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The Assumptions of
Qualitative Designs
- Qualitative
researchers are concerned primarily with process, rather than
outcomes or products.
- Qualitative
researchers are interested in meaninghow people make sense of
their lives, experiences, and their structures of the world.
- The qualitative
researcher is the primary instrument for data collection and
analysis. Data are mediated through this human instrument, rather than
through inventories, questionnaires, or machines.
- Qualitative research
involves fieldwork. The researcher physically goes to the people,
setting, site, or institution to observe or record behavior in its
natural setting.
- Qualitative research
is descriptive in that the researcher is interested in process,
meaning, and understanding gained through words or pictures.
- The process of
qualitative research is inductive in that the researcher builds
abstractions, concepts, hypotheses, and theories from details.
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Qualitative Research Paradigms
There are
three basic research paradigms -- positivism (quantitative, scientific
approach), interpretivism, and critical science (Cantrell,
n. d.).
Positivism,
or the scientific approach, we have explored in the early parts of this
course.
Critical science,
or the critical approach, explores the social world, critiques it, and
seeks to empower the individual to overcome problems in the social
world. Critical science enables people to understand how society
functions and methods by which unsatisfactory aspects can be changed.
We do not cover critical science in this course.
Interpretivism,
or the qualitative approach, is a way to gain insights through discovering
meanings by improving our comprehension of the whole. Qualitative research
explores the richness, depth, and complexity of phenomena.
Qualitative research, broadly defined, means "any kind of research
that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or
other means of quantification" (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
Although
acceptance of interpretivism is increasing within human movement sciences,
positivism remains the dominant paradigm, as it does in other social
science fields
Assumptions of Interpretivism
The
underlying assumption of interpretivism is that the whole needs to be
examined in order to understand a phenomena. Interpretivism is
critical of the positivism because it seeks to collect and analyze data
from parts of a phenomena and, in so doing, positivism can miss important
aspects of a comprehensive understanding of the whole.
Interpretivism
proposes that there are multiple realities, not single realities of
phenomena, and that these realities can differ across time and place.
Unlike
quantitative research, there is no overarching framework for how
qualitative research should be conducted; rather each type of qualitative
research is guided by particular philosophical stances that are taken in
relation by the research to each phenomenon (O'Brien,
n. d.).
Main Types of Qualitative Research
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Case study
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Attempts
to shed light on a phenomena by studying indepth a single case example of
the phenomena. The case can be an individual person, an event, a
group, or an institution.
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Grounded theory
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Theory is
developed inductively from a corpus of data acquired by a
participant-observer.
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Phenomenology
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Describes
the structures of experience as they present themselves to consciousness,
without recourse to theory, deduction, or assumptions from other
disciplines
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Ethnography
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Focuses
on the sociology of meaning through close field observation of
sociocultural phenomena. Typically, the ethnographer focuses on a
community.
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Historical
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Systematic
collection and objective evaluation of data related to past occurrences
in order to test hypotheses concerning causes, effects, or trends of
these events that may help to explain present events and anticipate
future events. (Gay, 1996)
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Main Types of Qualitative Data Collection & Analysis
"Those
who are not familiar with qualitative methodology may be surprised by the
sheer volume of data and the detailed level of analysis that results even
when research is confined to a small number of subjects" (Myers,
2002).
There are
three main methods of data collection:
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Interactive
interviewing
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People
asked to verbally described their experiences of phenomenon.
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Written
descriptions by participants
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People
asked to write descriptions of their experiences of phenomenon.
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Observation
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Descriptive
observations of verbal and non-verbal behavior.
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Analysis
begins when the data is first collected and is used to guide decisions
related to further data collection.
"In
communicating--or generating--the data, the researcher must make the
process of the study accessible and write descriptively so tacit knowledge
may best be communicated through the use of rich, thick descriptions"
(Myers,
2002).
Criticism of qualitative
research
"Qualitative
studies are tools used in understanding and describing the world of human
experience. Since we maintain our humanity throughout the research process,
it is largely impossible to escape the subjective experience, even for the
most seasoned of researchers. As we proceed through the research process,
our humanness informs us and often directs us through such subtleties as
intuition or 'aha' moments. Speaking about the world of human experience
requires an extensive commitment in terms of time and dedication to
process; however, this world is often dismissed as 'subjective' and
regarded with suspicion. This paper acknowledges that small qualitative
studies are not generalizable in the traditional sense, yet have redeeming
qualities that set them above that requirement."
"A
major strength of the qualitative approach is the depth to which
explorations are conducted and descriptions are written, usually resulting
in sufficient details for the reader to grasp the idiosyncracies of the
situation."
"The
ultimate aim of qualitative research is to offer a perspective of a
situation and provide well-written research reports that reflect the
researcher's ability to illustrate or describe the corresponding
phenomenon. One of the greatest strengths of the qualitative approach is
the richness and depth of explorations and descriptions."
- Myers
(2002)
Qualitative Exam Part 1 (5%):
Compare
and contrast two qualitative research studies in your field and
interest. Include brief summaries of the studies, with relevant
details about the research question and the qualitative methods.
Comment on the strengths and weaknesses of these studies.
Qualitative
Exam Part 2 (5%):
Describe
a research question and present a qualitative research design which you
think would be feasible for a Masters thesis or project. Comment on
the strengths, weaknesses, and practical aspects of the design.
Qualitative
Exam Part 3 (5%):
Describe a research question and
a mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative methods) which you think
would be feasible for a Masters thesis or project. Comment on the
strengths, weaknesses, and practical aspects of the design. Make sure that
your method is mixed, that is, that the techniques are meaningfully
integrated.
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Key Terms
- Paradigms
- Positivism
- Critical science
- Interpretivism
- Grounded theory
- Phenomenology
- Ethnography
- Ethnoscience
- Historical
- Philosophical inquiry
- Action research
- Interviewing
- Written descriptions
- Observation
Recommended Reading
Gall,
M. D., Borg, W. R., Gall, J. P. (2003). Educational research: An
introduction. (7th Edition). White Plains, New York:
Longman. Recommended: Skim read:
- Chapter
14: Selecting Sample (pp. 434-511)
- Chapter
15: Qualitative Research Traditions (pp. 475-512)
- Chapter
16: Historical Research (pp. 513-539) .
Further Reading
Bogdan, R.
F., & Biklen, S. (1992). Eight common questions about qualitative
research. In Qualitative research for education: An Introduction
to theory and methods (pp. 39-48). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Botoroff, J.
(n.d.) Workshop
on qualitative research.
http://www.research.vhhsc.ca/i/presentations/QualitativeResearch/
Cantrell,
D. C. (n.d.) Alternative
paradigms in environmental education research: The interpretive perspective.
http://www.edu.uleth.ca/ciccte/naceer.pgs/pubpro.pgs/alternate/pubfiles/08.Cantrell.fin.htm
Guba, E. G., Lincoln, Y. S.
(1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In . K. Denzin &
Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 105-117).
Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.
LeCompte, Millroy, &
Preissle (Ed.) (1992). The handbook of qualitative research in education.
McCotter, S.
S. (2001). The
journey of a beginning researcher. The Qualitative Report, 6(2).
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR6-2/mccotter.html
Myers,
M. (2000). Qualitative
research and the generalizability question: Standing firm with Proteus.
The Qualitative Report, 4(3/4).
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR4-3/myers.html
O'Brien, K. (n. d.) Research
paradigms. Latrobe University.
http://ironbark.bendigo.latrobe.edu.au/~obrien/parad/index.htm
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