Appraising

Ontology (what exists? What’s out there to know?)  Constructivist ontology/relativism: (reality and existence are subjective; they are continually refined and negotiated relative to experiences of researchers and research)

Epistemology (the way we know things/perceived relationship with knowledge)  Non-positivist paradigm (truth varies according to situation; truth developed relative to self and others – i.e. inter-subjectively (e.g., interpretivist, constructivist, critical, feminist and post-structural/post-modernist paradigms)

Methodology (procedure to get the knowledge?)  Inductive approach (generating new theories/moving from specific observations to the broader generalization/theories)

Method (exact tools to acquire knowledge)  Qualitative approach (in-depth understanding of the motivations, feelings, opinions and experiences of the individuals)

Data collection - Interview - Focus group - Observation - Action research (research carried out by those who are taking the action, to revise/improve the undertaken action using critical paradigm) - Secondary data collection

Data analysis - Content analysis/Thematic analysis (similar approach, however, thematic analysis has a higher level of interpretation and less descriptive) - Narrative analysis (analysis of narratives and/or core story construction) - Discourse analysis (analysing a natural occurring talk/conversation) - Framework analysis (like thematic analysis, however, with more depth/higher transparency due to the connections between different stages of the analysis) - Constant comparative method (process of theorising that is grounded in the data; comparison between researcher memos, codes, themes and data; supports initial- and cross- analysis) - Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) – provide sense to a complex and ambiguous phenomena

Analysis software: (e.g., NVivo, Atlas, Dedoose, MAXQDA)

Sampling Non-probability sampling - Convenience - Snowball - Quota - Purposive

Types of qualitative studies: Ethnography (study of a cultural group) Phenomenological research (lived experience/interpretation of people about a specific phenomenon) Grounded theory research (to generate a theory) Narrative research (individuals’ stories about their life) Case-study research (detailed information about a specific event/story/activity/program)

Frame the research question: PICO (Population, Interest, Context) SPICE (Setting, Perspective, Interest, Comparison, Evaluation) SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research type)

Figure 2 - Research process in non-positivist studies using qualitative methods

References:

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Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.

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This research process has been developed by Dr. Nasim Salehi, which can be beneficial in understanding the most common research designs for non-positivist studies. It will also help with conceptualisation and operationalisation of your research.