Marieke ter Steege
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
H1. THE FOUNDATIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PAGE 2
H2. THE APPLICATIONS OF QUALITATIVE METHODS TO SOCIAL RESEARCH PAGE 9
H3. DESIGN ISSUES PAGE 14
H4. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PAGE 21
H5. DESIGNING AND SELECTING SAMPLES PAGE 26
H6. DESIGNING FIELDWORK PAGE 34
H7. IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS PAGE 40
H8. FOCUS GROUPS PAGE 46
H9. OBSERVATION PAGE 52
H10. ANALYSIS: PRINCIPLES AND PROCESSES PAGE 56
H11. ANALYSIS IN PRACTICE PAGE 61
H12. GENERALISING FROM QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PAGE 69
H13. WRITING UP QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PAGE 75
,H1. THE FOUNDATIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
There is no single, accepted way of carrying out qualitative research. How researchers proceed
depends upon a range of factors:
Ontology: beliefs about the nature of the social world.
Epistemology: the nature of knowledge and how it can be acquired.
The purpose(s) and goals of the research, the characteristics of research participants, the
audience for the research, the funders, and the positions and environments of the researchers
themselves.
The degree to which a research study is accepted, and by whom, will partly depend on the particular
stance(s) that those involved take.
The nature of qualitative research
Common characteristics of qualitative research:
Aims and objectives that are directed at providing an in-depth and interpreted understanding
of the social world of research participants by learning about the sense they make of their
social and material circumstances, their experiences, perspectives and histories.
The use of non-standardised, adaptable methods of data generation that are sensitive to the
social context of the study and can be adapted for each participant or case to allow the
exploration of emergent issues.
Data that are detailed, rich and complex (the precise depth and complexity of data may vary
between studies).
Analysis that retains complexity and nuance and respects the uniqueness of each participant
or case as well as recurrent, cross-cutting themes.
Openness to emergent categories and theories at the analysis and interpretation stage.
Outputs that include detailed descriptions of the phenomena being researched, grounded in
the perspectives and accounts of participants.
A reflexive approach, where the role and perspective of the researcher is the research process
is acknowledged. For some researchers, reflexivity also means reporting their personal
experiences ‘in the field’.
Key philosophical issues in social research
Ontology: is concerned with the nature of reality and what there is to know about the world. Key
ontological questions concern whether or not there is a social reality that exists independently of
human conceptions and interpretations and, whether there is a shared social reality or only multiple,
context-specific ones.
Social science has been shaped by two overarching ontological positions in relation to these issues:
Realism: is based on the idea that there is an external reality which exists independently of
people’s beliefs about or understanding of it. So, there is a distinction between the way the
world is, and the meaning and interpretation of that world held by individuals.
Idealism: asserts that reality is fundamentally mind-dependent: it is only knowable through
the human mind and through socially constructed meanings, and no reality exist
independently of these.
Ontology: the nature of the world and what there is to know about it
Realism: an external reality exists independent of our beliefs or understanding. Variants:
o Naive realism/shallow realism: reality can be observed directly and accurately.
2
, o Cautious realism: reality can be known approximately or imperfectly rather than
accurately.
o Depth realism, critical or transcendental realism: reality consists of different levels –
the empirical domain that is made of up what we experience through our senses, the
actual domain that exists regardless of whether or not is observed, and the real
domain that refers to underlying processes and mechanisms.
o Subtle realism: an external reality exists but is only known through the human mind
and socially constructed meanings.
o Materialism is a variant of realism which recognises only material features, such as
economic relations, or physical features of the world as holding reality. Values, beliefs
or experiences are ‘epiphenomena’ – that is features that arise from, but do not shape,
the material world.
Idealism: no external reality exists independent of our beliefs and understanding. Variants:
o Subtle or contextual or collective idealism: the social world is made up of
representations constructed and shared by people in particular contexts.
o Relativism or radical idealism: there is no shared social reality, only a series of different
(individual) constructions.
Epistemology: is concerned with ways of knowing and learning about the world and focuses on issues
such as how we can learn about reality and what forms the basis of our knowledge. Forms:
Inductive logic involves building knowledge from the bottom up through observations of the
world, which in turn provide the basis for developing theories or laws.
Deductive logic is a top-down approach to knowledge. It starts with a theory from which a
hypothesis is derived and applied to observations about the world. The hypothesis will then
be confirmed or rejected, thereby strengthening or weakening the theory.
Inductive processes involve using evidence as the genesis of a conclusion – evidence is collected first,
and knowledge and theories built from this. Deductive processes use evidence in support of a
conclusion – a hypothesis is first developed and evidence is then collected to confirm or reject it.
Blaikie (2007) has suggested two further logics of enquiry into the social world:
Retroductive logic involves the researcher identifying the structures or mechanisms that may
have produced patterns in the data, trying different models for ‘fit’.
Abductive logic involves ‘abducting’ a technical account, using the researchers’ categories,
from participants’ own accounts of everyday activities, ideas or beliefs.
Other epistemological concepts or positions relevant to qualitative research focus on the nature of
knowledge or truth:
Foundational vs. Fallibilistic models of research-based knowledge – a foundational model of
research-based knowledge assumes it is possible to mirror ‘reality’ accurately. A fallibilistic
model treats all knowledge claims as provisional.
Knowledge as ‘value-mediated’ – holds that all knowledge is affected by the values of the
person who produces/receives it.
Correspondence theory of truth – an account is true as a representation of the (socially
constructed) world i fit is supported by several other accounts – if different accounts ‘cohere’
with each other.
Pragmatic theory of truth – beliefs are true if they have practical utility – if believing them is
useful, helpful and productive to people.
An epistemological issue within social research concerns the relationship between the researcher and
the researched and how this influences the connection between ‘facts’ and ‘values’.
3
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
H1. THE FOUNDATIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PAGE 2
H2. THE APPLICATIONS OF QUALITATIVE METHODS TO SOCIAL RESEARCH PAGE 9
H3. DESIGN ISSUES PAGE 14
H4. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PAGE 21
H5. DESIGNING AND SELECTING SAMPLES PAGE 26
H6. DESIGNING FIELDWORK PAGE 34
H7. IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS PAGE 40
H8. FOCUS GROUPS PAGE 46
H9. OBSERVATION PAGE 52
H10. ANALYSIS: PRINCIPLES AND PROCESSES PAGE 56
H11. ANALYSIS IN PRACTICE PAGE 61
H12. GENERALISING FROM QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PAGE 69
H13. WRITING UP QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PAGE 75
,H1. THE FOUNDATIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
There is no single, accepted way of carrying out qualitative research. How researchers proceed
depends upon a range of factors:
Ontology: beliefs about the nature of the social world.
Epistemology: the nature of knowledge and how it can be acquired.
The purpose(s) and goals of the research, the characteristics of research participants, the
audience for the research, the funders, and the positions and environments of the researchers
themselves.
The degree to which a research study is accepted, and by whom, will partly depend on the particular
stance(s) that those involved take.
The nature of qualitative research
Common characteristics of qualitative research:
Aims and objectives that are directed at providing an in-depth and interpreted understanding
of the social world of research participants by learning about the sense they make of their
social and material circumstances, their experiences, perspectives and histories.
The use of non-standardised, adaptable methods of data generation that are sensitive to the
social context of the study and can be adapted for each participant or case to allow the
exploration of emergent issues.
Data that are detailed, rich and complex (the precise depth and complexity of data may vary
between studies).
Analysis that retains complexity and nuance and respects the uniqueness of each participant
or case as well as recurrent, cross-cutting themes.
Openness to emergent categories and theories at the analysis and interpretation stage.
Outputs that include detailed descriptions of the phenomena being researched, grounded in
the perspectives and accounts of participants.
A reflexive approach, where the role and perspective of the researcher is the research process
is acknowledged. For some researchers, reflexivity also means reporting their personal
experiences ‘in the field’.
Key philosophical issues in social research
Ontology: is concerned with the nature of reality and what there is to know about the world. Key
ontological questions concern whether or not there is a social reality that exists independently of
human conceptions and interpretations and, whether there is a shared social reality or only multiple,
context-specific ones.
Social science has been shaped by two overarching ontological positions in relation to these issues:
Realism: is based on the idea that there is an external reality which exists independently of
people’s beliefs about or understanding of it. So, there is a distinction between the way the
world is, and the meaning and interpretation of that world held by individuals.
Idealism: asserts that reality is fundamentally mind-dependent: it is only knowable through
the human mind and through socially constructed meanings, and no reality exist
independently of these.
Ontology: the nature of the world and what there is to know about it
Realism: an external reality exists independent of our beliefs or understanding. Variants:
o Naive realism/shallow realism: reality can be observed directly and accurately.
2
, o Cautious realism: reality can be known approximately or imperfectly rather than
accurately.
o Depth realism, critical or transcendental realism: reality consists of different levels –
the empirical domain that is made of up what we experience through our senses, the
actual domain that exists regardless of whether or not is observed, and the real
domain that refers to underlying processes and mechanisms.
o Subtle realism: an external reality exists but is only known through the human mind
and socially constructed meanings.
o Materialism is a variant of realism which recognises only material features, such as
economic relations, or physical features of the world as holding reality. Values, beliefs
or experiences are ‘epiphenomena’ – that is features that arise from, but do not shape,
the material world.
Idealism: no external reality exists independent of our beliefs and understanding. Variants:
o Subtle or contextual or collective idealism: the social world is made up of
representations constructed and shared by people in particular contexts.
o Relativism or radical idealism: there is no shared social reality, only a series of different
(individual) constructions.
Epistemology: is concerned with ways of knowing and learning about the world and focuses on issues
such as how we can learn about reality and what forms the basis of our knowledge. Forms:
Inductive logic involves building knowledge from the bottom up through observations of the
world, which in turn provide the basis for developing theories or laws.
Deductive logic is a top-down approach to knowledge. It starts with a theory from which a
hypothesis is derived and applied to observations about the world. The hypothesis will then
be confirmed or rejected, thereby strengthening or weakening the theory.
Inductive processes involve using evidence as the genesis of a conclusion – evidence is collected first,
and knowledge and theories built from this. Deductive processes use evidence in support of a
conclusion – a hypothesis is first developed and evidence is then collected to confirm or reject it.
Blaikie (2007) has suggested two further logics of enquiry into the social world:
Retroductive logic involves the researcher identifying the structures or mechanisms that may
have produced patterns in the data, trying different models for ‘fit’.
Abductive logic involves ‘abducting’ a technical account, using the researchers’ categories,
from participants’ own accounts of everyday activities, ideas or beliefs.
Other epistemological concepts or positions relevant to qualitative research focus on the nature of
knowledge or truth:
Foundational vs. Fallibilistic models of research-based knowledge – a foundational model of
research-based knowledge assumes it is possible to mirror ‘reality’ accurately. A fallibilistic
model treats all knowledge claims as provisional.
Knowledge as ‘value-mediated’ – holds that all knowledge is affected by the values of the
person who produces/receives it.
Correspondence theory of truth – an account is true as a representation of the (socially
constructed) world i fit is supported by several other accounts – if different accounts ‘cohere’
with each other.
Pragmatic theory of truth – beliefs are true if they have practical utility – if believing them is
useful, helpful and productive to people.
An epistemological issue within social research concerns the relationship between the researcher and
the researched and how this influences the connection between ‘facts’ and ‘values’.
3
