CORE 08 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

UNIT 03
 1 . FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

• Research is defined as a diligent search for new knowledge .

• It is a critical examination of a given phenomenon and involves an
exhaustive study, investigation or experimentation following a logical
process.
• Research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use
of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate
new concepts, methodologies and understandings. This could include
synthesis and analysis of previous research to the extent that it leads
to new and creative outcomes.
 DEFINITION OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
 Qualitative research is one of the two major approaches to research
methodology in social sciences.
 Qualitative research involves an in-depth understanding of human
behavior and the reasons that govern human behavior.
 It investigates the why and how of decision making, as compared to
what, where, and when of quantitative research.
 Qualitative research is a study of things in their natural settings,
attempting to make sense of, or to interpret phenomena in terms of
the meanings people bring to them.
• The way in which people being studied, understands and interprets
their social reality is one of the central motifs of qualitative research
(Bryman, 1988)
• Qualitative Research is primarily exploratory research. It is used to
gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and
motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop
ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research.
• Qualitative research is a holistic approach in which research strategies
used for people to study their behavior in settings where normally
spend their time
• “Qualitative research, with its focus on the experiences of people,
stresses the uniqueness of individuals…qualitative researchers collect
data from their respondents, often in their natural environments,
taking into account how cultural, social and other factors influence
their experiences and behaviour” (Parahoo 1997)
• There is fairly wide consensus that qualitative research is a
naturalistic, interpretative approach concerned with understanding
the meanings which people attach to phenomena (actions, decisions,
beliefs, values etc.) within their social worlds.
FEATURES OR CHARACTERISTICS OF
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH …Denzin and Lincoln (2000)
• 1. Concern with the richness of description
Qualitative researchers value data which is rich in its descriptive
attitudes. So they tend to favor data collection methods which obtain
detailed , descriptive data such as that produced by using in- depth
interviewing methods , focus groups and taking of detailed field notes.
2. Capturing the individual’s perspective
Qualitative methods emphasize the perspective of the individual and
their individuality. The use of rich data gathering methods such as the
in-depth interview and focus groups encourage this emphasis on the
individual’s perspective.
3. The rejection of positivism and the use of post-modern perspectives
Qualitative researchers tend to reject positivist approaches( i.e those
based on a conventional view of what science is –or scientism). Even
though qualitative and quantitative researchers both rely on empirical
evidence which is an important aspect of positivism. In qualitative
research, relatively few researchers believe that the purpose of
research is the creation of generalizable knowledge.
4. Adherence to the postmodern sensibility
The postmodern sensibility, for example revels itself in the way that
qualitative researchers are much more likely to use methods which get
them close to the real-life experiences of people than quantitative
researchers who are often content with a degree of artificiality such as
that arising from the use of laboratory studies. Verisimilitude seems
much more important to qualitative researchers as a whole and less so
to many quantitative researchers in psychology. They are caring ethics
and have a sense of responsibility in their research.
5. Examination of the constraints of everyday life
Quantitative researchers overlook characteristics of the everyday
social world. Qualitative researchers tend to have their feet more firmly
planted in this social world which is an important bearing on the
experiences of their research participants by giving much greater detail
about their lives. Qualitative research is exploratory while quantitative
research is conclusive.
• Advantages of qualitative approaches are:
• Due to largely open ended questions, provide ample opportunity for
exploring answers with participants and questioning answers (not possible in
quantitative approaches); and increase participants’ ability to respond.
• Do not require large samples.
• Good for exploratory research and hypothesis generation
• The participants are able to provide data in their own words and in their own
way
• It enables more complex aspects of a person’s experience to be studied
• The disadvantages of qualitative approaches are:
• They require a high level of expertise and skills to undertake.
• Generalization of results needs to be carefully scrutinized (not possible
sometimes without quantitative approaches).
• Results could be questioned as being subjective (need cross-checking).
• It is more difficult to determine the validity and reliability of linguistic data
• Time consuming.
• Data overloaded- open ended questions can sometimes create lot of data,
which can take a long time to analysis.
METHODS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
1. Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
2. Grounded Theory
3. Face to face interview
4. Observation
5. Case studies
6. Ethnography/ Participatory Research
 FOCUSED GROUP DISCUSSION (FGD)

• A Focus Group Discussion (FGD) is made up of a small number of carefully

selected people who are recruited to discuss a subject based on the
commonality of their experience.
• Focus groups Discussion have four key characteristics:
• They actively involve people.
• The people attending the group have an experience or interest in common
• They provide in-depth qualitative DATA
• Discussion is focused to help us the central idea of the topic.
• Focus group discussion is frequently used as a qualitative approach to
gain an in-depth understanding of social issues. The method aims to
obtain data from a purposely selected group of individuals rather
than from a statistically representative sample of a broader
population.
• Snowball sampling or chain-referral sampling is defined as a non-
probability sampling technique in which the samples have traits that
are rare to find. This is a sampling technique, in which existing
subjects provide referrals to recruit samples required for a research
study.
• Snowball sampling consists of two steps:
• Identify potential subjects in the population. Often, only one or two
subjects can be found initially.
• Ask those subjects to recruit other people (and then ask those people
to recruit. Participants should be made aware that they do not have
to provide any other names.
• Focus Group Discussion involves discussions with two or more
participants. While questions for focus groups need to be prepared to
guide and focus the discussions, the responses are often free-ranging,
as the participants are encouraged to explore the issues at hand in an
in-depth way.
• While Focus Group Discussion will help you develop explanations for
quantitative data, sometimes they can provide you with quantitative
data themselves. For example, you might find that 20% of the
participants in a focus group discussion did not like the way HIV/AIDS
positive people were portrayed in the media (quantitative data). Then
you might find that the reasons (qualitative information) they gave
were that:
• They found it demeaning.
• They thought that it was insensitive.
• They thought that HIV/AIDS positive people were treated as ‘others’.
• With Focus Group Discussion and interviews, it is usual to write up
the responses to your questions, to arrange and analyse the
responses in a careful and meaningful way, and to include the most
relevant ones in your research report.
• The people:
• Focus Group Discussion typically is made up of 6 to 10 people. The
group needs to be small enough to allow everyone the opportunity to
share insights, and yet large enough to provide group interaction and
diversity of experience. Larger groups inhibit discussion as some
respondents shy from venturing opinions while smaller groups may
be limited in their pool of ideas.
Commonality of experience and interest:
• Focus Group Discussion participants have a degree of homogeneity,
and this is important to the researcher. This similarity is the basis for
recruitment, and indeed, specific requirements are usually necessary
for attendance at the group. It is common for researchers and clients
to jointly identify the key criteria that identify the individuals for focus
group discussions. For example, a focus group examining people’s
attitudes to web sites would almost certainly require them to have
access to the internet and to use it fairly regularly.
 students

women
Farmers
Common
interests and
experiences

Political
LGBT
leaders
• Depth of information:
• Focus Group Discussion delivers qualitative data that is rich in words
and descriptions rather than numbers. The group provides the forum
for discussion and the group moderator, the researcher guiding the
group, uses their skills to get the discussion going so flushing out
ideas, attitudes, and experiences. The focus group is more than a
group interview. The key is the interaction between the group
members.
• The topic for discussion:
• The questions in a Focus Group Discussion are carefully designed to
elicit the views of the respondents.
• A discussion guide is prepared prior to the group and the group
moderator uses this as their aide memoir of what must be covered.
• Careful design of the guide ensures a logical flow of conversation
around the topic area and a clear focus for the discussion.
• The topic guide is reflective of how groups operate.
• Groups always start with an introduction from the moderator
explaining the purpose of the meeting and what can be expected to
happen.
• Then each participant is asked to introduce themselves and perhaps
say a few words about their experience with the subject in hand.
• This serves to get people talking and feeling comfortable enough to
develop their opinions and experiences as the discussion progresses.
• Questions are thrown to the group and people are encouraged to
comment, debate, and adjust their views so that the subject gets
covered from all angles and points of dispute become as reconciled so
far as is possible.
• Research tip: Focus Group Discussion:
• Focus Group Discussion can sometimes take time to arrange, so prepare in
advance. Try to find an intermediary to help you (an organization or individual in
close contact with the potential focus group participants);
• Think about who you want to participate in the focus group by referring to your
research question.
• What age group should they be?
• Should they be male or female?
• Should they come from a particular income bracket?
• You may want to consider holding separate focus groups for different age groups,
or for different genders. For example, it may be important to hold a separate
focus group for males and females if you are discussing sex and sexuality.
• Issues of power: The Focus Group Discussion facilitator holds an immense
amount of power in the discussions. You need to keep this in mind.
• If male facilitator questions young girls about sexuality will that affect the
research results?
• Some researchers will not let the people commissioning the research (e.g.
government) be present in the focus group sessions.
• In some cases, special rooms are built with one-way glass so that the
session can be observed unobtrusively.
• You need to find out if it is normal to pay focus group participants, and
what the going rate is.
• Often Focus Group Discussion participants come from poorer communities.
If it is not normal to pay participants, you may want to consider it and set a
trend.
• Advantages of Focus Group Discussion
- Good for community participation (grassroots input);
- Helpful in developing ideas and sharing latent, or hidden, knowledge
spontaneously;
- Enables you to get information from a number of individuals
simultaneously.
• Disadvantages of Focus Group Discussion
- Can be difficult to set up.
- Participants may need to be paid.
- Need to be sensitive to who the facilitator is.
- May need a translator.
- Sometimes difficult to organize and analyse information.
Thematic Analysis of Focus Group Discussion
• In the process of thematic analysis, the first step of coding may also
be referred to as 'content analysis'. Essentially, it is aiming to exhaust
all the data that have arisen from the focus groups, but is only
descriptive at this stage. Good writing does not simply describe what
has been found.
The analysis and interpretation of focus group data require
* a great deal of judgment and care, just as any other scientific
approach.
* A great deal of the skepticism about the value of focus groups
probably arises from the perception that focus group data are
subjective and difficult to interpret.
Contd.

• Transcribe all of the focus group comments.

• If you do more than one focus group, rearrange the comments so that
you have answers together for each interview protocol question.
• For each question, note the main ideas that occur in the answers.
• Review the main ideas to identify ideas which occur again and again.
Note that sometimes the same basic idea occurs in answers to
multiple questions.
• Perform critical thinking about these recurring main ideas to identify
themes. Sometimes a theme may include more than one main idea.
• Identify quotations that illustrate each theme.
• Write your "findings" in an engaging narrative to describe the themes
and include the quotations.
• On your "discussion" section, show how the themes in your study are
similar to, or different from, related previous studies and use the
literature to explain the "why" behind the themes.
 FACE TO FACE INTERVIEW
• The face-to-face interview, also called an in-person interview, is
probably the most popular and oldest form of survey data collection.
... Face-to-face interviews are often used to solicit information in projects
that can be considered to be very sensitive, for example, data collection
on sexual behaviors.
• The most common forms of qualitative research are face-to-face interviews. Face-
to-face interviews are just that:
• Meeting someone in person and discussing various issues. The informant – or
person you are interviewing – may be an expert in a particular field (e.g. the
editor of a newspaper) or they may be someone who is affected by the issues you
are researching.
• The face-to-face interview, also called an in-person interview, is probably the
most popular and oldest form of survey data collection. It has continued to be the
best form of data collection when one wants to minimize nonresponse and
maximize the quality of the data collected .
Research tip: Face-to-face interviews

• Always prepare a set of questions to ask the informant.

• It is a good idea to record your interviews, so that you can check your facts
later. Take notes during the interview, if you feel comfortable doing this.
• Remember: Interviews take time, and the informant is giving you his or her
time for free. Interviews shouldn’t really take more than an hour, unless
the informant wants to spend more time talking to you. Usually 10
questions are enough for this amount of time.
• Sometimes people transcribe the interview recordings. This usually makes
analysing the results easier, but it also takes time and can be quite an
effort.
• Sometimes you may need to ask the informant if they are prepared to be
identified in your research, or if they would like to be quoted anonymously.
This is usually the case if their identity needs to be protected, and
sometimes if you are researching a controversial topic.
• You may want to consider letting your informant review any direct quotes
you use before publishing the research report. However, this takes time
and sometimes can delay the research process.
• Ask the informant if you can include their contact details in your research
report.
• Ask the informant if he or she would like to be alerted when the research is
published, and let them know where they can read the report if it is
publicly available.
• Advantages of face-to-face interviews

• Can allow for in-depth knowledge sharing.

• Helps to develop the bigger picture.
• Helps with analysis of results.
• Good for networking (e.g. you may be referred to other people to interview).
• Disadvantages of face-to-face interviews

• Can be time consuming.

• May be difficult to arrange an interview time.
• Can be difficult to compare and analyse information.
 Types of Interview

• Structured interview (directive Interview)

• Unstructured interview (indirective interview)
• Semi structured interview
• In-depth interview (clinical interview)
• Focus group interview
• Telephonic interview
• Online interview
 Types of interviews
• If you are conducting qualitative research, you may be wondering what is the best
interview type for your study? Well, the answer is that it depends on your
research design and what you want to accomplish types of interviews.
• There are three types of interviews: unstructured, semi structured, and
structured.
• Unstructured interviews: These are interviews that take place with few, if any,
interview questions. They often progress in the manner a normal conversation
would, however it concerns the research topic under review.
• It is a relatively formless interview style that researchers use to establish rapport
and comfort with the participant, and is extremely helpful when researchers are
discussing sensitive topics.
• The researcher is expected to probe participants in order to obtain the most rich
and in-depth information possible.
• Semi structured interviews: These are interviews that use an interview
protocol to help guide the researcher through the interview process. While
this can incorporate conversational aspects, it is mostly a guided
conversation between the researcher and participant.
• It does maintain some structure (hence the name semi structured), but it
also provides the researcher with the ability to probe the participant for
additional details. If you decide to choose this interview method,
understand that it offers a great deal of flexibility for you as a researcher.
• You do not have to worry about needing to conduct several rounds of
interviews because your interview protocol will keep you focused on
gathering all the information that you need to answer your research
question. Even though that is the goal with an interview protocol, there
may be a need for additional probing so that you can get more details
about participants’ thoughts, feelings, and opinions.
• Structured interviews: These are interviews that strictly adhere to the use
of an interview protocol to guide the researcher. It is a more rigid interview
style, in that only the questions on the interview protocol are asked.
• As a result, there are not a lot of opportunities to probe and further
explore topics that participants bring up when answering the interview
questions.
• This method can be advantageous when researchers have a
comprehensive list of interview questions, since it helps target the specific
phenomenon or experience that the researcher is investigating.
• It makes for expedient interviewing and will gather the correct information
that you need, so there should not be much need for you to do follow-up
interviews for missed or forgotten questions.
 IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW
• A type of qualitative research involving an unstructured
personal interview with a single respondent, conducted by a highly
skilled interviewer. The purpose of in-depth interviews is to
understand the underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes, and feelings
of respondents on a particular subject
• How do you do an in-depth interview?
• The four steps involved in conducting in-depth interviews are: (1)
developing a sampling strategy; (2) writing an in-depth
interview guide; (3) conducting the interviews; (4) analyzing the data.
• Steps Involved in Conducting In-depth Interviews
• 1. Developing a sampling strategy (Whose attitudes and beliefs
matter to your research, and how will you find these people?)
• 2. Writing an in-depth interview guide (An in-depth interview guide
contains the questions that will be asked during the interview.)
• 3. Conducting the interviews (Contact potential respondents to
complete an interview.)
• 4. Analyzing the data (Making sense of the findings.)
• You may want to conduct in-depth interviews instead of focus groups
if the topics you wish to explore are highly sensitive in nature, and
people may be uncomfortable sharing their honest feelings in a group
setting, or in situations when it would be logistically difficult to get
the people you want to hear from into one room at one time (e.g.,
geographic distance, types of participants with unpredictable or very
busy schedules, etc).
• In-depth interviews have more in common with a journalist’s interview than with
a survey interview.
• For example, surveys have fixed questionnaires, whereas an in-depth interview
functions much more like a moderator guide—there are no scales, respondents
answer in their own words, and the interviewer can adjust the order and flow of
the questions and ask additional questions as needed.
• Telephone surveys typically involve a larger number of respondents (i.e., 100
interviews or more), while for in-depth interviews, it is much more common to
conduct as few as 10 to 15 interviews.
• You will typically use a random sampling strategy for a telephone survey in order
to interview a cross-section of the population; for in-depth interviews, however,
you do not need to be concerned about ending up with representative results
Advantages and Disadvantages of In-depth
Interviews
• Advantages
• Depth: In-depth interviews can uncover valuable insights, and enable you
to find out “the real story” from the people in the know.
• Disclosure: Respondents are most likely to open up on a one-on-one basis.
• Quality of data: Skilled interviewers are able respond to questions and
probe for greater detail. Questions can be added or altered in real-time if
needed.
• Short timelines: Data can be collected faster than other research
methods—usually within a few weeks.
•
 Disadvantages
• Analysis can be challenging, time-consuming: Qualitative data can be
ambiguous, resulting in a more difficult analysis, particularly for less
experienced analysts.
• Interviewing requires a high level of training and skill: It is important to
have well-trained, highly-skilled interviewers conducting this type of
interview. Using less skilled interviewers increases the possibility of bias.
• Small numbers: Given the length of each interview and the associated
costs, the number of in-depth interviews you will complete for a research
project will be small (there is no standard number of interviews, but a total
of between 10 and 15 interviews would be common).
: GOOD PRACTICE IN QUALITATIVE
INTERVIEWS:
• Probing and cross-checking
• Questions or topics are tailored to different informants and stages of
enquiry making use of findings from previous interviews.
• Informants can be identified progressively to explore a range of different
types of knowledge and perspective.
• Findings reduced to understandable patterns using qualitative analysis
and/or diagrams.
• Findings are validated by cross-checking with other questions and
information from other informants.
• Good interpersonal skills
• sensitivity to the respondents’ mood, body language and time constraints and to
the different cultural norms that may shape these.
• ability to really listen to answers, and to probe and cross-check in a thorough but
sensitive manner.
• taking notes in a discrete, non-threatening way which does not interrupt the flow
of conversation; tape-recording is often a possibility.
• using humor and personal experience to bring up sensitive issues or to challenge
a response.

• Careful documentation
• continually examining own biases.
• as far as possible quoting an interviewee’s exact words and making clear where
the interviewer’s own analysis and interpretation has been added.
 OBSERVATION

• Qualitative research is a well-established academic tradition in

anthropology, sociology, history and geography
• 1 . Qualitative methods are usually understood to include:
• Qualitative interviews which can range from semi-structured
questionnaires to open-ended ad hoc conversations
• Direct observation including participant and non-participant observation,
ethnographic diaries, and more recently photography and video
• Case studies combining different methods to compile a holistic
understanding of e.g. individuals, households, communities, markets or
institutions
• Qualitative Observation is the research process of using subjective
methodologies to gather information or data. ... Qualitative
observation deals with the 5 major sensory organs and their
functioning – sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. This doesn't
involve measurements or numbers but instead characteristics.
• DIRECT OBSERVATION
• A second key element of qualitative research is observation in order to capture
the unexpected, unusual or unsaid. Observation is useful in:
• getting a better understanding of context
• cross-checking information and possible differences between what people do
and what they say they do.
• assessing the quality of relationships between individuals or groups e.g. relations
within the household, and between different parts of a community. for example in
relation to patronage, dependency, or ethnicity.
• to gain new insights or to discover things that people may not wish to reveal in
interviews, or may be not asked about in surveys and may not have thought of
mentioning.
• building rapport with informants
A distinction is often made between:
• participant observation, where the observer shares in at least some
of the activities or discussions that are being assessed in order to get a
better understanding of insider views and experiences, and
• non-participant direct observation where the observer deliberately
does not become involved in the situation under assessment in order
not to influence it. In reality the distinction is often blurred as any
observer is likely to influence events in some way and/or stand back
and let events happen.
 Participant Observation

• Intensive, usually long term, examination of a social group, an

organization, etc.
• Researcher becomes a participant in the lives of group members
• Observes their behaviour and learns meaning systems (which are tied to
language)
• Most closely associated with Ethnography, as developed in Classical
Anthropology
• Now done in a variety of disciplines

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 Steps Involved
in
Participant Observation Research

A. Gaining entry into the group

B. Developing and maintaining rapport
C. Developing a method for taking field notes
D. Integrating data collection and data analysis

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Steps in Participant Observation:
A. Gaining Entry into the Group
• Take into consideration the type of group
• formal organizations require formal entry; involves letter
writing, permission requests, etc.
• Informal groups – different strategy needed
• Access may be gained through a gatekeeper (an
individual with special status)
• Want to involve key informants (those who are
most knowledgeable about the group)

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Steps in Participant Observation:
B. Developing/Maintaining Rapport
• Researcher must work hard to develop and
maintain good relationships in the field
• E.g., be sure not to become associated with one faction
in a group or organization
• Researcher could be blamed for problems that
arise in the setting

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Steps in Participant Observation:
C. Strategies for Taking Field Notes
Field notes – integral to participant observation
• Include descriptions and interpretations of
individuals, interactions, and events
• Distinguish descriptions from interpretations
• Record time and location of observations, as well
as key information (weather, events happening
and their significance)
• Keep theoretical memos – which are the tentative
interpretations emerging and being assessed
through further data collection
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Field Notes (cont’d)

• May not be possible or advisable to take notes

while in the field
• Important that they be done as soon after field
observation as possible
• Note-taking is time-consuming because it is
integral to guiding the data collection and
continuing the analysis

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 Steps in Participant Observation:
D. Integrating Data Collection and Analysis

• Organizing field notes into different types of files facilitates data

analysis
• Master field file – complete journal of field notes; number pages and
include entry dates
• Background, history file – sub file organizing background material
• Key character files – sub files on key players in the group or
organization
• Analytic files – sub files for different types of observations or
relationships

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