Research methods

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Sep 2, 2018

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Cresswell (1984) indi- cated that qualitative research “is de�ned as an inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem, based on building a holistic picture, formed with words, reporting detailed views of informants, and conducted in a natural setting” (

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Characteristics of Qualitative Research

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Characteristics of Qualitative Research

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1. It is an inquiry that seeks to understand social or hu- man issues and problems. Because interactions with other people give meaning to things and events and because meanings change as we interact with vari- ous new people, qualitative research deals extensively with human interactions.

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2. It seeks to develop an encompassing or holistic por- trayal or picture of the problem or issue of interest. A

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t does not seek to reduce social situa- tions or interactions to basic parts, elements, or values.

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the goal is to be able to put the reader of the research report into the social setting or situation that is the focus of the research.

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forms its report with words as opposed to statistical processes.

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4. It uses the views of informants in the society as the ba- sis for the report

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, qualitative researchers do not begin their research with a preconceived, ex- perimental hypothesis.

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They develop hypotheses and de�nitions, as the research is ongoing.

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5. It is conducted in a natural setting.

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e researchers

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made a com- mitment to do extensive �eld research

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“must spend enough time in the �eld to feel certain they are reporting what they claim”

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Rather than ask about validity and reliability, qualitative researchers are more likely to be interested in the trustworthiness of their data.

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trustworthiness can be judged by the follow- ing criteria:

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: Selected Examples of Qualitative Research Methods

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Naturalistic Observation

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guidelines are (a) determine the focus of the study, (b) plan the logistics, and (c) then plan the trust worthiness of the study (

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3.2.2: Ethnographic Inquiry

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ethnographic inquiry when their goal is to learn about a culture or some aspect of a culture from the perspective of the members of that culture

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researcher typically uses participant observation. When using naturalistic observation, a researcher attempts to be as unobtrusive as possible; however, with participant observation the researcher becomes part of the group being studied.

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Participant observation is not limited to the study of human behavior; it can also be implemented in animal studies.

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In the ethnographic approach you would spend a long time becoming immersed in the “culture” of the popula- tion being studied.

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For example, you might wish to study an inner-city ghetto or a teenage gang using this method. As a researcher, you would become immersed in this culture for a long period of time and gather data through participant observation and interviewing.

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The observer as participant refers to a researcher who primarily observes a situation but also interacts with the others involved in the study.

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The more immersed in a culture you become, the more you stand to learn about it, but at the same time, you stand to lose your objectivity about a culture as you become more immersed in it.

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3.2.4: Interview Studies

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Some researchers prefer to use one-on-one (individual) interviews, whereas other researchers prefer to conduct interviews in groups. Likewise, there are numerous ways, such as audio or video recording and written notes, to record an interview ses- sion. Moreover, an interview session may be either struc- tured or unstructured. Researchers using the structured technique follow a predetermined script, instrument, or protocol.

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3.2.5: Narrative Studies

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Researchers who use the narrative study strategy actively gather and interpret stories that individuals in their target group use to describe their lives.

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For example, researchers may use life histories, biographies, personal experiences, or oral his- tories. While they are examining these stories, researchers may choose an individual’s particular speech pattern; this variant of the narrative study is called narrative analysis and may involve the study “of literature, diaries, or folk- lore”

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3.2.6: Case Studies

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intensively observe and record the behavior of one or sometimes two partici- pants over an extended period of time. Because there are no guidelines for conducting a case study, the procedures employed, behaviors observed, and reports produced may vary substantially.

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Frequently, case studies are used in clinical settings to help formulate hypotheses and ideas for further research.

Example Broca's .corpus callosum . Broca's aphasia results from damage to a part of the brain called Broca's area,

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Other case studies might involve the obser- vation of a rare animal in the wild or at a zoological park, a speci�c type of mental patient in a hospital, or a gifted child at school.

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when using the case study method, the researcher should not generalize beyond the participant who was studied. Additionally, because the researcher manipulates no variables, use of the case study method precludes establishing cause-and-effect relations.

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understanding of the behavior of one individual may lead to more general predictions.

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3.2.7: Artifact Analysis

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artifact analysis typically involves the examination and analysis of extant artifacts. Text-based items such as books, magazines, newspapers, Web sites, and annual reports belong in this category. I

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“One example of artifact analysis is a study of radio station listening prefer- ences. Rather than conducting an obtrusive survey or interview about favorite radio stations, the researchers went to local auto dealers and garages and checked all cars that were being serviced to see what stations the radios were currently tuned to”

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3.2.8: Historiographies

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refers to the collection and analysis of information and data in order to reconstruct past events. Researchers refer to �rsthand oral and written accounts, diaries, photographs, and so forth as primary sources for a historical study. Material not written by the person being studied, such as newspaper and magazine articles, and textbooks, are secondary sources.

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3.2.9: Symbolic Interaction

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focus on the common sym- bols that give meaning to human interaction within a social group context. Such symbols might include religious jew- elry and icons, gang-related graf�ti, and merchandising and sports logos. The symbolic interaction method typi- cally is a two-stage process. First, researchers determine the symbols used by the social group they are studying. Then, they determine the relations between and among these symbols (

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3.2.10: Grounded Theory

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the primary tools of discovery are interviews and observations. Grounded theory, however, goes beyond the descriptive and interpretive goals of these two approaches and is aimed at building theories

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The ultimate goal of this approach is to derive theories that are grounded in (based on) reality. A grounded theory is one that is uncovered, developed, and conditionally con�rmed through collecting and making sense of data related to the issue at hand. The hope is that such theories will lead to a better understanding of the phenomenon of interest and to ideas for exerting some control over the phenom- enon.

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Although grounded theory is designed to be a precise and rigorous process, creativity is also an impor- tant part of that process. The researcher needs to ask innovative questions and come up with unique formula- tions of the data “to create new order out of the old”

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The grounded-theory approach is reminiscent of a detective’s attempt to build a theory about why certain types of crimes are commit- ted. For example, by interviewing a number of arsonists, you might be able to develop a theory about why arson takes place.

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knowing the research literature too well before using this approach because knowing the categories, clas- si�cations, and conclusions of previous researchers might constrain your creativity in �nding new formulations. Instead, nontechnical materials such as letters, diaries, newspapers, biographies, and videotapes are essential to grounded-theory studies.

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the grounded-theory approach occurs in its use of coding, which is analogous to data analysis in quantitative approaches. T

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Open coding is much like the description goal of science. During open coding, the researcher labels and categorizes the phenomena being studied. Axial cod- ing involves �nding links between categories and subcat- egories from open coding. The �nal step in the process, selective coding, entails identifying a core category and relating the subsidiary categories to this core. From this last type of coding, the grounded-theory researcher moves toward developing a model of process and a transactional system, which essentially tells the story of the outcome of the research. Process refers to a linking of actions and inter- actions that result in some outcome. A transactional sys- tem is grounded theory’s analytical method that allows an examination of the interactions of different events.

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The transactional system is depicted in a conditional matrix s

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In the conditional matrix, the factors that are most pertinent to an event are shown at the interior; the least important factors, on the exterior.

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3.2.11: Participatory Action Research

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is a qualitative research approach “that assumes knowledge is rooted in social relations and most powerful when produced collaboratively through action”

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Researchers typically conduct a PAR project in a community; the goal of the project usually is to evaluate and understand the impact of some social program on the community.

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For example

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evaluating the effects of taking high school and college courses on the attitudes and behaviors in inmates in a prison

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Beyond this general framework, the PAR approach can use one or more speci�c methods to gather information; Fine et al. used several methods— both quali- tative and quantitative. Their qualitative methods included interviews, focus groups, surveys, and narra- tives. Their quantitative method was a statistical analysis of the effects of attending college courses.

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Qualitatitve Research Methods 1. Because psychologists have a large number of diverse areas of research interest, they have developed a vari- ety of research methods. Several of these methods are nonexperimental. 2. Qualitative research has its roots in the work of so- ciologists and anthropologists. Researchers conduct this type of research in a natural setting and attempt to understand a social entity, such as a culture, or a hu- man problem by developing a holistic narrative about the culture of problem. Unlike experimental projects, qualitative research does not record numerical data and report the results of statistical analyses. 3. Qualitative researchers use con�rmability, depend- ability, credibility, and transferability to evaluate the trustworthiness of a qualitative research report. 4. Naturalistic observation seeks answers to research questions by observing behavior in the real world. 5. The goal of an ethnographic inquiry is to learn about a culture or some aspect of a culture from the perspec- tive of the members of the culture. To conduct an eth- nographic inquiry, the researcher becomes a member of the group being studied (i.e., participant observation). 6. A focus group consists of 7 to 10 participants with shared experiences or similar characteristics who meet for 1 to 11⁄2 hours to discuss a topic of common interest

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7. Interviews, which can be structured or unstructured, can serve as the primary method of qualitative re- search. Reports produced by unstructured interviews may be more dif�cult to analyze and synthesize. 8. Narrative studies analyze stories that participants use to describe their lives. 9. Case studies involve the intensive observation of a sin- gle participant over an extended period of time. 10. Artifact analysis involves the examination of artifacts, often text-based, to learn about a target group. 11. Historiography refers to the collection and analysis of information and data in order to reconstruct past events. 12. Researchers using the symbolic interaction method examine the common symbols that give meaning to human interaction within a social group context. 13. Grounded theory is a qualitative research approach that attempts to develop theories of understanding based on data from the real world.