NAZARBAYEV UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

GSE Students’ Webinars

Developing Research Skills

Introduction to Qualitative Research

Aigerim Kazhigaliyeva,
Ph.D. student
Jamboard
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Recap of Key Components of a Research Design
What do you know about qualitative
research?
Quantitative research or Qualitative
research? 

1. Seeks to answer questions about why and how people

behave in the way that they do. It provides in-depth
information about human behavior.
2. “Explaining phenomena by collecting numerical data that
are analyzed using mathematically based methods (in
particular statistics).
What are the key differences between
qualitative and quantitative research?
 Definition of Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is one which provides insights and
understanding of the problem setting. It is an unstructured,
exploratory research method that studies highly complex
phenomena that are impossible to elucidate with the quantitative
research. Although, it generates ideas or hypothesis for later
quantitative research.
Qualitative research is used to gain an in-depth understanding of
human behavior, experience, attitudes, intentions, and motivations,
on the basis of observation and interpretation, to find out the way
people think and feel. It is a form of research in which the
researcher gives more weight to the views of the participants. Case
study, grounded theory, ethnography, historical and phenomenology
are the types of qualitative research.
 Definition of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is a form of research that relies on the

methods of natural sciences, which produces numerical data and
hard facts. It aims at establishing cause and effect relationship
between two variables by using mathematical, computational and
statistical methods. The research is also known as empirical
research as it can be accurately and precisely measured.
The data collected by the researcher can be divided into categories or
put into rank, or it can be measured in terms of units of
measurement. Graphs and tables of raw data can be constructed
with the help quantitative research, making it easier for
the researcher to analyze the results.
 BASIS FOR COMPARISON QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

Meaning Qualitative data is the data in Quantitative Data is the type of

which the classification of data which can be measured
objects is based on attributes and expressed numerically.
and properties.

Research Methodology Exploratory Conclusive

Approach Subjective Objective

Analysis Non-Statistical Statistical
Collection of data Unstructured Structured

Determines Depth of understanding Level of occurrence

Asks Why? How many or How much?

Sample Small number of non- Large number of representative

representative samples samples

Outcome Develops initial understanding. Recommends final course of

    Quantitative research Qualitative research
 

1 Purpose To test hypotheses, look To understand &

at cause and effect, and interpret social
make predictions interactions.
 

2 Common Describe, explain and Explore, discover, &

objectives predict construct.

3 Nature of Study behavior under  Study behavior in a

observation controlled (artificial) natural environment.
conditions
Objectivity vs. Objectivity is expected Subjectivity is expected.
subjectivity  
 

Scientific Confirmatory or top-down: Exploratory or bottom–up:

method the researcher tests the the researcher generates a
hypothesis and theory with new hypothesis and theory
the data from the data collected.
 

Groups studied Larger and randomly selected a purposive sample, the

sample from a particular researcher intentionally
population draws what he or she
  believes to be an appropriate
sample for the research
problem
Type of data Identify statistical relationships Identify patterns, features,
analysis   themes.

Results Generalizable findings that can Particular or specialized

be applied to other populations findings that is less
  generalizable.

Final report Statistical report with Narrative report with

correlations, comparisons of contextual description &
means, and statistical direct quotations from
significance of findings research participants.
 
How it starts Starts with one or more very  starts with a general research
specific, explicitly stated question or problem, not
hypotheses or questions formulated hypotheses;
  hypotheses may emerge while
conducting the research

Relationship Is characterized by “distance” characterized by the

between between researchers and their researchers' awareness of their
researcher and subjects own positions, biases &
researched   experiences that might affect
their collection &
interpretation of data

Common data Survey Interview

collection Experiment FGD
instruments   Observation
Document analysis
Data Collection Methods in Qualitative Stu
dies
   interviews (structured, unstructured, semi-stuctured)
 participant observation
 focus group interviews
 document analysis
Document analysis is based on existing sources, like government
reports, personal documents, articles in newspapers, books or medical
records.

 Qualitative researchers may combine more than one method

 Formats
○ Structured: Open ended questions are developed to frame the
discussion – only these questions are used.

○ Semi-structured: Open ended questions are still devised but the

interviewer is free to probe the answers to ascertain additional
information.

○ Unstructured: Tend not to use predetermined questions.

More like a professional conversation.
 Name 2 advantages and
2 disadvantages of each method
 interviews
 participant observation
 focus group interviews
 document analysis Triangualation
(policy education SPED State Program of Education Development
2021-2025)
 In-depth interviews
Advantages
• Can explore complex and detailed issues
• Good for high volume issues
• Opportunity for probing and clarifying questions
• One on one enhances rapport

Disadvantages
• Time consuming and can result in large volumes of data
• Interviewer must have good listening and probing skills
• Respondent may want to please interviewee
 Focus group interviews
Advantages
• Gets information quickly and Disadvantages
cheaply • Cannot explore complex or detailed
• Good for ‘low volume’ issues issues
• Group interaction can stimulate • Respondents may be concerned
response about anonymity
• Peer pressure can challenge • Responses influenced by peers
thinking • Some participants may dominate,
• Good at identifying content that do others may not speak
or do not resonate • May not be suitable for sensitive
topics
• Skilled moderator required
 Observations
Advantages
• provide direct information about Disadvantages
behavior of individuals and • time consuming
groups
• need well-qualified, highly trained
• permit evaluator to enter into and observers
understand situation/context
• may need to be content experts
• provide good opportunities for
identifying unanticipated • may affect behavior of
outcomes participants
• exist in natural, unstructured, and • selective perception of observer
flexible setting may distort data
 Document analysis
Advantages
 Available locally
 Inexpensive Disadvantages
 Grounded in setting and language  May be incomplete
in which they occur  May be inaccurate or of
 Useful for determining value, questionable authenticity
interest, positions, political  Locating suitable documents may
climate, public attitudes pose challenges
 Provide information on historical  Analysis may be time consuming
trends or sequences and access may be difficult
 Provide opportunity for study of
trends over time
 Unobtrusive
 Selecting sample
○ The sample – unit of analysis
To best understand the central phenomenon, the researcher intentionally selects
individuals and sites.(research site: school, university, colleges and etc.) Justify
○ Choosing what, where and whom to observe or interview
e.g., “to explore Uzbek language minority students’ experiences in majority
universities” (abstract) Research purpose, goal, aim (qualitative)
○ Probability sampling and non-probability sampling
○ Probability sampling (random, convenience) is not justifiable in qualitative
research
○ Non-probability sampling is appropriate for solving qualitative problems,
such as discovering what occurs, the implications of what occurs, and the
relationships linking occurrences.
Types of purposeful sampling
○ Maximum variation sampling – to present multiple
perspectives
○ Identify one more characteristics that may contribute to a
different perspective on a phenomenon, and select
participants or sites based on differences in each
characteristic
○ Homogenous sampling –sites or people possess a similar
characteristic, they belong to a common subgroup
○ Participants in a French course at NIS,
○ teachers of STEM?
Types of purposeful sampling (cont.)
○ Extreme case sampling –to learn about a case
that is particularly troublesome or enlightening
(e.g. school whose students totally failed in
language component of UNT)
○ Critical sampling –an exceptional case and the
researcher can learn much about the phenomenon
(dramatic incident).
○ Opportunistic sampling–after data collection
begins, the researcher may want to collect new
information to best answer RQs.
○ Snowball sampling – typically proceeds after a
study begins and occurs when the researcher asks
participants to recommend other individuals.
 Types of Qualitative Research
Oral History (collecting data through storytelling)

Life History (study of individual life)

Narrative Inquiry (Study of individual life through collecting stories)

Ethnography (beliefs, values and attitudes that structure the behavior of a group).

Phenomenology (experience firsthand of the phenomenon)

Grounded Theory (inductively build a substantive theory regarding some aspects

of practice)

Case Study (Is intensive, holistic description / analysis of a single unit or bounded
system)

Action Research (aimed at solving an immediate problem)

 Oral history
 Story telling is a natural part of the human experience.
 While storytelling has a deep history, the adaptation of this human

process into a legitimated research method is relatively new.

 Oral history is a method of historical documentation, using interviews

with living survivors of the time being investigated.

 Oral history often touches on topics scarcely touched on by written

documents to fill in the gaps of records that make up early historical
documents

 What kind of research can be conducted best in Kazakhstan by

using Oral History?
Life history
 Biographical account obtained mostly through interviews

 Facilitates a deeper appreciation of an individual’s experience of the

past, living with the present, and a means of facing and challenging
the future (Hitchcock and Hughes, 1995, p. 186)

 “[Life history] reconstructs, interprets and presents some of the main

aspects of selected areas of the single individual’s life” (Hitchcock
and Hughes, 1995, p.188).

 What kind of research can be conducted best in

Kazakhstan by using Life History?
Narrative inquiry
 1990 Clandinin and Connelly provided first overview of
narrative research in education
 Researchers describe the lives of individuals, collect and tell
stories about people’s lives, and write narratives of individual
experiences.
 a narrative typically focuses on studying a single person,
gathering data through the collection of stories, reporting
individual experiences, and discussing the meaning of those
experiences for the individual

What kind of research can be conducted best in

Kazakhstan by using Narrative Inquiry?
Ethnography
 Ethnographic designs are qualitative research
procedures for describing, analyzing, and interpreting
a culture-sharing group’s shared patterns of behavior,
beliefs, and language that develops over time.
 Creswell (1998) and Anderson (2005)

 What kind of research can be conducted best in

Kazakhstan by using Ethnography?
Phenomenology
 Phenomenology or phenomenological research – a form of
qualitative research in which the researcher attempts to
identify commonalities in the perceptions of several individuals
regarding a particular phenomenon (Fraenkel, Wallen & Hyun,
1993).

 What kind of research can be conducted best in

Kazakhstan by using Phenomenology?
Grounded Theory
A grounded theory design is a systematic, qualitative
procedure used to generate a theory that explains, at a broad
conceptual level, a process, an action, or an interaction about
a substantive topic.

 Glaser & Strauss (1967), Strauss & Corbin (1998), Clarke

(2005)

 What kind of research can be conducted best in

Kazakhstan by using Grounded Theory?
Case study
 A case study as a research method “is a detailed examination
of one setting, or a single subject [sic], or a single depository
of documents, or one particular event” (Bogdan & Bicklen,
1998, p.54) and it enables “intensive, holistic description and
analysis of a bounded phenomenon” (Merriam, 1998, p. xiii).

 Yin is one of the best authors on case study

 What kind of research can be conducted best in

Kazakhstan by using Case Study?
 My own experience:
Topic: The effectiveness of a professional
development program for trilingual education
implementation: STEM teachers’ view

Case study
Purpose of the study and research questions
To explore secondary school STEM teachers’ views on the effectiveness of
a 10-week professional development program for trilingual education
implementation trough the lens of its’ impact on their teaching practices

How do STEM
How do STEM teachers
teachers evaluate
evaluate the quality of a
the effectiveness of
PDP?
a PDP in terms of its
impact on their
teaching practices?
 Methodology
• Design: an interview-based inquiry research design
• Sampling: Purposeful maximal variation strategy
• Characteristics: teach different science subjects (Physics,
Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science), participants from one
professional development program
• Participants and site: 12 STEM teachers (3 Physics, 3 Chemistry,
3 Biology, 3 Computer Science) from one PDP center in Astana
• Instrument: one-on-one semi structured interviews
• Data analysis: transcribing, coding, developing themes
• Ethics: consent form, anonymity form
Action research
 Action research is systematic inquiry done by teachers (or
other individuals in an educational setting) to gather
information about, and subsequently improve, the ways their
particular educational setting operates, how they teach, and
how well their students learn (Mills, 2011).
 Mostly aims at solving an immediate problem

 What kind of research can be conducted best in

Kazakhstan by using Action Research?
 Which qualitative research method you are
likely to use in your research? Why?
Books