Chapter 17 Qualitative Research: General Principles PowerPoint developed by: E. Roberto Orellana & Jennifer Manuel

Overview  Topics Appropriate for Qualitative Research  Prominent Qualitative Research Paradigms  Qualitative Sampling Methods  Strengths and Weaknesses  Standards for Evaluating Qualitative Studies  Research Ethics in Qualitative Research

Qualitative Research Methods  Qualitative research methods attempt to tap the deeper meanings of particular human experiences, generating theoretically richer observations that are not easily reduced to numbers  By going directly to the phenomenon under study, and observing it as completely as possible, researchers can develop a deeper understanding of it

Topics Appropriate for Qualitative Research  Qualitative research is especially appropriate to the study of topics for which attitudes and behaviors can best be understood within their natural setting  Qualitative research is especially appropriate for the study of social processes over time (e.g., rumblings and final explosion of a riot as events actually occur)

Topics Appropriate for Qualitative Research Appropriate topics for field research include:  Practices  Episodes  Encounters  Roles  Relationships  Groups  Organizations  Settlements  Social worlds  Lifestyles or subcultures

Prominent Qualitative Research Paradigms  Naturalism – An old tradition that emphasizes observing people in their everyday settings – E.g., Ethnography involves naturalistic observations and holistic understandings of cultures or subcultures  Grounded Theory – Attempts to derive theories from an analysis of the patterns, themes, and common categories discovered among observational data

Prominent Qualitative Research Paradigms  Participatory Action Research – Implicit belief that research functions not only as means of knowledge production, but also as a tool for education and development of consciousness as well as mobilization for action  Case Studies – Idiographic examinations of a single individual, family, group, organization, community or society

Qualitative Sampling Methods  Probability sampling is sometimes used in qualitative research, however nonprobability techniques are much more common  Nonprobability samples used in qualitative research are called purposive samples

Qualitative Sampling Methods Purposive samples include:  Quota sample  Snowball sample  Deviant case sample  Intensity sample  Critical incidents sample  Maximum variation sample

Strengths and Weaknesses  Depth of understanding  Flexibility  Cost  Subjectivity  Generalizibility

Standards for Evaluating Qualitative Studies  Given the variety of research methods and paradigms, a general agreement exists that one key issue in evaluating the rigor of qualitative research is trustworthiness

Standards for Evaluating Qualitative Studies Contemporary Positivist Standards Three key threats to trustworthiness:  Reactivity  Researcher bias  Respondent bias

Standards for Evaluating Qualitative Studies Contemporary Positivist Standards Strategies to minimize threats:  Prolonged engagement  Triangulation  Peer debriefing and support  Negative case analysis  Member checking  Auditing

Standards for Evaluating Qualitative Studies Social Constructivist Standards  This paradigm views trustworthiness and strategies to enhance rigor more in terms of capturing multiple subjective realities than of ensuring the portrayal of an objective social reality, the objective of contemporary positivists.

Standards for Evaluating Qualitative Studies Empowerment Standards  Those who take a critical social science or participatory action research approach to qualitative research include empowerment standards in critically appraising qualitative research  Research must evoke action by participants to effect desired change and a redistribution of power

Research Ethics in Qualitative Research Conducting qualitative research responsibly involves confronting ethical issues that arise from the researcher’s direct contact with participants: – Is it ethical to talk to people when they don’t know you will be recording their words? – Is it ethical to see a severe need for help and not respond to it directly? – Is it ethical to “pay” people with trade-offs for access to their lives and minds?