What is it Like Doing Qualitative Research?
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What is it like doing qualitative research?
This instructional supplement will provide you with an opportunity to learn more about qualitative research and some aspects of what doing qualitative research is like such as an introduction to observation and field notes. This multimedia instructional supplement will be useful for students who are unfamiliar with qualitative research and would like to consider real-world issues related to collecting qualitative data. It will give you an opportunity to apply some of the knowledge about qualitative research that you are gaining in the classroom as you put yourself in the shoes of a researcher. Consider how you would gather data in the field. Then you will be provided with advice from experienced researchers on how they would have handled the situation and given time to reflect on your own response.
Throughout this tutorial, characters at the bottom of the screen will tell you additional information. Click on Drs. X and Y to hear from them. Make sure the volume on your speakers is turned "on" so you can hear what they have to tell you!
What is qualitative research?
Take a moment to think about what you know about qualitative research.
Ø What is the purpose of qualitative research?
Ø How is qualitative research different from quantitative research?Ø What are some qualitative research methods?
It is an intellectual investigation that involves inquiry and discovery. There are many types of research. Two empirical based methods are quantitative and qualitative research. Both methods involove developing a hypothesis, and investating it by collecting and analyzing data, however, the approaches are quite different.
What is quantitative research?
Quantitative research involves collecting quantitative (numerical) data and statistically analyzing the results. Sound quantitative analyses often involve random sampling and/or controlling (blocking) for any lurking variables. This ensures that any inferences made about the subjects are due to the variables of interest.
What is qualitative research?
Qualitative research involves observing, interviewing, or surveying subjects. The instrument in this case, is the researcher viewing the subjects. Often, in addition to the variable of interest, the researcher tries to determine any factors (lurking variables) that influence the situation.
The chart below identifies several important differences between qualitative and quantiative research.
| Qualitative | Quantitative |
| Research Approaches | Observations, interviews, focus groups, open-ended questions | Measuring a specific outcome (percent agree, recording height) |
| Sampling | Recruiting participants—importance lies with the nature of the individuals | Considers the statistical effects of sample size and randomization. |
| Handling Confounding | Researchers are interested in “noting” possible variables that are confounding. They do not usually try to remove them prior to observing. | Researchers, improve the sampling procedure to reduce the affects of confounding variables. A block design is an example. |
| Data Collection Instrument | Individuals conducting observations, interviews, or focus groups. The researchers are the instruments. | Use an instrument appropriate to collect the data (a scale used to collect mass of objects) |
| Analysis | Transcripts or bodies of written work are systematically coded. | Statistical procedures are used to determine significance of the results. |
Scenario
Congratulations - You've just got a new job!!
Imagine you have just got a job doing research for a university in an office that promotes teaching excellence. Several professors have been identified by staff as outstanding faculty members. Your first task is to conduct a study exploring why these teachers are highly effective. First, you take time to consider various methods of gaining information about what instructional strategies, assessment methods, and teacher characteristics relate to student achievement.
Task 1
Ø Identify a few ways of collecting information about teachers’ instructional strategies, assessment methods, and teacher characteristics.
Ø How would you classify each method – as quantitative or qualitative?
Ø Then, think about some strengths and weaknesses of each method.
Make a table like this to help you:
Method | Qualitative or Quantitative |
Compare Your Response
List of potential methods for studying faculty members’ instructional practices, assessment practices, and personal characteristics.
Consider how this list compares with your responses.
| Method | Qualitative or Quantitative |
| Observe instruction | Generally Qualitative |
| Conduct interviews with faculty members and students | Generally Qualitative |
| Conduct focus groups with faculty members and students | Generally Qualitative |
Gather existing information such as number of years at the university or number of courses taught. | Generally Quantitative |
| Survey faculty members and students | Generally Quantitative |
Some Strengths of Survey Research include:
1. Compared with other methods, surveys are relatively inexpensive particularly if they can be self-administered.
2. Surveys are helpful for describing the characteristics of a large number of people.
3. Surveys can be administered from remote locations via mail, email, or telephone.
4. Thus large samples are often possible, making the results obtained from the survey statistically significant.
5. Standardization of the stimulus (the survey items) ensures that similar data can be collected across individuals and groups which minimizes observer subjectivity.
6. Surveys, if properly developed, usually have high reliability.
Some Weaknesses of Survey Research include:
1. Surveys research forces the researcher to develop questions general enough to be appropriate for all respondents, possibly missing what is most appropriate to many respondents.
2. Surveys are inflexible in that they require the study design and the tool to remain unchanged throughout the data collection.
3. It is often challenging to get a high percentage of respondents to complete and return the survey.
4. It may be hard for participants to recall information or they may not tell the truth.
5. As opposed to direct observation, survey research can describe or deal with "context."
Some Strengths of Conducting Interviews include:
1. Interviews provide the interviewer with flexibility to give follow-up questions which allow the reseracher to gain in-depth information or clarify participants’ responses.
2. The interviewer has more information available that allows them to judge the accuracy of participants’ responses.
3. Interviews are good for uncovering the complexity of individuals’ lived experiences, ideologies, perspectives, etc.
Some Weaknesses of Conducting Interviews include:
1. Fewer subjects can be sampled using interview methods as opposed to survey research. This often impedes the extent to which time and context free generalizations about phenomenon can be drawn.
2. Inteviews are often more expensive to conduct because they often require the interivewer and/or interviewee to travel or pay long distance telephone charges.
3. Interviews require a trained and skilled researcher. For example, a skilled interviewer should be able to listen to one reply and be ready to follow-up immediately with the next question
4. The interviewer often needs to estabilsh rapport with the interviewee in order to facilitate access to information and assure the participant that their responses will be confidential/anonymous.
5. Data from interviews is more time-consuming to analyze.
Some Strengths of Conducting Observations include:
1. It gives the researcher a firsthand sense of the experience, what it feels like to be in that situation.
2. It provides researchers with a way to study situations in which communication is not possible such as research on infants.
3. It is a useful method for understanding highly unique or complex situations.
4. It maximizes the discovery of new hypothesis or theories.
5. It may minimize the extent to which bias is introduced into the study due to dishonesty or poor recall.
Some Weaknesses of Conducting Observations include:
1. The observer may, through their actions, change the situation in important ways.
2. Observational methods are not readily adapted to large complex situations
3. Field notes are time consuming to take and analyze
4. On-site observations may be costly and time consuming.
Scenario Update
You're given the go ahead!
You and your co-workers have decided that classroom observations will be invaluable in gathering information about professor’s instructional strategies. In order to provide a record of the events your observe you decide to take field notes during your visits. These notes will be used to provide a general description the content of instruction, the method(s) of instruction, the climate of the classroom, student responses to instruction, etc. Find out more information about taking effectiven field notes in the next slide.
An Introduction to Field Notes
Field notes are used in observational studies. Field notes represent a record of what the researcher observes and often also include the researchers’ thoughts about those events.
You are familiar with taking class notes. This can be considered to be a form of field notes. As a qualitative researcher, you want to take more detailed notes, not just on the important actions but also on how people interact, move, or look.
TIP
Consider when it is and is not best to take notes during observation. For example, if note taking might make your participants nervous, you might want to wait to take notes immediately following your field work.
Image was found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/hypertypos/2269931475/
TIP
Create an organizational system for your notes that makes sense for your project.
TIP
Establish a system of short hand and abbreviations that are useful for your notes.
TIP
Consider the purpose of taking field notes which may help you in determining what you want to record. However, it is also important in qualitative research, particularly early on, to record as much information as possible to "see the whole picture." So don't limit yourself too much.
Think about this scenario. What kinds of things do you think it will be a good idea to take notes about to inform your overall purpose. Make a list.
Task 2
View the following video clip of a college instructor and take field notes on:
Ø What the professor is like
Ø What the professor is teaching
Ø How the professor is teaching
Ø Student responses to instruction
Ø Aspects of the learning environment such as climate.
Click Here to View Video: VIDEO
Field Notes:
Professor is male and in his late 50s. He stands behind a podium and walks between that and the wipe off board where he writes notes, and refers to some notes that we can assume he wrote before class started.
He begins the lesson by recalling students attention “Last week we talked about…” (Interpretation- he has taught before and knows that he should recall prior knowledge. )
He begins by stating the definition of the general and task environments. He repeats himself several times (interpretation= he is aware that students will need to take notes on what he has said and repeats himself to avoid students asking him to do so.)
He highlights the difference between a certain and an uncertain environment. He addresses the “managerial perspective”. (interpretation= he is teaching a management class and knows that it is important to bridge the abstract/course content to the real world application. More evidence that he is an experienced teacher.)
He provides the name “static” for the certain environment and also describes them as tall, rigid and centralized (interpretation= he wants to make sure that his students will be able to understand the meaning of the word as they read professional literature).
He puts eye glasses on and off as he teaches. (interpretation= he needs glasses to read text, but not to read the board.)
He reads a definition from the text several times for uncertain environments.
Student sneezes and professor interrupts his lecture to say “Bless you”. (interpretation= he is concerned about building relationship with students, and showing them respect. It is possible that it is cold/flu season, or the student has allergies.)
Teacher defines forecasting, and points to the outline on the board (interpretation=he wants to keep students oriented and aware of where they are with their notes.) Teacher walks around as he describes the example of forecasting. Teacher constantly refers back to notes on the board and diagrams as he speaks.
Students who are in view seem to be paying attention and engaged.
Teacher relies on diagrams to illustrate his points.
Teacher describes mechanistic structures and reapetes his definition several times. He pauses frequently (interpretation= he wants to make sure his students hear, and understand what he is saying).
As he describes the mechanistic and organic structures he indicates that there is a continuum between organic and mechanistic (interpretation= he wants students to be able to apply this concept in the real world, so he provides examples and also explores how these structures would look in real life.)
Coughing in the background. (interpretation=it is cold and flu season, not allergy season.) Another sneeze.
Talks about economic development and the variation between different economies of the world. Students appear to be paying attention, engaged and taking notes. Talks about less developing country, or “LDCs” and makes a joke about cold liquor drinks. The students laugh and seem to sit up straighter (interpretation= The teacher knew that students needed attention to be redirected to the lesson so he told a joke in order to engage learners).
Field Notes
Instructor is at the front of the room. He is lecturing about business environments. He is speaking clearly. He summarizes things from the last class. While lecturing, he moves back and forth.
Certain environment-environmental needs can be predicted. He writes alternative names on the board. He clarifies that they have the same thing. . He is lecturing but he also write notes on the board (I think he does this to emphasize points. ) He draws a structure on the board. (this provides emphasis.) Uncertain environment-mangers do not have sufficient information about environmental factors. He repeats the key difference (clarifying any doubts?) He gives several good examples.
He talks about adapting to the environment by planning and forecasting. He review what the concepts means. His voice inflection changes when he emphasizes things. He pauses from time to time (to give students time to write?) He relates the concepts with others by providing practical examples. He also relates concepts to previous classes. He lists key concepts on the board in a list form (I suppose this provides an easy note taking method for students )
He clearly defines terms when he introduces them. (He appears to be reading from notes, is may be safe to assume that he planned the lesson.) He repeats definitions. (I assume that this is important concept, maybe the students should commit this to memory?) He makes a point of asking the students if they follow him. None of them say anything. He moves to mergers and gives a practical example. He defines a joint venture—he speaks slowly (giving time to take notes?) The instructor has exhibits natural physical movements. He moves hands in a way to emphasize points. Again, he provides definition of the concepts.
Students are taking notes. Some are using paper and pencils, while others are using computers. The room seems to have a circular lay-out. The students are sitting at tables that are in a half-circle pattern. The room is not full. There is plenty of room for students to spread out. Some take notes and do not look at the instructor very often (They are paying attention). Others seem to be visually focused on him.
The notes are not erased right away (Gives students time to take notes). The lecture moves to classifying countries as developing or developed. The instructor clarifies what that means. He distinguishes differences.
The instructor interacts with the class in a joking fashion He defines LDC in the economic sense and confuses that with a cold liquor drink. Students laugh (I get the sense that he is making a personal connection with the class. ) The instructor gets back to task of the lecture.
Take a Moment to Reflect
Take a moment to think about your field notes and how our field notes differed from yours.
Ø Did you try to organize your notes in any way? How did we organize our notes?
Ø What did you decide to take note of? What did we note?
Ø How did you feel about taking field notes?
Ø What are the strengths of your notes and our notes and how could they be more effective?
Let's Talk About It...
Ø How did we organize our notes?
Ø What did we note?
Ø How did we feel about our field notes and taking field notes?
Now what can I do with my field notes?
One step in developing conclusions from your field notes is known as coding. One way to code your notes is to read through them and identify important themes that are occuring more than once. For example, take a look at the field notes to your left. In these field notes, two themes have been identified and coded - respect and interaction. Though only brief codes are written on the field notes, these codes represent the more complex themes of the professor showing respect for students and attempting to engage students in learning. After you have coded your field notes you can then summarize how often these codes appear. This is just one strategy for making use of the data that you collect during your field notes.
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