Uom Educational Research Research Methods MEd - Ver2

Qualitative
Research Methods M.Ed. Course 2006-

2006-8
Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Department of Youth and Community Studies
University of Malta
These are my personal lecture notes and will not replace the reading course
participants are expected to engage with.
E-mail: andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt
Telephone: 23402919

E-Mail:andrew.azzopardi@um.edu.mt
Telephone:23402919 2
Assignment

1
Themes:
Session 1:
n Development of qualitative research
Dr Andrew Azzopardi
Session 2:
n Methodological and ethical issues in qualitative research
Dr Simone Galea
Session 3:
n Research processes and research methods
Part 1: Dr Andrew Azzopardi
Part 2: Dr Simone Galea
Session 4:
n Analyzing and interpreting data. Checking for standards in
qualitative research
Part 1: Dr Andrew Azzopardi
Part 2: Dr Simone Galea and Dr Andrew Azzopardi

Course Description
This course is primarily intended to assist students to build th e
required competencies for the undertaking of research.
The course includes a critical account of the developments of

qualitative research with particular reference to the
emergence, use and purpose of educational research. The
course is grounded in a critical tradition of research that
encourages researchers to reflect on their ideological,
theoretical and political stances and the way they shape their
particular interpretations of the world.

Thinking Point :
1. Is research important to you?
2. Is research important to society?
3. In what way/s can we do research?
4. Can research change anything?

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Thinking Point :
A young man is found at the bottom of a cliff, dead. Right next
to him there is a a box of tranquilizers. How will these
‘people ’ react to this situation?
1. A psychologist
2. A sociologist
3. The family lawyer
4. The doctor
5. The parents
6. The person in the street
7. The youth and community worker
8. The police officer

Thinking Point:
n What is your experience with research?
n What are the projects you have worked on?

n When social processes are involved, questions and answers

multiply
n Why are there so many different answers?
Social perception:
1. Selection - What stimuli or messages do we take in?
2. Organization – What sense do we make of them?
3. Interpretation – What meaning do we give to them once
they reach awareness?

3
Thinking Point :
n Why research?
n Policy
n Academic
n Personal

Main concepts:
n Research is the search for truth
n Research helps us understand social reality

Qualitative research approaches began to gain

recognition in the 1970s. The phrase 'qualitative
research' was until then marginalized as a
discipline of anthropology or sociology, and terms
like ethnography, fieldwork, participant observer
were used instead. During the 1970s and 1980s
qualitative research began to be used in other
disciplines, and became a dominant - or at least
significant - type of research in the fields of women
studies, disability studies, education studies, social
work studies, information studies, management
studies, nursing service studies, human service
studies and others. In the late 1980s and 1990s after
a spate of criticisms from the quantitative side, new
methods of qualitative research have been
designed, to address the problems with reliability
and and imprecise modes of data analysis.
4
Defining Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is an inquiry process of

understanding based on distinct
methodological traditions or inquiry that
explore a social or human problem. The
research builds a complex, holistic picture,
analyses words, reports detailed views of
informants, and conducts the study in a
natural setting (Creswell 1998: 15).

Quantitative oriented research studies are undoubtedly a

pivotal aspect of policy and service development
efforts. This study-unit revisits the principal constructs of
qualitative methods, and provides a detailed
examination of statistical, computer assisted research
techniques. We hope that this course will assist
prospective service providers and planners in building
an informed appreciation of the importance that robust
quantitative research strategies play in the process of
securing evidence-based planning approaches. The
myriad instruments that are used in quantitative
research inquires and their applicability to the planning
process will thus be duly emphasized. This course also
focuses on specific issues related to quantitative studies,
including generaalisability and the limitations of official
data, representation, and data triangulation.

n Although researchers in anthropology and

sociology have used the approach known as
qualitative research for a century, the term was not
used in the social sciences until the late 1960s. The
term qualitative research is used as an umbrella
term to refer to several research strategies.
n It is unfair to judge qualitative research by a

quantitative research paradigm, just as it is unfair to
judge quantitative research from the qualitative
research paradigm.
n "Qualitative researchers seek to make sense of

personal stories and the ways in which they
intersect" (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992). As one
qualitative researcher noted, "I knew that I was not
at home in the world of numbers long before I
realized that I was at home in the world of words."
5
The Assumptions of Qualitative Designs
n Qualitative researchers are concerned
primarily with process, rather than outcomes or
products.
n Qualitative researchers are interested in
meaning-how people make sense of their
lives, experiences, and their structures of the
world.
n The qualitative researcher is the primary
instrument for data collection and analysis.
Data are mediated through this human
instrument, rather than through inventories,
questionnaires, or machines.

In the social sciences, qualitative research is a broad term

that describes research that focuses on how individuals
and groups view and understand the world and
construct meaning out of their experiences. Qualitative
research methods are sometimes used together with
quantities research methods to gain deeper
understanding of the causes of social phenomena, or to
help generate questions for further research. Unlike
quantitative methods, qualitative research methods
place little importance on developing statistically valid
samples, or on searching for statistical support for
hypotheses.

The data collected in qualitative research has been

termed "soft", "that is, rich in description of people,
places, and conversations, and not easily handled by
statistical procedures." Researchers do not approach
their research with specific questions to answer or
hypotheses to test. They are concerned with
understanding behavior from the subject's own frame of
reference. Qualitative researchers believe that "multiple
ways of interpreting experiences are available to each
of us through interacting with others, and that it is the
meaning of our experiences that constitute reality.
Reality, consequently, is 'socially constructed'"
(Bogdan & Biklen, 1992).

6
n Qualitative research involves fieldwork. The
researcher physically goes to the people,
setting, site, or institution to observe or record
behavior in its natural setting.
n Qualitative research is descriptive in that the
researcher is interested in process, meaning,
and understanding gained through words or
pictures.
n The process of qualitative research is
inductive in that the researcher builds
abstractions, concepts, hypotheses, and
theories from details.

n Human behavior is significantly influenced by the

setting in which it occurs; thus one must study that
behavior in situations.
n Past researchers have not been able to derive

meaning...from experimental research.
n The research techniques themselves, in experimental

research, [can]...affect the findings. The lab, the
questionnaire, and so on, [can]...become artifacts.
Informants [can become]...either suspicious and
wary, or they [can become]...aware of what the
researchers want and try to please them.
n Additionally, informants sometimes do not know their

feelings, interactions, and behaviors, so they cannot
articulate them to respond to a questionnaire.
n One cannot understand human behavior

without understanding the framework within
which informants interpret their thoughts,
feelings, and actions. Researchers need to
understand the framework. In fact, the
"objective " scientist, by coding and
standardizing, may destroy valuable data
while imposing her world on the informants.
n Field study research can explore the

processes and meanings of events.
.....Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (1980).
Designing qualitative research. Newbury
Park, CA: Sage.

7
Positivism is the view that serious scientific
inquiry should not search for ultimate
causes deriving from some outside
source but must confine itself to the
study of relations existing between facts
which are directly accessible to
observation.

A doctrine which claims that social life should

be understood and analysed in the same
way that scientists study the 'natural world'.
Underpinning this philosophy is the notion that
phenomena exist in causal relationships and
these can be empirically observed, tested
and measured. [Tony Bilton et al., Introductory
Sociology, 3rd edition. London, Macmillan,
1996:666]

Quote:
“Whether you plan to conduct your own research

projects, read others’ research reports, or just
think about and act in the social world, knowing
about research methods has many benefits. This
knowledge will give you greater confidence in
your own opinions; improve your ability to
evaluate others’ opinions ; encourage you to
refine your questions, answers, and methods of
inquiry about the social world” (Russell 1999:18).

8
Scientific/Quantitative
n Positivism is an early influential approach advocated by Auguste
Comte and Emile Durkheim which suggests that sociology can be
scientific. Positivism argues that:
1. Objective social facts
2. Facts can be expressed in statistics
3. You can look for correlations (patterns in which two or more things
tend to occur together)
4. Casual relationships may represent causal relationships (one thing
causes another)
5. It is possible to discover laws of behavior which are true for all
6. Human behavior is shaped by external stimuli rather than internal
stimuli
7. To be scientific you should only study what you can observe. It is
therefore unscientific to study people’s emotions, meanings or
motives which are internal.
Instead, qualitative research focuses on the

understanding of research phenomena in the
original position, within their naturally-
occurring context(s). One aim of the
qualitative researcher is to tease out the
meaning(s) the phenomena have for the
actors or participants. Quantitative studies,
however, may also observe phenomena in
situ and address issues of meaning, and one
criticism of this approach to qualitative
research is that the definitions offered of it do
not distinguish it adequately from quantitative
research (for more on this issue, and about
the debate over the merits of qualitative and
quantitative approaches

Because of its emphasis on in-depth knowledge

and the elaboration of images and concepts,
qualitative methods have been viewed as
particularly useful to areas of social research
such as "giving voice" to marginalized groups,
formulation of new interpretations of historical
and cultural significance of various events, and
advancing theory, as in-depth, empirical
qualitative studies may capture important facts
missed by more general, quantitative studies.
Such investigations usually focus on a primary
case, on the commonalities among separate
instances of the same phenomenon identified
through analytical deduction or on parallel
phenomena identified through theoretical
sampling. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi
9
Another way to describe these differences is cited by
[Pamela Maykut, Richard Morehouse]:
n Qualitative approaches use multiple realities which can
only be understood by the intersecting socio-
psychological constructions. Quantitative approaches
have one reality created from dividing and studying
parts of an entity.
n Qualitative approaches have interdependency
between the knower and the known. Quantitative
approaches believe true objectivity exists because the
knower can be studied outside of the known.
n Qualitative approaches have non-numerical values that
mediate and shape what is understood. Quantitative
approaches believe that non-numerical values can be
ignored or otherwise rendered unimportant.

Differences between qualitative & quantitative research

n Qualitative research develops theories whereas quant
itative tests theories as well as develops them
n Qualitative research describes meaning or discovery
whereas quantitative establishes relationship or
causation
n In qualitative research the researcher is explicitly a
part of the data gathering process whereas in
quantitative, the researcher is formally an
independent entity
n Qualitative research uses communication and
observation whereas quantitative research uses
instruments
n Qualitative research uses unstructured data collection
whereas quantitative research uses structured data
collection
n Generally (though there are

exceptions), qualitative research
studies rely on three basic data
gathering techniques:
1. Participant observation
2. Interviews
3. Social artifacts (documents)

10
Good Qualitative Research (Creswell1998)
n Employ rigorous data collection procedures
n Frame the study within the assumptions and characteristics of
the qualitative approach to research
n We use a tradition of inquiry
n We begin with a single focus
n The study is to include detailed methods, a rigorous approach
to data collection, data analysis and report writing
n We write persuasively
n We analyze data using multiple levels of abstraction
n The writing is to be clear, engaging and full of unexpected
ideas.

n Qualitative approaches involves multidirectional

relationships where events shape each other.
Quantitative approaches claim that a preceding event
can be said to cause a following event.
n Qualitative approaches have only tentative
explanations for one time and one place. Quantitative
approaches believe that explanations can be
generalized to other times and places.
n Qualitative approaches seek to discover or uncover
hypotheses. Quantitative approaches generally seeks
verification or proof of hypotheses.

Interpretive/Qualitative
n Interpretativists usually advocate the use of qualitative data

to interpret social action, with an emphasis on the meanings
and motives of actors
n From this viewpoint, people do not simply react to external
stimuli but interpret the meaning of stimuli before reacting
n We need to understand why people behave in particular
ways (Weber)

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Strategies of Inquiry
n Quantitative
(Experimental designs, non-experimental designs e.g. surveys)
(Predetermined, instrument based questions, performance data,
observational data, census data, statistical analysis)
n Qualitative
(Narratives, phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory,
case study)
(Emerging methods, open ended questions, interview data,
observation data, document data, text and image analysis)
n Mixed methods/triangulation
(Sequential, concurrent and transformative)
(Predetermined and emerging methods, open-ended and close
ended questions, multiple forms of data drawing on
possibilities, statistical and text analysis) (Clark, 2005)

Key terminology:
Ontological:
What is the nature of reality? Reality is subjective and multiple,
as seen by participants in the study.
Epistemological:
What is the relationship between the researcher and that being
researched? Researcher attempts to lessen the distance
between himself/herself and that being researched.
Rhetorical:
What is the language of research? Researcher writes in a
literary, informal style using the personal voice and uses
qualitative terms and limited definitions.
Methodological:
What is the process of research? Researcher uses inductive
logic, studies the topic within its context, and uses an
emerging design.
Validity and Reliability (Measurement)

n How are we going to measure?
n What are the criteria of evaluation?
Reliability is concerned with questions of stability and

consistency – does the same measurement tool yield stable
and consistent results when repeated over time. We want
questions that yield consistent responses when asked multiple
times .
Validity refers to the extent we are measuring what we hope to
measure. We want questions that get accurate responses
from respondents.

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Traditions
n Biography
n Phenomenology
n Grounded Theory
n Ethnography
n Case studies

Each tradition will be explored by focusing on:

n Philosophical and theoretical frameworks
n Data collection
n Analysis and interpretation
n Standards of quality and verification

nBiography

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Auto/biographical research frequently raises un-answered

questions, as well as identifying the paths and journeys
that have been left behind because of painful memories
and experiences (West 1996) …Auto/biography also
implicates the researcher in her own personally
reflective truth-seeking and experiential reconstruction.
This search takes her to places where multiple regimes
of truth reveal themselves and may be highly contested,
where the self and the ‘subject’ of the research are
challenged, particularly since auto/biographical
research challenges the conventional distinctions
between self and other. (Chan 2001, p.1).

Biographical forms of research

A biography reports the life of a single individual.
n Biographical study
n Autobiography
n Life history
n Oral history
n Classical biography
n Interpretative biography

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n On the other hand we have had criticisms being made on the
value of biographies. Various people have spoken about the
strange and intricate situation where stories are told but the
intention is to create hero worship or a dimension of
perception on the person involved that is unreal (Goodley
2003). The first taste of qualitative research came about
through the notorious University of Chicago when a number of
benefactors decided to fund a project which was later to
become known as The Polish Peasant In Europe And America
– A Classical Work Of Emigration History co-authored by
William I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki (1918-1920). This is a
classic in the area of sociological outcomes and analysis.
The value of such a text lies in the fact that this is probably the
first qualitative research text to have an impact on the social
sciences. Thomas and Znaniecki were amongst the first to
propose this new methodology.

nGrounded
Theory

Grounded Theory
n To generate or discover a theory
n The investigator needs to set aside as much as possible,
theoretical ideas or notions so that the analytic, substantive
theory can emerge.
n The researcher must still keep in mind that this form of inquiry
is laden with specific steps in data analysis
n The researcher faces the difficulty of determining when the
theory is sufficiently detailed
n The researcher needs to recognize that the primary outcome
of this study is a theory with specific components; a central
phenomenon, casual foundations, strategies, conditions and
context, and consequences.
n Developing theory grounded in data from the field.

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nNarrative

n A new discipline, narratology (the term

coined by Todorov in 1969) has slowly
emerged which takes as its central task
the analysis of stories and narratives
(Plummer 2001, p.186).

n Two questions can be posed to explore

the position of narrator and writer in
collaborative narrative inquiry. First,
how does the writer construct the life
story of the narrator? Second, to what
extent do narrators become involved in
the writing of their own life story?
(Goodley 1998, p.119).

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n I believe that the core of narrative lies in the fact that narra tive and
story-telling remain bound to a partiality of perspective and thus
may reject any form of abstract universalism. Narrative can take
different forms of narrative; historiography, oral life story, myth, novel
or film as their point of departure. Within social action, ther e are
issues of social, cultural and political belonging. I believe that the
core of narrative and its social and political importance lies in the
fact that narrative and storytelling remain bound to a particularity of
perspective, and thus must reject any form of abstract universalism.
At first, this seems to contrast ‘theory’, ‘ concept’ and ‘narrative’, but
we also insist on exploring the possibilities of narrative theorizing. The
argument always seems to bring it all down to a key notion; can we
feature storytelling as a weak form of universalism? Can we find
commonality in this method to the world of “inclusion”, exclusion
(Slee 2000; Stirling 1992) and diversity.

n We need to keep in perspective that as

Goodley (2003) says, people’s stories expose
their innermost cultural and social accounts.
People seem to understand better and
describe events better when they are assisted
by the narrative. We are all encapsulated in
stories and this research will aim at injecting
some understanding on the many matters
correlated to “inclusion”. (Azzopardi 2006).

n In fact maybe stories… let’s take one of them

that we lived a good part of it, you don’t see it
so bad as when you read about it again.
When you read it again you start to realise
how serious it is. Sometimes you get so used
to being in these circumstances that you let
them go by. But when faced with the stories
you tend to stop and think, ‘what happened
was really bad!’ (Carmen, Facilitator).

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The most important data that I have gathered on narrative
is not drawn from the observation of speech production
or controlled experiments, but to from the reactions of
audiences the narratives as I have retold them. In a
regular and predictable fashion, certain narratives
produce in the audience a profound concentration of
attention that creates uninterrupted silence and
immobility, an effect that continues long after the
ending is reached. It is the effort to understand the
compelling power of such narratives… (Labov 1997, p.
1).

n … I enjoyed reading them (Jack, Teacher).

n I think that they were very true. The stories trigger different thoughts to the
people that read them (Donnha, Parent Activist).
n I liked the stories because we are living them all the time … We witness these
things on television regularly and you end up putting the sound off. But the
way they did it, it was really great (Maria, Parent Activist).
n I preferred this style (Walter, Disabled Activist).
n Why do you think they are an effective means of research? (Andrew,
Researcher).
n Because they give a realistic picture of the situation (Carmel, Disabled
Activist).
n They are also food for thought (Sandra, Disabled Activist).
n I’ve read the stories and they are real… For example the issue of over-
protection in the first story, where a person with a disability isn’t even allowed
to play. Most of the times, in research, things are done out of good intention
but that lack of consultation gets at me (Richard, Disabled Activist).

When you read stories, you start understanding

more coherently the issues that are being
passed on. Because in reading a story you’re
going to engage with it, you’re going to feel
the spirit there is. Questionnaires are artificial.
Just a question and an answer. In a story you
will get it, read, think about it. What I found
interesting was the discussion we had in the
focus group. Certain stories I read them
‘differently’ than other people. This helped
because I could reflect and come up with my
own conclusions (Anthony, Social Worker).
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n Rather than concealing my identity, the
literature is a key coordinating attribute
of this narrative work and can be
perceived as a basic means for
individuals to denote the inclusive
agenda we are all immersed in.

n The processes employed in semi -fictional and

narrative writing include clear challenges to
the offered narrative and re-writing of events.
This can only be achieved by sharing
responsibility, because no-one can really
contradict authorial clout when it comes to
writing fiction. I interpret narrative and semi -
fictional writing to change the power relations
between oneself and the informants.

n The value of narrative lies in the capacity to connect me

with the proper story that is happening. This is not
information that has to go from one medium to another,
from one interpretive stance to another but a whole
movement of debate that draws in the complexities
straight on to the serving dish. It is precisely like
consuming the stark realities that are encompassing this
debate. There is no way to shed responsibility and shift
the debate or try to interpret the way I, as the author
wanted it written. This is a basic ethical premise. What
is read is interpreted from the experience one has,
allowing the wholeness and completeness of that
debate to merge the positions that need to be taken.

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n Joan’s story is one of changing self-identity –
first the loss of the self she was before her
illness, then the reconstruction of a new
‘stronger’ self. We can see this being played
out through and against the public narratives
of ‘normality’…. Her difficult struggle to ‘come
to terms’ with the changes in her life and an
altered self are clearly bound up with her
long-standing acceptance of the implicit
messages in these public narratives…. She
found a way to re-tell her story to and of
herself (Thomas 1999, p.51).
n In the process of unpacking life story

research we may end up
deconstructing the life stories that we
initially present. Never mind, we hope
we have done some justice to our
narrators/narrative subjects and
encouraged others to consider stories
as the very stuff of research (Goodley et
al 2004, p.x).
n While narrative researchers draw upon a

variety of epistemological and theoretical
positions, all proponents share the view that
(some) understandings can be gleaned
through turning to those who have in some
way been labelled. A turn to narrative is a
celebration of the insider, specificity,
indexicality and of lay-knowledge. The
strengths of narrative accounts are tied into
the inherent personal and constructive
qualities of accounting for oneself alongside
and with others (p.3).
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n The essence of this method was in getting the immigrants to
tell their own life stories, either by hiring them to do so or by
finding documents, especially letters, in which they did
(Zaretsky 1996, p.x). Another important reader for me was The
Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat And Other Clinical Tales
by Oliver Sacks (1985). This author has written several stories
that emanated from a professional autobiography. Moreover,
he managed to bring to the surface a number of interesting
debates and personal reflections that said a lot about the
professional dimension and how this could be more in line
with the ‘patients ’ (for him) or service users we are engaged
with. He speaks about the passions and the galvanisation of
people under the threat of being categorised, pigeon-holed
and having their personality segmented.

n Narrative identity can be defined as a constantly

evolving story, which compounds the past experience
of human life. A person constantly renews his or her
narrative by re-creating mental experiences in the form
of words and sentences…. Narrative identity is closely
related to the view that identity comes through a
dialogue between the self and the environment. In
order for a narrative to come about, there has to be true
dialogue between participants who listen to each other.
And even more: people want not only to be listened to,
but also to be understood, which enhances the self -
knowledge of both the narrator and the listener/reader
(Syrjala and Estola 1999, p. 3).

Creswell (1998)
n The author uses description and a high level of detail
n The author tells this story informally, as a ‘storyteller ’
n The author explores cultural themes of roles and behavior
of the committee
n The author describes the ‘everyday life of persons’
n The overall format is descriptive

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nEthnography

n What is ethnography?
n What lies behind an ethnographic piece of research?

n An ethnography is a description and interpretation of a

cultural or social group or system. The researcher examines
the group's observable and learned patterns of behavior,
customs and ways of life (Harris, 1968). It is based on
participant observation where the researcher is immersed in
the process of day -to-day living and one-to-one interviews.
The researcher studies the meanings of behavior, language
and interactions of the culture sharing group.
n Describing and interpreting a cultural and social group.

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n Ethnographers prefer lengthy and deep involvement in the
natural setting. Social life is complex in its range and
variability. It also operates at different levels and has many
layers of meaning (Berger, 1966). A long stay is necessary to
gain access to these.
n There has been some dispute as to whether there are such
‘real situations’, let alone whether they can ever be
represented in research accounts.
n ‘The social world is an interpreted world…(Analytic realism) is
based on the value of trying to represent faithfully and
accurately the social worlds or phenomena studied’ (Altheide
and Johnson, 1994, p. 489).
n Ethnographers are interested in how understandings are
formed, how meanings are negotiated, how roles are
developed, how a curriculum works out, how a policy is
formulated and implemented, how a pupil becomes deviant.
n Social life is ongoing, developing, fluctuating, becoming. It
never arrives or ends. Some forms of behaviour may be fairly
stable, others variable, others emergent.

n Ethnographers do not, on the whole, start with a theory which

they aim to test and prove or disprove, though there is no
reason why they should not do that if they wished. They
mainly work the other way round, seeking to generate theory
from data. The theory is then said to be grounded in the social
activity it purports to explain (Glaser and Strauss, 1967).
n Ethnography is often criticised for producing a weak basis for

generalisations to be made. Thus, it might be demonstrated,
very interestingly, that a pupil indulges in disruptive behaviour
or engages in creative activity when subjected to certain
treatment; some might ask, however, quite legitimately, 'to
how many pupils does this apply?' We find it useful here to
distinguish between internal and external validity. Internal
validity refers to the accuracy of the account being
presented as it applies to the case or cases researched.
External validity refers to generalisation to other cases.

n Ethnography is concerned with life as it is lived, things as they

happen, situations as they are constructed in the day -to-day,
moment-to-moment course of events. Ethnographers seek
lived experiences in real situations. In general, they try not to
disturb the scene and to be unobtrusive in their methods. This
is to try to ensure that data and analysis will closely reflect
what is happening.
n The researcher tries to make as few assumptions in advance

on what problems and issues will be found. It helps if the
researcher ‘makes the familiar strange’, not taking things for
granted, questioning the bases of action (Becker, 1971);
though, at other times, ‘deep familiarity ’ with the scene and
the people in it can aid insights (Goffman, 1989; Strauss and
Corbin, 1990).

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n Ethnography by tradition is an individual pursuit, which makes
working on sensitive issues, and others as well, all the harder.
In what Douglas (1976) calls the 'Lone Ranger' approach,
ethnographers
…have gone out single-handedly into the bitterly conflictual
world to bring data back alive. This approach has demanded
considerable strength and courage much of the time and
almost always an ability to operate alone, with little or no
support and inspiration from colleagues. (p. 192)

nPhenomenology

A phenomenological study describes the meaning of the live

experiences for several individuals about a concept or
phenomenon. Phenomenologist explore the structures of
consciousness in human experiences.
n The researcher brackets his/her preconceived ideas about
the phenomenon to understand it through the voice of
informants
n The investigator writes research questions that explore the
meaning of that experience for individuals and asks
individuals to describe their everyday lived experiences
n The investigator than collects data from individuals who have
experienced the phenomenon under investigation
n Meanings are clustered
n The phenomenological report ends with the reader
understanding better the essential, invariant structure or
essence of the experience. Recognizing that a single unifying
meaning of the experience exists.

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nCase study

n A case study is an exploration of a ‘bounded system ’ or a

case (or multiple cases) over time through detailed, in-depth
data collection involving multiple sources of information rich
in context. This bounded system is bounded by time and
place and it is the case being studied-a program, an event,
an activity or individuals.
n It is the development of an in-depth analysis of a single case

or multiple cases.

nAlmost
there……!

25
“Researchers have to be close to groups, live
with them, look out at the World through their
eyes, empathize with them, appreciate the
inconsistencies, ambiguities and
contradictions in their behavior ” (Woods).

“He was also reflexive, putting himself into the

situation, looking at the effects on himself as
part of the event” (Woods).

There are dangers, as well as opportunities, in

engagement. We encountered this in
particularly acute form during our research
on teacher stress” (Woods).

26
Analyzing data is by no means straightforward, and
writing up typically takes a number of drafts before
one feels the research is adequate and
appropriately represented” (Woods).

Important pieces of research

n The research on suicide – Emile Durkheim
n The effect of institutionalisation on people – Erving Goffman
n The Balinese Cockfights - Clifford Geertz

nIllum…

27
Considerations when identifying
research topic
n Workability
n Interests
n Practicality
n Close to own profession
n Considerations/implications
n Relationships
n Necessity (for field/for profession)
Exploratory stages
n Where?
n Who?
n How?
n What?
n When?
n Why?

Strategies for identifying

relevant literature
n Long Essays, Dissertations, Theses
n On-line libraries
n Journals
n Texts
n Websites
n E-mail discussion groups

28
n Identify your objectives. What do you want to find
out?
n Determine your sample. To find out what you want to

know, who should respond to the survey (be in the
sample)?
n Determine sample size/confidence. How many

responses do you need to feel confident in the results?
n Determine a timeframe and schedule. When do you

need the results?

n Determine how much you can budget to

the survey or surveys.
n Develop several sample questions. Write

your questions with the best-case scenario
in mind - you can ask the most complex
question you can think of. Any very
complex questions or objectives might
determine the type of survey you use.

n Prioritize the four key factors – sample, timeframe,

budget, and complexity.
If sampling is the most important consideration,

then a telephone survey might be best. If you
need responses very quickly, computer/online
surveys are the only choice. If you need a large
number of responses, mail – or a combination
mail and telephone – survey might be the best
choice. If cost is the key factor, mail or computer
surveys might be your choice. If the questions
require respondent choices and interaction,
telephone or computer surveys are best.

29
n Define the universe. Who do you want
to get information from?
n Develop a “sampling frame.” Who are

the people that make up the group(s)
you want to survey? Always use the
most updated list available.

n Specify the sampling unit and element.

What specific segment(s) will get you the
information I need? All security company
purchasing agents or your company users?
n Specify sampling method. What selection

criteria will you use: probability vs. non-
probability, simple random, cluster, or
stratified (I call it targeted)? (There are
several other technical criteria that you
might consider as well.)

n Determine sample size. Compute the ideal

sample size using one of the formulas – or your
own judgment. Several factors, including the
study specs, population variability, analysis
considerations, and cost, combine to
determine sample size. The most common
formula for computing the size of a simple
random sample with a confidence level (CL) of
95 percent is:
n n is the sample size
n d is the desired precision/margin of error
n Z is the value of corresponding the desired
confidence level obtained from a normal
distribution table (usually 95%)
n P is the proportion being estimated
30
Compiling a literature review
n Start today
n Categorising
n Tagging
n Back ups
n Referencing

First impressions:
n Target Population
n Sample Size
n Theme
n Topic

nWhenever a sociologist starts a piece

of research, they always have in mind
a group of people they want to study.
These people, whoever they may be,
are known as the target population
and are, in effect, everyone in a
particular group you would like to
research.
31
Positionality
Justify
n Whenever a sociologist starts a piece of

research, they always have in mind a group
of people they want to study. These people,
whoever they may be, are known as the
target population and are, in effect, everyone
in a particular group you would like to
research.
n Your target population might, for example, be
a small group (perhaps 10 or 12 people in all)
who seem to meet regularly in your local
park.
n On the other hand, your target population
might be the 70,000 football fans who attend
Manchester United’s home games at Old
Trafford.

nIf you think about these examples, it

might be fairly easy to do some
research on the first group, since the
target population is small. Whether this
research involves observing the group
from a distance, asking them
questions, participating in their
behaviour or whatever, the size of the
group makes it relatively easy to
manage your research.

32
nWith the second example, however,
things might be more difficult, since its
size is going to make it very hard for
you to personally observe or question
everyone in it. This, therefore, is where
the concept of sampling comes into
its own...

n As a general "rule of thumb" when doing

sociological research you should try to make
your sample representative of your target
population. However, there are times when
you might deliberately choose not to study a
representative sample.
n For example, in some types of social research
you might not want to make generalisations
about a very large group of people based
only on a very small group.
n You might, for example, simply be interested
in the sociological characteristics of the
group itself, rather than what they may or
may not represent.

Considerations:
n Legal reasons.
A school, for example, is unlikely to give an
outside researcher access to their registers.
n Confidentiality.
A business organisation is unlikely to give an
outside researcher access to their payroll
records.
n Secrecy.
Some religious groups, political parties and so
forth do not want outside researchers to study
their activities.

33
Generating positive
relationships
n Knowing the area
n Emancipatory attitude
voice
n Control to informants
n From subjects to informants
n Establishing ground rules
n Identifying sensitive issues

Observation
As we have seen, sociologists who adopt the method of
Participant Observation for their research aim to
discover nature of social reality by understanding the
actor's perception / understanding / interpretation of
the social world. In this respect, Participant Observation
is sometimes called a "naturalistic" method that involves
the researcher,
"Telling it like it is"
or, if you prefer,
"Really understanding what is going on in any given

situation".

n The participant observer, therefore, tries to

take advantage of the human ability to
"empathise", which in simple terms involves
our ability to see a situation from someone
else's point-of-view - to put yourself in "their"
shoes to experience the world as "they"
experience it.

34
n The main idea, in this respect, is to
participate in a social group whilst, at the
same time, employing the insights and
understanding of a trained sociological
observer (whatever they might be when
they're at home and sleeping in your
bed...). The point, therefore, is to observe
and experience the world as a participant,
whilst retaining an observer's eye for
understanding, analysis and explanation.

n As you might expect, Participant

Observation is a method of data collection
that attempts to understand the motives and
meanings involved in people's behavior
from the point-of-view of the participant.
Sociologically, this method tends to be
associated with the interactionists
perspective and this means that the
methodology is primarily "interpretive" (that
is , concerned with the attempt to express
the quality of people's behaviour by
interpreting such behavior from a
sociological viewpoint)

n Having said this, some form of quantification

measurement may be used by participant
observers, although the reasons for
quantifying behavior tend to be somewhat
different to those used by non-
Integrationists. We can look at the example
of "suicide" to briefly demonstrate this idea.

35
n For a sociologist such as Emile Durkheim
(working within a broadly structuralist
perspective), suicide was considered to be a
"social fact" whose existence could be
deduced from the study of patterns of suicide
taken from the analysis of official statistics.
The emphasis, in this respect, was placed
upon trying to explain why different societies
had different suicide rates. Durkheim,
therefore, considered suicide statistics to be
"facts" - hard evidence about people's
behavior - that could be used in the
explanation of that behavior.

nOne of the classic studies conducted

using Participant Observation was
carried-out by Erving Goffman
("Asylums", 1968). Goffman worked in
an asylum for the mentally ill as an
Assistant Athletic Director. His research
was mainly covert (the inmates
/patients and hospital authorities did
not know he was doing research), with
overt elements (a couple of the staff
knew he was a researcher).

n Goffman attempted to discover "unofficial

reality" of mental institutions, to:
n a. Answer the question "what is really going

on here?"
n b. To attempt to discover the "sense" in a

place of insanity and, in particular, to
analyze how patients coped with both their
labeling as "mentally ill" and the "abnormal
social situation" in which they found
themselves.
36
For example, patients were:
n Closely observed and had little privacy.
n They were highly disciplined and

regimented by the staff.
n They're personal possessions were taken

away and, according to Goffman's
interpretation, they were "treated like
children".

n In above respect, the "hidden and closed" world that

Goffman had penetrated was both "bizarre" and
"abnormal" in terms of our usual understanding of the
social world - yet through his research, Goffman
claimed to have discovered the "tricks and
strategies" employed by staff and patients in order to
cope with their situation. He discovered, in short, how
people made sense of an apparently senseless
situation; how:
a. The Staff and the patients came to terms with it as

best they could.
b. What looked abnormal (in terms of norms of

behaviour) to the outsider, was normal to those on the
inside.

n Many writers have sought to justify their

adoption of Participant Observation as
their main research method, and we
can look briefly at how a few of these
writers have justified their use of this
research method.

37
n Howard Parker:
"...because by visiting the deviants in prison, borstal and othe r
'human zoos' or by cornering them in classrooms to answer
questionnaires, the sociologist misses meeting them as people in
their normal society".
n David Downes and Paul Rock ("Understanding Deviance").

"It is a theoretical commitment that drives the sociologist into
Participant Observation. The claim is made that social behavior
cannot be understood unless it is personally
experienced...Sociologists who lean on external accounts and
objective evidence can have no appreciation of why people act.
Neither can they understand environments and history as their
subjects do...Symbolic Interactionists and others who elevate
meaning to a central place contend that participation is
indispensable to the interpretation of human conduct."
n Cicourel:
This study of juvenile delinquency involved a four-year observation of
proceedings in juvenile courts in America. One of Cicoural's aim s
was to understand the "interpretive procedures" used by court
officials in their routine interactions (that is, how they made sense of
the behaviour around them).

n Whether or not overt or covert

Participant Observation is the best form
of Participant Observation to use is a
question that has produced heated
arguments amongst Interactionist
sociologists. Noted below are two
opposing views...

n 1. Polsky ("Hustlers, Beats and Others", 1971): Overt

Participant Observation.
"You damned well better not pretend to be 'one of them',

because they will test this claim out and one of two
things will happen: either you will...get sucked into
'participant' observation of the sort you would rather not
undertake, or you will be exposed, with still grater
negative consequences. You must let the criminals
know who you are and if it is done properly it does not
sabotage the research".

38
n 2. Laud Humphreys ("Tea Room Trade", 1970): Covert
Participant Observation.
n "From the beginning, my decision was to continue the

practice of the field study in passing as a deviant...there
are good reasons for following this method of Participant
Observation.
n In the first place, I am convinced there is only one way to

watch highly discreditable behaviour and that is to
pretend to be in the same boat with those engaging in it.
To wear a button [badge] saying 'I am a watchbird,
watching you' into a tea room would instantly eliminate all
action except the flushing of toilets and the exiting of all
present.

n It seems to be a reasonable assumption

that, in our society, we do not like to be
stared at (or closely observed). Part of
the reason for not liking to be closely
observed is "self-consciousness".

n For the most part, everyday behaviour such as eating,

drinking and so forth, is something we do so often and
so regularly that it becomes almost automatic - we do it
without thinking (consciously) about why and how we
do it.
n When we are aware of someone watching us, however,

we assume (rightly or wrongly) that they are doing so for
a purpose. As human beings living in a social
environment, we take note of other's behaviour towards
us as part-and-parcel of understanding "what's going
on" in any process of interaction - it gives us clues and
cues about expected forms of behaviour and so forth.

39
n Anthony Giddens ("Sociology")
"Goffman managed to see the asylum from the patients'

point of view rather than in terms of the medical
categories applied to them by psychiatrists. 'It is my
belief', he wrote, 'that any group of persons, primitives,
pilots or patients, develop a life of their own that
becomes meaningful, reasonable and normal once you
get close to it'. Goffman's work indicates that what looks
"insane" to an outside observer is not quite so irrational
when seen in the context of the hospital. Asylums
involve forms of discipline, dress and behaviour that
make it almost impossible for inmates to behave like
people in the outside world.".

We can summarise the advantages and disadvantages with this

method of social research in the following terms:
Some advantages of Participant Observation:
1. It represents a rich source of high-quality information.
2. The researcher can understand the social pressures /

influences / group norms etc, that may create particular
forms of behaviour. This gives a researcher insights into
individual and group behaviour and it may allow researcher
to formulate hypotheses that explain such behaviour.
3. It is a very flexible approach, since the researcher does not

pre-judge the issue by deciding in advance what is / is not
important when studying social behaviour. In this respect, the
researcher can react to events / ideas, follow leads, pursue
avenues of research that had not occurred to him / her
before their involvement with a group.

4. The researcher is able to formulate and test

hypotheses and may be able to redefine
possible personal pre-conceptions in the light
of experience within the group.
5. This type of research produces a depth of

detailed information about all aspects of a
group's behaviour.

40
Some disadvantages of Participant Observation:
1. A researcher has to learn the culture of a group if they are

to participate - this may not always be easy / possible.
2. Most research is restricted to small-scale studies carried out
over a long period and the group being studied is unlikely to
be representative other social groups. It's unlikely a
researcher will be able to generalise their findings from one
study to the next (is Goffman's study applicable to all mental
institutions?).
3. There may be problems of access to all levels of a group

(although this can be over -come, to some extent, by the type
of Participant Observation being used - this is usually a
problem of covert, rather than overt, Participant Observation).
4. This method of data collection requires great deal of skill and
commitment from the researcher (the ability to fit -in with the
people being studied, the ability to communicate with groups
members on their level and terms, tact, observation, etc.).

Carrying out and recording

observations
n Memory work…..
n Research diary
n Reflections
n Notes
n Recording
Negotiate with informant/role of supervisor

The Underlife of a Public Institution’ is a chapter in

Asylums, which outlines adjustments that inmates
adopt through primary and secondary methods for
coping with their situation within the institution.
Primary adjustments are ways inmates conform to
what is expected of him/her in order to cope better
in the institution:
“When an individual co-operatively contributes

required activity to an
organisation and under required conditions…he is
transformed into a
co-operator; he becomes a ‘normal’,
programmed; or built in member.”
(Goffman, E, 1991, p172)

41
Secondary adjustments are employed by the inmate to escape
or make his situation more enjoyable; this is usually through
unauthorised means in order to get around the organisation’s
restraints set by rules sustained through surveillance. In
looking at Central Hospital, Goffman identifies ways in which
patients escape surveillance:
“The inmate may smile derisively by half-turning away, chew

on food
without signs of jaw motion when eating is forbidden, cup a
lighted cigarette
in the hand when smoking is not permitted, and use a hand
to conceal
cigarette chips during a ward poker game when the
supervising nurse
passes through the ward”
(Goffman, E, 1991, p205)

Goffman identifies ‘free places ’ as places where surveillance is

reduced. ‘Free places ’ in Central Hospital were often used to
carry out tabooed activities such as drinking and poker
games, one could also be on their own in a free place as one
can escape from the noise and stress of the ward, free places
give a sense of freedom to the patient. The staff at Central
Hospital did not know these places existed, or they where
aware of these places but did not enter them. Patients were
able to interact and become part of the outside world in free
places. Goffman uses the example of the hospital shop where
a selected few patients worked along with shop attendants.
The patients and shop attendants would often sit around
gossiping as the shop attendants informed the patients of the
goings on in the outside world:
“In addition to being a free place, this area had the added
function of being
the town pump, that is, an information centre of informational
exchange.”
(Goffman, E, 1991, p208)

“The practice of reserving something of oneself from the

clutch of
an institution is very visible in mental hospitals and
prisons but can
be found in more benign and less totalistic institutions,
too…we always
find the individual; employing methods to keep some
distance, some
elbowroom, between himself and that with which
others assume he should
be identified.”
(Goffman, E, 1991, p279)

42
n Geertz
What the cockfight says, it says in a vocabulary
of sentiment-the thrill of risk, the despair of
loss, the pleasure of triumph. Yet what it says
is not merely that risk is exciting, loss
depressing, or triumph gratifying, banal
tautologies of affect, but that it is of these
emotions, thus exampled, that society is built
and individuals put together. ... it is a kind of
sentimental education... (Geertz, p. 6)

n What he learns there is what his culture’s

ethos and his private sensibility (or, anyway,
certain aspects of them) look alike when
spelled externally in a collective text; that the
two are near enough alike to be articulated
in the symbolics of a single such text; and the
disquieting part-that the text in which this
revelation is accomplished consists of a
chicken hacking another to mindless bits
(Geertz, p. 6)

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Qualitative

Research Methods M.Ed. Course 2006-

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

The course includes a critical account of the developments of

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

n When social processes are involved, questions and answers

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Qualitative research approaches began to gain

Qualitative research is an inquiry process of

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Quantitative oriented research studies are undoubtedly a

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

n Although researchers in anthropology and

n It is unfair to judge qualitative research by a

n "Qualitative researchers seek to make sense of

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

In the social sciences, qualitative research is a broad term

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

The data collected in qualitative research has been

(Bogdan & Biklen, 1992).

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

n Human behavior is significantly influenced by the

n Past researchers have not been able to derive

n The research techniques themselves, in experimental

n Additionally, informants sometimes do not know their

n One cannot understand human behavior

n Field study research can explore the

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

A doctrine which claims that social life should

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

“Whether you plan to conduct your own research

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Instead, qualitative research focuses on the

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Because of its emphasis on in-depth knowledge

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Differences between qualitative & quantitative research

n Generally (though there are

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

n Qualitative approaches involves multidirectional

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

n Interpretativists usually advocate the use of qualitative data

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Validity and Reliability (Measurement)

Reliability is concerned with questions of stability and

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Each tradition will be explored by focusing on:

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi