Eighth

Edition

Qualitative Research
Methods for the
Social Sciences

Bruce L.

~rg:>lqstJ-

California State University, Long Beach

Howard Lune, \

'1-

Hunter College, CUNY

PEARSON
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Contents

Preface

xiii

Introduction

Quantitative versus Qualitative Schools of Thought

Use of Triangulation in Research Methodology
5
Qualitative Strategies: Defining an Orientation
8
From a Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
9
Why Use Qualitative Methods?
14
A Plan of Presentation
15
References
17

DesigningQualitative Research

19

Theory and Concepts

19
Ideas and Theory
22
Reviewing the Literature
26
Evaluating Web Sites 28 Content versus Use 31
Trying It Out
36
Theory, Reality, and the SocialWorld
36
Framing Research Problems
38
Operationalization and Conceptualization
38
Designing Projects
41
Concept Mapping 43 Creating a Concept Map 46
Setting and Population Appropriateness 47 Sampling
Strategies 50

iii

Designing Projects

43

you must decide whether to use a single data-collection strategy or to combine

several strategies (data triangulation). Will you undertake the study alone or
with the assistance of others (multiple investigator triangulation)? You must
consider whether the study will be framed by a single overarching theory or by
several related theories (theoretical triangulation). How much will the project cost in terms of time and money, and how much can you actually afford?
Are the data-collection strategies appropriate for the research questions being
addressed? What will the data (physically) look like once they have been
collected? How will the data be organized and analyzed?
In effect, during the design stage, you, the investigator, sketch out the
entire research project in an effort to foresee any possible glitches that might
arise. If you locate a problem now, while the project is still on the drafting
board, there is no harm done. After the project has begun, if you find that
concepts have been poorly conceived, that the wrong research questions have
been asked, or that the data collected are inappropriate or from the wrong
group of people, the project may be ruined.
In addition, the researcher must consider what Morse and Richards
(2002) call the pacing of the project. By pacing, Morse and Richards (2002,
p. 66) mean planning the sequence of various components of the study and the
movement between data gathering and data analysis. This planning requires
considerable decision making during the design stage and the flexibility to
make additional changes during the course of the research: Once you select
a data-collection strategy, say field observations, when do you start? Once you
have begun, when do you stop? Should you include interviews along with your
field observations, even though you did not originally plan to do so? All of
these decisions affect the pace, duration, and design of your research.
Researchers in the social sciences typically conduct research on human
subjects. The design stage is a time when you, the researcher, must consider
whether ethical standards and safeguards for subjects' protection are adequate. You must make certain that subjects will be protected from any harm.
Chapter 3 discusses issues of research ethics in detail. For now, regard the
design stage as the time when ethical proprieties such as honesty; openness
of intent; respect for subjects; issues of privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality; the intent of the research; and the willingness of subjects to participate
voluntarily in the study are appraised.

Concept Mapping
For many inexperienced researchers, the development of a research design, creation of a theoretical framework, or even development or use of existing theories can be a very daunting task. At this juncture, therefore, I want to introduce

44

Chapter

2 / Designing Qualitative Research

a tool that can assist you in this process and that can also clarify confusions
about a particular research design plan or theoretical framework you may want
to use. This tool is referred to as concept mapping or occasionally mind mapping (Kane & Trochim, 2006; Maxwell, 2005; Novak, 1990). A concept map
is a technique that allows you to better understand the relationships between
ideas, concepts, plans of action, and the like by creating a pictorial representation of these ideas, or plans, and their connections. Concept maps allow you
to visualize specific connections between ideas or activities you are thinking
about, or to connect new ideas to knowledge that you already possess about
a theory or concept. In effect, a concept map permits you to better organize
your ideas and plans as you develop your research design or theoretical frame.
It is quite literally your drawing board for working through research and
theoretical plans.
Most sources suggest that the original idea of concept maps can be traced
to the work of Ioseph Novak (Novak, 1990; Novak & Gowin, 1995) and his
colleagues at Cornell University during the 1970s-first to explore the way
students learned science and then as a tool for teaching science (Maxwell,
2005; Walker & King, 2002). To the casual observer, a concept map looks like
a pretty standard flowchart; it is drawn with boxes or circles called nodes, connections between various nodes represented by lines, and sometimes arrows,
and labels that identify what each node is and what the relationships are as
represented by the lines. Together, these nodes, lines, and labels represent
propositions or elements of meaning. Figure 2.2 shows a simple concept map
for considering a theoretical framework fot a study on health professionals'
perceptions of obese patients.
Concept maps have been used in educational settings as a learning
strategy, an instructional strategy, a strategy for curriculum planning, and
a means of student assessments. In recent years, concept maps have also
been integrated into many nursing programs and assist in the development
of patient care programs (Carpenito-Moyet, 2007); in evaluation research,
concept maps are frequently used to assist in developing plans (designs) for
evaluating programs and organizations (Kane & Trochim, 2006). Similar
schematic diagramming strategies have been offered in the social sciences by
Miles and Huberman under the general rubric of "conceptual frameworks"
(Huberman & Miles, 1994, pp. 18-22), by Anselem Strauss as an "integrative diagram" (Strauss, 1987, p. 170), and by Maxwell as literal cognitive
maps (Maxwell, 2005, pp. 46-48).
As Figure 2.2 illustrates, a concept map provides a means for organizing and thinking about the researcher's notions about some subject or
theoretical premise in a graphic or pictorial manner. This tool is particularly
useful for social scientists in developing and detailing ideas and plans for

Designing Projects

45

Fig u re 2. 2 Concept Map of Concepts Pertaining to Social and Health

Professional Perceptions of Obese Teens
Health Professional Perceptions of Obesity

Social Perceptions
/'

Fixation on thinness

The obese have lower selfesteem

Parental attitudes reflect this

self-esteem concept

The media has a strong negative

effect on obese teen's sense of
self

\.

Obese and normal weight people should be concerned

weight

Concerned

about their

with media's effect on obese patients' sense of setf

Obesity has serious ramifications for heart disease, diabetes,

'-- __ re_spiratoryillnesses and asthma, and musculon skeletal disorders.

of Obesity

Health Prctesslonal

Perceptions
Interactions

with Obese Teen\

Social Perceptions as Active Interact" ns

Teenage
on girl

teasing of obese kids---especiaUy

Obese child avoids public/social

Parental sarcastic comments

Parental refusal to purchase clothes

girl

settings

as Active Interactions

Recommend

weight reduction of obese teens

Recommend

regular exercise regiments

Seek to make teens heart smart

Discuss self-image

Parents leave diet materials around

Potential Policy
Recommendations

Possible changes in social perceptions

Educational efforts in schools (both health issues and

teasing/bullying discussions)

via media

Sensitivity training

Health routine training in schools

research. It is especially valuable when researchers want to involve relevant

stakeholder groups in the act of creating the research project, as when conducting participatory research efforts (see Action Research in Chapter 7).
It should be noted that typically one does not draft and complete a concept map all in one setting. Even the draft of the concept model shown
in Figure 2.2 is largely a first draft that could be refined as the researcher

46

C ha p t e r 2 / Designing Qualitative Research

developed additional information or narrowed his or her focus on specific

issues. How then, you may be asking, do you go about creating a concept map?

Creating a Concept Map

To create a concept map, you should first read widely on your subject, in
short, begin examining the literature and amassing relevant documents on
the topic. As you read through these documents, you should also begin
to keep a record of about 10 or 12 key concepts or ideas. Once you have
identified these concepts, you may follow these several steps to create a
concept map:
Step 1: List out the concepts on one page. I use my laptop for this, but some
people are more tactile and prefer to use post-it notes or small pad
pages, writing a separate concept on each pad sheet or post-it page.
The medium isn't important, but it is important to be able to look at
and move all of the concepts at once. This step should yield a goodsized bunch of individual concepts.
Step 2: Rearrange the concepts on the page so you move from the most
abstract ideas to the most specific ones.
Step 3: Now, move the concepts on the page under separate columns, or
create separate piles of notes so that ideas go directly below other
related ideas. This stage gives you a physical layout that represents
your conceptual arrangement of the parts. At this juncture, you also
want to add additional concepts or labels that help to explain, connect,
or expand the columns or piles of ideas you are creating.
Step 4: At this point, you can move the columns into clusters of ideas located
at some distance from each other, such that you can draw lines from
the larger or broader concepts to the more specific and focused
concepts and ideas. This allows you to view where your tight clusters
of ideas separate from the looser, more distant interrelations.
Step 5: You are now ready to begin the process of making sense of the
clustered ideas and connections you have created in the previous steps.
In doing this, you should again review your literature and then begin
to assign descriptive labels to the connections among the clusters of
concepts or ideas. These terms and labels should explain or identify
the relationships you see between these clusters of concepts or ideas.
Step 6: You may want to separately describe examples, or even illustrations
(pictures, cartoons) of actions that belong with and may illuminate
the concepts and concept clusters.

Designing Projects

47

Step 7: Now, you should reorganize the concepts so that the relationships
among them are visually apparent. You may want to create a flowchart
using various shapes (circles, squares, rectangles, ete.) to depict the
arrangement of the concept and/or idea clusters and connective lines,
as in Figure 2.2.
Step 8: The final step is really a refining stage. You may want to show your
cognitive plan to others knowledgeable about the general subject area
or others working on your research team. From their comments, you
may make changes and/or additions to your overall concept map.
One of the great benefits of concept mapping is that it distinguishes between
concepts that depend on one another and ones which areJfistinct but relate .
For example, if you were to work out a concept map for socioeconomic status
(SES), you would certainly need to work in qualitative and quantitative factors
that indicate social status and those that indicate economic status. Income is part
of SES, so you would need some measure for that. But you wouldn't say that
income relates to SES, because they are part of the same concept. Many of my
students, recognizing that racial categories relate to SES in the United States,
also try to fit race into their conceptualization. But race is a separate variable, one
which can only be compared to SES because the two are different things.
The final concept map, as suggested previously, may go through a series
of further refinements as others review the draft or as you review additional
pieces of literature. In addition to the overall design of the research, you will
also need to consider other elements, including, for example, the nature of the
research setting and the appropriateness of your subjects.

Setting and Population Appropriateness

During the research phase of a project, the investigator must consider a rationale
for identifying and using a particular setting as a data-collection site (Marshall &
Rossman, 2006). Decisions must also be made regarding who will collect the
data and who will comprise the research study population. While choices may be
numerous, some advice is in order. First, it is best to be practical. Select a site or
setting that is reasonable in size and complexity so the study can be completed
within the time and budget you have available. It is also wise to consider your own
levelof skill,which as a novice researcher is likelyto be limited and your confidence
somewhat uncertain. The study site or setting should be a location where:
1. Entry or access is possible.
2. The appropriate people (target population) are likely to be available.