Research Methods In Health

Education/Promotion
 outline
• Introduction to qualitative research

• Comparing qualitative and quantitative

research
• Data collection methods in qualitative
research

• Sampling in qualitative research

 What is qualitative research?

• Qualitative research is a type of scientific

research.
• In general terms, scientific research
consists of an investigation that:
 Qualit...
 seeks answers to a question
 systematically uses a predefined set of
procedures to answer the question
 collects evidence
 produces findings that were not determined in
advance
 produces findings that are applicable beyond
the immediate boundaries of the study
 Qualit...
• Qualitative research seeks to understand a
given research problem or topic from the
perspectives of the local population it involves

• Qualitative research is especially effective in

obtaining culturally specific information about
the values, opinions, behaviors, and social
contexts of particular populations.
 Qualit...
• What can we learn from qualitative research?
• The strength of qualitative research is its ability to
provide complex textual descriptions of how people
experience a given research issue.
• It provides information about the “human”
side of an issue – that is, the often
contradictory behaviors, beliefs, opinions,
emotions, and relationships of individuals.
 Qualit...
• Qualitative methods are also effective in
identifying intangible factors, such as
social norms, socioeconomic status,
gender roles, ethnicity, and religion,
whose role in the research issue may not
be readily apparent
 Qualit...
• Although findings from qualitative data can often be
extended to people with characteristics similar to
those in the study population,

• gaining a rich and complex understanding of a

specific social context or phenomenon typically takes
precedence over eliciting data that can be
generalized to other geographical areas or
populations. In this sense, qualitative research differs
slightly from scientific research in general.
 Quantitative Vs Qualitative Research
• What are the basic differences between
quantitative and qualitative research
methods?
Quantitative and qualitative research methods differ
primarily in:
• Objectives
• Questions they pose
• Types of data collection instruments they use & forms
of data they produce
• The degree of flexibility built into study design
 Differences between qualitative and
quantitative research
Quantitative Qualitative Research
• Extensive (large sample) • Intensive (small sample)
• Statistical sampling • Representative group
• Techniques - • Techniques - interviews,
questionnaire; group discussions
measurement • Focus: Why, how, inter-
• Focus: How many; relationships
determine r/ns • Identify motivations
• Identify actions • Analysis – inductive
• Analysis – deductive • Exploratory/discovery
• Determine/proof

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 Purpose...
• Seek a richer, more personal picture of
individual motives, or practices
• To learn the words, phrases and concepts used
to develop awareness of the categories that
define an area of investigation
• To help clarify or illuminate quantitative
research findings
 Quali....
• Can answer your question with a relatively
small number of participants want to know
more about small ” elite “(best, influential )
group of people

• Because sample sizes are smaller and

respondents selection is purposive the result
of qualitative research do not lend themselves
to statistical generalization
 Quantitative Vs Qualitative Research

• The key difference between quantitative and

qualitative methods is their flexibility allow greater
spontaneity
• quantitative methods are fairly inflexible
• With quantitative methods such as surveys and
questionnaires, for example, researchers ask all
participants identical questions in the same order.
• The response categories from which participants may
choose are “closed-ended” or fixed
 Comparing Quantitative and Qualitative Research
• The relationship between the researcher
and the participant is often less formal
than in quantitative research.
• Participants have the opportunity to
respond more elaborately and in greater
detail than is typically the case with
quantitative methods.
• In turn, researchers have the opportunity to
respond immediately to what participants say
by tailoring subsequent questions to
information the participant has provided.
 Focus Areas of qualitative researchers

• For qualitative Data – analysis of words & images

rather than numbers

• For naturally occurring data – observation rather

than experiment; unstructured than structured-
[You know what observational and experimental
studies]

• For meaning rather than behavior – documenting

the world from the view point of the participants
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 Applications of Qualitative Research

1. An idea generation tool

• To develop new ideas for the
communications strategy
• To explore how messages are perceived by
audience E.g. posters for advertisement

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 Cont…
2. A preliminary step to aid in the
development of a quantitative study
• To develop hypothesis about the thought &
decision-making processes of the target
population on certain issues e.g. Utilization
of products.
• To help identify the types of people to be
interviewed in the quantitative study
• To decide wording & sequencing of
questions
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 Cont…

3. As a follow–up of the results of a

quantitative study
• Clarify unexpected finding
• Understand why some behaviors comes
• Describe most important factors affecting
attitude change

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 Cont…
4. The primary data collection method

• Some studies are not fitting for

quantitative method, e.g. Perceptions,
preferences, experiences and beliefs that
individuals or people have

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 QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE:
COMPLEMENTARY RESEARCH APPROACHES

Qualitative Quantitative

Triangulation

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 What are the advantages of qualitative methods for
exploratory research?

• use of open-ended questions and probing

gives participants the opportunity to respond
in their own words, rather than forcing them
to choose from fixed responses, as
quantitative methods do.
• uses “probes to encourage them to elaborate
on their answers
• Open-ended questions have the ability to
evoke responses that are:
 meaningful and culturally salient to the
participant
 unanticipated by the researcher
 rich and exploratory in nature
Data collection methods in qualitative research

• participant observation, in-depth

interviews, focus groups.

• Each method is particularly suited for

obtaining a specific type of data.
Data collection methods in qualitative research

• Focus groups are effective in eliciting data on

the cultural norms of a group and in
generating broad overviews of issues of
concern to the cultural groups or subgroups
represented.
 Data collection methods...
• Participant observation-objective is to help
researchers learn the perspectives held by
study population
• We are interested both in knowing what those
diverse perspectives are and in understanding
the interplay among them.
• researchers make careful, objective notes
about what they see, recording all accounts
and observations as field notes in a field
notebook.
• Informal conversation and interaction with
members of the study population .
• Participant observation is appropriate for
collecting data on naturally occurring
behaviors in their usual contexts.
 Participant observation

• strength; Allows for insight into contexts,

relationships, behavior
• Can provide information previously unknown
to researchers that is crucial for project
design, data collection, and interpretation of
other data
 Participant...

• weaknesses- time-consuming, the difficulty of

documenting the data ,documentation relies
on memory, personal discipline, and diligence
of researcher
 In-depth interview
• The in-depth interview is a technique
designed to elicit a vivid picture of the
participant’s perspective on the research topic

• Researchers engage with participants by

posing questions in a neutral manner, listening
attentively to participants’ responses, and
asking follow-up questions and probes based
on those responses.
 Appropriate....
• Eliciting individual experiences, opinions, feelings
• Addressing sensitive topics
Strengths
• Elicits in-depth responses, with nuances and
contradictions
• Gets at interpretive perspective, i.e., the
connections and relationships a person sees
between particular events, phenomena, and
beliefs
 Examples of effective probes
• Direct questions
• “What do you mean when you say . . .? “Why
do you think . . .?How did this happen? How
did you feel about . . .?What happened then?
Can you tell me more? Can you please
elaborate? I’m not sure I understand
X. . . .Would you explain that to me? How did
you handle X? How did X affect you? Can you
give me an example of X?
 indirect probes:
• Neutral verbal expressions such as “uh huh,
“interesting,” and “I see”
• Verbal expressions of empathy, such as ,“I can
see why you say that was difficult for you”
• Mirroring technique, or repeating what the
participant said, such as, “So you were .when
you had your first child . . .” Culturally
appropriate body language or gestures, such
as nodding in acknowledgment
 FGD
• Focus groups method in which one or
two researchers and several participants
meet as a group to discuss a given
research topic.
• Are methods effective in helping
researchers learn the social norms of a
community or subgroup, as well as the
range of perspectives that exist within
that community or subgroup
• Focus groups are effective in eliciting data on
the cultural norms of a group and in
generating broad overviews of issues of
concern to the cultural groups or subgroups
represented
• A typical number of participants is eight to ten
people, with a maximum of 12
 FGD...
• How are focus group data used?
• Typed transcripts are the most utilized form of
focus group data.
• During the data analysis phase of the
research, after data collection, transcripts are
coded according to participants’ responses to
each question and/or to the most salient
themes emerging across the set of focus
groups.
 Things to be considered
• What should I say about confidentiality? Pseudonyms(id)
• How should informed consent be handled for a focus group?
• Who conducts the focus group?
• What does the moderator do?
• What does the note-taker do?
• How many people are necessary for a focus group?
• How do I recruit people for the focus group? homogeneity
• How do I identify individual participants in my notes? codes
• Where should I conduct the focus group?
• How should I present myself to focus group participants?
• What if a participant does not stay for the entire discussion?
• A principal advantage of focus groups is
that they yield a large amount of information
over a relatively short period of time

• Effective for accessing a broad range of views

on a specific topic, as opposed to achieving
group consensus.
 Appropriate...
• Identifying group norms
• Eliciting opinions about group norms
• Discovering variety within a population
Strength
• Elicits information on a range of norms and
opinions in a short time
• Group dynamic stimulates conversation,
reaction
Weakness:-
Focus groups are not the best method for
acquiring information on highly personal or
socially sensitive topics
 Moderator..
A good moderator . . .
Shows flexibility
Shows sensitivity, compassion, understanding
Has a sense of humor
Links ideas together
Encourages participation from everyone
A good moderator tries not to . . .
Dictate the course of discussion
Lose control over the conversation
Judge comments or be an “expert”
Inform or educate during the group
Lead a question and answer session
• During focus group discussion, moderators
should not correct participants.
• It is important in qualitative data
collection to elicit all the participants’
perspectives, including misinformation.
• If inaccurate information is stated during the
focus group, make a note to correct the
misinformation but only after the focus group
discussion is over
 Data collection methods in qualitative research

• What forms do qualitative data take?

• The types of data these three methods
generate are field notes, audio (and
sometimes video) recordings, and transcripts.
 Sampling in Qualitative Research
• In qualitative research, only a sample (that is, a
subset) of a population is selected for any given
study
• The study’s research objectives and the
characteristics of the study population (such as size
and diversity) determine which and how many
people to select
• sampling methods used in qualitative
research :purposive sampling, quota sampling, and
snowball sampling.
 Sampling in Qualitative Research

• purposive sampling?

• quota sampling?

• is snowball sampling?
 Sampling in Qualitative Research
• What is purposive sampling?
• Purposive sampling, one of the most common
sampling strategies, groups participants according to
preselected criteria relevant to a particular research
question(for example, HIV-positive women in Capital
City).
• Sample sizes, which may or may not be fixed prior to
data collection depend on the resources and time
available, as well as the study’s objectives.
 Sampling in Qualitative Research

• Purposive sample sizes are often determined

on the basis of theoretical saturation(the point
in data collection when new data no longer
bring additional insights to the research
questions)

• Purposive sampling is therefore most

successful when data review and analysis are
done in conjunction with data collection.
 What is quota sampling?
• In quota sampling, we decide while designing the
study how many people with which characteristics to
include as participants Characteristics might include
age, place of residence, gender, class, profession,
marital status, use of a particular contraceptive
method, HIV status, etc

• The criteria we choose allow us to focus on people

we think would be most likely to experience, know
about, or have insights into the research topic.
How are recruitment strategies decided?

• Recruitment strategies are determined by the type ,

number of data collection activities in the study and
by the characteristics of the study population.

• They are typically flexible and can be modified if new

topics, research questions, or subpopulations emerge
as important to the study, or if initial strategies do
not result in the desired number of recruits
• Then we go into the community and – using
recruitment strategies appropriate to the
location, culture, and study population – find
people who fit these criteria, until we meet
the prescribed quotas.
 snowball sampling
• snowballing – also known as chain referral
sampling – is considered a type of purposive
sampling.
• In this method, participants or informants
with whom contact has already been made
use their social networks to refer the
researcher to other people who could
potentially participate in or contribute to the
study.
• Snowball sampling is often used to find
and recruit “hidden populations,” that is,
groups not easily accessible to
researchers through other sampling
strategies.
• Is useful when individuals with k/g to
provide rich data are difficult to
reach ,people whose behavior deviates
from social norms
• What should we say to people when we try
to recruit them?
• In developing recruitment guidelines, it is
important to take special care to avoid saying
anything that could be interpreted as coercive.
The voluntary nature of participation in
research studies should always be
emphasized.
 Stages in qualitative data analysis

• Qualitative data analysis is a non-linear / iterative

process
• Numerous rounds of questioning, reflecting,
rephrasing, analysing, theorising, verifying after
each observation, IDI, or FGD

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 During data collection

– Reading – data immersion – reading and re-

reading
– Coding – listen to the data for emerging themes
and begin to attach labels or codes to the texts
that represent the themes
– Now the focus of the study and continually
review field notes for alternative questions you
might pose
– Write memos about your observations
– Organize the notes thematically

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 After data collection

– Displaying – the themes (all information)

– Developing hypotheses, questioning and

verification

– Reducing – from the displayed data identify the

main points

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Processes in qualitative data analysis

1. Reading / Data immersion

– Read for content
• Are you obtaining the types of information you intended
to collect
• Identify emergent themes and develop tentative
explanations
• Note (new / surprising) topics that need to be explored in
further fieldwork

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– Read identifying patterns
– After identifying themes, examine how these are
patterned
– Do the themes occur in all or some of the data
– Are their relationships between themes
– Are there contradictory responses
– Are there gaps in understanding – these require
further exploration

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 Qualitative data analy....
• Consider the words, contexts,
• The internal consistency
• Frequency , intensity extensiveness of
comments, specificity of response
• Listen for comments that are unanticipated by
the researcher
• Find the big idea
 2. Coding

• No standard rules of how to code

– Emergent

• Record coding decisions

– Record codes, definitions, and revisions

• Usually - insert codes / labels into the margins

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• Building theme related files
– Cut and paste together into one file similarly coded
blocks of text
– NB identifiers that help you to identify the original
source

• Identify sub-themes and explore them in greater

depth
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 3. Displaying data

• Capture the variation or richness of each

theme
• Note differences between individuals and sub-
groups
• Return to the data and examine evidence that
supports each sub-theme
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 4. Developing hypotheses, questioning and verification

• Extract meaning from the data

• Do the categories developed make sense?
• What pieces of information contradict my
emerging ideas?

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 5. Data reduction

• condense the information to make visible the

most essential concepts and relationships
– Get an overall sense of the data
– Distinguish primary/main and secondary/sub-
themes
– Separate essential from non-essential data
– Use visual devices – e.g. diagrams

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 6. Interpretation

• identifying the core meaning of the data,

remaining faithful to the perspectives of the
study participants but with wider social and
theoretical relevance
• Credibility of attributed meaning
• Consistent with data collected
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 Interpretation (2 levels)

– At all stages – searching for core meanings of

thoughts, feelings, and behaviours described
– Overall interpretation
– Identify how themes relate to each other
– Explain how study questions are answered
– Explain what the findings mean beyond the context
of your study

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 Interpretation

• Verified with respondents

• Present multiple perspectives (convergent
and divergent views)
• Did you go beyond what you expected to
find?

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 THANK
YOU

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