rm session 6 methodology - qualitative · rm session 6: methodology - qualitative ... • students...
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Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 1
RM Session 6: Methodology - Qualitative
Lecturer/Convenor:
Richard Boateng, PhD.
Email:
Office: UGBS RT18 (rooftop)
Qualitative and
Quantitative Approaches
to Research
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 2
Learning Objectives
This session seeks to discuss the different approaches
to qualitative and quantitative research.
• By the end of the session, students will be able to understand
and explain methods including case study, ethnography,
content analysis, survey, and action research.
• Students will also learn about the different methods for
collecting data in research. These methods include interviews
and focus group discussion.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 3
Chapter 4
• Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative Enquiry and
Research Design: Choosing Among Five
Approaches. SAGE Publications. London
FIVE QUALITATIVE
APPROACHES TO INQUIRY
Chapter 4
www.tinyurl.com/creswell2007a
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 4
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
QUALITATIVE & QUANTITATIVE
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 5
Quantitative research emphasizes
1. Starting with specific hypotheses or questions
derived from theory/previous research
2. Selecting a sample representative of the
population
3. Using objective instruments (e.g. fixed choice
questionnaires, attitude scales, etc.)
4. Presenting results using statistics and making
inferences to the population.
5. “Distance” between researcher and subjects
and emphasis on following the research plan
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University, available
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed February, 2012]
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 6
Qualitative research emphasizes 1. Starting with general research problems and not
formulating hypotheses (hypotheses may emerge from the
data analysis).
2. Selecting a small, purposive sample (not random) which may
or may not be representative of the larger population.
3. Using relatively unstructured instruments (e.g. interviews,
observations, etc.) and “intense” data collection (e.g. over
extended periods of time).
4. Presenting results mainly or exclusively in words, MORE
ABOUT EXPLANATION, and de-emphasizing generalizations
to the population
5. Researcher awareness of their own orientations, biases or
experiences and personal interaction in the context with an
emphasis on flexibility in the research.
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University, available
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed February, 2012]
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 7
Qualitative Research
• The qualitative research method involves the use of
qualitative data, such as interviews, documents and
observation, in order to understand and explain a social
phenomenon.
• Qualitative research focuses on interpretation of
phenomena in their natural settings to make sense in
terms of the meanings people bring to these settings
(Denzin and Lincoln 1994) .
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 8
Types of Qualitative Research
Phenomenology Narrative
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Narrative Research
• A specific type of qualitative design in which "narrative is
understood as a spoken or written text giving an
account of an event/action or series of events/actions,
chronologically connected.
• It might be the term assigned to any text or discourse, or,
it might be text used within the context of a mode of
inquiry in qualitative research (Chase, 2005),
• with a specific focus on the stories told by individuals
(Polkinghorne, 1995).
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 10
Narrative Research
The procedures for implementing this research consist of
1. focusing on studying one or two individuals,
2. gathering data through the collection of their
stories,
3. reporting individual experiences, and
4. chronologically ordering (or using life course
stages) the meaning of those experiences.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 11
Types of Narrative Studies
• Biography
• Autobiography
• Life history
• Oral history
Forms in narrative
practices
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Biographical Study
The researcher writes and records the
experiences of another person’s life.
Autobiographical Study The research is written and recorded by the
individuals who are the subject of the study
(Ellis, 2004).
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Procedures for conducting narrative research
1. Determine if the research problem or question best fits
narrative research.
Narrative research is best for capturing the detailed stories or life
experiences of a single life or the lives of a small number of
individuals
2. Select one or more individuals who have stories or life
experiences to tell
spend considerable time with them gathering their stories through
multiple types of information.
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Procedures for conducting narrative research
3. Collect information about the context of these
stories.
Narrative researchers situate individual stories within
participants’ personal experiences (their jobs, their
homes), their culture (racial or ethnic), and their
historical contexts (time and place).
4. Analyze participants’ stories, and then “restory”
them into a framework that makes sense. Restorying is the process of reorganising the stories into
some general type of framework. This framework may
consist of gathering stories, analyzing them for key
elements of the story, and then rewriting the stories to
place them within a chronological sequence.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 15
Procedures for conducting narrative research
5. Collaborate with participants by
actively involving them in the
research
As researchers collect stories, they
negotiate relationships, smooth
relationships, smooth transitions, and
provide ways to be useful to the
participants.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 16
Challenges for conducting Narrative research
a) Extensive time for data
collection.
b) Extensive detailed
requirements of information.
c) Difficulty in accessing the
right source materials that
captures the particular
stories of participant.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 17
Phenomenological Research
Describes the meaning of several individuals of their
lived experiences of a concept or a phenomenon.
Phenomenologists focus on describing what all
participants have in common as they experience a
phenomenon.
Popular With Social And Health Sciences And Education.
The basic purpose of phenomenology is to reduce
individual experiences with a phenomenon to a
description of the universal essence. To this end,
qualitative researchers identify a phenomenon (as an
object of human experience).
Creswell (2007)
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Phenomenological Research
What are experiences of PhD students in
Hong Kong Business school?
‘My supervisor barely met with me; I had to do much by myself’
‘Supervisors are usually Worldbank experts and very knowledge but
often away for global assignments’
‘Two of my colleagues got internships at WorldBank during their
PhD, however, it affected their completion time’
‘I spent more time on skype for discussions with my supervisor’
Limited face-to-face interaction
Knowledgeable supervisors
Technoculture
Proactive / Individualistic
Global Orientation
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 19
Types of Phenomenology
1. Hermeneutic phenomenology
2. Empirical/Transcendental/Psychological
phenomenology
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Types of Phenomenology
Hermeneutic phenomenology: describes
research as oriented toward lived experience
(phenomenology) and interpreting the “texts” of
life.
– It is descriptive and interpretive
van Manen (1990) cited in Creswell (2007)
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Hermeneutic phenomenology
1. Researcher selects a phenomenon
2. Reflects on themes that describe the nature of
lived experience
3. Write a description of the phenomenon
4. Maintain strong relation to phenomenon
5. Balancing the parts to create the whole
– Researcher mediates between different
meanings of lived experiences
van Manen (1990) cited in Creswell (2007)
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 22
Empirical/Transcendental Phenomenology
Empirical/Transcendental/Psychological:
identifying a phenomenon to study, bracketing
out one’s experiences, and collecting data from
several persons who have experienced the
phenomenon.
• Less focus on interpretation but more on
description
• Description of what participants experience
• See experience afresh – New data
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Procedures for conducting
Phenomenological Research
1. Before using phenomenology you need to establish
whether this approach is the best for the research
purpose.
understand several individual's common or shared experiences in
order to develop practices, policies or deeper understanding about
features of the phenomenon.
2. A phenomenon of interest to study, such as anger,
professionalism, what it means to be underweight, or what it
means to be a wrestler, is identified.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 24
Procedures for conducting
Phenomenological Research
3. The researcher recognizes and specifies the broad
philosophical assumptions of phenomenology.
– Role of the researcher’s interpretations (and previous
research/objective reality)
– included or separated from the interpretations
4. Data are collected from the individuals who have
experienced the phenomenon.
– in-depth interviews and multiple interviews with participants
– Interview 5-25 individuals who experiences phenomenon
– other data - video, audio, formally written responses, poetry,
drama et cetera
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 25
Procedures for conducting
Phenomenological Research
5. The participants are asked two broad, general
questions (Moustakas, 1994):
a) What have you experienced in terms of the phenomenon?
b) What contexts or situations have typically influenced or
affected your experiences of the phenomenon?
6. Phenomenological data analyses steps
– Building on data from the first and second research questions,
data analysts go through the data and highlight “significant
statements,” sentences, or quotes that provide an
understanding of how the participants experienced the
phenomenon.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 26
Procedures for conducting
Phenomenological Research 7. Writes a composite description that presents “the
essence” of the phenomenon, called the essential,
invariant structure (or essence). Primarily this passage
focuses on the common experiences of the participants.
‘My supervisor barely met with me; I had to do much by myself’
‘Supervisors are usually Worldbank experts and very knowledge but often away
for global assignments’
‘Two of my colleagues got internships at WorldBank during their PhD, however,
it affected their completion time’
‘I spent more time on skype for discussions with my supervisor’
Limited face-to-face interaction
Knowledgeable supervisors
Technoculture
Proactive / Individualistic
Global Orientation
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 27
Challenges
1. Participants in the study need to have experienced
phenomenon in question, so that the researcher, in
the end, can forge a common understanding.
2. Difficulty - The research has to be able identify and
separate his interpretations from the meanings the
people give concerning their experiences.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 28
Case Study
• Case study research is a qualitative approach in
which the investigator explores a bounded system (a
case) or multiple bounded systems (cases) over
time,
• through detailed, in-depth data collection involving
multiple sources of information (e.g., observations,
interviews, audiovisual material, and documents and
reports), and reports a case description and case-
based themes.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 29
Case Study
• Case study is a method used in both qualitative and quantitative
research methodologies. Yin (1994) suggested that case studies are
empirical investigation of phenomena within their environmental
context, where the relationship between the phenomena and the
environment is not clear.
• Therefore, a case is examined to understand an issue or provide
input to an existing theory or a new theoretical concept. A case
study’s unit of measurement is associated with the entity concept.
• A research work deploying the case study method may have single or
multiple cases. Conclusion could be drawn up from similarities or
differences among the cases involved in a research work.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 30
Example: Mobiles and Micro-trading
Aunty Akosua (hereafter referred to as AA) is a tomato retail trader. She has junior
high school level education and has been working as a tomato retailer since June
2008. AA works with Jane who serves as an intermediary between her and the
farmers in the villages. Jane buys the tomatoes at wholesale prices from the
farmers and AA retails them at the market.
Prior to owning a mobile phone, communication between AA and Jane was
constrained by distance. The limited access to Jane often contributed to poor
inventory management, where AA could be out of stock of tomatoes for a week. In
such scenarios, AA had to buy from other wholesalers, and that increased her
coordination costs. She was then advised by a friend to get a mobile phone for
Jane and herself, in order to enhance communication and reduce the cost and risk
of frequent long journeys. In December 2008, AA purchased a used Samsung
D500 for herself and a Nokia 3315 for Jane. The cost of Jane’s mobile phone was
deducted from her earnings from trading with AA. They are both using TiGO as
their service provider.
Boateng (2011)
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 31
Case Study
• The focus of the research is on process. The question is
focused on what can be learned from this particular
case.
• Single case design is ideal for studying extreme cases,
to confirm or challenge a theory or for cases where a
researcher does not have access previously. Examples: A
failure or success in a particular event or activity: Causing Financial Loss to a State – Lessons from the
Woyome Case
• Multiple case design is appropriate when a researcher is
keen to use more than one case to gather data and
draw up conclusion based on the facts retrieved.
• Multiple case design serves to confirm evidence which
enhance the reliability and validity of a research work.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 32
Case Study
• Intrinsic case study tends to focus on the
case itself based on its uniqueness or usual
contribution
• For example, Exploring lessons from a
particular project or initiative or evaluating a
particular projects or initiative:
– Effective management of public sector projects –
lessons from the GCNET system in Ghana
• the researcher reports the meaning comes
from learning about an unusual situation (an
intrinsic case). As Lincoln and Guba (1985)
mention, this phase constitutes the “lessons learned”
from the case.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 33
Sequence of Case Study
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 34
Analyzing Case Study
• The type of analysis of these data can be a holistic analysis of the
case or an embedded analysis of a specific aspect of the case (Yin,
2003) .
• For embedded – select few key issues after general description and
analyse.
• For holistic - use Pattern-matching logic - identify issues within each
case and then look for common themes that transcend the cases. This
analysis is rich in the context of the case or setting in which the case
presents itself.
When multiple cases are chosen, a typical format is to first provide a
detailed description of each case and themes within the cases, called a
within-case analysis, followed by a thematic analysis across the cases,
called a cross-case analysis, as well as assertions or an interpretation
of the meaning of the case
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 35
Challenges
1. The identification of the appropriate case - Selecting the case requires that the researcher establish a rationale for his or her purposeful sampling strategy for selecting the case and for gathering information about the case .
2. In the choice of multiple case, the issue becomes, “How many cases?” typically, however, the researcher to consider a large number of cases is the idea of “generalizability,” a term that holds little meaning for most qualitative researchers. Focus should be on explanatory power
3. Deciding the “boundaries” of a case – how it might be constrained in terms of time, events, and processes – may be challenging. Some case studies may not have clean beginning and ending points, and the researcher will need to set boundaries that adequately surround the case.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 36
Types of Qualitative Research
Phenomenology Narrative
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 37
Ethnography
• Ethnography is a qualitative research
method which involves a description of
people and nature of phenomena.
Ethnography involves exploring the nature
of phenomena and working with
unstructured data, analyzing data through
interpretation of the meanings attributed by
research respondents.
– What are the cultural patterns and perspectives of
this group in its natural setting?
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University, available
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed February, 2012]
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 38
Ethnography
• An ethnographer is interested in examining
shared patterns of behaviours, beliefs
and language
• An ethnography focuses on an entire
cultural group. This cultural group may be small,
but typically large and may involve many people who
interact over time.
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University, available
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed February, 2012]
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 39
Ethnography
• The emphasis is on documenting or
portraying the every day experiences of
individuals. Key tools are in-depth
interviewing and continuous
observations. There is seldom an initial
hypothesis. The research is sustained over time.
The goal is to paint a picture that as thorough,
accurate, and vivid.
• Example - What is life like in a traditional palace?
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University, available
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed February, 2012]
Method – unstructured interviews, observation, field notes and use of secondary
data including documents, maps, photographs, genealogies, and records
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 40
Challenges
• The researcher needs to have a grounding
cultural anthropology and the meaning of a
social-cultural system as well as the concepts
typically explored by ethnographers.
• The time to collect data is extensive, involving
prolonged time in the field.
• In many ethnographies, the narratives are written
in a literacy, almost storytelling approach, an
approach that may limit the audience for the work and may be
challenging for authors accustomed to traditional approaches to
writing social and human science research.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 41
Types of Qualitative Research
Phenomenology Narrative
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 42
Grounded Theory
• uses a prescribed set of procedures for
analyzing data and constructing theoretical model from them.
Glaser and Strauss, (1967) defines it as the discovery of
theory from data systematically obtained social research
• The focus in grounded theory is to unravel elements of experience
and use interrelationships to build theory that enables the
researcher to understand a phenomenon.
• very useful when current theories about a phenomenon are neither
inadequate nor non-existent.
• Methods: Open/Flexible - Recorded interviews, observation, journaling, and
diary, memos.
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University, available
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed February, 2012]
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 43
Grounded Theory
• The researcher needs to begin by determining if grounded
theory is best suited to study his or her research problem. Grounded theory is a good design to use when a theory is not
available to explain a process.
• The literature may have models available, but they were
developed and tested on samples and populations other
than those of interest to the qualitative researchers.
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University, available
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed February, 2012]
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 44
Grounded Theory
• The researcher needs to begin by determining if grounded
theory is best suited to study his or her research problem. Grounded theory is a good design to use when a theory is not
available to explain a process.
• The literature may have models available, but they were
developed and tested on samples and populations other
than those of interest to the qualitative researchers.
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University, available
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed February, 2012]
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 45
Grounded Theory 1. The researcher begins with open coding, coding the data for its
major categories of information.
2. The next stage is axial coding in which the researcher identifies one
open coding category to focus on (called the “core” phenomenon),
and them goes back to the data and create categories around this
core phenomenon.
• Causal conditions: what factors caused the core phenomenon.
• Contextual/Intervening conditions: broad and specific situational
factors that influence the strategies and consequences (outcomes
from using the strategies).
3. The final step, then, is selective coding, in which the researcher
takes the model and develops propositions (or hypotheses) that
interrelated the categories in the model
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 46
Challenges
• The researcher needs to recognize that the primary
outcome of this study is a theory with specific
components: a central phenomenon, causal conditions,
strategies, conditions and context, and consequences.
• The researcher faces the difficulty of determining when
categories are saturated or when the theory is
sufficiently detailed.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 47
Types of Qualitative Research
Phenomenology Narrative
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 48
Action Research
• It views participants as co-creating their reality through
participation, experience, and action.
• There are four phases of action research:
– the co-researchers agree on an area of inquiry/problem,
– ideas and procedures are applied in everyday work/life
– co-researchers become fully immersed in the activity/experience,
– co-researchers reconsider the original research problem.
• Aim 1 - produce knowledge and action directly useful to a group of people.
• Aim 2 - empower people through the process of constructing their own
knowledge.
• Methods: unstructured observations, journaling, surveying, and reviewing
documents/records.
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 49
Action Research
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 50
Types of Qualitative Research
Phenomenology Narrative
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 51
Content analyses • Examining information or content to record
observation and quantify them to understand a
phenomena
Neuman, W.L. (2011) Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 2/E, Pearson
Education – ISBN ISBN-10: 0205484379 | ISBN-13: 9780205484379
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 52
Woyome, NDC, Our Money And Our President: The Failure of Fair
Representation By: Dennis Adjei-Brenyah, Esq New York – Ghanaweb.com
As a general rule, I have always scrupulously avoided “political” discussions
especially the kind showing malicious and unhealthy assault and insults on people. I
have always subscribed to a discussion on ideas on how to manage out affairs and help
improve the “situation” we find ourselves. I will try to keep to this principled
approach in dealing with the present demonstration of national shame that people have
described as the “NDC-Woyome” matter.
Sometimes, I throw in some personal reflections – only as a sign of blessed humility to
see issues from a peculiar angle – the better to contribute to this discussion. I have said
in these pages before that I consider our President my friend and law teacher from
Legon: a decent man. Honorable, level headed, - but alas, perhaps another gutless
politician. And I say this with grief and severe pain.
Out President says now that he had no hand in this affair: That the acknowledged
financier of NDC, who has now pocketed (banked is a better term) GhC58,000,000 of
your money, got paid that sum of money under his watch as President, and he has no
hand in .He has nothing to do with it! This is a cruel insult of and to us as Ghanaians,
by this President. We must hold him to account!
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 53
TECHNIQUES FOR ACQUIRING
QUALITATIVE DATA
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 54
Chapter 11
• Qualitative Research
Neuman, W.L. (2007) Basics of Social
Research: Qualitative and
Quantitative Approaches, 2/E,
Pearson Education
www.tinyurl.com/neuman2007
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 55
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 56
Fieldwork – Establish Context
• Fieldwork – the particular context in which data collection occurs.
• Collection occurs simultaneously with analysis and interpretation and
occurs throughout the study.
• The final product is a rich description or narrative with quotations typically
used to illustrate the voice and understandings of the participants. The focus is
to use language to paint a rich picture of the setting and its participants.
Selecting the Fieldwork
1. Justify: Determine why a particular site should be selected.
2. Access: How will permission be obtained for accessing the site?
3. Activity: What will be done at the site?
4. Interference: How will the researcher avoid disrupting the normal routine? Or
How participative will the researcher be?
5. Time: What will be the duration and frequency of observations?
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Context
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 57
Interviews • Interviewing is used to gather information in the
subjects own words from which insights on their
interpretations can be obtained.
• Subjects are encouraged to talk about experiences,
feelings, beliefs
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Types of Interviews • Unstructured - exploratory, on a topic – open, flexible, no structured format,
and impromptu questions
• Partially Structured – Topic is chosen and questions are formulated, but order
is up to the interviewer. Open-ended Questions & responses are recorded
nearly verbatim, possibly taped.
• Semi-Structured - - questions and order of presentation are determined.
Questions are open-ended, interviewer records the essence of each response.
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 58
Interviews
• Qualitative Study Interview – primarily focus on
open-ended questions, flexible and purposively
selected samples
• Quantitative Study Interview – fixed choice
questions, usually on random samples
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Types of Interviews • Structured - - questions and order are pre-determined, responses are
coded by interviewer as they are given.
• Totally structured - - questions, order, and coding are predetermined and
the respondent is presented with alternatives for each question so that
phrasing of responses is structured. Questions are self-coding in that
each choice is pre-assigned a code.
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 59
Interviews
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Guidelines 1. Listen more, talk less. Be Patient, Don’t interrupt. Tolerate silence.
2. Follow up on what participants say and ask questions when you
don’t understand.
3. Don’t be judgmental about participants’ beliefs or views. You are
there to learn about their perspectives whether you agree or not.
4. Keep participants focused and ask for concrete details.
5. Avoid leading questions, ask open ended questions.
6. Don’t debate with participants over their responses.
You are a recorder, not a debater.
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 60
Focus Groups
• A semi-structured group session, moderated
by a group leader, held in an informal setting,
with the purpose of collecting information on a
selected topic. A carefully planed discussion
designed to obtain perceptions on a defined
area of interest in a permissive non-
threatening environment.
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Focus groups is a type of interview where multiple participants are
involved and responses can build on one another. A focus group is
particularly useful in obtaining a variety of views or opinions about a topic
or issue.
Focus groups are used to obtain information of qualitative nature from a
predetermined and limited number of people.
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 61
Focus Groups
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Useful When -
1. Insights are needed in exploratory studies
2. There is an understanding gap between groups
3. The purpose if to uncover factors relating to complex behaviors
4. The is a desire for ideas to emerge from the group
5. Need for additional information to prepare for a larger study
Not Useful When -
1. The environment is emotionally charged
2. Statistical projections are needed
3. Other methodologies can produce better
quality information
4. Confidentiality cannot be ensured
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 62
Focus Groups
Procedures
• Duration 1-2 hours. General rule is to plan for less time than you
tell participants.
• Number Groups 3-6 different groups should be used.
• Size 4-12 with certain characteristics in common (IDEAL size 6-8)
• Composition participants alike in some way (not in
opinions). General rule is to keep groups homogenous in terms of
prestige or status.
• Sample systematically selected (purposive
sampling). In organizations, include groups with
different roles.
• Method - non-directive, nurture different points of
view, identify trends and patterns in perceptions.
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 63
Changing roles of housewives
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 64
Focus Groups
• Introductory
– Round robin question that everyone answers
– Background - to locate people in relation to other people
• Transition
– Move the conversation into the key questions
– Experience/behavior - to elicit descriptions of behaviors, actions, activities
– Knowledge - to find out what respondents consider factual information
• Key Questions – Opinion/value - to find out what people think
– Feeling - to understand emotional response of people to an experience
• Ending - Bring closure to discussion
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 65
Observation
• Participant Observer - engages fully in
the activities being studied but is known
to the participants as a researcher.
Example: a researcher gets permission
from a teacher to sit in a class and make
observations over a semester.
• Goal is to immerse researcher in the
setting so he/she can see, hear, feel,
experience, subject’s’ daily life.
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 66
Observation
• Unobtrusive or Non-participant Observer - researcher watches but
does not participate in group activities. Example: researcher conducts a
number of interviews with teachers in a school.
• Naturalistic observation - observing individuals in their natural
settings, making no effort to manipulate variables or control activities,
but simply to observe and record. Example: observation of students at an
athletic event.
• Covert Observer - researcher disguises identity from other
participants (ethical issues). Example: conducting the research in disguise
• Simulations - asking subjects to act out certain situations or roles.
May be individual or group role playing.
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 67
Other Qualitative Techniques
Textual Analysis (artifacts, documents, records)
• Documents and artifacts can include materials produced by the subject (writing
portfolios), personal documents (diaries, letters), records, historical archives. Includes
analysis of written records such as textbooks, newspapers, and non-written records
such as audios, videos, computer files.
Personal Experience (journaling and other methods)
• This method involves directing participants to recall personal experience through a
variety of techniques. Methods used in data collection include think-aloud
techniques, stimulated recall, and key event reporting. The researcher works with the
participants to create the data.
Field Notes
• Written descriptions of people, events, objects, places, activities, conversations, etc.
These notes may supplement information from official documents and interviews or
may comprise the main research data. Field notes should also include the
researchers’ reactions, reflections, and tentative assumptions.
Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary, 2012]
Data Collection Method
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 68
Quantitative Approaches
to Research
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 69
Chapter 7
• Survey Research
Neuman, W.L. (2007) Basics of Social
Research: Qualitative and
Quantitative Approaches, 2/E,
Pearson Education
www.tinyurl.com/neuman2007
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 70
Survey • Questionnaire to record answers
from a sample
• Kerlinger (1973) defined survey research
as a study on large and small
populations by selecting samples
chosen from the desired population and
to discover relative incidence, distribution
and interrelations.
• The ultimate goal of survey research is to
learn about a large population by
surveying a sample of the population;
Neuman, W.L. (2011) Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 2/E, Pearson
Education – ISBN ISBN-10: 0205484379 | ISBN-13: 9780205484379
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 71
Types of Survey
Neuman, W.L. (2011) Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 2/E, Pearson Education
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 72
Cross-sectional Survey
A researcher collects information from a sample drawn from a
population. The data you obtain is derived from a cross-section of
the population at one point of time.
Neuman, W.L. (2011) Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 2/E, Pearson Education
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 73
Longitudinal Survey - Panel
Example: Age vs Volunteering Same units over time
Neuman, W.L. (2011) Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 2/E, Pearson Education
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
a researcher can identify a sample from the beginning and follow the specific
respondents over a specified period of time to observe changes in specific
respondents and highlight the reasons why these respondents have changed.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 74
Longitudinal Survey - Cohort
Example: 1967 birth cohorts vs racisim Same category of units in a specified time period over time
Neuman, W.L. (2011) Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 2/E, Pearson Education
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
Although the population remains the same, different respondents are sampled
each time. The researcher’s aim here is to see if there are changes in perceptions
or trends that occur in the study
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 75
Survey Techniques
Neuman, W.L. (2011) Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 2/E, Pearson Education
OUM (2010) Topic 9 Qualitative Research Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research Methods, AIT
Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
1. Mail and Self-Administered Questionnaire
• Cheap, slow, lowest response rate
2. Web Surveys
• Cheapest, fastest, moderate response rate
3. Telephone Interviews
• Moderate cost, fast, moderate response rate
4. Face-to-face Interviews
• Expensive, slow, highest response rate
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 76
References 1. Babbie, E.R. (2005) The Basics of Social Research [With CDROM and Infotrac], Wadsworth
–Thomson Publishing, Belmont, CA.
2. Babbie, E.R. (2011) The Basics of Social Research [With CDROM and Infotrac], Wadsworth
–Thomson Publishing, Belmont, CA. – ISBN – 0495812242
3. Bailey, K. D. (1978). Methods of social research (3rd ed.). New York: The Free Press.
4. Neuman, W.L. (2011) Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches,
2/E, Pearson Education
5. OUM (2010) Principles Supporting Qualitative Research, Topic 9 Qualitative Research
Methods, Course Hand out CMRM6103 Research Methodology/GMRM5103 Research
Methods, AIT Open University of Malaysia, Ghana
6. Sorensen, C. (2000)CICI 502 Survey of Research in Curriculum, Northern Illinois University,
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~sorensen/502/powerpoint/topicD/qlnotes.htm [accessed Feburary,
2012]
7. Zikmund W G. (2003) Business Research Methods, 7th edition, Thomson/South-Western.
Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com 77
Structure of Long Essay
• Abstract
• Chapt. 1 – Introduction
• Chapt. 2 – Literature Review
• Chapt. 3 – Context of the Study
• Chapt. 4 – Research Methodology
• Chapt. 5 – Results and Discussion
• Chapt. 6 – Conclusion