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QualitativeResearchDesign|ResearchRundowns

ResearchRundowns

UncomplicatedReviewsofEducationalResearch
Methods

QualitativeResearchDesign
.pdfversionofthispage
(https://researchrundowns.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/rrqualdesign_72009.pdf)
Thisreviewprovidesanoverviewofqualitativemethodsanddesignsusingexamplesof
research.Notethatqualitativeresearchersfrequentlyemployseveralmethodsinasingle
study.
BasicQualitativeResearchCharacteristics
1. Designisgenerallybasedonasocialconstructivism
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_constructivism#Social_Constructivism_and_Educati
on)perspective.
2. Researchproblemsbecomeresearchquestionsbasedonpriorresearchexperience.
3. Samplesizescanbeassmallasone.
4. Datacollectioninvolvesinterview,observation,and/orarchival(content)data.
5. Interpretationisbasedonacombinationofresearcherperspectiveanddatacollected.
Keywords
Transcribingistheprocessofconvertingaudioorvideodatatotextforanalysis.
Codingistheprocessofreviewingnotesanddiscoveringcommonthemes.
Themesdescribethepatterns/phenomenonasresults.
OverviewofMethods
1.Interview(Individual,focusgroups)
Whatisthedifferencebetweenaninterviewandasurvey?Primarily,openendedquestions
differentiatethetwo.Qualitativeresearchersareconcernedwithmakinginferencebasedon
perspective,soitisextremelyimportanttogetasmuchdataaspossibleforlateranalysis.
Researchersspendaconsiderableamountoftimedesigninginterviewquestions.Interviews
aredesignedtogenerateparticipantperspectivesaboutideas,opinions,andexperiences.
2.Observation(Individual,group,location)

Howisdataderivedfromanobservation?Theresearchermayuseavarietyofmethodsfor

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Howisdataderivedfromanobservation?Theresearchermayuseavarietyofmethodsfor
observing,includingtakinggeneralnotes,usingchecklists,ortimeandmotionlogs.The
considerabletimeittakesforevenashortobservationdetersmanyresearchersfromusingthis
method.Also,theresearcherriskshisorherinterpretationwhentakingnotes,whichis
acceptedbyqualitativeresearchers,butmeetsresistancefrompostpositivists
(http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/positvsm.php).Observationsaredesignedto
generatedataonactivitiesandbehaviors,andaregenerallymorefocusedonsettingthanother
methods.
3.DocumentAnalysis(Contentanalysisofwrittendata)
Whattypesofdocumentsdoqualitativeresearchersanalyze?Virtuallyanythingthatsupports
thequestionasked.Printmediahaslongbeenastapledatasourceforqualitativeresearchers,
butelectronicmedia(email,blogs,userWebpages,andevensocialnetworkprofiles)have
extendedthedataqualitativeresearcherscancollectandanalyze.Thegreatestchallenge
offeredbydocumentanalysiscanbesiftingthroughallofthedatatomakegeneral
observations.
AFewQualitativeResearchDesigns
1.BiographicalStudy
Abiographicalstudyisoftenthefirstdesigntypethatcomestomindformostpeople.For
example,considerOBriensJohnF.Kennedy:ABiography(http://books.google.com/books?
id=fxzd__gA_I4C&dq=O%E2%80%99Brien%E2%80%99s+John+F.+Kennedy:+A+Biography&
printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=WsRjSpD4BJ6ntgfixPHvDw&sa=X&oi=book_re
sult&ct=result&resnum=4).Theauthortakesacollectionofarchivaldocuments(interviews,
speeches,andotherwritings)andvariousmedia(pictures,audio,andvideofootage)topresent
acomprehensivestoryofJFK.Inthegeneralsense,abiographicalstudyisconsideredan
exhaustiveaccountofalifeexperience;however,justassomestudiesarelimitedtosingle
aspectsofaphenomenon,thefocusofabiographicalstudycanbemuchnarrower.Thefilm
MadameCurieisanexample.Crawfordstudiesthefilm
(http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/biography/v023/23.1crawford.html)fromabiographical
perspectivetopresentthereaderwithanexaminationofhowallaspectsofafilm(directors
perspective,actors,cameraangles,historicalsetting)worktopresentabiography.Readthe
introductionandscanthetexttogetafeelforthisperspective.
2.Phenomenology
Yourfirststepshouldbetotakethiswordapartphenomenonreferstoanoccurrenceor
experience,logicalreferstoapathtowardunderstanding.So,wehaveaoccurrenceandapath
(letsgowithanindividualsexperience),whichleadstoawayoflookingatthephenomenon
fromanindividualspointofview.Thereactions,perceptions,andfeelingsofanindividual(or
groupofindividuals)asshe/heexperiencedaneventareprincipallyimportanttothe
phenomenologistlookingtounderstandaneventbeyondpurelyquantitativedetails.Gaston
Gayles,etal.s(2005)(http://bookstore.naspa.org/reflectingback.aspx)lookathowthecivil
rightserachangedtheroleofcollegeadministratorsisagoodexample.Theauthorsinterview
menandwomenwhowereadministratorsduringthattimetoidentifyhowtheprofession
changedasaresult.
3.GroundedTheory

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3.GroundedTheory
Inagroundedtheorystudy,interpretationsarecontinuallyderivedfromrawdata.Akeyword
torememberisemergent.Thestoryemergesfromthedata.Often,researcherswillbeginwitha
broadtopic,thenusequalitativemethodstogatherinformationthatdefines(orfurtherrefines)
aresearchquestion.Forexample,ateachermightwanttoknowwhateffectsthe
implementationofadresscodemighthaveondiscipline.Insteadofformulatingspecific
questions,agroundedtheoristwouldbeginbyinterviewingstudents,parents,and/orteachers,
andperhapsaskingstudentstowriteanessayabouttheirthoughtsonadresscode.The
researcherwouldthenfollowtheprocessofdevelopingthemesfromreadingthetextby
codingspecificexamples(usingahighlighter,maybe)ofwhererespondentsmentioned
commonthings.Resistancemightbeacommonpatternemergingfromthetext,whichmaythen
becomeatopicforfurtheranalysis.
Agroundedtheorystudyisdynamic,inthatitcanbecontinuallyrevisedthroughoutnearlyall
phasesofthestudy.Youcanimaginethatthiswouldfrustrateaquantitativeresearcher.
However,rememberthatperspectiveiscentrallyimportanttothequalitativeresearcher.While
theendresultofagroundedtheorystudyistogeneratesomebroadthemes,theresearcheris
notmakinganattempttogeneralizethestudyinthesame,objectivewaycharacteristicof
quantitativeresearch.Hereisalinktoagroundedtheoryarticleonstudentleadership
(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3752/is_200511/ai_n15847515/).
4.Ethnography
Thosewithsociologyoranthropologybackgroundswillbemostfamiliarwiththisdesign.
Ethnographyfocusesonmeaning,largelythroughdirectfieldobservation.Researchers
generally(thoughnotalways)becomepartofaculturethattheywishtostudy,thenpresenta
pictureofthatculturethroughtheeyesofitsmembers.Oneofthemostfamous
ethnographersisJaneGoodall,(http://www.ted.com/speakers/jane_goodall.html)who
studiedchimpanzeesbylivingamongthemintheirnativeEastAfricanhabitat.
5.CaseStudy
Acasestudyisanindepthanalysisofpeople,events,andrelationships,boundedbysome
unifyingfactor.Anexampleisprincipalleadershipinmiddleschools.Importantaspects
includenotonlytheprincipalsbehaviorsandviewsonleadership,butalsotheperceptionsof
thosewhointeractwithher/him,thecontextoftheschool,outsideconstituents,comparisonto
otherprincipals,andotherquantitativevariables.Often,youmayseeacasestudylabeled
ethnographiccasestudywhichgenerallyreferstoamorecomprehensivestudyfocusedona
personorgroupofpeople,astheaboveexample.
Casestudiesdonothavetobepeoplefocused,however,asacasestudytolookataprogram
mightbeconductedtoseehowitaccomplishesitsintendedoutcomes.Forexample,the
DepartmentofEducationmightconductacasestudyonacurricularimplementationina
schooldistrictexamininghownewcurriculummovesfromdevelopmenttoimplementation
tooutcomesateachlevelofinteraction(developer,schoolleadership,teacher,student).

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