BRM II – Qualitative Notes
Contents
Reading Material .......................................................................................................................... 2
Module A ................................................................................................................................. 2
Chapter 1 (Merriam, 2014) – What is QR?............................................................................... 2
Creswell (2007) – 5 Qualitative Approaches to Enquiry ............................................................ 4
Netnography (Kozinets et al., 2014) ...................................................................................... 10
Module B ............................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 1 (Maxwell, 2012) – Qualitative Research Design: An interactive approach ................ 11
Patton – Design Sampling .................................................................................................... 12
Module C ............................................................................................................................... 14
Patton – Interviews ............................................................................................................. 14
Patton – Observations ......................................................................................................... 15
Knowledge Clips ......................................................................................................................... 17
Module A ............................................................................................................................... 17
Module B ............................................................................................................................... 18
Module C ............................................................................................................................... 21
,Reading Material
Module A
Chapter 1 (Merriam, 2014) – What is QR?
• Research is divided into two categories: basic and applied. Basic research is motivated by
intellectual interest in a phenomenon and has as its goal the extension of knowledge. Applied
research is undertaken to improve the quality of practice of a particular discipline. Applied
social science researchers generally are interested in speaking to an audience different from
that of basic researchers.
• Forms of applied research:
o Evaluation studies – collection of data and/or evidence on the worth or value of a
program, process, or technique.
o Action research – its goal is to address a specific problem within a specific setting,
such as a classroom, a workplace, a program, or an organisation. It involves the
research participants in the research and hence blurs the distinction between action
and research.
• Research is a systematic process by which we know more about something than we did before
engaging in the process.
• A study is considered “naturalistic” if it took place in a real-world setting rather than a
laboratory, and whatever was being observed and studied was allowed to happen “naturally”.
In this, the investigator does not control or manipulate what is being studied. It is also
discover-oriented research where the findings are not predetermined.
• Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world (Denzin &
Lincoln, 2005).
• Qualitative research is an umbrella term covering an array of interpretive techniques which
seek to describe, decode, translate and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the
frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world (Van
Maanen, 1979).
• The key concern is understanding the phenomenon of interest from the participants’
perspectives, not the researchers. This is referred to as the emic or insider’s perspective,
versus the etic or outsider’s view.
• The researchers are the primary instrument for data collection and analysis. Since, understand
is the goal of the research, the human instrument, which can be immediately responsive and
adaptive, would seem to be the ideal means of collecting and analysing data.
• Another characteristic of qualitative research is that the process is inductive, i.e., researchers
gather data to build concepts, hypotheses, or theories rather than deductively testing
hypotheses as in positivist research. Qualitative researchers build toward theory from
observations and intuitive understandings gleaned from being in the fields.
• The product of a qualitative research is richly descriptive. Words and pictures rather than
numbers are used to convey what the researcher has learned about a phenomenon. There
are likely to be descriptions of the context, the participants involved, and the activities of
interest.
• Qualitative research is usually non-random, purposeful, and small while being emergent and
flexible, thus being responsive to changing conditions of the study in progress.
• A positivist orientation assumes that reality exists “out there” and it is observable, stable, and
measurable. Knowledge gained through the study of this reality has been labelled “scientific”
and included the establishment of “laws”.
, • Interpretive research which is where qualitative research is most often located, assumes that
reality is socially constructed, that is, there is no single, observable reality. Rather, there are
multiple realities, or interpretations, of a single event. Researchers do not “find” knowledge,
they construct it. Constructivism is another term for this.
• Critical research goes beyond uncovering the interpretation of people’s understandings of
their world. Critical research has its roots in several traditions and currently encompasses a
variety of approaches. In this theory, the goal is to critique and challenge, to transform and to
empower.
• Post-structural or post modernism research is one where the rationality, scientific method,
and certainties of the modern world no longer hold. According to this, explanations for the
way things are in the world are nothing but myths or grand narratives. There is no single
“truth” but there are multiple “truths”. It celebrates diversity among people, ideas, and
institutions. It is highly experimental and unique.
• The following competencies are desirable for QR:
o A questioning stance about your work and life context.
o High tolerance for ambiguity.
o Being a careful observer.
o Asking good questions.
o Thinking inductively.
o Comfort with writing.
Contents
Reading Material .......................................................................................................................... 2
Module A ................................................................................................................................. 2
Chapter 1 (Merriam, 2014) – What is QR?............................................................................... 2
Creswell (2007) – 5 Qualitative Approaches to Enquiry ............................................................ 4
Netnography (Kozinets et al., 2014) ...................................................................................... 10
Module B ............................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 1 (Maxwell, 2012) – Qualitative Research Design: An interactive approach ................ 11
Patton – Design Sampling .................................................................................................... 12
Module C ............................................................................................................................... 14
Patton – Interviews ............................................................................................................. 14
Patton – Observations ......................................................................................................... 15
Knowledge Clips ......................................................................................................................... 17
Module A ............................................................................................................................... 17
Module B ............................................................................................................................... 18
Module C ............................................................................................................................... 21
,Reading Material
Module A
Chapter 1 (Merriam, 2014) – What is QR?
• Research is divided into two categories: basic and applied. Basic research is motivated by
intellectual interest in a phenomenon and has as its goal the extension of knowledge. Applied
research is undertaken to improve the quality of practice of a particular discipline. Applied
social science researchers generally are interested in speaking to an audience different from
that of basic researchers.
• Forms of applied research:
o Evaluation studies – collection of data and/or evidence on the worth or value of a
program, process, or technique.
o Action research – its goal is to address a specific problem within a specific setting,
such as a classroom, a workplace, a program, or an organisation. It involves the
research participants in the research and hence blurs the distinction between action
and research.
• Research is a systematic process by which we know more about something than we did before
engaging in the process.
• A study is considered “naturalistic” if it took place in a real-world setting rather than a
laboratory, and whatever was being observed and studied was allowed to happen “naturally”.
In this, the investigator does not control or manipulate what is being studied. It is also
discover-oriented research where the findings are not predetermined.
• Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world (Denzin &
Lincoln, 2005).
• Qualitative research is an umbrella term covering an array of interpretive techniques which
seek to describe, decode, translate and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the
frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world (Van
Maanen, 1979).
• The key concern is understanding the phenomenon of interest from the participants’
perspectives, not the researchers. This is referred to as the emic or insider’s perspective,
versus the etic or outsider’s view.
• The researchers are the primary instrument for data collection and analysis. Since, understand
is the goal of the research, the human instrument, which can be immediately responsive and
adaptive, would seem to be the ideal means of collecting and analysing data.
• Another characteristic of qualitative research is that the process is inductive, i.e., researchers
gather data to build concepts, hypotheses, or theories rather than deductively testing
hypotheses as in positivist research. Qualitative researchers build toward theory from
observations and intuitive understandings gleaned from being in the fields.
• The product of a qualitative research is richly descriptive. Words and pictures rather than
numbers are used to convey what the researcher has learned about a phenomenon. There
are likely to be descriptions of the context, the participants involved, and the activities of
interest.
• Qualitative research is usually non-random, purposeful, and small while being emergent and
flexible, thus being responsive to changing conditions of the study in progress.
• A positivist orientation assumes that reality exists “out there” and it is observable, stable, and
measurable. Knowledge gained through the study of this reality has been labelled “scientific”
and included the establishment of “laws”.
, • Interpretive research which is where qualitative research is most often located, assumes that
reality is socially constructed, that is, there is no single, observable reality. Rather, there are
multiple realities, or interpretations, of a single event. Researchers do not “find” knowledge,
they construct it. Constructivism is another term for this.
• Critical research goes beyond uncovering the interpretation of people’s understandings of
their world. Critical research has its roots in several traditions and currently encompasses a
variety of approaches. In this theory, the goal is to critique and challenge, to transform and to
empower.
• Post-structural or post modernism research is one where the rationality, scientific method,
and certainties of the modern world no longer hold. According to this, explanations for the
way things are in the world are nothing but myths or grand narratives. There is no single
“truth” but there are multiple “truths”. It celebrates diversity among people, ideas, and
institutions. It is highly experimental and unique.
• The following competencies are desirable for QR:
o A questioning stance about your work and life context.
o High tolerance for ambiguity.
o Being a careful observer.
o Asking good questions.
o Thinking inductively.
o Comfort with writing.
