructivist paradigm), and what
patterns of behaviour are important.
- Apart from interviews and discussions, the researcher often uses observations, personal notes, physical artefacts, and other
documents to enhance the thick description (very detailed, complex description) of the culture.
- Researchers conducting ethnography need to ensure that ethics are strictly adhered to as there may be potential for harm
by immersing oneself within another cultural group.
- Researchers should also ensure that they continually assess their bias when observing or participating in cultural activities
as some activities may not be considered acceptable in the researcher’s own culture.
- Ethnography is appropriate when:
1. The study of a culture-sharing group (e.g., a family, a school, a tribe) provides understanding of a larger (cultural)
issue.
2. You have long-term access to a group so that you can build a detailed record of their context and shared patterns of
behaviours / beliefs / values over time.
3. you have opportunity to observe, make extensive field-notes
(written and/or visual), interview, and access/collect written
documents that record group's behaviour.

Phenomenology
- Phenomenology is used to understand complex phenomena in individuals.
- This is the most common design when using interviews for data collection.
- focuses on the experience and meaning attached to some phenomenon.
- Lived experiences
- Describes meaning for several individuals of their lived experiences of a concept
- Consider the interpretivist/constructivist paradigms in this regard.
- When focusing on one phenomenon, people’s differing experiences are often compared.
- 2 approaches:
1. Hermeneutic
• Documenting the lived experiences and interpreting the 'texts' of life
2. Empirical, transcendental or psychological
• Focused less on interpretations of researcher and more on a description of the experience of participants
- Sometimes, when it is a complex phenomenon, experiences are also considered using artefacts (such as writings) or
documents.
- For phenomenology, usually a purposive sample is used.
○ This is because the researcher wants to intentionally find people who have experienced the phenomenon.
- Samples are generally small (6-8) and are highly focused.
- For example, a group of people may have experienced “sexism” (the phenomenon) but may have had different experiences
of it.
○ these experiences are discussed and considered using interviews and focus groups.
- This study is appropriate when:
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 - This study is appropriate when:
1. Many people’s experiences of a phenomenon, or the meaning they give to a phenomenon, provide deeper
understanding of that phenomenon.
2. You have access to several individuals who all have experience of a given phenomenon, so that you can compare
their experiences to understand the phenomenon more deeply.
3. You have opportunity to interview participants and access documents/artifacts (visual/written) explaining the
phenomenon.
Action Research
- Sample / participants are active participants in the research process
- Focus on change and community solutions
- Empowerment
- Because the focus is empowerment, the sample is not selected for any specific characteristics – they must be part of the
identified phenomenon and be willing to assist in improving the situation.
- Researcher mediates interventions
- Cyclical process: Problem, intervention, consequence, develop further interventions for “new” problems
- focuses on both investigation of a phenomenon and empowering people to work towards bettering their situation.
- tends to concern itself with problematic issues and interventions/solutions.
- Participants are also actors in the research and become part of the intervention or the solution.
- This research is participatory and collaborative.
- Rather than implementing interventions, the researcher acts as a mediator and guides the intervention process as part of the
research; this empowers the research participants to actively work towards solutions.
- An example could be empowering the homeless to work with a community organization to provide education leading to job
opportunities.
- The research participants both undergo the intervention, with guidance, and implement the intervention for other, similar
people.
- The efficacy and consequences are examined, and the identified problems and actions are then reexamined.
- The participants in the research remain empowered throughout and are always active.
- Participants are purposively identified as being part of the target problem, and able/willing to contribute towards solutions in
conjunction with the researcher.

Credibility and Trustworthiness

* Research is systematic so data must be credible (valid) and trustworthy (reliable)
* Data should be applicable to other contexts
* Interviews with different participants
* Data must be confirmable
* Repeating the same study for confirmation
* Methods should be clear so that others can repeat the study
* Using multiple data sources to confirm ideas and understand changing perspectives (triangulation and crystallization of
concepts)

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2.3 Sampling Methods in Qualitative Research
Thursday, 07 March 2024 12:19
Learning outcomes
1. Identify and describe the characteristics of specific qualitative sampling techniques
2. Justify the choice of a specific sampling technique to answer a research-related problem according to scientific criteria

Study material:
Chapter 10, Section 10.2.2: Non-probability sampling methods

Why does qualitative research use inductive reasoning?

> Qualitative research focuses on human experiences and perceptions
> Perceptions and individual experiences cannot be predicted
> the researcher can base their ideas in a theory that people might feel a certain way (based on other literature), but cannot
design a study which specifically finds if this is right or wrong
> Because “reality” is subjective and open to multiple interpretations, tentative conclusions should be formed from the people
spoken to; this requires observations / themes / ideas and potential conclusions

Populations and Samples

Population:
▪ Large number of people
▪ Shared characteristics applicable to the research
▪ People to whom the findings will apply (quantitative research) or might be similar for (qualitative research)

Sample:
▪ small group of people
▪ Represent the characteristics applicable to the research (characteristics of the population)
▪ Selected to participate in the study
▪ Sampling:
○ Gathering Participants
○ Observations are required to find themes in what people say and draw tentative conclusions; therefore, research
requires participants (people
○ Sampling: The specific technique to obtain participants for a research study
> Non-probability sampling (qualitative research): Specific characteristics are used, and participants are chosen
by the researcher
> Probability sampling (quantitative research): Random selection is used so that the large sample represents the
population
Why is non-probability sampling used in qualitative research?
• Qualitative research focuses on in-depth experiences
• Participants must have had these (or similar) experiences
• Qualitative data collection and analysis are intensive
• Doing interviews and finding themes takes time, therefore the participants must be fully relevant to the study

The link between non-probability sampling and the interpretivist / social constructivist paradigm

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The link between non-probability sampling and the interpretivist / social constructivist paradigm
• Individual experiences in the context of society shape what people’s “reality” is
• Using large numbers of people in a detached way assumes that the researcher can find a single answer to the question
• Qualitative research involves multiple answers and ideas which need to be interpreted from the perspective of participants
Non-probability sampling and qualitative research designs
• No single non-probability sampling technique is used for a specific qualitative research design
• Qualitative research is about specific experiences and specific phenomena
• The sampling technique must facilitate using the design to explore or understand the phenomenon
• Participants must be able to help the researcher advance understanding of the phenomenon
• Qualitative research focuses on observations (data) which is collected from in-depth interactions with people
• Different qualitative research designs are used depending on the focus of the project (e.g., indepth experiences of a
phenomenon, life stories, etc.)
• Non-probability sampling refers to identifying who will participate in the research project
• Several non-probability sampling techniques can be used, each for a different purpose
• The choice of non-probability sampling technique depends on the research question, who the researcher wants to include
in the study and what research design is being used

Non-probability Sampling:
> Non-probability sampling is commonly used in qualitative research but can also be used in quantitative research (especially
convenience sampling).
> These strategies are often useful when you need to focus on a specific phenomenon or time/resources are limited.
> It is important to remember that non-probability samples are not generalizable as they are not randomized.

Types of non-probability sampling:

Convenience sampling:
- Common in quantitative research.
Simply take a convenient sample. An example would be speaking to the first 20 nurses to arrive at work or the first 100

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 - Simply take a convenient sample. An example would be speaking to the first 20 nurses to arrive at work or the first 100
clients at a shop. These samples are not representative but are helpful to get results quickly.
Quota sampling:
- Involves selecting a specified number of individuals from specific groups.
- Can also be used in both quantitative and qualitative research.
- Essentially, you predetermine the number of people you need to select in the different groups and only select that number.
- You can do this with groups of equal sizes or proportionate to the population.
Snowball sampling:
- Often used for samples which are difficult to obtain.
- You can approach one person who could be part of the sample, they participate and refer you to another person and so on.
- This is very useful for challenging populations and is never used in quantitative research except in special circumstances
where you ask people to ask their friends to fill in questionnaires.
- An example of snowball sampling is approaching and interviewing one homeless person who then tells you of another
person who you interview (now your sample is two) who refers you to another (three people), etc.
Purposive sampling:
- Requires a purpose.
- Select your sample based entirely on the purpose of your research.
- Thus, if you want to study the experiences of abortions among young girls, you will find a sample of young girls who have
experienced abortions.
- That way, the purpose of your study is fulfilled.
- Purposive sampling is generally only used in qualitative research as it always relates to a very specific purpose of a study.

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2.4 - Qualitative data collection
Wednesday, 13 March 2024 11:12
Learning outcomes
1. Describe and identify the three traditional methods of data collection used in qualitative research
2. Compare and describe the differences between the traditional methods of qualitative data collection,
and recommend the most suitable method for a research project
Study material:
Chapter 5, Section 5.4: Qualitative research methods for data collection
Introduction
5.4.3.: Observation
5.4.4.: Interviews
5.4.5.: Focus Groups

Types of Qualitative Data

Primary data: Secondary data:
- Unpublished, first-hand accounts - Previously published
- Interviews - Journal articles
- Direct observations - Books
- Somebody else’s interview transcripts
- Data should be authentic and assessed
for accuracy
→ Researchers are “instruments” in collecting data
→ Data is understood via the researcher from the participants’ perspective (interpretivist)
→ Naturalistic observations such as interviews or immersion in a culture
→ Data must be credible (“true”), applicable to the research question, dependable (reliable), and confirmable (can be replicated)
→ Qualitative data must be from the participants’ perspective(s)
→ The interpretivist / social constructivist paradigm: Unique perspectives about what “is” and what it means
→ Inductive reasoning: Require enough information to draw a tentative conclusion from what multiple participants say or do
→ Participant perspectives are complex
→ Additions to answers
→ Qualifying statements
→ Emergence of new ideas
→ Common Methods of Qualitative Data Collection
► Interviews: One-on-one or groups
► Focus groups: Groups of participants discuss the topic
► Observations: Observing what people do and what is happening
INTERVIEWS
 One-on-one Interviews
- Interview: Two-way conversation where the researcher asks the participants questions
- Questions are focused on the topic of the study to answer the research questions
- See and understand the phenomenon as the participant does (rich data in a social reality)
- Single or multiple interviews can be used for one topic depending on the focus of the study
 Group Interviews (Not Focus Groups!)
- Groups of participants are interviewed at a single time (less common) each answering the same question
- Participants do not discuss the topic with each other (that is a focus group)
- Common in market research and similar fields where the topic is not sensitive
 Structured Interviews (Descriptive)
- Detailed questions similar to a survey
- Highly specific questions related to the core of the topic
- Same order or sequence
- Little flexibility in how questions are asked
- Can inhibit probing (asking for more details and ideas)
 Semi-structured Interviews (Guided, but exploratory)
- Broader, but specific, questions
- Explore emerging lines of inquiry
- Flexible while still focused on the topic
- Allow for more probing (asking for elaborations and expansion)
- More variation in content and focus
 Unstructured Interviews (purely exploratory)
- Similar to a conversation
- General topic to discuss, not query
- No specific or set questions
- Interviewer must be well prepared for the topic
- No specific order of questions
- Can be difficult to stay with the focus of the study
 Focus Groups (Exploratory discussions in groups)
- Discussion focused on a specific topic (not a group interview!) with the researcher as a moderator
- Group interactions:
○ Widen range of responses
○ Richer detail: Building on each other's ideas
○ Consider group dynamics
○ Not suitable for highly sensitive topics
○ Relatively passive moderator
○ Encourage discussion
○ Maintain focus

 Observations
- Systematically recording behavioural patterns of participants and/or occurrences
- Insider perspective (emic) or outsider perspective (etic) based
- What is observed is based on:
- Purpose of study
- Focus of study
- Natural immersion in a setting recording using:
- Anecdotes / descriptions
- Running records / sequential accounts
- Structured observation schedules (specific information written down)
- Being conscious of bias:
- Selective observation
- Missing the big picture

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Summary
Thursday, 07 March 2024 12:18

• Qualitative research is a systematic process of gathering in-depth information based on individual

interpretations and social constructions
• Phenomenology (in-depth understanding of a phenomenon) is the most common qualitative research design
• Non-probability, purposive sampling is often used to ensure that participants can provide suitable
information
• Qualitative research usually uses interviews and focus groups
• Data should accurately reflect a specific phenomenon and other researchers should be able to replicate the
study
• The most common data collection methods in qualitative research are:
○ Interviews (individual or group)
○ Focus groups
○ Observations
○ A combination of methods is sometimes used in ethnography and case studies
• Choice of data collection method depends on the research question and design – what you want to find out
and from whom
• Data saturation is reached when no new themes or information emerge from the data

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