Week 1
What is Qualitative Research?
What are qualitative researchers interested in:
understanding the meaning people have constructed, that is, how people make sense of
their world and the experiences they have in the world.
Definitie volgens Denzin & Lincoln 2005:
Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world
Definitie volgens Maanen 1979
…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.
What is knowable:
Inteprevists approach to the world:
- Data is constructed with participants
- Data is expressed in language
- “Subjective”
- Linked to context
- Seeking evidence of meaning
Protivists approach to the world:
- Data is collected from the ‘real’ world
- Data is expressed in numbers
- “Objective”
- Generalizable
- Seeking evidence of frequency
How do we get knowledge:
Qualitative researchers look for meaning:
- Interviews
- Ethnography
, - Case studies
- Document analysis
Focus is on “emic” perspective
Quantitative researchers look for truth:
- Surveys
- Polls
- Questionnaires
- Content analysis
Focus is on etic perspective
The researcher influence should be minimized
How do we arrive at new knowledge
What do we do as qualitative researchers
,How to get access
- To “the field”: institution, subculture group, etc: where you want to be, where your
participants are.
- Looking for participants: people whom can talk to and observe: a gatekeeper, person
responsible for authorizing your research
Research roles by Adler & Adler 1987
- Peripheral
- Active
- Complete member
Access is something that increases over time:
- Starts out limited, grows once “trust” has been established: may move from
peripheral to more active member of research site.
- Different levels of access over time is good: allows you to experience the field as
both an outsider and insider.
- Consider their point of view: a research project is an intrusion into the life of the
institution to be studied it can disrupt routines.
Conducting research is different from having knowledge about research
Recap week 1:
- Qual research is distinct from quant research: iterative, meaning oriented, context-
dependent
- The underlying philosophies of both strands of research are different as well
- Qualitative – interpretivist – inductive
- Quantititive – positivist – deductive
Week 2:
Case study definition of Creswell:
…Case study research is a qualitative approach in which the investigator explores a
bounded system (a case) or multiple bounded systems (cases) over time, through
detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information…and reports a
case description and case-based themes.
, Types of case studies
1. Exploratory/pilot study
a. Aim: Try out research questions and find out if the topic warrants further
research
b. Caution: Only offers preliminary findings not conclusions
2. Revelatory
a. Aim: An unusual setting or situation that helps us see something new
b. Caution: Can be exciting but does not necessarily tell us about other cases
3. Multiple
a. Aim: Several cases are studied to find similarities and differences between
them
b. Caution: Context matters, so what is the point of comparing (apples/oranges)
4. Intrinsic
a. Aim: To understand the case itself
b. Caution: Why/will anyone be interested?
Ethnographic research:
Understanding culture from the inside meaning of shared patterns of behavior and beliefs
(practices, language, rituals, ceremonies, relationships, using participant observation (called
“fieldwork” captured in the field notes) and field interviews
- Observations: ‘hanging out’
- Interviews: ‘asking questions’
Dingwall 1997
Grounded theory
The aim is to generate or discover a theory that helps explain practice or provides a
framework for further research. Actions, interactions, social process of people are what we
aim to capture, then theory is build up from this.
What is Qualitative Research?
What are qualitative researchers interested in:
understanding the meaning people have constructed, that is, how people make sense of
their world and the experiences they have in the world.
Definitie volgens Denzin & Lincoln 2005:
Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world
Definitie volgens Maanen 1979
…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.
What is knowable:
Inteprevists approach to the world:
- Data is constructed with participants
- Data is expressed in language
- “Subjective”
- Linked to context
- Seeking evidence of meaning
Protivists approach to the world:
- Data is collected from the ‘real’ world
- Data is expressed in numbers
- “Objective”
- Generalizable
- Seeking evidence of frequency
How do we get knowledge:
Qualitative researchers look for meaning:
- Interviews
- Ethnography
, - Case studies
- Document analysis
Focus is on “emic” perspective
Quantitative researchers look for truth:
- Surveys
- Polls
- Questionnaires
- Content analysis
Focus is on etic perspective
The researcher influence should be minimized
How do we arrive at new knowledge
What do we do as qualitative researchers
,How to get access
- To “the field”: institution, subculture group, etc: where you want to be, where your
participants are.
- Looking for participants: people whom can talk to and observe: a gatekeeper, person
responsible for authorizing your research
Research roles by Adler & Adler 1987
- Peripheral
- Active
- Complete member
Access is something that increases over time:
- Starts out limited, grows once “trust” has been established: may move from
peripheral to more active member of research site.
- Different levels of access over time is good: allows you to experience the field as
both an outsider and insider.
- Consider their point of view: a research project is an intrusion into the life of the
institution to be studied it can disrupt routines.
Conducting research is different from having knowledge about research
Recap week 1:
- Qual research is distinct from quant research: iterative, meaning oriented, context-
dependent
- The underlying philosophies of both strands of research are different as well
- Qualitative – interpretivist – inductive
- Quantititive – positivist – deductive
Week 2:
Case study definition of Creswell:
…Case study research is a qualitative approach in which the investigator explores a
bounded system (a case) or multiple bounded systems (cases) over time, through
detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information…and reports a
case description and case-based themes.
, Types of case studies
1. Exploratory/pilot study
a. Aim: Try out research questions and find out if the topic warrants further
research
b. Caution: Only offers preliminary findings not conclusions
2. Revelatory
a. Aim: An unusual setting or situation that helps us see something new
b. Caution: Can be exciting but does not necessarily tell us about other cases
3. Multiple
a. Aim: Several cases are studied to find similarities and differences between
them
b. Caution: Context matters, so what is the point of comparing (apples/oranges)
4. Intrinsic
a. Aim: To understand the case itself
b. Caution: Why/will anyone be interested?
Ethnographic research:
Understanding culture from the inside meaning of shared patterns of behavior and beliefs
(practices, language, rituals, ceremonies, relationships, using participant observation (called
“fieldwork” captured in the field notes) and field interviews
- Observations: ‘hanging out’
- Interviews: ‘asking questions’
Dingwall 1997
Grounded theory
The aim is to generate or discover a theory that helps explain practice or provides a
framework for further research. Actions, interactions, social process of people are what we
aim to capture, then theory is build up from this.
