qualitative research i

5/27/2018 Qualitative Research I

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Qualitative Research I

Dr George Varvatsoulias


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Ways of collecting qualitative

data (1) Data collection approaches for qualitative research usually involves:

Direct interaction with individuals on a one to one basis

Or direct interaction with individuals in a group setting

Qualitative research data collection methods are time consuming,therefore data is usually collected from a smaller sample than wouldbe the case for quantitative approaches - therefore this makesqualitative research more expensive. The benefits of the qualitativeapproach is that the information is richer and has a deeper insight intothe phenomenon under study. The main methods for collectingqualitative data are:

Individual interviews

Focus groups Observations

Action Research


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data (2): Interview Techniques Interviews can be:

Unstructured Can be referred to as 'depth' or 'in depth' interviews

They have very little structure at all

The interviewer may just go with the aim of discussing alimited number of topics, sometimes as few as just one ortwo

The interviewer may frame the interview questions basedon the interviewee and his/her previous response

This allows the discussion to cover areas in great detail

They involve the researcher wanting to know or find outmore about a specific topic without there being a structureor a preconceived plan or expectation as to how they willdeal with the topic


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data (3): Interview Techniques

Semi structured Semi structured interviews are sometimes also called focused interviews

A series of open ended questions based on the topic areas the researcherwants to cover

A series of broad questions to ask and may have some prompts to help the

interviewee 'The open ended nature of the question defines the topic under investigation butprovides opportunities for both interviewer and interviewee to discuss sometopics in more detail'

Semi structured interviews allow the researcher to prompt or encourage theinterviewee if they are looking for more information or find what they are sayinginteresting

This method gives the researcher the freedom to probe the interviewee to

elaborate or to follow a new line of inquiry introduced by what the interviewee issaying

Work best when the interviewed has a number of areas he/she wants to be sureto be addressing


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data (4): Interview Techniques

Structured The interviewed asks the respondent the same

questions in the same way

A tightly structured schedule is used

The questions may be phrased in order that a limitedrange of responses may be given - i.e. 'Do you rateour services as very good, good or poor'

A researcher needs to consider whether aquestionnaire or structured interview is more

appropriate 'If the interview schedule is too tightly structured this

may not enable the phenomena under investigationto be explored in terms of either breadth or depth.'


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data (5)

Qualitative interviews should be fairly informal andparticipants feel they are taking part in a conversation ordiscussion rather than in a formal question and answersituation. There is skill required and involved insuccessful qualitative research approaches - whichrequires careful consideration and planning.

Good quality qualitative research involves:

Thought

Preparation

The development of the interview schedule

Conducting and analysing the interview data with care andconsideration


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Thematic Analysis (2)

Thematic analysisand grounded theoryare methodologicallysimilar analytic frameworks but the manner in which themes,concepts and categories are managed varies considerablybetween these approaches. They both attempt to represent aview of reality via systematically working through text to identifytopics that are progressively integrated into higher orderthemes, via processes of de-contextualisation and re-contextualisation. Their procedures are more conceptuallydemanding than content analysis which employs a muchsimpler ordering of data. However, thematic analysis andcontent analysis are often confused. The former, through

focusing purely upon meaning, promotes a more discursiveinterpretation since individual codes can cross-referencemultiple themes, whilst the latter employs predefined mutuallyexclusive categories to count the frequency of a theme and ismore appropriately used to statistically test any hypotheses.


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Thematic Analysis (3): Analytic

process

1. Prepare the data for analysisTranscribe the interview into text and format the document sothe margin could be used for identifying individual bits of data.This can be done by assigning line numbers as identifiers forcross referencing.

2. Read the text and noting items of interest perform: i. Initial reading of the text

An inductive approach to thematic analysis allows themes to emergefrom the data, rather than searching for pre-defined themes. Duringthe first reading make note of major issues as they come to mind inorder to acquire a sense of the various topics embedded in the data.

ii. Re-read the text and annotate any thoughts in the marginExamine the text closely, line by line, to facilitate a micro analysis ofthe data. This also promotes open coding which identifies any newinformation by de-contextualising bits of data embedded within theprimary material.


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process

5. Re-examine the text carefully for relevant incidentsof data for each proto-themeThis second process of trawling back through the data isalso called axial coding. It involves re-contextualisation

whereby any data is now considered in terms of thecategories developed through this analysis. Taking eachtheme separately and re-examining the original data forinformation relating to that theme is a vital stage in theanalytic process because human perception is selective

and the relevance of data can be easily overlooked.Furthermore, pieces of data previously assigned to atheme may in fact be contradictory.


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process

6. Construct the final form of each themeThe name, definition and supporting data are re-examined for the final construction of each theme, usingall the material relating to it. This stage of re-

contextualisation focuses more closely upon theunderlying meaning of each theme.

7. Report each themeFinalise the name of each theme, write its description andillustrate it with a few quotations from the original text to

help communicate its meaning to the reader.

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