Qualitative research – theoretical outline Jiří Navrátil jiri.navratil@fss.muni.cz GLCb1008 Introduction to Methodology of Social Sciences Testing vs. understanding • •Quantitative -deductive logic -the goal is to test a hypothesis -limited scope of isolated information about many units/individuals (reduction of reality to variables) -allows generalization of conclusions to a wider population • •Qualitative -Inductive/abductive logic -the goal is theory formulation (hypothesis/concept generation) -lots of information about a small number of units/individuals (case reduction) -attempt to capture reality in its complexity -generalization to population is impossible - it is about understanding What is characteristic of qualitative research? •The focus of research attention is the human being, people (it can also be locations, formations where people live and work) •The problem we set out is never completely bounded, we are always clarifying it in our research •We study the phenomenon that is the subject of our research interest in its natural context What is characteristic of qualitative research •Research starts with fewer cases (individuals, NGOs, …) •Interactive and developmental aspect of the research (important for describing the research process and interpreting the data) (something new/unexpected is happening?) •Openness to new, unusual, atypical situations and possibilities •Consistent description of our research process (what, why and how I did it) - field notes •Typical research methods: etnography/participant observation, qualitative interviewing, focus groups, language analysis, text analysis Main steps of qualitative research Main focus of qualitative research •Seeing through the eyes of actors under study (social constructivism, face-face interaction, participation in the mind of other people) •Capturing context (thick description) •Emphasizing process •Flexibility and limited structure •Concepts + theory grounded in data Reliability and validity in qualitative research •External reliability (replication) - weak •Internal reliability (inter-researcher) - weak •Internal validity (observation-ideas) – strong •External validity (generalization across settings) – weak • •But: •Alternative criteria for evaluating qualitative research (trustworthiness - + authenticity) Sampling •Case study „style“ (extreme/deviant case, typical case, … etc.) •Sampling both context and particiants •Often purposive sampling (theoretical sampling, generic purposive sampling, snowball) •Theoretical sampling – theoretical saturation (no new data emerging in relation to category + category is well developped + relationships among categories are well established) Basic types of qualitative research • •Case study (?) •Ethnographic approach •Grounded theory •Phenomenological research • Ethnographic Research •It is similar in nature to the case study, but with more emphasis on everyday experience. •It also differs from the case study: –- Longer stay in the "field", more identification with the environment under study -More flexible strategies -Ethnographic writing -Example: William F. Whyte: "Street Corner Society" (1955) - Study of groups, gangs of young Italian immigrant youth in Boston Grounded theory •It is not really a theory but a research strategy (Glaser and Strauss 1967). •↓ •Absence of predefined hypotheses •Begins with exploration, tends towards the generation of new theories (i.e., exploration) •Theory grounded in data - search for structure that emerges in the data •Analysis uses software to sort, link and code different parts of the text/recording •Example: study of remarriage, study of tax avoidance Phenomenological research •Phenomenology - deals with the study of the experiential individual, uncovering the "commonplaces" and habitual ways of perceiving in our lives •Seeking to understand an individual with a particular experience whose meaning we want to explore (membership of a political party, relationship to religion, stay in hospital/prison) •Aiming to understand the subjectivity of existence, gaining insight into human motivations and actions, seeing through conventional knowledge and prevailing assumptions •Seeking to enter the inner world of the other person in order to understand the meanings they ascribe to the phenomenon under investigation •The essence of the research is to capture the essence of the lived experience through the description and interpretation of the lived experiences that the respondent describes to us •It is usually conducted using unstructured interviews •Example: Berger, Luckmann: The social construction of reality; Berger - the interconnectedness of the social construction of the world and religion (internalization and legitimization of the world order that gives meaning to human action) References