Summary Doing Qualitative Research Joost Beuving - CIS Qualitative

Introduction: The arc of naturalistic inquiry
Naturalistic inquiry = studying people in everyday circumstances by ordinary means
 observing how people go about their daily business, listening, considering, understanding,
reporting back to them, aiming to disturb these situations as little as possible
 social research nowadays too often consists of surveys with statistical techniques
 naturalistic inquiry aims to bridge the gulf than has emerged between social scientists and
the rest of humanity  other insights that cannot be gained through surveys or experiments
- Studies society as it presents itself naturally
- Does not control situation like surveys
- Unobtrusive strategy = does not want to manipulate situations like experiments
- Aim: develop a deeper, theoretical understanding of society
- Statements, ethnographic descriptions of social interactions, document selections,
photographs, historical reflections
- Iterative process: not linear  shuttling back and forth along the arc
doing something again and again, adapting, refining the research  opposed to
linear approach

Naturalistic research project begins with relatively open questions on ‘foreshadowed
problem’
Arc symbolizes the distance the naturalistic inquirer travels
 gradually questions become more focused by exposure to everyday life of people
 gradually from a theory to make conclusions
On the other hand, the arc symbolizes the return to the initial problem, but not at the same
spot started  problem is carried further and more insight into it
The arc is one enlargement out of a whole mosaic of inquiries  one study of a much larger
number of studies

, Difference between participating in society naturally and researching society naturalistically
- With participating: effort to reflexively understand (= capacity to think about own
thinking) both society and own participation in it  aware of own interpretations,
own thinking can interfere with participants, stay away from personal way of
describing, strict in way of explaining
 arc presents road towards this reflexive understanding and competences required
at each stage

Qualitative research = generic approach in social research covering ethnography,
anthropological fieldwork, qualitative sociology, organizational fieldwork, interpretive
research, oral history, narrative research etc.
Naturalistic inquiry: art, craft, or recipe? Understand music  learn notes, recipe, original
practices
- Art: as a result of extensive practice and exercise of learning, practicing etc. a craft
can engage in what we call art
- It is not solely a matter of technique; there may be better observers
 having conversations, being alert, make sense out of sum total
 yet to mobilize them in combination at the appropriate time, craft is needed
- Cooking: recipes are necessary: techniques and arts are necessary, but it ultimately
depends on craftsmanship

The empirical cycle = the arc symbolizes return to initial problem
 observation  induction  deduction  testing  evaluation  back to observation
Difference between empirical cycle and naturalistic inquiry: process with naturalistic inquiry
is not linear, empirical cycle implies that researcher always comes back to same spot