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Practical Research 1: U-Site Brgy. Kaligayahan, Novaliches, Quezon City

This module on qualitative research outlines its characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, and various types, emphasizing its importance in understanding human behavior and experiences. It discusses methods such as ethnography, phenomenology, case studies, and grounded theory, highlighting their unique approaches to data collection and analysis. The module aims to equip students with the ability to differentiate between qualitative research types and their applications across different fields.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
9 views14 pages

Practical Research 1: U-Site Brgy. Kaligayahan, Novaliches, Quezon City

This module on qualitative research outlines its characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, and various types, emphasizing its importance in understanding human behavior and experiences. It discusses methods such as ethnography, phenomenology, case studies, and grounded theory, highlighting their unique approaches to data collection and analysis. The module aims to equip students with the ability to differentiate between qualitative research types and their applications across different fields.

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liridonaartenis
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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You are on page 1/ 14

METRO MANILA COLLEGE

U-Site Brgy. Kaligayahan, Novaliches, Quezon City


BASIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Senior High School (Grade 11)
S.Y. 2020 – 2021

PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
MODULE 2
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND ITS IMPORTANCE TO DAILY LIFE

OBJECTIVES: At the end of the module the students should be able to:

 Describe characteristics, strengths, weaknesses and kinds of qualitative research;


 Differentiate the kinds of qualitative research;
 Discuss and illustrate the importance of qualitative research across fields.

PREPARED BY:
ZOILA D. ESPIRITU, L.P.T., M.A.Ed.
STEPHANIE P. MONTERO

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research


This module includes information about the major traditions, approaches,
and methods that are associated with qualitative research. Qualitative research is a kind
of an umbrella term. Some people who choose to conduct qualitative research do not
select any one particular tradition but follow general principles that include hearing the
voices of those studied, using the researcher as the conduit for the information,
studying things in a naturalistic manner, looking at the whole things, and avoiding
testing hypotheses. Results rely heavily on words, and often quotations from those
studied are included in the document. In fact, these principles are common to all kinds
of qualitative research, whether a general approach or one that follows any of a number
of traditions.

Data from qualitative studies describes the qualities or characteristics of


something. You cannot easily reduce these descriptions to numbers—as you can the
findings from quantitative research. Qualitative research studies can provide you with
details about human behavior, emotion, and personality characteristics that quantitative
studies cannot match. Qualitative data includes information about user behaviors,
needs, desires, routines, use cases, and a variety of other information that is essential
in designing a product that will actually fit into a user’s life.

While quantitative research requires the standardization of data collection to


allow statistical comparison, qualitative research requires flexibility, allowing you to
respond to user data as it emerges during a session. Thus, qualitative research usually
takes the form of either some form of naturalistic observation such as ethnography or
structured interviews. In this case, a researcher must observe and document behaviors,
opinions, patterns, needs, pain points, and other types of information without yet fully
understanding what data will be meaningful.

Following data collection, rather than performing a statistical analysis, researchers


look for trends in the data. When it comes to identifying trends, researchers look for
statements that are identical across different research participants. The rule of thumb is
that hearing a statement from just one participant is an anecdote; from two, a
coincidence; and hearing it from three makes it a trend. The trends that you identify can
then guide product development, business decisions, and marketing strategies.

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research


Additionally, because it is not possible to automate qualitative-data collection as
effectively as you can automate quantitative-data collection, it is usually extremely time
consuming and expensive to gather large amounts of data, as would be typical for
quantitative research studies. Therefore, it is usual to perform qualitative research with
only 6 to 12 participants, while for quantitative research, it’s common for there to be
hundreds or even thousands of participants. As a result, qualitative research tends to
have less statistical power than quantitative research when it comes to discovering and
verifying trends.

Characteristics of Qualitative

Research Design Strategies

1. Naturalistic inquiry – Qualitative research involves investigation of a natural


phenomenon in the real world.
2. Emergent design flexibility – Flexibility is the key feature of a qualitative
research. It allows the researcher to be adaptable with emerging designs than
getting constrained with the rigidity of the research tasks.
3. Purposeful sampling – Creating meaning of a case, phenomenon, or any critical
incident in the hallmark of a naturalistic researcher.

Data Collection and Fieldwork analysis

4. Qualitative data – The qualitative researchers collect data which are usually
obtained from observations and interviews.
5. Personal experience and engagement – Understanding personal experience
and existence of a phenomenon investigated in a qualitative study is usually done
by direct observation and in-depth interviews.
6. Emphatic neutrality and mindfulness – Being neutral and responsible in
handling the entire qualitative research investigation is a requirement for an
effective interpretivist.
7. Dynamic systems – Mindfulness to situations and system dynamics is one of the
main characteristics of a qualitative researcher.

Analysis Strategies

8. Unique case orientation – Qualitative researches assume that each case or


phenomenon is distinct worthy to be explored and investigated to proceed to
meaning creation.
9. Inductive analysis and creative synthesis – Investigation starts with exploring
the phenomenon to see patterns, themes as well as interrelationships and ends
with confirming. Data are summarized and presented creatively by the researcher
without being locked into rigid procedural analysis and interpretation of data.
10. Holistic perspective – Qualitative studies investigate a case or phenomenon
which is usually taken as complex system that is more than the sum of its parts,
Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research
hence, the word holistically.

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research


11. Context sensitivity – The entire qualitative process is careful about
possibility of generalization across time and space.
12. Voice perspective and reflexivity – A qualitative analyst has always been
subjective.

Strengths and Limitation of Qualitative Research

Data from qualitative studies describe the qualities or characteristics of something.


Qualitative research studies can provide about human behavior, emotion, and
personality characteristic that quantitative studies cannot match. Qualitative research
includes information about user behaviors, needs, desires, routines, use cases, and a
variety of other information that is essential in designing a product that will actually fit
into a user life.

Traditions and Approaches of Qualitative Research

1. Ethnographic Research- Ethnography is the study of cultures through close observation,


reading, and interpretation. Ethnographic researchers work “in the field,” in the culture which
they are studying. The activities they conduct are also often called fieldwork. Ethnographic
researchers learn how to recognize traits that make up a culture and how to describe it to
others. As a research method, ethnography is used in many disciplines, among them
anthropology, political and social studies, education, and others. Because ethnography is the
study of cultures, before going any further, it is important to define the word “culture.”

In his 1985 work Mirror for Man: The Relation of Anthropology to Modern Life, anthropologist Clyde
Kluckhohn offers the following definitions of culture.

1. The total way of life of a people


2. The social legacy the individual acquires from his group
3. A way of thinking, feeling, and believing
4. An abstraction from behavior
5. A theory on the part of the anthropologist about the way in which a group of people in fact
behave
6. A storehouse of pooled learning
7. Learned behavior
8. A set of techniques for adjusting both to the external environment and to other men
9. A behavioral map, sieve, or matrix

One of the main tasks of an ethnographer is to learn to discern the unusual in the usual.
Experienced ethnographers realize that what seems mundane and ordinary to them many look
strange and unusual to others. According to ethnographers Bonnie Sunstein and Elizabeth
Chiseri- Strater, “when someone says “that’s really weird” or “aren’t they strange”, a
fieldworker hears these comments as signals for investigation.”(2001,6).

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research


If this is the case, then the interpretation of a culture is necessarily biased and
subjective. When we step into a new culture, we bring with us our previous experiences,
preconceptions, and ideas. An objective observation devoid of the observer’s pre-existing
attitudes, is simply impossible.
But that is not a problem for ethnographers. Instead, it is an opportunity because
ethnographers benefit from being involved with the cultures they are studying. They know
those cultures well and are therefore able to convey their meanings to others. Being an insider
of a culture, a participant-observer often allows ethnographers to uncover hidden meanings
that are not immediately visible or accessible to outsiders.

It is important for every researcher to learn to ask the kinds of research questions that
will help him or her succeed in the research project. Ethnographic research is no exception.
Ethnographic research questions must be such that will enable you to not only observe the
culture you are studying, but also to discern and understand the patterns of behavior and
function in that culture. In other words, it is not sufficient for an ethnographer to record what he
or she sees. In addition, ethnographic researcher must construct the research questions which
would allow him or her to explain or interpret the culture he or she is studying.

In planning and conducting your observations, follow the following guidelines:


o Ask for permission to observe. Your research subjects must be aware of the fact that they are
being observed. Not only is this a sound practice or ethical research, but it will also help you later
on to approach the members of the culture you are studying with interview and survey requests, if
you need them.
o Let your subjects know that you are there, and then be as unobtrusive as possible. If you need
to talk to any of the members of the culture you are studying, you can ask for an interview later.
o Keep careful notes. Record events, language and other interactions between the people you
are observing as well as their surroundings.

The following is an example list of ethnographic research sites:

 A barber shop
 A small beach community which used to be a fishing village and is now a vacation spot
 A practice facility of a college football team
 Backstage of an opera company
 A tanning salon
 A homeless shelter
 A school

There is great variety in this list. The guiding principle in choosing an ethnographic research site, and
thus the topic for your paper is whether the site and the people who inhabit her can be called a
culture. The question is, of course, how do we know whether a place or a community could be called
a culture. To answer it, we can apply one or several definitions of culture.

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research


2. Phenomenology - Phenomenology comes from the academic disciplines of philosophy and
psychology, and it is based upon the work of the 20 th century philosopher Edmund Husserl,
which was then later developed by Heidegger.
In its broadest sense, 'phenomenology' refers to a person's perception of the meaning of an
event, as opposed to the event as it exists externally to (outside of) that person.

The focus of phenomenologic inquiry is what people experience in regard to some


phenomenon or other and how they interpret those experiences.

A phenomenological research study is a study that attempts to understand people's


perceptions, perspectives and understandings of a particular situation (or phenomenon).

In other words, a phenomenological research study tries to answer the question 'What is it like
to experience such and such?'.By looking at multiple perspectives of the same situation, a
researcher can start to make some generalizations of what something is like as an experience
from the 'insider's' perspective.

The objective of phenomenology is the direct investigation and description of phenomena as


consciously experienced, without theories about their causal explanations or their objective reality.
It therefore seeks to understand how people construct meaning.

Methodology

A phenomenological study often involves the four steps of:

 Bracketing
 Intuiting
 Analyzing
 Describing

Sampling

Small samples (probably no more than 10 participants) are most suitable for this type of research.

Large samples can become unwieldy.

Data collection methods

Very open questions need to be asked.

The data collection tools that are most often used are:

 Interviews/speech
 Diaries/written
 Drawings/non-verbal
 Observation/visual
Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research
Conclusion

The aim of phenomenological research is to aspire to pure self-expression, with non-


interference from the researcher. This means there must be no 'leading questions', as well as
the researcher completing the process of bracketing so that they can be aware of their own
ideas and prejudices about the phenomenon of interest.

3. Case Study

Basically, a case study is an in depth study of a particular situation rather than a sweeping
statistical survey. It is a method used to narrow down a very broad field of research into one easily
researchable topic.

Whilst it will not answer a question completely, it will give some indications and allow further
elaboration and hypothesis creation on a subject.

The case study research design is also useful for testing whether scientific theories and
models actually work in the real world. You may come out with a great computer model for describing
how the ecosystem of a rock pool works but it is only by trying it out on a real life pool that you can
see if it is a realistic simulation.

The advantage of the case study research design is that you can focus on specific and
interesting cases. This may be an attempt to test a theory with a typical case or it can be a specific
topic that is of interest. Research should be thorough and note taking should be meticulous and
systematic.

The first foundation of the case study is the subject and relevance. In a case study, you are
deliberately trying to isolate a small study group, one individual case or one particular population.

For example, statistical analysis may have shown that birthrates in African countries are
increasing. A case study on one or two specific countries becomes a powerful and focused tool for
determining the social and economic pressures driving this.

In the design of a case study, it is important to plan and design how you are going to address
the study and make sure that all collected data is relevant. Unlike a scientific report, there is no strict
set of rules so the most important part is making sure that the study is focused and concise;
otherwise you will end up having to wade through a lot of irrelevant information.

It is best if you make yourself a short list of 4 or 5 bullet points that you are going to try and
address during the study. If you make sure that all research refers back to these then you will not be
far wrong.

With a case study, even more than a questionnaire or survey, it is important to be passive in
your research. You are much more of an observer than an experimenter and you must remember
Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research
that,

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research


even in a multi-subject case, each case must be treated individually and then cross case conclusions
can be drawn.

The other main thing to remember during case studies is their flexibility. Whilst a pure scientist
is trying to prove or disprove a hypothesis, a case study might introduce new and unexpected
results during its course, and lead to research taking new directions.

The argument between case study and statistical method also appears to be one of scale.
Whilst many 'physical' scientists avoid case studies, for psychology, anthropology and ecology they
are an essential tool. It is important to ensure that you realize that a case study cannot be generalized
to fit a whole population or ecosystem.

Finally, one peripheral point is that, when informing others of your results, case studies
make more interesting topics than purely statistical surveys, something that has been realized by
teachers and magazine editors for many years. The general public has little interest in pages of
statistical calculations but some well -placed case studies can have a strong impact.

4. Grounded Theory – It is a newcomer to the field. In the book, “The Discovery of Grounded
Theory”, written by Glaser and Strauss (1967), they suggested that theory emanated from the
data, rather from the more typical view that data are used to test a particular theory. This way
of thinking is called inductive reasoning. Grounded theory looks at a particular situation and
tries to understand what is going on. As with other qualitative approaches, data are gathered
typically through observation and interviews. The research jots down the key issues as data
collection proceeds.
Some researchers are attracted to grounded theory because the research being
conducted can be taken beyond a particular data set and applied to theoretical issues. Its
methodology is closer to the scientific rigor of quantitative methods. Grounded theory looks at
a particular situation and tries to understand what is going on (Glaser, 1967). His view includes
the constant – comparative method. This data analysis technique involves comparing data
from one interview (or observation) with data from another interview (or observation). He
suggests that a theory quickly emerges.

5. Feminist Research Method and Feminist Theory – Feminist research emerged as a


reaction to several methods and approaches. As the field of research began to be open to
female scholars, there were increased questions about the appropriateness and adequacy of
prevailing approaches. In particular, questions of power disparities were on the minds of many
women. What makes feminists research uniquely feminine are the motives, concerns and
knowledge brought to the research process (Brayton, 1997). She suggests it differs from
traditional research for three reasons: it removes the imbalance of power; it is politically
motivated and concerned with social inequality, and it addresses concerns of women.

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research


Maguire (1987) defined feminism as “ (a) a belief that women universally face some
form of oppression or exploitation; (b) a commitment to uncover and understand what causes
and sustains oppression or exploitation; (c) a commitment to work individually and collectively
in everyday life to end all forms of oppression”. Fine (1992) identifies concepts of feminist
research as well. She identifies aspects of feminist research as well. She identifies the unequal
power issue and the need to eliminate this.
She talks about making participants true participants by calling them co – researchers.
Related to making participants share in the research is the view that they are experts about
their own experiences. Social change is also important to feminist research.

Qualitative Research across the Different Fields of Inquiry

Researchers in social sciences and humanities such as anthropology,


sociology, philosophy, psychology, criminology, business administration, political
science, communications, education, and history as well as many areas in the
health sciences like nursing and occupational therapy have a common belief in
the desirability of trying to understand human action through systematic study
and analysis. Some researchers use qualitative research approaches, others opt
for qualitative research methods, and some use a combination of both.

Answer the following questions.

1. Is it possible to combine two research processes in one topic? Explain your


answer.
2. Why is qualitative research important? Explain your answer.
3. Discuss what you have learned about qualitative research in one paragraph
(at least 150 words)

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research


Organize the ideas that you have learned in this to by jotting down important
concepts through a table shown below.

Qualitative Research Important Concepts to Remember


1. Ethnography 1
2
3
4
5

2. Phenomenology 1
2
3
4
5

3. Case Study 1
2
3
4
5

4. Grounded Theory 1
2
3
4
5

5. Biographical 1
2
3
4
5

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research


Individual
Look for two abstracts of a qualitative research and write an essay of about 250 – 300 words on what
you have learned about the research conducted based on the abstract.

Bibliography:

Amorando R.V & Talili I.N (2017) Qualitative Research A Practical Approach. Mutya Store Publications:

Baraceros E, L (2016) Practical Research 1 Rex Book Store, Inc.:

Espiritu, Z. (2016). Practical Research 1 Module

Matira M.D & Revuelto R.M (2016) Practical Research for the 21st Century Learners. St. Augustine
Publications, Inc:

Serrano A, O.C. (2016) Practical Research 1 on Qualitative Unlimited Books Library Services & Publishing
Inc.:

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research


 Unique case orientation -- assumes that each case is special and unique; the first level of analysis is
being true to, respecting, and capturing the details of the individual cases being studied; cross-case
analysis follows from and depends upon the quality of individual case studies.
 Inductive analysis -- immersion in the details and specifics of the data to discover important patterns,
themes, and inter-relationships; begins by exploring, then confirming findings, guided by analytical
principles rather than rules.
 Holistic perspective -- the whole phenomenon under study is understood as a complex system that is
more than the sum of its parts; the focus is on complex interdependencies and system dynamics that
cannot be reduced in any meaningful way to linear, cause and effect relationships and/or a few discrete
variables.
 Context sensitive -- places findings in a social, historical, and temporal context; researcher is careful
about [even dubious of] the possibility or meaningfulness of generalizations across time and space;
emphasizes careful comparative case study analysis and extrapolating patterns for possible
transferability and adaptation in new settings.
 Voice, perspective, and reflexivity -- the qualitative methodologist owns and is reflective about her
or his own voice and perspective; a credible voice conveys authenticity and trustworthiness; complete
objectivity being impossible and pure subjectivity undermining credibility, the researcher's focus reflects
a balance between understanding and depicting the world authentically in all its complexity and of being
self-analytical, politically aware, and reflexive in consciousness.

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative Research

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