Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.1 Chapter 4 Introduction to Qualitative Research Effective in capturing complexity of communication phenomena Sensitive to social construction of meaning Emphasizes communication environment of interactants

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.2 What is Qualitative Research? Preserves the form and content of interaction Contextually bound Discourse is the data Analyzed for its qualities – empirical, inductive, and interpretive Aims for subjectivity Allows interactants’ voices to be heard

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.3 Mutual Simultaneous Shaping The here and now Everything influences everything else Emphasis on process and the holistic frame of interaction Plausible explanations built on what is observed

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.4 Analytic Induction From the specific to the general Explanations and theories emerge from the data Propositions formulated continuously throughout the data collection and data analysis process

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.5 Model for Qualitative Research Interdependent stages Revise the design after considering impact of each component Top triangle reflects design of the project Bottom triangle reflects activities in the field

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.6 Conceptualizing Research Questions for Qualitative Research Based on previous literature Broadly stated Nondirectional Gives researcher latitude in following interesting paths Specific to the interaction context

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.7 Assessing Research Questions Does the question ask how or what? Is the question nondirectional? Does it reference the research site?

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.8 Assessing Research Questions Does the question: Focus on a specific type of interaction? Discover how meaning is developed/shared? Reveal naturally occurring communication not suitable for study in an experiment? Reveal unanticipated phenomena/influences? Reveal process that occur over time? Explore the influences of the context?

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.9 What Counts as Data in Qualitative Research? Anything that can be observed or captured Interpreting meaning Researcher construction Subjective valuing Contingent accuracy Level of evidence Microlevel, midlevel, macrolevel

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.10 Making the Case for Qualitative Research Advantages Documents the unseen Provides information about those who cannot or will not speak for themselves Supplements information from quantitative studies Limitations Communication environment must be accessible Interactants may change their behavior Observations filtered through the researcher Time consuming

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.11 Issues of Reliability and Validity Focus on the reliability and validity of the techniques or processes used to collect and analyze data Validity achieved when report accurately reflects communication observed Validity best assessed by those observed

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.12 Threats to Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research Inaccuracy or incompleteness of data Problems of interpretation – yours/theirs? Similarity/difference in treatment of data Data that does not fit cannot be dismissed Selection bias Reactivity bias

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.13 Comparing Quantitative and Qualitative Research One methodology is not inherently better than the other Each has advantages and limitations Method should be selected because it helps the researcher answer hypotheses and research questions

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.14 Key Differences Quantitative 1.Uses numbers 2.Participants randomly selected 3.Removes some level of contextuality 4.Relies on formal logic Qualitative 1.Uses detailed descriptions 2.Participants selected purposely 3.Deeply contextualized 4.Interpretive frame

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.15 Key Similarities Both quantitative and qualitative methods Rely on empirical evidence Provide useful information for describing, understanding, and explaining human communication behavior Needed to develop complete picture of communication

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.16 Which Method Do You Choose? Choose the method that answers, What do I want to know? Which method will increase the validity, reliability, and generalizability of the data? Which method will maximize the amount of useful data generated to answer the question posed?

Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.17 Triangulation Use of several methods or data to validate outcomes Data triangulation Investigator triangulation Theory triangulation Methodological triangulation Interdisciplinary triangulation