1. Qualitative Research & Mixed Methodology
Chapter 7
Qualitative Research
& Mixed Methodology
This chapter explains how qualitative methods differ from quantitative methods. It also provides examples of the types of research that may use qualitative methods and introduces the primary qualitative methodologies.
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

2. Qualitative Research Qualitative techniques for data collection
Group
Interviews
Focus Groups
Observation
Data
Collection
Techniques
IDIs
Ethnography
Case Studies
Action Research
Grounded Theory

3. Artifacts/ media products
Data Sources
People
Organizations
Texts
Qualitative research draws data from people and organizations.
Whether the source is people or organization, we can use their behavior, texts, events and so on as data.
Environments
Artifacts/ media products
Events and happenings

4. The Roots of Qualitative Research
Economics
Psychology
Sociology
Semiotics
Anthropology
Communication

5. Distinction between Qualitative & Quantitative
Theory
Building
Theory
Testing

6. Distinction between Qualitative & Quantitative
Quantitative research is the precise count of some behavior, knowledge, opinion or attitude. While the survey is not the only quantitative method, it is the dominant one. Quantitative research is often used for theory testing. It requires that the researcher maintain a distance from the research so as not to bias the results.
Qualitative research is sometimes called interpretive research because it seeks to develop understanding through detailed description. It builds theory but rarely tests it.

7. Review of Qualitative Designs
In Qualitative Research:
We do not test hypothesis or previous theories.
We may try to develop new theories based on what happens in specific situations.
We do not try to generalize our findings.
We often rely on data collected from interviews, observations, and content analysis of newspapers, books, videos, case records, and other already developed documents.
We usually do not know or try to develop response categories prior to conducting the study.

8. Qualitative Research Tends To
Answer research questions rather than test a hypothesis.
Seldom look at the effectiveness of an intervention.
Examine the perceptions, actions, and feelings of participants.
Obtained detailed information from interviews, content analysis, or observations.

9. Understanding the central phenomenon:
Quantitative research
Qualitative research
Independent
Variable
Dependent
Variable
influences Y X Y
Central Phenomenon

10. Focus of Research Qualitative Understanding Interpretation
Quantitative
Description
Explanation

11. Researcher Involvement
Researcher involvement in quantitative research should be minimal lest bias be introduced. However, in qualitative research, the researcher must have a high level of involvement to probeيستكشف يستقصي و for understanding. In quantitative research, for instance, participants may never see or speak to a member of the research team. They may simply answer a self-administered survey. In qualitative research, participants may be interviewed by the researcher or spend several hours with the researcher.
Qualitative
High
Participation-based
Quantitative
Limited
Controlled

12. Cross-sectional or longitudinal
Research Design
Qualitative
Longitudinal
Multi-method
Quantitative
Cross-sectional or longitudinal
Single method
This slide reflects information from exhibit 7-2.
Quantitative studies are usually single mode. In other words, they will usually rely on one data collection technique whether it be a telephone survey, survey, or experiment. However, qualitative studies may use several methods in one study to increase the researcher’s ability to interpret and justify the results.

13. Sample Design and Size Qualitative Non-probability Purposive
Small sample
Quantitative studies prefer samples greater than 200 and samples that are representative of the target population. Not all quantitative studies meet these criteria but these are desirable.
Qualitative studies rely on small sample sizes – less than 25 people is common. The emphasis on selecting the sample is to include people with heterogeneous opinions, attitudes, and experiences.
Quantitative
Probability
Large sample

14. Data Type and Preparation
Qualitative
Verbal or pictorialمصورة
Reduced to verbal codes
Quantitative
Verbal descriptions
Reduced to numeric codes

15. Turnaround الوقت اللازم للتنفيذ والاتمام
Qualitative
Shorter turnaround possible
Insight development ongoing
Quantitative studies are traditionally time-consuming. The key is to recognize whether those methods are appropriate for the study at hand. Qualitative research can be faster due to the small sample sizes, but coding and analyzing hours of interviews can also be time consuming.
One advantage of qualitative research is that insight development goes on throughout the study so interviews can be stopped when the appropriate answers are identified. This is not the case with quantitative studies.
Quantitative
May be time-consuming
Insight development follows data entry

16. Data Analysis Qualitative Quantitative Nonquantitative;
Human judgment mixed with fact
Emphasis on themes
Quantitative
Computerized analysis
Facts distinguished
Emphasis on counts

17. Contrasting qualitative and quantitative research

18. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
Makes less use of mathematical techniques.
Focus on interpretation by researcher
Systematically arranging and presenting information to search for meaning in data collected
“Words, not numbers”
Usually involves a philosophical stance that human knowledge is, to some extent, contextualised or local.
But some form of counting is almost always involved in qualitative analysis.
Quantitative
Employs statistics or other mathematical operations to analyse data
Concepts are assigned numerical values
Collects a small amount of data from a large number of people
Allows generalisation to wider population

19. Strengths of Quantitative Research
It can deal with large numbers of cases
It is capable of examining complex patterns of interactions between variables
It can make possible the verification of the presence of cause and effect relationships between variables

20. Weaknesses of Quantitative Research
Lack of in-depth information
Ignores individual perspectives and experiences
Limited with topics we know little about
Can be built on pre-existing biases of the researcher
The case of questionnaires:
Language used
Ordering of questions
Forced response formats; what if ‘it depends…’?
Missing data
Sampling issues
Response rates
torturing your data until it confesses

21. Strengths of Qualitative Research
Research done in natural settings
Emphasis on informant interpretations and meanings
Seek deep understanding of informants world
Humanising research process by raising the role of the researched
High levels of flexibility in research process

22. Weaknesses of Qualitative Research
Problems of reliability - The difficulty of replicating findings
“Subjectivity” of nature of data collection and analysis
Observations may be selectively reported making it impossible to gauge the extent to which they are typical
Risk of collecting meaningless and useless information from participants.
Problems of objectivity vs detachment (particularly in participant observation but also applies to other methods)
Problems of ethics: Entering the personal world of the participant
Very time consuming

23. Criticisms of qualitative research
Too subjective
Researcher decides what to focus on
Difficult to replicate
Unstructured format
Problems of generalization
Samples not ‘representative’ of all cases
Lack of transparency
Often unclear what researcher actually did

24. Qualitative Research and the Research Process

25. Formulating the Qualitative Research Question
Exhibit 7-4

26. Focus of Research Writing good qualitative research questions
Begin with words such as “how,” “what,”
Tell the reader what you are attempting to “discover,” “generate,” “explore,” “identify,” or “describe”
Ask “what happened?” to describe
Ask “What was the meaning to people of what happened?” to understand
Ask “What happened over time?” to explore a process
Avoid words such as: “relate”; “influence”; ”impact”; “effect”; “cause”

27. Focus of Research Writing good qualitative research questions
What is not included in the questions:
No comparison
No relating variables
No proving hypotheses
No measuring variables

28. Choosing the Qualitative Method
Project’s purpose
Researcher characteristics
Factors
Schedule
Types of participants
Budget
Topics

29. NonProbability Sampling
Sample sizes for qualitative research vary by technique but are generally small.
A study might include just two or three focus groups or a few dozen individual depth interviews.
Qualitative research involves non-probability sampling, where little attempt is made to generate a representative sample. There are several common types.

30. NonProbability Sampling
Purposive
Sampling
Snowball
Sampling
Convenience
Sampling

31. NonProbability Sampling
Purposive sampling means that the researchers choose participants arbitrarily for their unique characteristics or their experiences, attitudes, or perceptions.
Snowball sampling means that participants refer researchers to others who have characteristics, experiences, or attitudes similar to or different from their own.
Convenience sampling means that researchers select any readily available individuals as participants.

32. Qualitative Sampling General sampling rule:
Keep conducting interviews until no new insights are gained.
keep sampling as long as your breadth and depth of knowledge of the issue under study is expanding, and stop when you gain no new knowledge or insights.
In other words, a qualitative researcher will stop sampling when he or she has reached data redundancy.
DATA SATURATION: sampling to the point at which no new information is obtained and redundancy is achieved.

33. Interview Formats
Unstructured
Semi-structured
Structured

34. Research interviews
In an unstructured interview, there are no specific questions or order of topics to be discussed. Each interview is customized to each participant.
In a semistructured interview, there are a few standard questions but the individual is allowed to deviate based on his or her answers and thought processes. The interviewer’s role is to probeيستكشف ويستقصي .
In a structured interview, the interview guide is detailed and specifies question order, and the way questions are to be asked. These interviews permit more direct comparability of responses and maintain interviewer neutrality.
Most qualitative research relies on the unstructured or semistructured interview format.

35. Research purpose and strategy (2)
Uses of different types of interview in each of the main research categories
Saunders et al. (2009)
Table Uses of different types of interview in each of the main research categories

36. Types of Interviews - Structured
Many are formally structured.
Associated with questionnaire research (oral questionnaire); also used in some job interviews
Each person asked the same question in the same way so that any differences between answers are held to be real ones and not the result of the interview situation itself.
No deviation from question order or wording of questions.
No adjusting for level of language.
No clarifications or answering of questions about the interview.

37. Types of Interviews: Semi-structured
Questions are normally specified, but the interviewer is freer to probe يستكشف ويستقصي beyond the answers.
Questions may be reordered during the interview.
Level of language may be adjusted.
Interviewer may add or delete probes.
Allows people to answer more on their own terms, but still provides a structure for comparability.
Sometimes called semi-standardised.
Most typically used in qualitative studies (Rossman and Rallis 1998: 124)

38. Types of Interviews: Unstructured
Includes life-history, biographical and oral history interviews
Sometimes called informal, non-standardised
Provides qualitative depth in allowing subject to talk about topic within their own frame of reference

39. Comparing types of interviews (adapted from Finn et al, 2001:75)
Type of interview
Advantages
Disadvantages
Structured
Answers to same questions increase comparability
Data easily analysed
Little flexibility. Pre-determined questions might not be relevant.
Standardised wording might inhibit
Semi-str.
Combines flexibility with comparability
Bias may increase as interviewer selects questions to probe and might inhibit comparability
Unstr.
Interviewer can adapt, interviewee is allowed to express in own words. Interviewer’s role minimal
Comparability reduced, data analysis more difficult. Data quality depends on listening and communicating skills of interviewer

40. Advantages of interviews
One of the most flexible/responsive methods available as different types of interviews can be engaged for different research problems.
Ability to explore additional research questions / issues if they arise (semi-structured / unstructured only)
Ability to gain rich and descriptive data; ideally suited to examining topics in which different levels of meaning need to be explored.
Most participants will accept an interview readily. They are likely to be familiar with interviews.
Ability to follow up research participants for clarification or further exploration

41. Disadvantages of interviews
Bias and subjectivity which, in turn, affects validity and reliability of data
Generalisation problem
Process of data collection, transcribing and analysis from each participant time-consuming; thus, sample size generally not large
In reporting results, tendency of researchers to focus on quotes which are dramatic, unusual or interesting, rather than typical

42. Types of Interview Questions (Kvale 1996: 133)
Introducing questions
E.g. “Can you tell me about…”? Etc.
Probing questions
E.g. “That’s interesting. What else can you tell me about…”?
Specifying questions
E.g. “Can you give me an example of…”?
Direct questions
E.g. “Earlier you said… How does that relate to…”?
These may need to come later in the interview; may be slightly confrontational or ask for clarification of discrepant information
Indirect questions (useful when trying to avoid social desirability bias)
E.g. “What should someone else in that situation do…”?
Structuring questions
E.g. “I would now like to introduce a new topic…”
Silence – just a nod or a pause
Interpreting questions
Rephrasing an answer, more speculative questions
E.g. “So does that mean…”?; “Are you saying…”?; “Would I be right in interpreting that as…?”

43. The Interview Mode
Individual
Group

44. The Interview Mode
An individual depth interview (IDI) is an interaction between an individual interviewer and a single participant. Individual depth interviews generally take between 20 minutes and 2 hours to complete, depending on the issues and topics of interest and the contact method used.
Group interviews involve a single interviewer with more than one research participant. They vary widely in size.

45. IDI vs Group Individual Interview Group Interview
Explore life of individual in depth
Create case histories through repeated interviews over time
Test a survey
Orient the researcher to a field of inquiry and the language of the field
Explore a range of attitudes, opinions, and behaviors
Observe a process of consensus and disagreement
Detailed individual experiences, choices, biographies
Sensitive issues that might provoke anxiety
Issues of public interest or common concern
Issues where little is known or of a hypothetical nature
Time-pressed participants or those difficult to recruit (e.g., elite or high-status participants)
Participants with sufficient language skills (e.g., those older than seven)
Participants whose distinctions would inhibit participation
Participants whose backgrounds are similar or not so dissimilar as to generate conflict or discomfort
Participants who can articulate their ideas
Participants who offer a range of positions on issues
Research Objective
Topic Concerns
Exhibit 7-5
Participants

46. Group Interviews Mini-Groups Small Groups Supergroups Dyads Triads
Mini-groups involve 2-6 people.
Small groups usually include 6-10 people and are generally the most used.
Supergroups include up to 20 people.
Dyads are frequently used when the special nature of the relationship is needed to stimulate frank discussion on a sensitive topic.
Group interaction is desirable but time constraints still limit extracting detail from each participant. It is also difficult to recruit, arrange, and coordinate group discussions.
Mini-Groups
Dyads
Triads
Small Groups
Focus Groups
Supergroups

47. Focus Groups
The focus group is a panel of people (usually 6-10 people), led by a trained moderator, who meet for 90 minutes to 2 hours.
The facilitator uses group dynamics principles to focus or guide the group in an exchange of ideas, feelings, and experiences.
Focus groups can be conducted using various modes.
Telephone focus groups
Online focus groups
Videoconferencing.
All methods provide for transcriptions of the full interview.
These are analyzed using content analysis.

48. Group Interview Modes
Face-to-Face
Telephone
Online
Videoconference

49. Focus Groups
Telephone focus groups are effective when it is difficult to recruit the desired participants, when target group members are rare, when issues are sensitive, and when one needs national representation with a few groups.
Telephone focus groups are usually shorter than traditional groups and less expensive.
They should not be used when participants need to handle a product that cannot be sent ahead to them, when the session must be long, or when the participants are children.

50. Focus Groups
Online focus groups are very effective with teens and young adults. Access and speed are strengths of this mode, but it is more difficult to gain insight from group dynamics.
Videoconferencing is likely to grow as a focus group mode because it saves time and money while creating less barrier between moderator and participants than the telephone.

51. Triangulation: Merging Qualitative and Quantitative
Conduct studies
simultaneously
Ongoing qualitative
with multiple waves
of quantitative
Perform series:
Qualitative,
Quantitative,
Qualitative
Quantitative
precedes
Qualitative
Triangulation is the combining of several qualitative methods or combining qualitative with quantitative methods.

52. Assessment of Qualitative Data
Need to address validity and reliability
Do the measures used by the researcher yield data reflecting the truth?
Validity of qualitative research is often questioned because
of lack of rigor
findings are largely dependent on the researcher (researcher bias)

55. Assessment of Qualitative Data
Lincolon & Cuba (1985) – four criteria:
Credibility
Dependability
Confirmability
Transferability
(criteria for establishing “trustworthiness”)

56. Assessment of Qualitative Data
Credibility – refers to confidence in the truth of the data
Prolonged engagement
Persistent observation
Triangulation
External checks – peer debriefing & member checks
Researcher credibility

57. Assessment of Qualitative Data
Dependability – refers to data stability over time and over conditions
Steps to approach:
Stepwise replication
Inquiry audit

58. Assessment of Qualitative Data
Confirmability –refers to the objectivity or neutrality of the data – what does that mean?
Transferability – refers to the extent to which the findings from the data can be transferred to other settings or groups = similar to the concept of generalizability

59. Mixed Methods Research
The research approach in which both quantitative and qualitative methods are used
Questions to be answered when using a mixed design
should you primarily use one methodology or treat them equally?
should phases of study be conducted concurrently or sequentially?

61. Research Validity In Mixed Methods Research
Inside – outside validity
present when the researcher provides both the insider and objective outsider perspectives
Weakness minimization validity
present when the researcher compensates for the weakness of one approach through the use of an additional approach
Sequential validity
making sure that the ordering of quantitative and qualitative components in a sequential design does not bias the results

62. Mixed Methods Designs Design scheme based on two dimensions time order
one of the two dimensions used in MM design matrix; its levels are concurrent and sequential
paradigm emphasis
one of the two dimensions used in MM design matrix; its levels are equal status and dominant status

63. Mixed Method Design QUAN and quan both stand for quantitative research
QUAL and qual both stand for qualitative research
Capital letters denote priority or increased weight or emphasis
Lowercase letters denote lower priority or weight or emphasis
A plus sign (+) indicates the concurrent conduct of the quantitative and
Qualitative parts (e.g., collection of data)
An arrow (→) represents a sequential conduct of the quantitative and qualitative parts (e.g., collection of data)