LESSON 3 Topic 4

Topic 4 LO2: Apply qualitative data

Designing Designing Research the Qualitative Research collection techniques based on the
Research • Qualitative Research Design main characteristics of the research
the • Framing Theoretical & Conceptual designs. (C3 : PLO4)
Qualitative Framework Conceptual Framework
Research • Trustworthiness in Qualitative Research

Why This Lesson

This lesson covers Topic 4 and Topic 5. It focuses on qualitative research designs, instrumentation, data
collection procedures, and ethical considerations in qualitative research. At the end of the lesson, you will be
able to explain:
• Qualitative Research Design
• Theoretical Framework
• Conceptual Framework
• Instrumentation in Qualitative Research
• Data Collection Procedures in Qualitative Research
• Ethical Considerations in Qualitative Research

What is Research Design?

The research design refers to the overall strategy that a researcher chooses to integrate the different components
of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring that the research problem is effectively addressed;
it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data
([Link] It is a type of inquiry either qualitative, quantitative, or
mixed methods approaches that provide specific direction to conduct a research study.

Qualitative Research Design

Qualitative Research Design

Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to
understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or
generate new ideas for research (Bandhari, 2022). It explores a problem to develop a detailed understanding
of a central phenomenon. In a qualitative research,
• The literature review plays a minor role, but it justifies the problem .
• The purpose and research questions are stated in an open-ended way to capture the participants'
experiences.
• Data is collected based on words or images from a small number of participants to obtain their
views and perspectives.
• The data is anlaysed for description and themes using text analysis (Creswell, 2015).

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In a qualitative research,
• The purpose is to understand social phenomena.
• It is used to gain insight into people's attitudes, behaviours, value systems, concerns, motivations,
aspirations, culture or lifestyles.
• It uses words instead of numbers to understand and explain phenomena.
• It uses small sample size.
• The instruments for collecting data include interviews, observations, document analyses.
• The data collected is analysed using narrative descriptions and interpretations. It uses words
instead of numbers to understand and explain phenomena.
• It is usually carried out in a natural setting (in tact group)
• It seeks out the “what” ‘why’, and the ‘how’ questions of its topic through the analysis of
unstructured information

Characteristics of Qualitative Research

Creswell, & Guetterman (2021) mention the following different major characteristics in qualitative research
process:
• Exploring a problem and developing a detailed understanding of a central phenomenon
• Having the literature review play a minor role but justify the problem
• Stating the purpose and research questions in an open-ended way to capture the participants’
experiences
• Collecting data that is based on words (e.g., from interviews) or images (e.g., photographs) from a
small number of individuals so that the participants’ views are obtained
• Analyzing the data for description and themes using text analysis and interpreting the larger
meaning of the findings
• Writing the report using flexible, emerging structures and evaluative criteria and including the
researchers’ subjective reflexivity and bias,”

In a qualitative researcher, the researcher should:

• Investigate the central phenomena in its natural setting
• Maintain openness in data collection as to capture all important information to the research.
• Focus on emic perspectives ie the participants’ voices.
• Avoid prior/early assumptions and conclusions before the study is completed.
• Focus and progress changes as research exploration proceeds as analysis of data happens while
data collection progresses.
• View himself as an instrument

Justifications for using Qualitative Research Designs

Task:
Read the following extract for justifications for using qualitative research. Provide your comments.

“Here are five reasons to perform a qualitative study:

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 1. Exploration: When something isn’t well defined, qualitative methods are helpful. For example, you can
explore in a qualitative study the problems customers encounter, the needs users have and can’t
articulate, or misunderstandings customers have in finding information or using a product.
2. Complexity: While complicated problems can be quantified when you need to describe the complexity
and subtlety of how users interact with a product or accomplish goals, qualitative research can distill the
complexity into more manageable parts.
3. Context: Understanding the context and environment a user is in provides for better product direction.
What are the products, places, people, and challenges customers deal with when accomplishing their
goals? Some of the richest qualitative data isn’t collected in a contrived lab; it comes from observing
and collecting data in person.
4. Explanation: When you need to explain linkages or mechanisms that cause things, a qualitative
method can be fruitful. For example, when you want to know why people aren’t paying their bills via the
mobile app or calling customer support because of an error, hearing customers’ own words helps form
theories and establish a testable hypothesis.
5. Measures don’t fit the problem well: While there are good ways of measuring usability, many
interactions can be hard to quantify. Observing users as they struggle to accomplish a goal and probing
into the source of the problems helps define what ultimately needs to be measured. It’s not very helpful
to precisely measure the wrong thing. Qualitative data helps uncover the right things to measure,” (
Sauro, J. 2015)

Types of Qualitative Research Designs

Some of the types of qualitative research designs are case studies, ethnography, phenomenological studies,
and action research:

Case Study Research What is a Case Study Design?

A case study is an in-depth inquiry of a particular issue or phenomenon. Stake
(1995) called it a “concentrated inquiry into a single case’. The essence of the
case study is to catch the complexity of a single case. The study could be
simple or complex. The focus is on the one instance (i.e. the case); the time
spent could be long or short, but “while one concentrates on the instance, he
or she then is engaged in a case study” (Stake, 1995). It is conducted
especially when not much is known about the issue or phenomenon. Case
study research could be quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods.
Why Case Studies?
Case study is often used to narrow down a very broad field of research into
one or a few easily researchable examples. The design is also useful for testing
whether a specific theory and model actually applies to phenomena in the
real world. It is a useful design when not much is known about an issue or
phenomenon. ([Link]
• It provides an understanding of a complex issue through detailed contextual
analysis of events or conditions and their relationships.
• It applies a variety of methodologies and relies on a variety of sources to
investigate a research problem.

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 • It can extend the experience or add strength to what is already known through
previous research.
• This research design mostly examines contemporary real-life situationsin
natural settings. It provides the basis for the application of concepts and
theories and the extension of methodologies.
(Source: [Link]

Key Characteristics of a Case Study Design

• It is in-depth inquiry of a single instance
• It focuses on an understanding of a complex issue, or a phenomenon
through detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or
conditions and their relationships.
• It can apply a variety of methodologies and rely on a variety of sources to
investigate a research [Link] examines contemporary real-life situations
and provides the basis for the application of concepts and theories and the
extension of methodologies.
• It provides detailed descriptions of specific and rare cases.

(Source: [Link]
Action Research What is an Action Research Design?
Action Research is a method of systematic enquiry in which a researcher intends
to improve his own practice and search for ways to improve the specific
situation for their students.
Why Action Research?
An action research is conducted by the practitioner when he has a specific
problem to solve. It provides the practitioner an opportunity to reflect on and
improve his own practices.
Key characteristics of action research:
Action research is a mixed research design research comprising the elements of
quantitative and qualitative research. It is often practised by teachers who remain
in the middle of the research process.
Focus is on the improvement of educational practice i.e. the educatorresearcher’s
own practices and students with whom the researcher work.
• Focus on practical and not statistical significance. Theory plays secondary
role
• Collaboration can occur within the educational setting or the environment
outside of the educational setting that affects the study,
• It involves a dynamic cyclical process which ensure that change occurs
because of the reflection process, a plan of action which is a direct response
to the problem addressed in the research, and
• sharing research where the results yielded from the study will be readily
• available to those who could benefit from it.

([Link]
What is Narrative Research design?
Narrative Research The narrative research is applicable when the researcher intends to investigate

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 and interpret stories from an individual's experience. It involves a chronology of
experience of the dialogic presentation which is social and constructive.
Why Narrative Research Design?
“Narrative research aims to explore and conceptualize human experience as it is
represented in textual form. Aiming for an in-depth exploration of the meanings
people assign to their experiences, narrative researchers work with small samples
of participants to obtain rich and free-ranging discourse. The emphasis is on storied
experience” ([Link]
researchdesign/[Link].)
Characteristics of Narrative Research Design
Narratives can be derived from journals, letters, conversations, autobiographies,
transcripts of in-depth interviews, focus groups, or other types of narrative
qualitative research and then used in narrative research.
This form of research can be conducted through steps that begin with the
researcher identifying a phenomenon to be explored. Researchers then continue
collecting stories from the chosen participants. Next is restoring by representing
the stories of the narrator and later, rewriting them in the researcher's words
comprehensively. Before writing, the themes of the story are analysed.

During this, an active collaboration with the participant takes place. The narrator's
involvement is crucial in each phase of the research, especially in the data
interpretation process. The cycle ends when the accuracy and validity aspects
are examined by the narrator.
([Link]
Ethnographic What is Ethnographic Research Design?
Research Ethnography is a study through direct observation of participants in their natural
environment. It is a form of inquiry which relies heavily on participant observation. It
explores “cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study”.
It involves examining “the behaviour of the participants in a given social situation
and understanding the group members’ own interpretation of such behaviour”.
Why Ethnographic Research?
This research provides an in-depth insight into the participants’s views and actions.
It provides the researcher with an understanding of how those participants see
the world and how they interact with their environment in their natural setting.
Characteristics of Ethnographic Research
It is qualitative in nature and the purpose is to understand and describe patterns
of cultural variables over a period of time. This design includes direct observation,
diary studies, video recordings, photography, and artifact analysis such as devices
that a person uses throughout the day. The length of the studies can vary
depending on the research that is being conducted. They can range from a
couple of hours of observation to studies that last several months.
([Link]
Phenomenological “Phenomenological research is a qualitative research approach that seeks to
Research understand and describe the universal essence of a phenomenon. The approach
investigates the everyday experiences of human beings while suspending the
researchers’ preconceived assumptions about the phenomenon.

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 In other words, phenomenological research studies lived experiences to gain
deeper insights into how people understand those experiences.
Phenomenological research design requires the researcher to bracket whatever
a priori assumption they have about the experience or phenomenon.
In simpler terms, researchers use phenomenological research designs to
understand a phenomenon’s universal nature by exploring the views of those who
have experienced it. This approach is popularly used to study lived experience,
gain a deeper understanding of how human beings think, and expand a
researcher’s knowledge about a phenomenon.
For example, a researcher could explore a phenomenon like antisocial behavior
in the workplace, women’s experiences with a particular disease, and many more
([Link]

Trustworthiness of Data in Qualitative Research

The following extract will enhance your understanding of the trustworthiness of data in qualitative research.
“Qualitative researchers are required to articulate evidence of four primary criteria to ensure the
trustworthiness of the study’s findings: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.
Credibility (i.e., data collected is accurate/representative of the phenomenon under study.
Credibility corresponds to the notion of validity in quantitative work but is more about internal validity. The
credibility of qualitative data can be assured through multiple perspectives throughout data collection to ensure
data are appropriate. This may be done through data, investigator, or theoretical triangulation; participant
validation or member checks; or the rigorous techniques used to gather the data.
Transferability (I.e., the extent to which the findings are transferable to other situations)
Transferability is like generalizability in quantitative; however, it is not generalizability. Transferability addresses
the applicability of the findings to similar contexts or individuals not to broader contexts. Transferability can be
achieved by a “thick description” of the findings from multiple data collection methods.
Dependability (i.e., an in-depth description of the study procedures and analysis to allow the study to be
replicated)
Dependability is like reliability in quantitative studies. Dependability can be ensured through rigorous data
collection techniques and procedures and analysis that are well documented. Typically, an inquiry audit using
an outside reviewer assures dependability. For students, this would be your committee.
Confirmability (i.e., the steps to ensure that the data and findings are not due to the participant and/or
researcher bias)
Confirmability is like objectivity in quantitative studies; however, objectivity is not necessarily critical for
qualitative studies as long as personal biases are unpacked in the write-up. Unpacking personal bias can be
accomplished by a bracketing interview or reflexivity. Confirmability of qualitative data is assured when data
are checked and rechecked throughout data collection and analysis to ensure findings would likely be
repeatable by others. Confirmability can be documented by a clear coding schema that identifies the codes
and patterns identified in analyses. This technique is called an audit trail. It can also be ensured through
triangulation and member checking of the data as well as conducting a bracketing interview or practicing
reflexivity to confront potential personal bias (Source:
[Link]

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 Theoretical Framework in Qualitative Research

What is a Theoretical Framework?

A theory is “a valuable tool to the coherence and depth of a study. Although there may be instances where the
exploratory nature of a study overrules the benefits of a theoretical framework, theory-free research does not
exist,” (Lincoln & Guba, 1994).

A theoretical framework is the use of a theory (or theories) in a study that simultaneously conveys the deepest
values of the researcher(s) and provides a clearly articulated signpost or lens for how the study will process
new knowledge. A theoretical framework is at the intersection of:
• existing knowledge and previously formed ideas about complex phenomena,
• the researcher’s epistemological dispositions, and
• a lens and a methodically analytic approach A researcher who cannot articulate a theoretical framework
may not have done the difficult and essential work to unearth their deepest operating principles and
preconceptions about their study
([Link]
Why Theoretical Framework?

The theoretical framework represents the structure that can hold or support a theory of a research study. It
presents a logical structure of connected concepts that help the researcher understand, explain, and predict
how phenomena are interrelated. The theoretical framework can pull together various theories or ideas from
different perspectives to provide a comprehensive approach to addressing the research problem.

Moreover, theoretical frameworks provide useful guidance as to which research methods are appropriate for
your research project. If the theoretical framework you employ is relevant to individual perspectives and beliefs,
then interviews may be more suitable for your research. On the other hand, if you are utilizing an existing
theory about a certain social behavior, then ethnographic observations can help you more ably capture data
from social interactions.
(Source: [Link]

Example of a Theoretical Framework in Qualitative Research

“Consider a study examining the impact of social media on body image among adolescents. The theoretical
perspective might be rooted in social constructivism, based on the assumption that our understanding of reality
is shaped by social interactions and cultural context.
The theoretical framework, then, could draw on one or several theories to provide a comprehensive structure
for examining this issue. For instance, it might combine elements of "social comparison theory" (which
suggests that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against
others), "self-perception theory" (which posits that individuals develop their attitudes by observing their own
behavior and concluding what attitudes must have caused it), and "cultivation theory" (which suggests that
long-term immersion in a media environment leads to "cultivation", or adopting the attitudes and beliefs
portrayed in the media).
This framework would provide the structure to understand how social media exposure influences adolescents'
perceptions of their bodies, how they compare themselves to images seen on social media, and how these
influences may shape their attitudes toward their own bodies”.
(Source: [Link]

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 Conceptual Framework in Qualitative Research

In qualitative research, the conceptual framework is used as a is : 20) as a means of explaining ‘the main
things to be studied (Miles et al. (2014) – the key factors, constructs or variables – and the presumed
relationships among them. It illustrate the factors or issues presented in the qualitative data. It is designed to
assist in theory building and the visual understanding of the exploratory findings.
([Link]

It provides a ‘logical structure of connected concepts that help provide a picture or visual display of how ideas
in a study relate to one another’ (Grant and Osanloo, 2014)

Saldana (2022) defines Conceptual Framework as

A conceptual framework, like a concept, consists of constituent elements that, taken together, compose the
total approach to the entire study, from research design to final write-up.
He adds that a Conceptual Framework is:
• an intellectual “game plan” for the study; the research design is condensed.
• narrative (and sometimes a diagram) that consists primarily of the theoretical, methodological, and
epistemological premises about a project
• the researcher's assumptions about why theories drive the study, what particular qualitative genre for
the research design is selected, and how the knowledge is constructed
• an investigative architecture that suggests the researcher has thought through all preliminary decisions
carefully to make everything “go together”
• a conceptual framework evolves throughout a study; you start and end up with one

Conceptual Framework Premises

• Theoretical premises offer the main ideas and purpose that serve as foundations for an inquiry. The
literature review is a primary source for finding the major schools of thought about a topic.
• Methodological premises then present a description of why and how she's going to investigate her topic
in a particular way.
• Epistemological premises refer to how the researcher perceives and experiences the social world and
how she constructs personal knowledge about it. Her lenses, filters, and angles inform the reader of her
positionality and standpoint.

(Source: [Link]
[Link])

An Example
Tutorial Activity

Provide a critical review of a qualitative approach.

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 References

Publication
Creswell, J. (2015). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative
Research. New York: Pearson.
Creswell, & Guetterman (2021). Educational research : planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and
qualitative research. London: Pearson
Grant, C. and Osanloo, A. (2014) ‘Understanding, selecting, and integrating a theoretical framework in
dissertation research: Creating the blueprint for your “house”’. Administrative Issues Journal: Connecting
Education, Practice, and Research, 4 (2), 12–26
Miles, M.B., Huberman, A.M. and Saldaña, J. (2014) Qualitative Data Analysis: A methods sourcebook. 3rd ed.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications
Bandhari, P (2023). What Is Qualitative Research? | Methods & Examples Retrieved From
[Link]

Internet References
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
Guba E. G., Lincoln Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research Retrieved From
https:/[Link].
Sauro, J. 2015. 5 Reasons to Perform a Qualitative Study. Retrieved from [Link]
study/.
Saldana (2022) Designing Conceptual Frameworks for Qualitative Research Studies Retrieved From
[Link]
[Link])- [Link]
framework/
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