Qualitative research

methods
Research Methods
Geog 316
JA Yaro

Outline
Some qualitative methods
The qualitative individual interview
The focus group discussion
Participant observation

The art of interviewing

Designing your research instrument the
interview guide

Qualitative individual
Interview
It is a person-to-person discussion.
Provides insight into people's
thoughts, feelings, and behaviour on
important issues
Interview is often unstructured
Flexible interview approach
It aims to ask questions to explain
the reasons underlying a problem or
practice in a target group

Steps in Using In-depth

Interview
Step 1:
Plan how you will conduct the in-depth
interviews.
Step 2:
Decide who your respondents will be.
Step 3:
Prepare interview guide for each category
of informants.
Step 4:
Read how to conduct interviews and the
experiences of
other researchers
Step 5:
Conduct the actual interviews
Step 6:
Analyse the data.
Step 7:
Write a report and recommend
intervention(s).

Qualities of a good
interviewer

Knowledge of topic under investigation

Self confidence
Ability to establish rapport
Confident but not pompous
Unassuming personality
Politeness
Articulate enough to prompt respondents to talk
A good listener
Able to notice and react to nonverbal clues
Flexible, open minded, and willing to release power
and control

Preparing an interview guide

semi-structured

Create an order of topics

Formulate interview questions or topics
Full questions or summary of issues
Use comprehensible language
No leading questions
Have a fact sheet- gender, age etc
Record the interview

Formulating questions for an interview

guide
Genera
l
researc
h area

Specific
researc
h
questio
ns

Intervie
w topics

Formulate
interview
questions
Review interview
questions

Pilot guide

Identify novel
issues
Finalize guide

Revise questions

Example of questions
PERCEPTIONS OF CLIMATE
CHANGE

What changes in climate - rainfall, temperature and extreme

events have you experienced/noticed over the past 20-30 years
in this community?
Why are these climate changes occurring?
What resources and people are most at risk of climate related
hazards
What parts of the community are most vulnerable to the
hazards identified?
Who are the members of the community who are most at risk?
Why?
Are the hazards different now than they were 20 years ago?
How?
What aspects of your lives are affected by the changing climate
eg food security, diseases, etc.

The "Dos in interviewing

Begin interview with a friendly and familiar greeting
Listen with attention to capture every piece of
information
Explore key words, phrases, idioms, terms as they
occur in the discussion
Listen to impressions, topics avoided by informant,
deliberate
distortions
and
misconceptions
or
misunderstandings
Take prompt action to explore each of these
Ensure a natural flow of discussion by guiding
informant
"Play dumb"(be silent) to give the respondent plenty of
room to talk.
Be open to unexpected information.

"The Don'ts of Interviewing

DONT:
Influence or bias responses by introducing
one's own perceptions or asking leading
questions which encourage a particular
response
Move too quickly from one topic to the next
Interrupt the informant
Mislead about the subject matter in order to
obtain information

Focus group discussions

Denzin and Lincoln (1994, p.365) "focus group is a
situation in which the interviewer asks group members
very specific questions about a topic after considerable
research has already been completed.
USES IMPORTANT FOR:
Obtaining general background information about a topic
generating research hypotheses
Stimulating new ideas and creative concepts;
Generating impressions of products, programs, services,
etc.
Learning how respondents talk about the phenomenon of
interest which may facilitate quantitative research tools

How are focus groups different

from regular groups?
They are focused on a specific topic
They have a trained facilitator
Members of the group are
encouraged to talk openly about
their opinions and respond to other
members
6-12 participants with common
experience

Before the meeting:

Before the meeting:
Recheck your goals
Consider other methods
Find a good leader
Find a recorder
Decide who should be invited
Decide about incentives
Decide on the meeting particulars.
Prepare your questions.
Recruit your members.
Review the arrangements.

Important aspects of good focus

groups
A skilled moderator who has specific
training for conducting focus groups,
Specific eligibility criteria for participants,
Formal speaking protocol to avoid bias,
Questions that encourage a two to three
minute thoughtful report or opinion.
Encouraging interaction among group
Group must not exceed 10 people

When the group meets:

When the group meets:

Thank people for coming.

Review the group's purpose and goals.
Explain how the meeting will proceed
and how members can contribute.
Set the tone by asking an opening
question and making sure all opinions
on that question are heard.

When the group meets:

When the group meets:
Ask further questions in the same general
manner.
When all your questions have been asked, ask
if anyone has any other comments to make.
Tell the group about any next steps that will
occur and what they can expect to happen
now.
Thank the group for coming!

After the meeting meets:

After the meeting meets:

Make a transcript or written summary

of the meeting.
Examine the data for patterns, themes,
new questions, and conclusions.
Share the results with the group.
Use the results.

Strengths and weaknesses of

focus groups
Strengths:
Open-ended question
Spontaneously deal with issues as they arise

Cost-effective method of collecting data

Less time-consuming

Weaknesses:
One or two participants may dominate
Not done in a natural setting, so little
observation to help understand the
experience of the participants
6-18

2007 Pearson
Education Canada

Participant observation
Observation is when you are watching other people
from the outside as an observer
Participant observation is when you are not only
observing people doing things, but you participate to
some extent in these activities as well
The main idea of participant observation is that you
are talking with people and interacting with them in
an attempt to gain an understanding of their beliefs
and activities from the inside
Most fieldwork of a qualitative nature tends to
involve participant observation rather than
observation

Participant ObservationNotes

Types of notes:

Field (descriptive)--when observing, one

should:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Describe the setting

Identify the people
Describe the content of the activities
Document the interactions
Describe and assess
Be alert to unanticipated things

Advantages of Participant
Observation
Advantages:
Direct information about
behavior of individuals and
groups
Permits researcher to enter
and understand
situation/context
Good opportunities to identify
unanticipated outcomes
Natural, Non artificially
structured, and flexible setting.
Reduces reactivity -- people
changing behavior because
they are being watched

Disadvantages
Expensive and time consuming
Need well-qualified, highly
trained observers; may need
content experts
Done poorly, may affect behavior
of participants
Selective perception of observer
may distort data
Investigator has little control over
the situation
May observe atypical behaviors