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• Observations

  • Complete Participant (researcher conceals role)
  • Observer as Participant (role of researcher is known)
  • Participant as Observer (observation role secondary to participant role)
  • Complete observer (researcher observes without participating)
• Observations pros

  • Researcher has first hand experience with informant
  • Researcher can record information as it occurs
  • Unusual aspects can be noticed during observation
  • Useful exploring topics that may be uncomfortable for informants to discuss
• Observations cons

  • Researcher may be seen as intrusive
  • Private information may be observed that researcher cannot report
  • Researcher may not have good attending and observing skills
  • Certain informants (e.g. children may present special problems gaining rapport)
• Interviews

  • Face to Face - one on one, in person interview
  • Telephone - researcher interviews via phone
  • Group - researcher interviews informants in a group
• Interviews pros n cons

  • Useful when informants cannot be directly observed
  • Informants can provide historical information
  • Allows researcher "control" over the line of questioning
  • Provides "indirect" information filtered through the view of interviewees
  • Provides information in a designated "place," rather than the natural field setting
  • Researcher's presence may bias responses
  • Not all people are equally articulate and perceptive
• Documents

  • Public documents such as minutes of meetings, newspapers
  • Private documents such as journal or diary, letter
• Documents cons

  • May be protected information unavailable to public or private access
  • Requires the researcher to search out the information in hard-to-find places
  • Requires transcribing or optically scanning for computer entry
  • Materials may be incomplete
  • The documents may not be authentic or accurate
• Audiovisual Material


  • Photographs
  • Videotapes
  • Art objects
  • Computer software
  • Film
• Audiovisual Material

  • May be an unobtrusive method of collecting data
  • Provides an opportunity for informant to share directly his or her "reality"
  • Creative in that it captures attention visually
• Audiovisual Material

  • May be difficult to interpret
  • May not be accessible publicly or privately
  • The presence of an observer (e.g. photographer) may be disruptive and affect responses
• Ethical Standards of Qualitative Research

  • Clear and written articulation of the research objectives and description of how data will be used
  • Written permission from the informant to proceed with the study as articulated
  • Informing the informant if all data collection devices and activities
  • Verbatim transcriptions and written interpretations and reports will be made available to the informant
  • Prioritizing the informant's rights, interests, and wishes when choices are made regarding reporting the data
  • Giving the informant the discretion to decide about his or her anonymity
• Theoretical Sampling

  • Choosing cases in terms of your theory
  • Selecting a sample of particular processes, types, categories or examples which are relevant to appear within the wider universe
  • Choosing deviant cases
  • Instead of selecting a case which is likely to support your argument, seek out negative instances as defined by the theory with which you are working
  • Changing the size of your sample during research
  • Manipulating your sample whenever necessary
• Purposive Sampling


  Used interchangeably with theoretical sampling since the only difference between the two is that purpose behind purposive sampling is not theoretically defined
• Random Sampling is not appropriate in qualitative research
• Major Forms of Observation Research

  • Structured Observation or Systematic Observation
  • Participant Observation
  • Nonparticipant Observation
  • Unstructured Observation
  • Simple Observation and Contrived Observation
• Structured Observation

  • A technique in which the researcher employs explicitly formulated rules for the observation and recording of behavior
  • The rules have observation schedule used to ensure that each participant's behavior is systematically recorded so that it is possible to aggregate the behavior of all samples in respect to each type of behavior being recorded
• Participant Observation

  • Best-known methods of research in social science
  • Prolonged immersion of the observer in the social setting where he/she seeks to observe the behavior of members in the setting (group, organization, community, etc)
• Nonparticipant Observation


  • Used to describe a situation in which the observer observes but does not participate in what is going on in the social setting
  • Structured observers are usually nonparticipants in that they are in the social setting being observed but rarely participate in what is happening
• Unstructured Observation

  • Does not entail the use of an observation schedule for recording of behavior
  • It aims to record in as much detail as possible the behavior of participants with the aim of developing a narrative account of that behavior
• Simple Observation and Contrived Observation

  • Observer is unobtrusive and is not observed by those being observed
  • The observer has no influence over the situation being observed
  • In contrived observation, the observer actively alters the situation to observe the effects of intervention
  • These two are forms of nonparticipant observation and can entail either structured or unstructured observation
• Structured Interview


  • Structured approach to maximize the reliability and validity of measurement of key concepts
  • Emphasis on greater generality in the formulation of initial research ideas
  • The interview reflects the researcher's concerns
  • Standardization of the interview process is strictly followed
  • Inflexible due to standardization
  • Generates answers that can be coded and processed quickly
  • Unless the research is longitudinal in character, the person will be interviewed on one occasion only
• Qualitative Interview

  • Emphasis on greater interest in the interviewee's point of view
  • Rambling or going off at tangents is often encouraged
  • Interviews can depart significantly from any schedule or guide that is being used
  • Flexible, responding to the direction in which interviewees take the interview
  • Generates rich, detailed answers
• Structured Interview

  Qualitative approach to maximize the reliability and validity of measurement of key concepts
• Qualitative Interview

  Emphasis on greater generality in the formulation of initial research ideas and on interviewee's own perspectives
• Qualitative Data Analysis and Interpretation

  1. Data preparation phase

  2. Data exploration and reduction phase

  3. Interpretation
• Data Preparation Phase


  Transcribing data, inputting and storing data in database, printing out copies, reading and correcting entries
• Transcribing


  • Opportunity to actively engage with research material from the beginning, awareness of own impact on data, enhancing validity of data gathering techniques
• Data Exploration and Reduction Phase


  Reading and thinking about data, marking up important parts, summarizing, writing memos, coding
• Interpretation


  Categorizing, manipulating, and summarizing information to answer critical questions
• Memo Writing


  • Written record of thoughts, interpretations, and reflections about the data
  • Links analysis and interpretation
  • Concerns about power and control over interpretation process
• Social attributes (race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion or sexual preferences) can affect positions and relations of power and authority in the research process
• Issues of power and control over the interpretation process are unavoidable in qualitative research
• Criteria of Validation

  • Validity as the Quality of Craftsmanship
  • Validity as Communication
  • Validity as Pragmatic Proof through Action
• Triangulation

  Use of multiple methods or data sources to develop comprehensive understanding
• Types of Triangulation

  • Theoretical Triangulation
  • Respondent Validation
• External Consistency


  Verification or cross-checking of observations with other divergent sources of data
• Chapter III Structure

  1. Restate problem statement, purpose, research questions, and theoretical framework

  2. Describe subsections and how they will be addressed
• Research Design Subsection

  Tell the reader the research method used and how it was applied in the study
• Data Collection Technique Subsection

  Discuss the data collection techniques used, where they took place, and how the setting was arranged
• Instrumentation Subsection

  If interviews were used, discuss the interview schedule or guide, including question types and examples