Qualitative Research

Qualitative Research Phenomenological paradigm Assumes reality is socially constructed Seeks understanding Ethnography approach Researcher becomes “immersed” Uses an emergent design

Quantitative Research Positivist paradigm Assumes an objective reality Seeks to explain causes of changes in social facts Experimental or correlational designs Researcher is detached Uses established set of procedures and steps

Qualitative Research Purposes: To describe and explore To describe and explain To describe and explore: Sample Question: What is occurring in this social situation? What are the categories and themes of participants’ meanings? To describe and explain: Sample Questions: What events, beliefs, attitudes and/or policies impact on this phenomenon? How do participants explain the phenomenon? Most qualitative questions focus on analytical topics involving the “how” and “why” of a phenomena. To address these concerns, researcher collects descriptive details about the who, what, where and when of the phenomena. Focus is on individuals, groups, processes or organizations

Themes of Qualitative Inquiry Naturalistic Inquiry Inductive Analysis Holistic Perspective Qualitative Data Personal Contact and Insight Dynamic Systems Naturalistic inquiry- qualitative research designs are naturalistic in that the researcher does not attempt to manipulate the research setting. There are no prior constraints placed on what the outcomes of the research will be. A naturalistic inquiry strategy is selected when the researcher wants to minimize research manipulation by studying naturally unfolding program or treatment processes and impacts; Inductive analysis- inductive to the extent that the researcher attempts to make sense of the situation without imposing preexisting expectations on the phenomenon or setting under study. Categories or dimensions of analysis emerge from open-ended observations as the evaluator comes to understand program patterns that exist. So understanding emerges from experience with the setting under investigation. When focus is on individuals, an inductive approach begins with the individual experiences of those experiences. Where the unit of analysis involves comparing several programs, communities, etc., the I. A. looks for unique characteristics that make each setting a case unto itself.

Themes of Qualitative Inquiry Unique Case Orientation Context Sensitivity Empathic Neutrality Design Flexibility Holistic perspective- assumes that the whole is understood as a complex system that is greater than the sum of its parts. The evaluator searches for the unifying nature of particular settings. The holistic approach gathers data on multiple aspects of the setting under study in order to assemble a comprehensive and complete picture of the social dynamic of the situation. Direct personal contact- Going into the field means having direct and personal contact with people under study in their own environments. The evaluator gets close to people through physical proximity for a period of time as well as through development of closeness in the social sense of shared experience and confidentiality. Dynamic systems- the qualitative approach conceives of phenomena as dynamic and developing with “treatments” changing in subtle but important ways as people learn or conditions are altered. This approach is especially appropriate for developing, innovative or changing programs where the focus is on program improvement.

Unique case orientation- the depth and detail of qualitative methods derive from a small number of case studies, too small for confident generalizations. Case studies are useful where one needs to understand some special people, particular problem or unique situation in great depth. Context sensitivity- places findings in a social, historical, and temporal context; not concerned with the possibility or meaningfulness of generalizations across time and space. Empathic neutrality- critics of qualitative inquiry have said that this approach is too subjective since researcher is the instrument of both data collection and data interpretation, and because he/she has personal contact with people under study. Yet the values of absolute objectivity and value-free science are impossible to attain in practice and of questionable desirability since they ignore the intrinsically social nature and purposes of research. However, no credible research strategy should advocate biased distortion of data to serve the researcher’s purpose. Therefore the researcher must adopt a stance of neutrality with regard to the phenomenon under study. He/she must be committed to understanding the world as it is and be true to it as it is. Design Flexibility- Qualitative designs cannot be completely specified in advance of fieldwork. The design unfolds as the fieldwork unfolds. Or is partially emergent.

Data Collection Methods Direct observation In-depth, open-ended interviews Written documents 3 kinds of data collection. Interviews yields direct quotations from people about their experiences, opinions, feelings and knowledge. Observation consist of detailed descriptions of people’s activities, behaviors, actions and full range of interpersonal interactions and organizational processes that are part of human experience. Document analysis yields excerpts, quotations or entire passages from organizational, clinical or program records, memoranda and correspondence, official publications and reports, personal diaries, open-ended written responses to questionnaires and surveys Four people-oriented mandates in collecting qualitative data. (1) researcher must get close enough to the people and situation being studied to personally understand in-depth the details of what goes on. (2) must aim at capturing what actually takes place and what people actually say, (3) must include a great deal of pure description of people, activities, interactions and settings, (4) must include direct quotations (Lofland, 1971)

Sources of Data Program setting Human, Social Environment Planned Activities and Formal Interactions- Informal interactions and Unplanned activities Native Language of the Phenomenon Nonverbal Communication Unobtrusive Indicators Documents What does not happen

Qualitative Interviewing Informal-conversational General interview guide Standardized open-ended The purpose of interviewing is to find out what is in and on someone’s mind. Open-ended interviewing accesses the perspectives of the person being interviewed. The quality of the information obtained is largely dependent on the interviewer. TYPES Informal conversational interview- most open-ended approach. Most of the questions flow from the immediate context. No predetermined set of questions is possible. Useful when the researcher can stay in the setting for some period of time so he can get in lots of interviews. Weakness-requires greater amount of time to collect systematic information b/c it may take several conversations with different people before a similar set of questions has been posed to all. Harder to pull together and analyze.

Purposeful Sampling Comprehensive Sampling Site Selection Maximum Variation Sampling Network Sampling Purposeful sampling- selecting information-rich cases for study in-depth (Patton, 1990) when one wants to understand something about those cases without needing or desiring to generalize to all such cases. Is done to increase the utility of information obtained from small samples. Requires you get information about variations among the subunits before the sample is chosen. Comprehensive Sampling- in which every participant, group, setting, event or other relevant information is examined. You choose the entire group by some criteria. Each subunit is manageble in size and so diverse that one does not want to lose possible variation. E.g. you study high school students interning at different sites, so you want a subsample from each site. Site selection- is preferred when the research focus is on complex microprocesses. A clear definition of the criteria for site selection is essential. The criteria should relate to /be appropriate for the research problem and purpose.

Sampling by Case Type Extreme case Intense case Typical case Unique case Reputational case Critical case Concept/theory-based case Maximum Variation Sampling- or quota selection is a strategy to illuminate different aspects of the research problem. You select to obtain maximum differences of perceptions about a topic among information-rich informants or group. E.g., you divide elem teachers into 3 categories based on numbers of years experience and select a few from each category. This is not a representative sample because you are only doing this to describe in detail different meanings of teacher career development for individuals with different years of experience Network sampling- Each successive group or person is nominated by a prior person or appropriate profile or attribute.. Also called snowball sampling. Each successive participant is named by a preceding group or individual. Participant referrals are the basis for choosing a sample. The researcher develops a profile of the attributes or particular trait sought and asks each participant to suggest others who fit the profile. Used when persons sought do not form a naturally bounded group but are scattered throughout populations. Used more for in-depth interview studies than observational ones.

Sample Size Guidelines related to Purpose of the study Research problem Data collection technique Availability of information-rich cases Guidelines only are possible (n = 1 to n = 40 or more). Depends more on the information-richness of the cases and the analytical capabilities of the researcher. What is purpose of study? A case that is descriptive-exploratory may not need as many cases as does a self-contained study that aims at descriptive-explanatory. What is focus of study? Process-focuses studies depend on the natural length of the process and often have fewer participants, but interview study of selected informants depends on access to the informants What is primary data collection strategy? The number of days in the field --some studies have small numbers but the researcher is continually returning to the situation/informants seeking confirmation data What is the availability of informants? Some cases are rare or difficult to locate. Is the information becoming redundant? Would adding more informants yield new insights?

Validity Validity refers to the degree to which the explanations of phenomena match the realities of the world. Includes both internal (causal inferences) and external (generalizability) and issues of objectivity and reliability. Validity: do researchers actually observe what they think they observe? The degree to which the interpretations and concepts have mutual meanings between the participants and the researcher. To enhance validity: Rests of data collection and analysis techniques. (SEE next slide).

Strategies to Enhance Validity Prolonged and persistent field work Multi-method strategies Participant language Low-inference descriptors Multiple researchers Mechanically recorded data Participant researcher Member checking Participant review Negative cases or discrepant data

Reliability

Strengths Weaknesses Understanding Realism Validity Reliability Generalizability Validity Reliability Weaknesses The validity and reliability depend to a great extent on the methodological skill, sensitivity and integrity or the researcher. Systematic and rigorous observation involves far more than just being present and looking around In qualitative inquiry the researcher is the instrument. Skillful interviewing is more than just asking questions Content analysis involves more than just reading to see what’s there.

Design The Case study The design of Qualitative Research is the Case Study. Case study design: means that the data analysis focuses on one phenomenon, which the researcher selects to understand in depth, regardless of the number of sites or participants for the study. One group of students, one administrator, one process, one program, one concept. Sometimes the focus is on contrasting sub-units in a program (male/female, black/white, drop-outs/graduates), but the purpose is to understand one phenomenon: the entity or process The plan for choosing sites and participants is an emergent design in which each incremental research decision depends on prior information. The process may look circular sometimes rather than having discrete, sequential steps.

Evaluating Qualitative Research Introduction Is there a clear rationale for the study? Is the literature review pertinent to the focus of the research? Methodology Are validity issues addressed? Are limitations of design, data access addressed?

Evaluating Qualitative Research Findings and Interpretations Are perspectives of different participants clearly presented and is contextual information provided? Are multiple perspectives presented? Are the results well documented and interpretations linked to the results? Are personal beliefs kept separate from the data? Are the interpretations reasonable? Were researcher preconceptions and biases acknowledged?

Types of Qualitative Research Ethnographic research focuses on the question: “What is the culture of this group of people?” Primary method is participant observation in the tradition of anthropology. The critical assumption guiding E. inquiry is that every human group that is together for a period of time will evolve a culture. Culture is that collection of behavior patterns and beliefs that constitute “standards for deciding what is, standards for deciding what can be, standards for deciding how one feels about it, for what to do about it, for how to go about doing it.” (Goodenough, 1971) Works in education b/c programs and schools develop cultures. Findings are always interpreted and applied from a cultural perspective--that’s what makes this method of participant observation and fieldwork approach unique. (Patton, 1990)

Types of Qualitative Research Ethnographic Descriptive Historical

Assignment Critical Analysis of a Research Article