CHAPTER OVERVIEW The Case Study Ethnographic Research Historical Research

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS Qualitative research Uses descriptions rather than numerical measurements of behavior. Asks different kinds of questions.

DOCUMENTATION Documents are often saved to provide a record for later use. Public documents are usually readily available. Availability of internal documents may be restricted.

ARCHIVAL RECORDS Provide descriptive data about an organization. Can be a “gold mine” of useful information.

PHYSICAL ARTIFACTS Physical traces that are usually not purposively left behind. Can be interpreted to provide insight into behavior that cannot be observed directly.

DIRECT OBSERVATION Researchers actually watch the behavior of interest. Usually unobtrusive—the researcher does not interfere with or participate in the behavior.

PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION Observers are members of the group being observed. Observers can become biased—maintaining objectivity is essential.

FOCUS GROUPS Focus groups are formed to address specific issues. A focus group has four main functions. Gather information. Generate insight. Understand how a group’s members reach decisions. Encourage interaction.

INTERVIEWS Permit an in depth exploration of a participant’s opinion/thinking on a subject. Should be focused on the issue at hand, but flexible enough to explore related issues.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Open-ended questions allow the subject to elaborate on or explain a response.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Mirror questions are follow up questions based on earlier responses.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Hypothetical questions ask the subject to imagine how they would respond to a foreseeable event.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Summary questions prepare the subject for a new topic or signal an end to the interview.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Leading questions Are not objective; they influence the subject to answer in a particular way. Leading questions should be avoided.

CASE STUDIES Study one (or a few) persons, institutions, or events. Are designed to gather as much detail about a subject as possible.

CASE STUDIES--ADVANTAGES Limited focus allows detailed examination of subject. Uses several different techniques to gather data. Best way to gather detailed information about subject. Often suggest directions for future research.

CASE STUDIES--DISADVANTAGES Time-consuming. Subject to biases in observing and recording data. Limited generalizability. Cannot demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships.

ETHNOGRAPHIES A good way to study a culture. Provide rich detail about their subject.

CONDUCTING ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH The holistic perspective is more concerned with the “big-picture”. Looks at the entire group’s behavior rather than at individual behaviors. Frequently uses participant observation. Ethnographers avoid proposing hypotheses. Researchers begin with only enough information to “fit-in”

HISTORICAL RESEARCH “Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it!” George Santayana 1905 Historical research is also called Histiography.

CONDUCTING HISTORICAL RESEARCH Define a topic. Form a hypothesis. Decide on useful and appropriate sources. Determine how to evaluate evidence. Integrate and synthesize data. Interpret results with reference to the original hypothesis.

SOURCES OF DATA FOR HISTORICAL RESEARCH Primary sources Originate with the people or animals actually involved in the historical event. Are direct results of the historical event.

SOURCES OF DATA FOR HISTORICAL RESEARCH Secondary sources Are at least “once removed” from the historical event. Result from “after-the-fact” reports of an historical event.

EVALUATING AUTHENTICITY Authenticity or external criticism asks whether data originated as described. Did the person who signed a document actually write it? Was an artifact found where it was left, or was it “planted” or moved?

EVALUATING ACCURACY Authenticity or internal criticism asks whether the source of the data was objective and trustworthy. Do archival documents “fairly” represent what actually happened? Do surviving artifacts adequately reflect an entire culture or only a small part of it?

LIMITATIONS OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH Generalizability is limited. Data are not observed by trained observers, and so may be questioned. Time-consuming. Evaluated by different criteria than quantitative research.