what is qualitative research? a primer

Planning and Assessment for Student Development

What is Qualitative Research?A Primer

Assessment TeamMarch 10, 2008

Planning and Assessment for Student Development

What is Qualitative Research?Session Overview

Knowing what it is and isn’t? Understanding the journey from doubt

to acceptance Steps to doing good research and documentation. Sample run-through with group

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Major Types of Educational Research

Quantitative: backed by numbersQualitative: backed by documentation

Essential to both Quantitative & Qualitative Researchers:

Observational Skills

Thanks to Dr.Cindy Williams for this content

Planning and Assessment for Student Development

Thanks to Dr.Cindy Williams for this content

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research involves analyzing numerical data to gain insights into how variables influence other

variables.

Different types of quantitative research are used depending on:

the type of questions asked and purpose of research the degree to which subjects are available to

study/observe

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Thanks to Dr.Cindy Williams for this content

Qualitative ResearchQualitative research involves collection of narrative

data to gain insights into phenomena of interest. Data is collected:

intensively over a period of time, in a naturalistic setting,

without trying to control the eventsUsually on a smaller number of subjects than quantitative

What might be some advantages to quantitative and qualitative approaches? Would you ever want to use

both?

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Thanks to Dr.Cindy Williams for this content

Qualitative Researchers…

No Yes

Holistic Variables

Researcher as expert

Theory as expert

Qualitative Quantitative

Can research be done in the same manner as hard

sciences?

What is the primary source or focus of

observation?

What/Who is consulted that drives research?

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Quantitative or Qualitative?

1) A study in which the researcher carefully designs all aspects of the study before collecting data.

2) You know in advance what you are looking for. 3) The design emerges as the study unfolds.

4) What is the relationship between time spent on the simulator and operator error rate?

5) The researcher deals with data in the form of words.

Thanks to Dr.Cindy Williams for this content

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Quantitative or Qualitative?

6) The researcher deals with data in the form of numbers and statistics.

7) The investigator is the data gathering instrument. 8) Research methods involve the comparison of pre-

test and post-test data. 9) Data collection and data analysis take place

simultaneously

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Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research Humor

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STEP 1:WHAT IS YOUR CONCEPTUAL

TOPIC?What do you want to study and why?

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STEP 2:BRIEFLY, WHAT DO YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS TOPIC? WHAT

RESEARCH ARE YOU DRAWING FROM FOR THIS KNOWLEDGE? WHAT DOES

THE LITERATURE STATE? ?

Be prepared to describe your findings

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STEP 3:WHAT IS NEEDING ADDITIONAL

EXPLORATION? WHAT IS MISSING FROM THE ANALYSIS IN STEP 2?

What one or two big things do you really want to learn/discover?

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STEP 4:DESCRIBE THE POPULATION YOU

INTEND TO STUDY. WHAT ASPECTS, CHARACTERISTICS OR UNIQUE

FACTORS DESCRIBE THIS GROUP?

Who will you be inviting to your focus group/interviews?

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STEP 5:DESCRIBE HOW THE POPULATION YOU INTEND TO STUDY WILL FILL

THE KNOWLEDGE GAPS IDENTIFIED IN STEP 3?

How is the population you describe in Step 4 really the best fit? How will

you protect their anonymity?

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STEP 6a:WHAT TYPES OF DATA WILL YOU BE

GATHERING? PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR APPROACH TO DATA

COLLECTION?

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STEP 6a:CRITICAL QUESTIONS:

• Describe your collection techniques and questions?

• Will you use word processing, tape recorders, interview notes, etc.?

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STEP 6b:WHAT STEPS WILL YOU TAKE TO

ENSURE THAT THIS DATA IS MANIPULABLE AND EDITABLE?

WHO WILL BE YOUR SERVING AS YOUR OBJECTIVE REVIEWER OF

YOUR FINDINGS?

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STEP 6b:CRITICAL QUESTIONS

• Have you thought through who will do the transcription and the amount of time it may take?

• How is the person you are choosing to review your assumptions/conclusions

independent from the process and objective? • How and when throughout the research do

you intend to use this person?

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Step 7:DESCRIBE HOW YOU INTEND TO WORK WITH THE DATA? WHAT TECHNIQUES WILL YOU USE TO

HELP YOU DEVELOP YOUR ANSWERS TO SECTION 3?

Do you intend to look for themes? Do you intend to code the data? How will you deconstruct the volumes of verbal notes into easily recognizable and substantive findings?

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STEP 8:HOW DO YOU INTEND TO SHARE YOUR

RESULTS? WHAT REPORTS WILL YOU PRODUCE? DO YOU INTEND TO PURSUE

PUBLICATION FOR THIS STUDY?

What existing UNT reporting structures or newsletters do you propose using? If you intend to publish, have you completed the IRB forms necessary for the project? Do you intend to post the results to any UNT websites?

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IRBAlert!

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The IRB Process•IRB approval is required for studies in which human subjects

are involved.•In our case, the “study” is the survey or focus group and the

“human subjects” are the survey respondents.•For our purposes, IRB approval is required for any studies which are to be presented or published outside UNT (i.e. at

conferences, in journals or theses etc.)•For IRB approval, you must take the NIH human subjects training, have the parameters of your study determined

(instrument, informed consent, sample population)

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The IRB Process

NIH human subjects training can be found at:http://phrp.nihtraining.com/users/login.php

IRB Form

Consent forms

IRB Website http://www.unt.edu/ospa/compliance/humans.html

IRB Form

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STEP 9:BEGIN TO FIND SUBJECTS

Create an intake/interview survey for potential subjects. Does this individual fit your requirements above?

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STEP 10:FIND SUITABLE INTERVIEW SPACE

Is it accessible? Comfortable? What food and drinks will you have on hand? Where are bathrooms located?

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STEP 11:DEVELOP FACILITATOR GUIDE

Think through your questions. Share them with your member-checker, develop bolt-on questions. Set ground rules. Write introductory script.

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STEP 12:DETERMINE FACILITATOR

Ask yourself if you are the really the best person to facilitate? If no, who then? If yes, are you prepared and ready?

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STEP 13:HOLD FOCUS GROUPS

Remember your data collection techniques. Establish rapport, establish ground rules, let conversation build. Call out themes or contradictions as you hear them. Ask for clarification.

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STEP 14:TRANSCRIBE & SHARE

Within 72 hours transcribe proceedings and email transcription to focus group participants to confirm or clarify comments. Remember to associate names with comments whenever possible. Give a 72 hour window for comments.

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STEP 15:CODE AND DEVELOP THEMES

Using the data decisions you made earlier, crunch your transcribed notes to find themes, patterns or ways of knowing.

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STEP 16:MEMBER-CHECK THEMES

Share your preliminary findings with member-checking partner. Do they see the same patterns and themes?

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STEP 17:WRITE UP AND PRESENT FINDINGSLook in common journal articles for examples of published qualitative research. Follow similar patterns and structure of these articles. Post to websites, newsletters, etc. Share!

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Q & A

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Questions:Sharon Karackattu : 8047

Jason Simon : 8054

References:Sibley, S. (2003). Designing Qualitative Research Projects. Workshop presented to the July 2003 NSF Workshop on

Qualitative Methods in Sociology.

Williams, C. (2008) EPSY 6010 Lecture. College of Education. University of North Texas.