Qualitative Prospectus Template

TableData

Table 2.1 Overview of Main Research Methodologies, With Common Methods (used with permission) [Acknowledgment: Deep, deep thanks to Dr. Anne MacCleave, Professor Emerita

(MSVU), for vetting and validating the core concepts contained in this table]

Research Paradigm Positivistic Postpositivistic

Research Methodology Quantitative and Empirically Based Qualitative

Qualitative

Empirical (Scientific)

Interpretive (Humanistic)

Critical (Power)

Intent of Inquiry Explore, describe, predict, control, and explain

Understand Emancipate

AXIOMS

Epistemology

(What counts as knowledge and ways of knowing [criteria for evaluating knowledge]? How should we study the world? What is meaningful evidence or

– The one truth is out there waiting to be discovered via the scientific method

– Strive for certainties, laws of behaviors, and principles

– Truth is created, and there is more than one truth; knowledge relies on humans’ interpretations of their world

– Strive for confidence

– Truth is grounded in the context

– Knowledge is grounded in social and historical practices

– Knowledge is

insights? How does knowledge arise?

that provide explanations leading to predictions and control of phenomena

– Knowledge is objective (bias- free)

– Knowledge is dualistic (fragmented and not connected); mind and matter are separate

– Only knowledge generated using the scientific method is valid

– Only things that can be seen (observed or experimented) are worthy of study

– Knowledge comes from using the scientific method (experiments or

– Knowledge is constructed by people

– Agreed-upon knowledge in one culture may not be valid in another culture

– Takes into account social and cultural influences on knowledge creation

– Knowledge is subjective or intersubjective and includes perspectives

– Research is often perspective- seeking, not truth-seeking

– There are many ways of knowing aside from the scientific method (e.g., stories, spiritual experiences, religion, the

emancipatory, created through critically questioning the way things “have always been done”

– Knowledge is about hidden power structures that permeate society

– Knowledge is dialectic (transformative), consensual, and normative

– Knowledge is about the world, the way things really are, and is subject to change

nonexperimental methods)

sacred, the mystical, wisdom, art, drama, dreams, music)

– Knowledge can be cognitive, feelings, or embodied

Ontology

(What should be the object of the study? What is human nature? What does it mean to be human? What counts as a meaningful statement about reality? How do people make choices? What is the nature of reality? How can reality be meaningfully portrayed?)

– Reality is out there; the world is a universe of facts waiting to be discovered

– There is a single reality made of discrete elements: When we find them all through the scientific method, we have a full picture of reality

– A single reality exists that people cannot see

– A fact is a fact; it cannot be

– Reality is in here (in people’s minds and/or collectively constructed)

– Social reality is relative to the observer, and everyday concepts need to be understood to appreciate this reality

– The focus is on the life-world and shared meanings and understandings of that world

– Reality is socially

– Reality is here and now (it is material, actually of the world, not imagined)

– Reality is shaped by ethnic, cultural, gender, social, and political values, and mediated by power relations

– Reality is constructed within this social-historical context

– Humans are not confined to

interpreted

– The true nature of reality can only be obtained by testing theories

– Seeing is believing

– Laws of nature can be derived from scientific data

– Human nature is determined by things people are not aware of and have no control over

– Humans are passive, malleable, and controllable

– Reality is determined by the environment, inherited potential, or the interaction of the two

constructed via the lived experiences of people

– Human nature is determined by how people see themselves

– Humans are active and self- creating

– Human beings can act intentionally (need capacity and opportunity)

– Reality can be a product of people’s minds or the interactions of persons

– Reality constitutes that which is constructed by individuals in interaction within their contexts and with other people

– Reality is conditional upon

one particular state or set of conditions; things can change

– Human beings have the capacity to exercise control over social arrangements and institutions: They can create a new reality

– Humans who are oppressed are able to emancipate themselves and challenge the status quo

– Reality is never fully understood and is deeply shaped by power

– Seek to truly understand the real circumstances (i.e., the political, social, and institutional

– Reality is external to our consciousness (not a product of our minds)

human experiences

structures) in order to change the power balance

Logic

(How do people come to their understandings? What is acceptable as rigor and inference in the development of arguments, judgments, insights, revelations, or social action?)

– Deductive, rational, formal logic

– Through objective observation, experts form research questions and hypotheses and empirically test them

– Concerned with prediction, control, and explanation

– Clear distinction between facts and values

– Strive to generalize universal laws

– The goal of

– Inductive logic, attempting to find various interpretations of reality and recognize patterns that govern and guide human behavior

– Assumes researchers can help people become aware of their unconscious thoughts

– Concerned with meanings and understandings so people can live together; how people make sense of their world

– Meaningful findings are more valuable than

– Inductive logic, aimed at emancipation

– Attempt to reveal ideologies and power relationships, leading to self- empowerment and emancipation

– Concerned with the relationship between meanings and autonomy and with responsibility as citizens

– Concerned with critiquing and changing society

research is replication and theory testing, leading to control, predictions, and explanations

generalizations

– The goal is to understand lived experiences from the point of view of those living them

– The goal of research is a credible representation of the interpretations of those experiencing the phenomenon under study

– The intent is to create contextualized findings

– The goal of research is to reveal power relationships leading to changes in the status quo and more autonomy, inclusion, and justice

– Determine sources of oppression (whether internal or external)

– Focus on complex generative mechanisms that are not readily observable (e.g., it is hard to observe consciousness raising)

Axiology – Values-neutral – Values-laden – Values-

(What is the role of values and perceptions? The role of researchers and participants? How is what is studied influenced by the researcher and the participants? What is the relationship between the researcher and the participants?)

(often ignored)

– Moral issues are beyond empirical investigation

– No place for bias, values, feelings, perceptions, hopes, or expectations of either researcher or participant

– Researcher tries to control for anything that can contaminate the study

– The relationship between researcher and participant is objective and dualistic (separate with no interchange)

– The intent is to uncover the beliefs, customs, and so forth that shape human behavior

– Bias, feelings, hopes, expectations, perceptions, and values are central to the research process

– Participants play a central role in the research, even instigating it

– The perspective of the “insiders” supercedes that of the researcher

– The role of the researcher is to uncover conscious and unconscious explanations people have for their life through dialogue with and among participants

oriented and values-driven

– Researchers’ proactive values concerning social justice are central to the research

– The intent is to critically examine unquestioned values, beliefs, and norms to reveal power

– The researcher works in collaboration with citizen interlocutors as conversational partners in dialogue

– The researcher seeks to understand the effects of power so as to help people empower themselves

– The very participatory

– The relationship between the researcher and participants is intense, prolonged, and dialogic (deep insights through interaction)

research process is grounded in terms of the insiders’ perspective, respecting that researchers have contributing expertise (balance both)

– The role of the researcher is to challenge insiders with expert research findings leading to self-reflection and emancipation

– The intent is to create change in society by emancipating citizens to take action

– The relationship between researcher and participants is dialogic, transactional, and dialectic (transformative)

Methods Common to Each Methodology

(Appreciating the mixed methods methodology, which employs quantitative and qualitative approaches in the same study)

Seeking causality, laws, and relations via:

Quantitative:

Experiments

Quasi- experiments

Field experiments

Surveys

Seeking relations and regularities via:

Qualitative:

Quasi- experiments

Field experiments

Surveys

Ethnoscience (new ethnography)

Ethnography

Seeking theory, meanings, and patterns via:

Phenomenology

Case studies

Content analysis

Grounded theory

Natural/ interpretive inquiry

Discourse analysis

Thematic analysis

Document analysis

Seeking meanings and interpretations via:

Case studies

Discourse analysis

Ethical inquiry

Seeking reflection, emancipation, and problem solving via:

Action research

Discourse analysis

Participatory research

Critical analysis

Feminist inquiry

Reflective phenomenology

Phenomenology

Case studies

Content analysis

Life history study

Narrative research

Hermeneutic inquiry

Heuristic inquiry