Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Chapter 14: Qualitative Data Collection Objectives Distinguish between participant and nonparticipant observational techniques and describe how they can be used in a qualitative study. Identify four specific interview techniques and describe how they can be used in a qualitative study.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 Chapter 14: Qualitative Data Collection Objectives Describe how questionnaires and records can be used to provide data for qualitative studies. Describe strategies to address the trustworthiness (i.e., validity) and replicability (i.e., reliability) of qualitative research.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3 Qualitative Data Collection Qualitative data collection is referred to as fieldwork. Fieldwork includes materials gathered, recorded, and compiled during the study. Fieldwork requires the researcher to immerse himself in the setting over time. The researcher collects as much data she can as unobtrusively as possible. Qualitative data is narrative and visual.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 Observation The researcher obtains data by watching participants. Observational data is often less subject to participant bias. The researcher attempts not to change the setting.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 Observation Forms of observation Participant observation The researcher becomes part of and a participant in the situation being observed. The researcher participates while observing and collecting data.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 Observation Forms of observation Nonparticipant observation The researcher is not directly part of the situation being observed. The researcher observes and records but does not interact with the participants. Nonparticipant observation is a less intrusive form of observation.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 7 Recording Observations Field notes include descriptive information about what the observer has directly seen and heard on site. Field notes also include reflective information that captures an observer’s personal reactions and thoughts related to the observations. The researcher avoids evaluative terms in field notes but instead describes behaviors.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8 Recording Observations Observational protocols are often used. Protocols provide the researcher with a focus during the observation. Protocols also provide a framework for the field notes.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 Recording Observations Example protocol questions include: Who is being observed? How many people are involved, who are they, and what individual roles and mannerisms are evident? What is going on? What is the nature of the conversation? What are people saying or doing? What is the physical setting like? How are people seated, and where? How do the participants interact with each other?

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 10 Recording Observations What is the status or roles of people; who leads, who follows, who is decisive, who is not? What is the tone of the session? What beliefs, attitudes, values seem to emerge? How did the meeting end? Was the group divided, united, upset, bored, or relieved? What activities or interactions seemed unusual or significant? What was the observer doing during the session? What was the observer’s level of participation in the observation?

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11 Recording Observations Start slowly. Do not assume that you know what you are looking for until you have experience in the setting and have spent time with the participants. Try to enter the field with no preconceptions. Recognize and dismiss your assumptions and remain open. Write your field notes as soon as possible. Don’t discuss the observation until you have written field notes.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 12 Recording Observations Include the date, site, and time on notes. Use large margins and write impressions in the margins. Draw diagrams. List key words related to the observation and outline what you saw and heard. Use the keywords and the outline to write your notes. Keep the descriptive and reflective parts of your field notes distinct.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 13 Recording Observations Write down your hunches, questions, and insights after each observation. Number the lines or paragraphs of your field notes to help you find sections when needed. Enter your field notes into a computer program for later examination and analysis.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 14 Interviews Interviews are purposeful interactions in which one person obtains information from another person. Interviews allow for data not available through observation alone. Interviews may be formal and planned or informal and unplanned.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 15 Interviews Interviews may be unstructured or structured. Unstructured Unstructured interviews are similar to conversations. Unstructured interviews are commonly used to gain more personal information.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 16 Interviews Structured interviews include predetermined questions. Phrasing structured interviews can be challenging. Include both open-ended and closed questions. Pilot test the questions.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 17 Guidelines for Interviewing Listening is the most important part of interviewing. Don’t interrupt. Wait. Tolerate silence. The participant may be thinking. Avoid leading questions. Keep participants focused and ask for details.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 18 Guidelines for Interviewing Follow-up on what participants say and ask questions when you don’t understand. Don’t be judgmental about participants’ views or beliefs. Don’t debate with participants.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 19 Collecting Data From Interviews Researchers can collect data through taking notes during the interview, writing notes after the interview, and audio- or videotaping the interview. Record when it is possible. Writing notes during an interview is distracting. Writing notes after an interview is difficult because the interviewer may not remember critical information. Transcribing tapes takes a very long time. Labeled transcripts and tapes should be stored.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 20 Collecting Data From Interviews Focus groups include several individuals who can contribute to the understanding of the research problem. Everyone should have opportunities to respond during a focus group interview. Transcribing focus group interviews may take longer to than transcribing individual interviews.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 21 Collecting Data From Interviews interviews are similar to an ongoing conversation. Ethical considerations of confidentiality and anonymity are important to address in interviews.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 22 Questionnaires Interviews are time consuming. Some researchers use questionnaires and then follow-up questionnaires with interviews. Questionnaires allow for larger amounts of data collection. The nature of the data collected with questionnaires is different than data from observations.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 23 Questionnaire Guidelines Make questionnaire attractive. Carefully proofread questionnaires. Avoid lengthy questionnaires. Do not ask unnecessary questions. Use structured items with a variety of responses.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 24 Questionnaire Guidelines Include a section that allows respondents to include ‘other comments’. This section may provide information for follow-up interviews. Determine if respondents’ identities are necessary and if so, develop a mechanism to track respondents.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 25 Examining Records Qualitative researchers use a variety of available documents. Archival documents Journals Maps Videotape and audiotape Artifacts

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 26 Validity and Reliability Validity in qualitative research addresses whether the data accurately measures what it was intended to measure. Trustworthiness and understanding are terms used to describe validity in qualitative research.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 27 Validity and Reliability Trustworthiness can be established by: Credibility: The report addresses problems that are not easily explained. Transferability: The description provided is such that others can identify with the setting. Dependability: The stability of the data is addressed. Confirmability: The neutrality and objectivity of the data are apparent.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 28 Validity and Reliability Criteria for qualitative research validity. Descriptive validity: factual accuracy of the account Interpretive validity: researcher accurately interprets participants’ behaviors and actions Theoretical validity: how well the report relates to broader theory

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 29 Validity and Reliability Evaluative validity: whether the report was created without researcher’s judgment Generalizability (Internal and External): the degree to which research is generalizable within and outside the setting

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 30 Validity and Reliability Strategies for ensuring the validity of qualitative research Prolong participation at the study site Persistently observe Use peer debriefing Collect additional artifacts Conduct member checks Establish structural corroboration or coherence Establish referential adequacy

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 31 Validity and Reliability Collect detailed descriptive data Develop detailed descriptions of the context Establish an audit trail Practice triangulation Practice reflexivity

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 32 Validity and Reliability Practical options to assure trustworthiness Talk little; listen a lot Record observations accurately Begin writing early Let readers ‘see’ for themselves Report fully Be candid Seek feedback Write accurately Adopted from Wolcott (1994)

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 33 Validity and Reliability Reliability Qualitative researchers address reliability by examining the techniques they are using to collect data. Generalizability is less a concern for qualitative researchers than it is for quantitative researchers. Qualitative researchers are more concerned with relevance.