Advanced qualitative research

techniques

Presented by Ifra Aziz Khan Niazi

Roll number : L1F22PHDM0005
Topics of presentation: Phenomenology and
ethnography
PHENOMENOLOGICAL
RESEARCH: Background

 the philosophical study of phenomena, as distinguished from ontology, the

study of being; specif., such a study of perceptual experience in its purely
subjective aspect
 a descriptive or classificatory account of the phenomena of a given body of
knowledge, without any further attempt at explanation
 A philosophy or method of inquiry based on the premise that reality
consists of objects and events as they are perceived or understood in human
consciousness and not of anything independent of human consciousness.
 A movement based on this, originated about 1905 by Edmund Husserl
Phenomenological Research

Phenomenological Research is a strategy of inquiry in which the researcher

identifies the essence of human experiences about a phenomenon as described
by participants. Understanding the lived experiences marks phenomenology as
a philosophy as well as a method, and the procedure involves studying a small
number of subjects through extensive and prolonged engagement to develop
patterns and relationships of meaning (Moustakas, 1994).
Features of Phenomenology

 What is the phenomenon to be explored? Define a single concept or idea.

 Explore the phenomenon with a heterogeneous group who have experienced the
phenomenon. (groups vary from 3-4 to upwards of 25)
 Engage in a philosophical discussion. Discuss how the individuals have both subjective
and objective experiences of something in common with other people. (refusal of
subjective-objective perspective)
 Researcher may bracket self out of study by discussing personal experience of
phenomenon (this does not necessarily exclude researcher from study)
 Data collection through interview (or poems, observations and documents)
 Data analysis through systematic procedures looking at narrow units (significant
statements) and then broader units (meaning units). Detailed descriptions are used to
summarize the two key elements of WHAT THE INDIVIDUALS HAVE EXPERIENCED
and HOW THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED IT
 “Essence” is the culmination of a phenomenological study
Types of Phenomenology

 Hermeneutical phenomenology in which he describes research as oriented

toward lived experience.
 Transcendental phenomenology or psychological phenomenology is
focused less on the interpretations of the researcher and more on a
description of the experiences of participants.
Procedures for Conducting
Phenomenological Research

1. Determine if phenomenological approach is best

1. Do several people share a common experience?
2. Can you develop policies, practices or develop deeper understanding of the features of the
phenomenon?
2. Define the phenomenon of interest to be studied

3. Recognize and understand the philosophy behind phenomenology including bracketing, objective
reality and individual experience

4. Collect data through multiple in-depth interviews or other forms of collection

5. Begin with the broad “What” and “How” questions. Proceed with broader open-ended
questions to gather textural and structural data

 (Creswell 2010
Challenges

 Strong understanding of philosophical approaches required.

 Participants need to be carefully selected to ensure they have shared the
experienced phenomenon .
 Bracketing may be difficult for researcher.
 Sample size-it can be hard to get over to people that a single-figure sample
or small sample size is valid.
 Some may see little value in the descriptive conclusion of research.
Ethnographic Research: Background

Ethnography had its beginning in comparative cultural anthropology conducted by early

20th-century anthropologists, such as Boas, Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, and Mead.
Ethnography or participant observation?
Terms often interchangeable.
Previously the term ethnography was associated with anthropology.
Both refer to the act of a researcher who immerse shim/herself in a group for an extended
period of time
 Observe behavior 
 Listening to conversations
  Asking questions
 What is Ethnographic Research?

“An attempt to attain as holistic a picture as possible of a

particular society, group, institution, or situation. The
emphasis in ethnographic research is on documenting or
portraying the everyday experiences of individuals by
observing and interviewing them and relevant
others.”(Frankel & Wallen, 2006).
Purposes of Ethnography Research

 The main purpose of ethnography is to obtain a deep understanding of

people and their culture.
 One distinguishing feature is fieldwork.
 In ethnographic research, the context is what defines the situation and
makes it what it is…
Features of Ethnographic
Research

 Ethnographies focus on developing a complex, complete description of the culture of

a group, a culture-sharing group.
 The researcher looks for patterns of the group’s mental activities, such as their ideas
and beliefs expressed through language, or material activities, such as how they
behave within the group as expressed through their actions observed by the researcher
(Fetterman, 2010).
 The researcher relies on the participants’ views.
 To what degree will you become a participant or remainan observer?
Types of Ethnographies

 Realist ethnography (the realist ethnographer narrates

the study in a third-person dispassionate voice and
reports on what is observed or heard from participants.
The ethnographer remains in the background as an
omniscient reporter of the “facts.”)
 Critical ethnography s a type of ethnographic research
in which the authors advocate for the emancipation of
groups marginalized in society
 Procedures for Conducting an
Ethnography

 Determine if ethnography is the most appropriate design to use to study the

research problem.
 Identify and locate a culture-sharing group to study.
 Select cultural themes, issues, or theories to study about the group.
 Determine which type of ethnography to use.
 Gather information in the context or setting where the group works or lives. This is
called fieldwork (Wolcott, 2008).
 Analyzes the data for a description of the culture-sharing group.
 Forge a working set of rules.
Challenges

Ethnography is challenging to use for the following reasons:

 The researcher needs to have an understanding of cultural anthropology .
 The time to collect data is extensive.
 Narratives are written in a literary.
 Complex array of fieldwork.
 Data saturation can be problematic in ethnographic studies; pragmatically,
data collection often ends when time and resources have been exhausted
resulting in withdrawing from the field.
Focus of Ethnography

Concerned with culture, shared practices and

beliefs, and how the social context shapes, and is
shaped by, individuals.
Ethnography—“Rethinking Subcultural
Resistance: Core Values of the Straight
Edge Movement”

This article conceptualizes subcultural resistance based on an ethnographic

examination of the straight edge movement. Using the core values of
straight edge, the author’s analysis builds on new subcultural theories and
suggests a framework for how members construct and understand their
subjective experiences of being a part of a subculture. He suggests that
adherents hold both individual and collective meanings of resistance and
express their resistance via personal and political methods.
Sampling Strategy

 De Facto Sample

 Sample Size Typically Small

 No Generalization of Results

 Replication of Findings can Best be Determined by

Replication of Their Work in other Settings or
Situations by other Researchers.
Resources

Ellen, R.F. (1984) Ethnographic research: A guide to general conduct. London:

Academic Press Inc.

Fraenkal, J.R. & Wallen, N.E. (2006). How to design and evaluate research and education. New York:
McGraw Hill.

Genzuk, M. (1999). A synthesis of ethnographic research. Retrieved October 29, 2006, from
http://www.rcf.usc.edu/~genzuck/Ethnographic_Research.html

LeCompte, M.D., & Goetz, J.P. (1982). Problems of reliability and validity in ethnographic research.
Review of Education Research, 52(1), 31-60.

Quirk, A., Lelliot, P., & Seale, C. (2006). The permeable institution: An ethnographic study of three
acute psychiatric wards in London. Social Sciences & Medicine, (63), 2105-2117.

Werner, O., & Schoepfle, G.M. (1987) Systematic fieldwork: Ethnographic analysis and data
management. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications.
Resources

American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2006). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Creswell, John. (1998). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five
Approaches (p. 52). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Creswell, John. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five
Approaches (p. 76-82). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Giorgi, A. (1985). (Ed). Phenomenology and Psychological Research. Pittsburgh, PA:
Dusquesne University Press.
Stack, C. (1974). All Our Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community. New York, NY:
Harper & Row Publishers.
Turner, d S. (2003). Horizons Revealed: From Methodology to Method. International Journal
of Qualitative Methods, 2(1). Article 1. Retrieved from
http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/2_1/html/turner.html
van Manen, M. (1990) Researching Lived Experience: Human Science for an Action Sensitive
Pedagogy. ( p. 168-173). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (1999). Foster City, CA : IDG Books
Worldwide Inc.