1. Planning an Applied Research Project
Chapter 6 – Forms of Qualitative Research
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Learning Objectives
Explain the differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods
Describe the reasons to use qualitative research
List the nine types of qualitative research designs
Distinguish between primary and secondary data
Use triangulation in a research design
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Key Terms Advocacy Biography Case study Content analysis Data Spiral
Ethnographical studies
Grounded theory
Pattern analysis
Phenomenology
Primary data
Program evaluation
Qualitative methods
Quantitative methods
Secondary data
Triangulation
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. Differences Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Both valid
Both use serious research techniques, although different
Both contribute to new information and perspectives
Both are rigorous
They fall on a continuum with mixed methods in between
Qualitative Quantitative
Qualitative Mixed Quantitative
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. Differences Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research (cont’d)
Words more important and numbers count also
Many variables and few cases
Purpose is to explore, investigate, discover
Writing the results counts
Analysis is complicated
Numbers more important and words count
Few variables and many cases
Purpose is to test, verify
Analyzing the numbers counts
Analysis is pretty standardized
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Purposes of Qualitative Research
A Advocate for a cause, situation
V Verify information
I Investigate or interpret events and actions
D Describe a situation, event
E Evaluate programs, actions, organizations
O Open a field of inquiry
The movie
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. Purposes of Qualitative Research (cont’d)
Characteristics of Qualitative Research
Focus on words not numbers but often includes numbers
Emphasis on meanings in words
Non standard data collection
Use of conceptualization to analyze data
Few cases and many variables
Conceptual approaches
Examination of patterns in the data
Possibility of correlations
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Purposes of Qualitative Research (cont’d)
Characteristics of Qualitative Research (cont’d)
Studies phenomena in the real world
Uses you as a critical research element sometimes
Broadens your ways of seeing what is happening in the world
Brings rigorous methods to the analysis of what we see, observe, notice
Starts with open-ended questions and develops the design along with the study
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Types of Qualitative Research
Advocacy
Biographies or historical studies
Case studies
Conceptual Overviews or Reports of the Field
Content analysis
Ethnographical Studies
Grounded theory
Phenomenology
Program evaluation
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Biographies and Histories
Study of a person, event, program, company or institution
Use of primary and secondary data and documents and often interviews
Challenges involve locating documents, and interpreting them, and sorting major and minor events or forces
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Case Studies Analysis of a program, action, or company
Can be individual case or comparison of several cases
Challenge involves immersion in an organization, defining researcher’s role, and sorting a interpreting a mass of inchoate data
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. Conceptual Overviews or Reports of the Field
Careful analysis of wide range of literature analyzed in depth
Models often suggested from these overviews
Challenges involve being comprehensive and critical (requires knowledge of the topic) and suggesting new research topics
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. Content Analysis
Specific analysis of words, phrases, or images in selected documents and videos or films
Manual task (coding system and manual) but software can do the analysis also
Challenges involve careful coding, remaining objective and detached, and interpreting findings
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

14. Ethnographical Studies
Examination of the behavior and mores of a group or tribe-like collection of people
Requires several perspectives to understand and describe group norms, patterns, and cultural factors
Challenges involve objective observations, focus on patterns not individuals, and detached interpretation of the group
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

15. Grounded Theory
Immersion in field data, development of a hypothesis or hypotheses which is testing again on the participants in the field
Extensive and intensive process which takes a long time to complete
Challenges involve remaining true to the original data and not bring preconceptions to the work
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

16. Phenomenology
Examination of what it is like to participate in or be involved in an event, activity, or program
Relies on participants’ perceptions and sometimes researcher observation and involvement
Challenges involve remaining objective and careful in describing the experience
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

17. Program Evaluations
Analysis of the operation of a program in terms of its original goals
Requires careful plan for collecting appropriate data and analyzing it carefully
Challenges involve remaining objective, interpreting interviews, questionnaire responses, and other data
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

18. Advocacy Paper or Feasibility Study
Argument for a program, policy, event, activity or different way of making something happen
Requires careful analysis of contradictory data and clarity of purpose and focus
Challenge involves combining logical argument with sufficient data and rationale to convince the readers
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

19. Analyzing Information in Qualitative Research
Research Design
Case study
Intensive analysis of X
Content analysis
Analysis of documents and communication
Ethnography
Analysis and immersion in group
Grounded theory
Development of theory from examining examples
Historical research
Interpretation of historical data for significance
Phenomenology
Detailed study of process, event, activity
Program Evaluation
Assessment of an operation or program using documentary records, survey research, and interviews
Review of the field
Comprehensive assessment of key concepts and insights
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

20. Analyzing Information in Qualitative Research (cont’d)
Triangulation
The use of several sources of data to interpret information
Three independent sources – hopefully of different forms – improves the validity of the insights and analysis
Three perspectives increases the objectivity of the insights
Critical to analyzing results from qualitative research
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

21. Analyzing Information in Qualitative Research (cont’d)
Qualitative Research Techniques
Documentary analysis
Primary sources
Secondary sources
Tertiary sources
Observations
Interviews – structured and semi-structured
Focus groups
Questionnaires
Survey research
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

22. Analyzing Information in Qualitative Research (cont’d)
Data Analysis Process
Selection of problem
Collection of data
Organization
Perusal
Classification
Synthesis
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

23. Analyzing Information in Qualitative Research (cont’d)
Researcher’s Role in Qualitative Research
Find patterns
Recognize own point of view
Participate
Record
Observe
Sift through data
Analyze
Understand
Evaluate
Other
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

24. Review of the Class Session
Anything unclear?
One thing that I learned from this class is …
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.