Qualitative Research

Typical Stages
• 1. Selecting a problem.
• 2. Reviewing the literature on the problem.
• 3. Designing the research.
• 4. Collecting data.
• 5. Analysing data.
• 6. Interpreting findings and stating conclusions.
• 7. Reporting results.
Selecting a problem
• The problem should be significant enough to
investigate. The answer: not already available,
but the means for finding available.
• Begin with a general topic of interest, ask the
“what”,“why” or “how” of certain phenomena.
• Potential problems: personal experiences and
interests, professional literature, current social
issues and real-world concerns.
Evaluating the problem
Reviewing the literature
• Review the relevant literature to gain more
understanding and insight into the problem.

• (Presented in Week 3)
Designing the research
• (how to conduct research to answer the question).
• The design: plan for the study: what the method to be used,
what data will be gathered, where, how, and from whom.
• In qualitative research, the design is flexible and may change
during the investigation if appropriate.
• The design of qualitative research: flexible and can be
changed as needed throughout the investigation: "emergent."
• Samples =/= Population ???

• Why is it important to think about

sampling?
Sampling:
identify "who" you need to recruit or work with
you to answer your research question/s.
Population: large (students in VN)
Sampling: choose a smaller group of your population, then
generalize the results of this across the larger population.
• There are several ways that you can sample. Time, money,
and difficulty or ease in reaching your target population.
• between 10 and 50 participants: sufficient, depending on
your type of research and research question (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018).
• match your sample ->broader population that you
wish to generalise to.
• "generalisability"
True or False?

• Non-Probability sampling: every person in a

population has a chance of being selected for research.

• Probability sampling (Randomised) : some members

of your population will have a higher chance of being
included in your study than others.
Sampling

•Purposive (judgemental)
•Snowball
•Quota
•Convenience
• Purposeful sampling: identification and selection of information-
rich cases for the most effective use of limited resources (
Patton, 2002).
• Identifying and selecting individuals or groups of individuals that
are especially knowledgeable about or experienced with a
phenomenon of interest (Cresswell & Plano Clark, 2011).
• Availability and willingness to participate, to communicate
experiences and opinions in an articulate, expressive, and
reflective manner (Bernard (2002) and Spradley (1979).
• Snowball Sampling: recruit future subjects from among their
acquaintances.

• Quota sampling: select a predetermined number or proportion of

units. This is called a quota. You first divide the population into
mutually exclusive subgroups (called strata) and then recruit sample
units until you reach your quota.
Collecting the data

• Interview
• Document Analysis
• Observation
Unstructured interview

• unstructured interview: “a conversation with a purpose.”

• not planned in detail ahead of time; asks questions as the
opportunity arises, listens closely and uses the subjects’
responses to decide on the next question.
• The subjects may not even realize they are being
interviewed.
• Using the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Structured interview

• Ask the same set of questions, but with some

latitude in the sequence.
• Qualitative structured-interviews: most questions
cannot be answered with yes or no or limited
word responses.
Semi-structured interview
• Questions formulated, but the interviewer may modify
the format or questions during the interview process.
• Questions are typically open ended (cannot be
answered with a yes or no or simple response) and the
questions are designed to reveal what is important to
understand about the phenomenon under study.
In-depth interview
• Conducting a series of three interviews spaced
apart by days or weeks.
• The first interview: the context of experience/
life history.
• The second interview: reconstruct details of
experience in the present.
• The third interview: reflecting on meaning.
Interview: A focus group
• A focus group: centers on a particular issue; the interviewer
elicits the views of the group members while noting
interactions within the group.
• Listening to others helps people form their own opinions->
bring several different perspectives into contact ->The
researcher gains insight into how the participants are thinking
and why they are thinking as they do.
• Focus groups make more economical use of time and money
than do individual interviews and are more socially oriented.
When interviewing

• Seidman (2006) describes three levels of listening:

• (1) listening to what the participant is saying.
• (2) listening to the “inner voice,” the unguarded
response that is not targeted to an external audience.
• (3) listening while remaining aware of process and
nonverbal cues.
• Basic instructions: listen more, talk less, and ask real
questions.
• Field notes
• audio recorder: much less distracting than taking notes, and it
also provides a verbatim record of the responses.
• Videotaping
• E-mail, chat, or virtual rooms.
• Interviews can be conducted asynchronously /eɪ
ˈsɪŋ.krə.nəs.li/, (at different times), or synchronously (in real
time).
Documents and Artifacts
• Written documents or other artifacts can be used to
gain an understanding of the phenomenon under study.
• Documents:
- personal (autobiographies, diaries, and letters)
- official (files, reports, memoranda, or minutes)
-documents of popular culture ( books, fi lms, and
videos)
Primary source & Secondary source
• A document is written by someone who has had firsthand
experience with the phenomenon under study.
• A secondhand description written by someone who may have
heard about an event from others but did not directly
experience it.
• Researchers have used diaries and letters written by pioneer
women to understand what life was like for such women in
the early years of our country.
Observation:
Five stances toward observation:
• (1) complete participant,
• (2) participant as observer
• (3) observer as participant
• (4) complete observer
• (5) collaborative partner.
Findings and Conclusions

Qualitative researchers present their

interpretations and explanations in narrative
form.
References: (not completed)
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4012002/
• Introduction to Research in Education