Practical Research: Planning and Design
Twelfth Edition, Global Edition
Chapter 8
Qualitative Research
Methods
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Potential Advantages of Qualitative Research
• Exploration
• Multifaceted description
• Verification
• Theory development
• Problem identification
• Evaluation
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Research Problems
• Qualitative studies do not allow the researcher to identify
cause–and–effect relationships
• May be general and open-ended
– “What is the nature of…”
– “What is it like to…”
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Research Methodology
• May not be determined in advance
• May continue to evolve over the course of the study
• Requires considerable preparation and planning
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Qualitative Research Designs
• Case study
• Ethnography
• Phenomenological study
• Grounded theory study
• Narrative Inquiry
• Content analysis
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Case Study (1 of 2)
• A particular individual, program or event is studied in
depth
• Used for
– Learning more about a little known or poorly
understood situation
– Investigating how an individual or program changes
over time
– Generating or providing preliminary support for one or
more hypotheses
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Case Study (2 of 2)
• Limitation: findings may not be generalizable to other
situations
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Ethnography (1 of 2)
• In-depth investigation of an entire group that shares a
common culture
– Site-based field work
– Performed in natural setting
– Performed over long period of time
– Key informants
– Often involves participant observation
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Ethnography (2 of 2)
• Used to study
– Explicit cultural patterns
– Implicit beliefs and assumptions
– Below-the-surface, taken-for-granted patterns that
even group members aren’t always consciously
aware of
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Narrative Inquiry
• Used for studying complex, multifaceted phenomena
– Focuses on the recollections and stories of individuals
who have had experiences related to these
phenomena
– Central notion: Three-dimensional narrative space
comprised of interaction, continuity, and situation
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Phenomenological Study
• Study that attempts to understand people’s perceptions
and perspectives of a particular experience
– Small sample
– Lengthy unstructured interviews
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Grounded Theory Study
• Goal is to collect and interpret data to develop a theory
– Data analysis begins right away
– Data are organized into categories until saturation
– Theory emerges from interrelations among categories
• Typically focused on a process
– eating, class discussions, stress during work
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Content Analysis
• Detailed, systematic examination of the contents of a
body of material
– Books, newspapers, legal documents, transcripts of
conversations, blogs
• Often included along with another study design
• Often has a quantitative component
– Identify categories & count frequency in each
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Collecting Qualitative Data (1 of 2)
• Multiple methods are used
– Example: interview + observation + artifacts
• Many qualitative researchers engage in the production of
memos
• Data collection follows an emerging design
• Analysis of early data influences additional data collection
• Researchers write memos during data collection
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Collecting Qualitative Data (2 of 2)
• All data must be collected in an ethical way
– Informed consent
– Right to privacy
– Low risk
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Credibility and Transferability
• Equivalent to validity and reliability in quantitative
research.
• Whereas quantitative researcher judge assessment
strategies as reliable, qualitative researchers prefer to
speak of dependability.
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Strategies to Enhance Credibility and
Reliability
• Identifying biases (reflexivity)
• Collecting multiple forms of data (triangulation)
• Separating observations (data) from interpretations
(memos)
• Seeking exceptions and contradictory evidence
• Spending considerable time on site
• Member checking and audit trails
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Selecting an Appropriate Sample (1 of 3)
• Depends on your research question and goal
– Random samples best for generalizing to a larger
population
– Purposive samples best when specific
information/perspective is needed
– Grounded theorists tend to engage in:
▪ Theoretical sampling
▪ Discriminant sampling
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Selecting an Appropriate Sample (2 of 3)
• Case study researchers may engage in extreme case
sampling: A researcher selects individuals who have
unique or deviant characteristics within a case, then
focuses observations on those individuals
• When researchers have little control over certain
situations they may employ:
– convenience sampling
– snowball sampling
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Selecting an Appropriate Sample (3 of 3)
• Ideally, the sample should provide information not only
about how things are on average but also about how
much variability exists in the phenomenon under
investigation.
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Observations
• Typically unstructured, free-flowing
• Can be very time-consuming
• Can be biased
– Researcher’s attention
– Researcher’s interpretations
– Researcher’s influence on participant
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Interviews (1 of 3)
1. Identify general questions and follow-up questions in
advance
2. Consider participants’ cultural backgrounds
3. Make sure sample includes people who can give the
information you want
4. Find a suitable location
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Interviews (2 of 3)
5. Get written permission
6. Establish and maintain rapport
7. Focus on the actual rather than on the abstract or
hypothetical
8. Don’t put words in people’s mouths
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Interviews (3 of 3)
9. Record responses verbatim
[Link] your reactions to yourself
[Link] that you may not be getting the “facts”
[Link] conducting a focus group, take group dynamics
into account
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Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative
Research (1 of 4)
1. Purposefulness
– The research question drives the methods used to
collect and analyze data.
2. Explicitness of assumptions and biases
– The researcher identifies and communicates anything
that may influence data collection and interpretation.
3. Rigor
– The researcher uses rigorous, precise, and thorough
methods and takes steps to remain as objective as
possible.
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Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative
Research (2 of 4)
4. Open-mindedness
– The researcher shows a willingness to modify
hypotheses and interpretations when necessary.
5. Completeness
– The researcher develops an in-depth, multifaceted
picture of the phenomenon (i.e., thick description).
6. Coherence
– The researcher uses converging data to develop a
portrait that “hangs together”.
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Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative
Research (3 of 4)
7. Persuasiveness
– The researcher presents logical arguments, and the
weight of the evidence supports them.
8. Consensus
– Other individuals agree with the researcher’s
interpretations and explanations.
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Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative
Research (4 of 4)
9. Usefulness
– The project leads to
▪ A better understanding of the phenomenon
▪ More accurate predictions about future events
▪ Interventions that enhance the quality of life
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