CHAPTER 5

UNDERSTANDING DATA AND WAYS

TO
SYSTEMATICALLY COLLECT DATA
 Content Preview

 Lesson 1: Qualitative Research Designs

 Lesson 2: Sampling Procedures

 Lesson 3: Data Collection and Analysis Procedures

Lesson 1: Qualitative Research Designs

Choosing carefully an appropriate qualitative research design aligned with the

problem inquiry or research questions can never be overemphasized. Moreover,
Braun and Clarke (2013) suggested questions which can be used as useful guides, as
you think of a useful research design.
 Guide Questions for a Suitable Research Designs

1. What do I want to know?

2. Why do I want to know it?
3. What assumptions am I making in research and knowledge (what are my theoretical and
methodological positions)?
4. What type of data would best answer these questions?
5. What type of data will I use to tell what I want to know? (The answer to this and to the
previous question is not always the same)
6. How much data will I need?
7. How will I collect my data?
8. If my research involves participants:
a. Who will I need to collect data from?
b. How will I access and recruit these participants?
9. How will I analyze my data in order to answer my questions?
10. What particular ethical issues do I need to consider?
11. Are there any practical factors that I need to take into account
Qualitative Research Designs

Several research designs have been advanced in conducting qualitative research

by experts for different goals or purposes.

Leedy and Omrod (2001) recommend the following:

 Case Studies
 Grounded Theory
 Ethnography
 Content Analysis
 Phenomenological Studies
 Case Study

 It studies a person, program or event in a defined time frame (Leedy and Omrod, 2001)
 This kind of research used to gain deeper insight on a phenomenon, validate earlier
findings and gather more deep-seated data.
 Ethnography

 Macmillan (1993) defines this type of research as interactive and which requires relatively
extensively time in a site to systematically observe, interview and record processes as they
occur naturally at the selected locations.
 “Ethnographies study an intact cultural group in a prolonged period of time by collecting,
primarily, observational data.” – Creswell (2003)
 Content Analysis

 This research design calls for “a detailed and systematic examination of the contents of a
particular body of materials for the purpose of identifying patterns, themes and biases
(Leedy and Ormod, 2001)
 Examines choice and use of words from which concepts or images are vividly derived.
 Phenomenological Studies

 The essence of this study is the search for “the central underlying meaning of the research
participant‘s experience” – Creswell (1998)
 Focus in the research participant is more pronounced in this kind of qualitative research.
 Grounded Theory

 In this kind of approach, the theory or general pattern of understanding will emerge as it
begins with initial codes, develops into broad themes or domains and redounds into a
grounded theory or broad interpretation.
 It‘s purpose is to build theory by making comparison.
Lesson 2: Sampling Procedures

In qualitative research a sample is a smaller set of cases a researcher selects in a large

group and generalizes to the population.

Three things must be clear to the researcher:

1. How much data s/he needs
2. How s/he will select the sample
3. How s/he will get participants if human participants are needed
 Qualitative Sampling

 The primary goal of sampling is to get a representative sample, or a small collection of

units or cases from a much larger collection or population, such that the researcher can
study the smaller group and produce accurate generalizations about the larger group.
 Non-Probability Sampling

 There are three common types of non-probability samples:

1. Convenience Sampling
2. Quota Sampling
3. Judgemental Sampling
 Convenience Sampling

 As the name implies, convenience sampling is choosing respondents at the convenience of

the researcher.
 Quota Sampling

 This type samples population that has been subdivided into classes or categories. It differs
from cluster and stratified sampling in that the classes to bothare mutually exclusive and
are isolated prior to sampling.
 Judgemental Sampling

 In this kind of sampling, the researcher uses his/her own “expert” judgement.
 Probability Sampling

 It is often used in quantitative research.

 Four basic types of probability samples:
1. Simple Random Sampling
2. Stratified Sampling
3. Cluster Sampling
4. Systematic Sampling
 Simple Random Sampling

 To conduct this kind of sampling procedure, the researcher must a list of all members of
the population of interest. From this list, the sample is drawn so that each person has an
equal chance of being drawn.
 Stratified Sampling

 This involves categorizing the members of the population into mutually exclusive and
collectively exhaustive groups.
 Cluster Sampling

 The groups are defined in order to maintain the heterogeneity of the population. Clusters
are representative samples of the population as a whole.
 Systematic Sampling

 The researcher selects every nth member after randomly selecting the first, through nth
element as starting point.
 Purposive Sampling

 It is the primary factor in qualitative research data collection which can be done while in
the process of collecting data or while doing the interpretation or data analysis.
 Neuman (2007) says that purposive sampling is appropriate in three situations:
First, a researcher uses it to select unique cases that are especially informative.
Second,a research may use purposive sampling to select members of a difficult-to reach
specialized population.
Third, a research wants to identify particular types of cases for in-depth investigation.
Lesson 3: Data Collection and Analysis
Procedure
Qualitative researchers have several techniques for data collection at their disposal, and
these are called the primary data collection techniques.
 Primary Data Collection Techniques
1. Interview
2. Participant Observation
3. Focused Group Interview
4. Observational Evaluation
5. Biography/Autobiography
6. Questionnaire
 Interview

 In this method, research participants are prodded to talk about their experiences,
feelings, beliefs, outlooks, etc. It can take the form of informal , open-ended,
interviews or in-depth discussions.
 Participant Observation

 In this method, the reseacher immerses himself/herself in the natural setting of the
research participants. This can be a home, an office, an institution, etc.
 Focused Group Interview

 This requires 6 to 8 people to participate in the interview. The advantage of this is that
critical issues or sensitive ones can be more freely discussed with a group. Because of the
variety and depth of opinions, views, perspective expressed, this type of interview is a rich
source of data.
 Observational Evaluation

 Here the researcher may or may not participate in the activities of the group being
observed. But mostly, observes the verbal and non-verbal of a person or a group of
persons.
 Biography/Autobiography

 Personal biographies offers a rich source of data or evidence that can shed
light or provide tentative answers to research questions.
Basic Types of Data Collection

 Observations
 Interview
 Documents
 Audio and Visual Materials
 Obversations

 The researcher takes field notes in the activities or behavior of research

participants at the research site or at their natural setting.
 Interviews

 Here, the researcher may:

1. Conduct face-to-face interviews with participants
2. Do telephone interviews of participants or
3. Engage in focused group interviews. With 6 to 8 interviewees
 Documents

 These take the form of public documents (newspapers, official reports, etc.) or
private documents (personal journals, diaries, letters, emails, etc.) which are all
collected during the research process.
 Audio and Visual Materials

 This type of data collection maytake the form of photographs, art objects, videotapes or
any form of sound.
Data Analysis Procedure

 Coding
 Recursive Abstraction
 Content or Discourse Analysis
 Computer-Assissted Qualitative Data Analysis Software
 Coding
 In this procedure, the research analyst reads the data, and marks segments (each
labeled with a “code”) within the data; this may be done at different times within the
process.
 Recursive Abstraction

 Some qualitative data sets are analyzed without coding; instead recursive abstractions are
used. In this kind of analysis, datasets are summarized. Then further summarized, and so
on, until ending in a compact summary.
 Content or Discourse Analysis

 In this kind of data analysis, the most basic technique is the counting of words, phrases, or
coincidences of token within the idea. Content analyses is frequently used in Sociology to
explore relationships.
Computer-Assissted Qualitative Data Analysis
Software
 This has replaced the detailed hand coding and labeling of the past decades. These
programs enhance the analyst’s efficiency in data storage/retrieval and at applying the
codes of the data.
Generic Steps in Data Analysis

 Creswell (1998) suggested these generic steps in data analysis:

1. Organize and prepare the data for analysis.
2. Read through all the data.
3. Begindetailed analysis with coding process.
4. Use the coding process to generate a description of the setting or people as well as
categories or themes for analysis.
5. Decide how the description and themes will be represented.
6. A final step in data analysis involves making an interpretation of data, that is, what Lincoln
and Guba (1985) call “lessons learned”.
Data Analysis in Research Designs

 “Analysis/interpretation must be closely linked to the research design chosen”

– Creswell (1998)
 Grounded Theory for example, has systematic steps to follow according to Strauss and
Corbin (1990, 1998)
 Case Study and Ethnographic Research involve a detailed description of the setting or
individuals, followed by analysis of data for themes or issues (Stake, 1995).
 Phenomenological Research uses the analysis of significant statements, generalization of
meaning units and development of an “essence” description. – Moustakas (1994)