strategic themes in qualitative inquiry ps398 qualitative methods in psychology lecturer: julian...

Strategic Themes in Strategic Themes in Qualitative InquiryQualitative Inquiry

PS398 Qualitative Methods in PsychologyPS398 Qualitative Methods in Psychology

Lecturer: Julian HasfordLecturer: Julian Hasford

January 8, 2008January 8, 2008

AgendaAgenda

• Glossary: ReflexivityGlossary: Reflexivity• What is Research? Qualitative Research?What is Research? Qualitative Research?• Comparing Goals and Strategies of Comparing Goals and Strategies of

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Qualitative and Quantitative Research • Selecting a course research topicSelecting a course research topic• Questions?Questions?• One-minute paperOne-minute paper• Next class…Next class…

Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives

• By the end of today’s session you should By the end of today’s session you should be able to:be able to:– Define qualitative research– Compare and contrast the goals and

strategies of qualitative and quantitative research

ReflexivityReflexivity

• DefinitionDefinition

– Process by which researchers examine and make visible the impact of their own subjectivity and social location (e.g., social status) on the research and on the relationship between researchers and participants (Patton, 2002; Stein & Mankowski, 2004).


• Theoretical & Methodological SignificanceTheoretical & Methodological Significance– Researchers’ subjectivity and social location influence all

aspects of research process– Standard of quality and ethics in qualitative research (Stein &

Mankowski, 2004)– Researchers engage in reflexive self-awareness through

questioning assumptions about self, participants, audience– Strategies include: bracketing, detailed accounts (thick

description), writing in first-person & active voice (Patton, 2002)– Operationalized in various ways according to researchers’

theoretical perspective(s) (e.g., feminist, post-modernist, symbolic interactionist)

– Often raises doubts, discomforts, challenges


• Example (Langhout, 2006) Example (Langhout, 2006) – Background:

• Paper based on collaborative action research project between an undergraduate class and a group of poor African-American women. Class instructor was European-American graduate student. Project involved community gardening.

– Design: • Authoethnographic study based on Langhout’s experiences• Action research project involved participant observation in

community research project• Data included personal journal, and student journals and

assignments• Reflective analysis and narrative report


• Example (Langhout, 2006) Example (Langhout, 2006) – Findings

• Langhout initially felt sense of connection and collaboration with women based on common gender and class

• Her views challenged when (African-American) student’s assignment raises how issues of race created a divide between researcher and participants

• Discovered her own privilege and discomfort and naïveté about race

• Suggests scholars should exercise greater reflexivity throughout the research (with particular attention to privilege), and pay greater attention to process than outcomes


• ReferencesReferencesLanghout, R. D. (2006). Where am I? Locating myself

and its implications for collaborative research. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37, 267-274.

Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Stein, C.H., & Mankowski, E.S. (2004). Asking, witnessing, interpreting, knowing: Conducting qualitative research in community psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1-2), 21-35.

What is Research?What is Research?

• Write a definition in your own wordsWrite a definition in your own words• Other ways of defining researchOther ways of defining research

– Research is a systematic, formal rigorous and precise process employed to gain solutions to problems and/or to discover and interpret new facts and relationships. (Waltz and Bausell, 1981, p.1).

– Research is the process of looking for a specific answer to a specific question in an organised objective reliable way (Payton, 1979, p.4)

– Research is systematic, controlled, empirical and critical investigation of hypothetical propositions about the presumed relations among natural phenomena (Kerlinger, 1973, p.1).

What is What is QualitativeQualitative Research? Research?

– “[An approach to inquiry that is]... multimethodmultimethod in focus, involving an interpretiveinterpretive, naturalisticnaturalistic approach to its subject matter...qualitative researchers study things in their natural setting to make sensemake sense of, or interpretinterpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bringmeanings people bring to them.” (Denzin and Lincoln, 1994:2)

What is What is QualitativeQualitative Research? Research?

• Art & ScienceArt & Science

• MysteryMystery

• Puzzle solvingPuzzle solving

• Non-linear, ImperfectNon-linear, Imperfect

Goals of Quantitative ResearchGoals of Quantitative Research

• Description (Measurement)Description (Measurement)

• Test Theory Test Theory

• Explain (cause & effect)Explain (cause & effect)

• Prediction Prediction

• ControlControl

Goals of Qualitative ResearchGoals of Qualitative Research

• Description (Detailed) Description (Detailed)

• ThemesThemes

• Patterns Patterns

• Creating Concepts or TheoriesCreating Concepts or Theories

• UnderstandingsUnderstandings

• InsightsInsights

Goals of Qualitative ResearchGoals of Qualitative Research

– “The goal of qualitative research is the development of conceptsconcepts which help us to understandunderstand social phenomena in natural (rather than experimental) settings, giving due emphasis to the meanings, experiences, and views of the participants” (Mays and Pope, 1997, p.4)

What does the Fruit of Qual-R What does the Fruit of Qual-R Look Like?Look Like?

• Belenky et al. (1986) findings on women’s ways of Belenky et al. (1986) findings on women’s ways of knowingknowing– Silence, Received Knowledge, Subjective Knowledge,

Procedural Knowledge, Constructed Knowledge

• Peters & Waterman’s (1982) eight Peters & Waterman’s (1982) eight attributesattributes of excellent of excellent companies companies

• Maslow’s Maslow’s theoriestheories of self-actualization and motivation of self-actualization and motivation• Brown’s (1987) Brown’s (1987) When Battered Women KillWhen Battered Women Kill

– Led to legal recognition of battered women syndrome

• Moustakas’ (1995) theory about relationshipsMoustakas’ (1995) theory about relationships– Being-In, Being-For, Being-With


• Covey’s (1990) Covey’s (1990) 7 Habits of Highly Effective 7 Habits of Highly Effective PeoplePeople– Theory of personal effectiveness based on case

studies of effective people– Principle-Centered

• Be proactive• Put first things first• Begin with the end in mind• Think “Win-Win”• Seek first to understand, then to be understood• Synergize• Sharpen the saw


• Hasford & Mitchell (in progress) study on Hasford & Mitchell (in progress) study on undergraduate students’ experiences of undergraduate students’ experiences of learning qualitative methodslearning qualitative methods

– Participants: 39 undergraduate students (30 females)

– Grounded theory analysis– Findings: experiences involve processes of

• Epistemological Indoctrination (Context)• Epistemological Crisis• Epistemological and Methodological Awakening• Methodological Transitioning and Expanding


• Hasford & Mitchell (in progress)Hasford & Mitchell (in progress)– Epistemological Indoctrination

• Um, I think because your given an extensive background in quantitative research that um it kinda it kinda biases you coming into this [course]. You are told you know validity is important and you know generalizablity is important and its kind of that’s drilled into your head that those are the standards and you know and you need to have a p value of .05 you know for anything to be significant and that’s kinda what you come into this with-- that kind of mind set.


• Hasford & Mitchell (in progress)Hasford & Mitchell (in progress)– Epistemological Crisis

• At first I was like “What is happening?” Like, I did not understand it at all and I was like- It’s really hard to grasp at first because not only is it like, the idea of it’s really difficult, but it’s also all these huge words so it makes it even [laughs] more like, overwhelming. Especially because you’ve been so trained in like, quantitative research, like up until you take qualitative that it’s like everything that you’re learning about qualitative research is totally against what you were taught was right and was pounded into your head.

Strategic Themes of Qual Strategic Themes of Qual (& Quant) Inquiry(& Quant) Inquiry

• Design StrategiesDesign Strategies– Naturalistic– Emergent/flexible– Purposeful sampling

• Data Collection StrategiesData Collection Strategies– Engagement– Empathic neutrality

• Analysis StrategiesAnalysis Strategies– Inductive– Holistic– Context – Reflexivity

Design Strategies of Qual Design Strategies of Qual (& Quant) Inquiry(& Quant) Inquiry

• Extent to which (1) scientist manipulates Extent to which (1) scientist manipulates phenomena, and (2) predetermined categories phenomena, and (2) predetermined categories are used (Guba, 1978)are used (Guba, 1978)

• QuantitativeQuantitative– Experiment– Randomization– Probability Sampling

• QualitativeQualitative– Naturalistic: discovery-oriented, open-ended– Emergent/flexible: open, pragmatic, tolerance of

ambiguity and uncertainty, trust in outcome– Purposeful sampling: information-rich cases

Data Collection Strategies in Data Collection Strategies in Qual (& Quant) InquiryQual (& Quant) Inquiry

• QuantitativeQuantitative– Quantitative Data– Distance & Objectivity

• QualitativeQualitative– Qualitative Data: Interviews, Observations,

Documents, Other– Personal Engagement: Field work, Participation,

Relationships– Empathic neutrality: empathic stance toward

people, neutral stance toward their thoughts, required for verstehen (understanding/insight)

Analysis Strategies of Qual Analysis Strategies of Qual (& Quant) Inquiry(& Quant) Inquiry

• QuantitativeQuantitative– Hypothetical-Deductive: begins with hypotheses– Statistical verification & Generalization– Reductionist & Mechanistic– Context-free (Control)

• QualitativeQualitative– Unique Case Orientation: Begins with

describing/understanding cases in detail– Inductive & Creative Synthesis: begins with data,

Active/creative interpretation– Holistic: Desire to understand the whole complex system

(rather than parts)– Context Sensitivity: preserves natural context– Voice & Reflexivity: Explicit self-awareness, active, first-

person voice, self-questioning

Complimentarity of Qual & Quant Complimentarity of Qual & Quant ResearchResearch

• Both have advantages and disadvantagesBoth have advantages and disadvantages• Studies often use strategies from bothStudies often use strategies from both• Potential mixed method applicationsPotential mixed method applications

– Development of questionnaires and survey instruments

– Generate hypotheses– Triangulation– Aid in the interpretation and reporting of

quantitative findings

Decision MakingDecision Making

• Pragmatism (No Rules)Pragmatism (No Rules)• What are the What are the purposespurposes of the inquiry? of the inquiry?

– Research, evaluation, thesis, personal

• Who is the primary Who is the primary audienceaudience of findings? of findings?– Scholars, Practitioners, Policymakers, Oneself

• What What questionsquestions guide the inquiry? guide the inquiry?– Theory, applied

• What What datadata will illuminate the inquiry? will illuminate the inquiry?– Qualitative, Quantitative, Mixed-methods

• What What criteriacriteria will be used to judge the quality of findings? will be used to judge the quality of findings? – Positivist, Constructivist, Critical

Choosing a Class Research Choosing a Class Research TopicTopic

• Group discuss the suggested topics and Group discuss the suggested topics and come to consensuscome to consensus– Money– Work– The Environment– Health– Celebrity

• Democratic vote to finalize decisionDemocratic vote to finalize decision

One-Minute PaperOne-Minute Paper

• Take about one minute to answer the Take about one minute to answer the following questionsfollowing questions– Is qualitative research research?– What is one take home learning from today’s

session

• Discuss with someone next to youDiscuss with someone next to you

Questions?Questions?

Next ClassNext Class

• Philosophy of Science Philosophy of Science – Readings: Patton (2002) Ch. 3 (pp.91-103),

Ponteretto (2005) Article (to be emailed or posted)

– Review Patton (2002) Ch. 2 (pp. 68-71) on paradigms

– Write theoretical memo reflecting on connection between philosophy of science and course research topic