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© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. What is “Qualitative Research”? Involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of narrative data Focus tends to be on the quality, rather than quantity, of an activity Greater emphasis on holistic description than in quantitative research 2

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Five Essential Characteristics… Qualitative research… »Is naturalistic. »Is descriptive. »Is concerned with process as well as product. »Has data that are analyzed inductively. »Has a primary concern with how people make sense and meaning out of their lives. 3

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Qualitative Research Process Steps are fairly consistent with those used in quantitative research, however… »The steps are not quite as distinct »They may overlap or occur out of sequential order 4

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Qualitative Research Process (cont’d.) 1. Identification of phenomenon to be studied 2. Review of related literature 3. Identification and selection of participants 4. Collection of data 5. Analysis of data 6. Generation of research questions 7. Additional collection of data, analysis, and revision of research questions…and more! 8. Final interpretation of analyses and development of conclusions 5

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Qualitative Data Collection Techniques Goal is to collect narrative data »Observations »Fieldnotes & observer’s comments »Interviews »Focus groups »Journals »Existing documents and records 6

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Characteristics of Qualitative Data Validity of research data »Trustworthiness (accuracy and believability) »Credibility »Dependability »Accomplished through: Triangulation Member checking Prolonged engagement and persistent observation 7

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Qualitative Data Analysis Techniques Inductive analysis »Develop coding scheme »Code observational notes and interview transcripts »Describe main features of categories (as means of simplifying and reducing data) »Interpret the simplified data 8

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 Approaches to Qualitative Research Ethnography — study of the common practices or beliefs of a culture, group, or other community Narrative – convey experiences as expressed in lived and told stories of individuals Historical Research — describes events, settings of the past in an attempt to better understand them Grounded Theory — attempts to discover an existing theory or generate a new theory directly from data Phenomenology — describes and interprets the experiences or reactions of participants to a particular phenomenon from their individual perspectives Case Study Research — in-depth analysis of a single, restricted entity Approaches to Qualitative Research

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Nature of Ethnographic Research Research process used in the study of human interactions in social settings A highly descriptive, holistic approach to research Topics must involve people in groups May last from a week to several years Excellent at constructing a VERY detailed picture of human life and interactions 10

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. A Summary Description of Ethnographic Research Purpose —to describe/explain segment of group social life as it pertains to education Hypotheses/questions —begin as broad statements; emerge more specifically as data are collected Data —qualitative; verbal descriptions of people, interactions, settings, etc. within the specific context Data sources —people, settings, etc. 11

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. A Summary Description of Ethnographic Research (cont’d.) Data collection —done by researcher, through observations and interviews ( naturalistic observation ) Data analysis —presentation of verbal descriptions through logical analysis in an attempt to discover themes/ patterns that exist in a particular context 12

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Strengths and Weaknesses of Ethnographic Research Strengths: »Its holistic nature (as opposed to a “snapshot study”) Weaknesses: »A single observer calls into question the reliability of the data (and therefore, the validity of the results) »Must determine if biases exist…if observations are accurate OR is the researcher upfront about her biases, so that the reader can make sense of her interpretations. 13

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Published Example of Ethnographic Research “Influences of Teacher–Child Social Interactions on English Language Development in a Head Start Classroom” 14

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Nature of Narrative Research Purpose of narrative research is to tell stories, specifically the lived and told stories of individuals Several forms of narrative research: »Biographical study »Autobiographical study »Life history »Personal experience story »Oral history 15

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Procedures in Narrative Research Identify one or two individuals with interesting life stories to share Collect stories in multiple ways Be sure to collect information on their specific context Participants’ stories must be analyzed and “restoried” Actively collaborate with participants Epiphanies often result from this collaborative process 16

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Published Example of Narrative Research “Urban Catholic High Schools and Disadvantaged Females” 17

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. An Introduction to Qualitative Research ( Dr. Trochim’s discussion of "Qualitative Measures" (socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qual.htm)socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qual.htm Dr. Trochim’s discussion of "Qualitative Approaches" (socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualapp.htm)socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualapp.htm Dr. Trochim’s discussion of "Qualitative Methods" (socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualmeth.htm)socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualmeth.htm Dr. Trochim’s discussion of "Qualitative Validity" (socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualval.htm)socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualval.htm Qualitative Research Resources on the Internet ( 18 Applying Technology… Web sites related to qualitative research

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. QSR (Qualitative Solutions and Research) Home Page ( Free, downloadable demo version of NVivo qualitative data analysis software ( Research Proposal Evaluation Form for Qualitative Methodology ( 19 Applying Technology… More web sites related to qualitative research