Chapter11 Qualitative Research Methodology

Chapter 11
Qualitative
Research
Methodology
Copyright © 1999 by W.B.Saunders Company. All rights reserved.
Qualitative Research
A systematic, subjective
approach used to describe
life experiences and give
them meaning

Useful in understanding
such human experiences as
pain, caring, powerlessness,
and comfort

The Logic of
• Focuses on understanding the whole
• Consistent with holistic philosophy
of nursing
• Provides means of exploring the
depth, richness, and complexity
inherent in phenomena

World View
• Reality
• There is not a single reality.
• Reality is based on perception and
is different for each person.
• A person’s perception of reality
changes over time.
World View
• Knowledge
• What we know has
meaning only within a given
situation or context

Reasoning Process in
• Involves perceptually putting pieces
together to make wholes.
• From this process, meaning is
produced.
• Because perception varies with the
individual, including researchers,
many meanings are possible.
Frameworks For
Qualitative Studies
• Goal of qualitative research not theory
testing
• Frameworks used in a different sense
in qualitative research
• Each type of qualitative research
guided by a particular
philosophical stance
Frameworks For
Qualitative Studies
• Philosophical base of a
qualitative study directs:
• questions asked
• observations that are made
• approach to interpretation
of data
Data From Qualitative Studies
• Subjective
• Incorporate the perceptions
and beliefs of the researcher
and the participants

Findings From
Qualitative Studies
• Lead to understanding a
phenomenon in a particular
situation
• Not generalized in same way as
those of quantitative studies

Findings From
Qualitative Studies
• Understanding the meanings of a
phenomenon in a particular situation gives
insights that can be applied
more broadly.
• Guides nursing practice
• Aids in the important process of theory
development for building nursing
knowledge.

Approaches to
Qualitative
Research
Phenomenology
• Both a philosophy and
a research method
• Purpose is to describe
experiences as they are lived
• to capture the “lived experience”
of study participants
Phenomenological Philosophy
• The person is integral with the

environment.
• The world is shaped by and shapes
the self.
• Reality is subjective: thus, an experience is
unique to the individual.
• The researcher’s experiences are unique to
him/her.

Phenomenological Philosophy
• Truth
• is an interpretation of some
phenomenon.
• is temporal.
• is cultural.
• May be a truth shared with others.

Heideggarian Phenomenologist
Beliefs
• The person is a self within a body - thus
the person is referred to as embodied
• The person has a world that they have by
virtue of being born into a culture
• meaningful relationships
• meaningful practices
• meaningful language

Beliefs
• The person is situated - shaped by his or her
world.
• The person is constrained in ability to
establish meanings by
• language
• culture
• history
• purposes
• values

Beliefs
• The person has only situated freedom,
not total freedom
• A person’s world is so pervasive that
generally it is not noticed unless some
disruption occurs.
• The person can be understood only in the
context of their unique body, world, and
concerns.

Beliefs
• Being-in-time
• the person experiences being
within the framework of time.
• The past and the future influence
the now and are part of
being-in-time.

Phenomenology
& Nursing Theory
• Parse (1981) Theory of Man-
Living-Health
• Paterson & Zderad (1976)
Theory of Humanistic Nursing
• Watson (1985) Theory of Caring

Phenomenology Methods
• Broad question
• What is the meaning of one’s lived experience?
• The only reliable source of information to
answer this question is the person
• Requires that the person interpret the action or
experience for the researcher
• The researcher must interpret the explanation
provided by the person.

Grounded Theory
• Based on symbolic interaction theory
• Holds many views in common with
phenomenology
• Explores how people define reality
and how their beliefs are related to
their actions.

Grounded Theory Philosophy
• Reality
• Reality is created by attaching
meanings to situations.
• Meaning is expressed in terms of
symbols such as words, religious
objects, and clothing

• Symbolic Meaning
• Symbolic meanings are the basis for
actions and interactions.
• Symbolic meanings are different for each
individual.
• We cannot completely know the symbolic
meanings of another individual.

• Social Groups
• Symbolic meanings are shared by
groups and communicated to new
members through socialization
• Group life is based on consensus
and shared meanings

• Social Groups
• Interaction may lead to
redefinition and new
meanings
• Social redefinition can lead to
redefinition of self
Grounded Theory Methods
• Artinian’s Four Qualitative

Modes of Nursing Inquiry
• Descriptive mode
• Discovery Mode
• Emergent fit mode
• Intervention mode

Descriptive Mode
• Provides rich detail
• Must precede all other modes
• Ideal for the beginning
researcher

Descriptive Mode
• Research Questions
• What is going on?
• How are activities organized?
• What roles are evident?
• What are the steps in a process?
• What does a patient do in a particular
setting?

Discovery Mode
• Identification of patterns in life
experiences of individuals
• Relates individual patterns
to each other
• Generates a theory of social
process (substantive theory) that
explains a particular social world
Emergent Fit Mode
• Used when substantive theory
has been developed
• Purpose to extent or refine
existing substantive theory

Emergent Fit Mode
• Enables researcher to
• Focus on a selected portion
of the theory
• Build on previous work
• Establish a research program
around a particular social process

Intervention Mode
• Used to test the relationships
in a substantive theory
• Research question: “How can I make
something happen in such a way
as to bring about new and desired
states of affairs?”
• Demands deep involvement on the part of
the researcher/practitioner

Ethnographic Research
• Developed by anthropologists
• Mechanism for studying cultures
• Word means “portrait of
a people”
• Seeks to understand people - ways
of living, believing, adapting
Ethnographic Philosophy
• Culture
• A way of life belonging to a designated
group of people
• A blueprint for living which guides a particular
group’s thoughts, actions,
and sentiments
• All the accumulated ways a group of
people solve problems
• Reflected in language, dress, food,
traditions, customs

Ethnographic Philosophy
• Material Culture
• All created objects
• Nonmaterial culture
• Symbolic referents
• Network of social relations
• Beliefs
• Ideals

Ethnographic Research
• Purpose
• Describe a culture
• Study people’s origin, past ways of living,
ways of surviving through time
• Discover the many parts of a
whole culture and how these parts
are interrelated
• Develop a picture of the wholeness
of the culture

Ethnonursing
• Theory of Transcultural Nursing
- Leininger
• Focuses on how daily life
conditions and patterns influence
human care, health, and nursing
care practices

Historical Research
• Examines events of the past
• Greatest value of historical
knowledge is increased self-
understanding
• Increases nurses’ understanding
of their profession
Historical Philosophy
• There is nothing new under
the sun.
• One can learn from the past.
• Search for wisdom in what
has been, what is, and what
ought to be.
Historical Philosophy
• Goal to identify a
developmental scheme for
history to explain all events
and structures as elements of
the same social process.

Historical Research
• Search throughout history for
generalities.
• Develop a theoretical
explanation.
• Based on a world view.

Historical Nursing Knowledge
• How can we in nursing today possibly plan

where we are going when we don’t know
where we have been nor how
we got here.
• Criterion of a profession is that there is a
knowledge of the history of the profession
that is transmitted to those entering
the profession.

Methodology
• Some methods similar to qualitative
studies
• Select a topic
• State problem or question
• Justify the significance of the study
• Design the study
• Identify sources of data
such as subjects

Methodology
• Some methods similar to qualitative
studies
• Gain access to sources of data
• Select subjects for study
• Gather data
• Describe, analyze and interpret
the data
• Develop a written report of results

Methodology
• Some methods unique to
qualitative studies and
sometimes to specific types
of qualitative research

Areas In Which Qualitative
Research Methods Are Different
• Selection of subjects
• Researcher-participant
relationships
• Data collection methods
• Data management
• Data analysis
• Interpretation
Selection of Subjects -
Participants
• Subjects referred to as participants
• May volunteer to be involved
in the study
• May be selected by the researcher
because of their particular
knowledge, experience or views
related to the study
Purposive Sampling
Methods
• May select individuals typical in
relation to the phenomenon
under study
• May seek out individuals that are
different in some way from other
participants in order to get diverse
perspectives
• Snowballing used
Sample Size
• Decisions regarding sample size are
different than in quantitative studies.
• Based on needs related to study purpose
• Usually number of subjects is small in
comparison to quantitative studies
• Case studies with one subject may be used
• 6 - 10 subjects not unusual

Decision to Stop Seeking
New Subjects
• Informational redundancy
• When the researcher ceases
learning new information
• Theoretical Saturation
• When theoretical ideas
seem complete
Researcher-Participant
Relationships
• Participants treated as colleagues
rather than as subjects
• Researcher must have the support
and confidence of participants in
order to complete the study
• Maintaining relationships of utmost
importance
Relationships
• In many studies, researcher observes
social behavior and may interact socially
with the participants.
• To varying degrees, the researcher
influences the individuals being studied
and, in turn, is influenced by them.
• The researcher’s presence may alter
behavior of participants.

Relationships
• Participants often assist in
• Determining research
questions
• Guiding data collection
• Interpreting results

Relationships
• Researcher’s personality is
key factor
• Skills in empathy
• Intuition

The Qualitative Researcher
• The researcher must become

closely involved in the subject’s
experience in order to interpret it.
• The researcher must be open to
the perceptions of the participants,
rather than to attach his or her
own meaning to the experience.
Qualitative Values
• The researcher’s aims and means
need to be consistent with those of
the participants
• For example, if the researcher’s
desire is to change the behavior of
the participants, this must also be
their desire.
Data Collection Methods
• Observation
• What is going on here
• Look carefully as well as listen
• Note routine activities
• Focus on details
• Note processes as well as
discrete events
• Note unexpected events

• Interviews
• Open-ended format
• Researcher defines the focus
• There is no fixed sequence of questions
• Questions asked tend to change as the
researcher gains insights from previous
interviews and/or observations

• Interviews
• Respondents encouraged to
raise important issues not
addressed by the researcher
• May use focus groups

• Interviews
• Researcher and participant are
actively engaged in constructing
a version
of the world
• Goal is to achieve mutual
understanding
• Interviews
• Focus of interview is on obtaining
an authentic insight into the
participant’s experiences
• Dialogue between researcher and
participant may continue at
intervals across weeks or months
• Interviews
• Continued dialogue over time
decreases the problem of fleeting
relationships in which the
respondent may have little
commitment or may provide only
information they believe the
researcher wants to hear.
• Interviews
• Strategies to record interview
information
• Writing detailed notes
immediately after interview
• Recording the interview on tape

• Text As A Source of
Qualitative Data
• Text may be written by
participants on a particular topic
at the request of the researcher
• Text narratives may be solicited by
mail rather than in person
• Text As A Source of Qualitative
Data
• Text developed for other
purposes, such as patient
records or procedure manuals,
can be accessed for qualitative
analysis
Data
• Published text - books,
newspapers, journal articles,
Internet materials
• Transcripts of recorded interviews
• Text related to historical events
Data
• Notes taken while reading
written documents will be
important to the analysis
process.

Data Management
• Qualitative data analysis occurs
concurrently with data collection
rather than sequentially as is true
in quantitative research.
• The researcher is simultaneously
gathering data, managing a growing
bulk of collected data, and interpreting
the meaning of data.

Data Management
• Data must be stored in organized manner.
• Traditionally, data collection and analysis has
been performed manually.
• Some qualitative researchers are now using
the computer to make management and
analysis of qualitative data quicker and easier
without losing touch with
the data.

Qualitative Data Analysis
• Because published qualitative
studies tend not to describe
the methodology in detail,
many believe that qualitative
analysis is free-wheeling.

• “Many believe that qualitative analysis
can be done in a spirit of careless
rapture, with no principles or discipline
whatsoever. . . They think they will know
what to do with the data once those data
are collected. . . When they begin
analysis, they find that things are not
quite so simple” (Coffey & Atkinson).

• Stages:
• Description
• Analysis
• Interpretation

• Descriptive stage of qualitative
analysis is more critical in
qualitative studies
• Researchers encouraged to
remain in the descriptive mode
for as long as possible

Descriptive Analysis
• Become familiar with the data
• Read and reread notes and transcripts
• Recall observations and experiences
• Listen to audiotapes
• View videotapes
• Become immersed in the data

• Focus of immersion is the question,
“what is going on?”
• Grounded Theory Research - uses
constant comparative process, in
which every piece
of data is compared with
every other piece.
• During the data analysis process,
a dynamic interaction occurs
between the researcher’s self
and the data, whether the data
are communicated orally
person-to-person or in writing.

• Reflexive Thought
• The researcher explores personal
feelings and experiences that may
influence the study and integrates
this understanding into the study.
• Requires conscious awareness
of self.
• Bracketing
• Used in some phenomenological research
to help the researcher avoid
misinterpreting the phenomenon as it is
being experienced by the participants.
• Bracketing is suspending or laying aside
what the researcher knows about the
experience being studied.

• Data Reduction
• Initial efforts at analysis focus on
reducing the large volume of data
acquired in order to facilitate
examination.
• During data reduction, the researcher
begins to attach meaning to elements
of the data.

• Data Reduction
• Researcher discovers classes of things,
persons, events, and properties
• Notes regularities in the setting
or the people
• Classifies the elements of the data, by
using an established classification system
or developing a new one

• Codes and Coding
• Essentially a way of indexing or identifying
categories in the data.
• Codes may be placed in the data at the time of
data collection, when entering data into the
computer, and during later examination of
the data.
• Data segments can then be retrieved by
coding category.

Data Displays
• Equivalent to the summary tables
used in quantitative studies
• Allow the researcher to convey
succinctly the main ideas
of the study
• Codes can be used to organize
the display
Data Analysis
• Goes beyond description
• Uses methods to transform
the data
• Extends the data beyond
the description

Data Analysis
• Researcher identifies essential
features and describes
interrelationships among them.
• Emphasis is on identifying
themes and patterns from
the data.

Data Analysis
• Coding, used earlier for
description, can also be used
to expand, transform, and
reconceptualize data,
providing opportunities for
more diverse analyses.
Data Analysis
• Memoing
• Used to record insights or ideas related to
notes, transcripts, or codes
• Move the researcher toward theorizing
and are conceptual rather than factual
• May link pieces of data or use a specific
piece of data as an example
of a conceptual idea

Data Analysis
• Storytelling
• “..an event or series of events, encompassed
by temporal or spatial boundaries, that are
shared with others using an oral medium or
sign language” (Banks-Wallace, 1998)
• Includes a sequence of events with a beginning, a
middle and an end
• Have their own logic and are temporal

Data Analysis
• Storytelling
• “People sharing a story
(storytellers) and those listening to
a story (storytakers) and the main
elements of storytelling.” (Banks-
Wallace, 1998)

Data Analysis
• Storytelling
• Can be instructive in
understanding a phenomenon
of interest.
• Researcher may record stories
shared by participants
Data Analysis
• Storytelling
• In some qualitative studies,
the focus of the research may
be the gathering of stories.

Data Analysis
• Storytelling
• Gathering of stories can enable
health care providers to develop
storytelling as a powerful means
to increase insight and facilitate
health promotion behaviors of
clients.
Data Analysis
• Narrative Analysis
• A qualitative means of
formally analyzing stories
• Researcher unpacks the
structure of the story

Data Analysis
• Narrative Analysis
• Can be used to determine how people
tell stories
• how they give shape to the events they describe
• how they make a point
• how they “package” events and react to them
• how they communicate their stories to audiences

Narrative Analysis
• Structure Question
• Abstract------ What is this about?
• Orientation-- Who? What? When? Where?
• Complication--- Then what happened?
• Evaluation--- So what?
• Result--------- What finally happened?
• Coda---------- Finish narrative

Narrative Analysis
• Abstract
• Initiates the narrative by
summarizing the point of the
study or giving a statement of
the proposition the narrative
will illustrate.

Narrative Analysis
• Orientation
• Provides an introduction to the major
events central to the story
• Complication
• Continues the narrative, describing
complications in the event that make it
a story.

Narrative Analysis
• Evaluation
• The point of the narrative
• Result
• Gives the outcome or resolution of events
• Coda
• Ends the story, and is the transition point at
which talk may revert to other topics

Narrative Analysis
• Can focus on social action
imbedded in the text
• Can examine the effect
of the story

Narrative Analysis
• Purposes of Stories
• May make a point or be moralistic
• May be success stories
• May be a reminder of what not to do or how
not to be with guidance in how to avoid the
fate described in the study
• May be used to understand cultural values,
meanings, and personal experiences

Narrative Analysis
• Purpose of analysis
• Examine multiple stories of key life
events and gain greater understanding
of the impact of these key events
• May assist in understanding the
relationship between social processes
and personal lives

Narrative Analysis
• Purposes of analysis
• May be used to examine issues
related to power, dominance,
and opposition
• Through stories, silenced groups
can be given voice

Interpretation
• The researcher offers his or
her interpretation of what
is going on.
• The focus is on understanding
and explanation beyond what
can be stated with certainty.
Interpretation
• May focus on the usefulness
of the findings for clinical
practice
• May move toward theorizing

Interpretation
• As the study progresses,
relationships among categories,
participants, actions, and events
begin to emerge.
• The researcher will develop hunches
about relationships that can be used
to formulate tentative propositions.

Interpretation
• The researcher gains increasing
understanding of the dynamics
involved in the process under study.
• This understanding might be
considered a tentative theory.
• The tentative theory is often
expressed as a map.
Interpretation
• The validity of predictions developed
in the tentative theory must be tested.
• One strategy sometimes used is to
predict outcomes expected to occur
6 months after completion of the study.
These predictions are sent to informants
who respond to the accuracy of
the predictions.

Rigor in Qualitative Research
• Rigor needs to be defined

differently in qualitative
research because the desired
outcome is different.

• Characteristics of Rigor in Qualitative

Studies
• Openness
• Scrupulous adherence to a philosophical
perspective
• Thoroughness in collecting data
• Consideration of all of the data in the
subjective theory development phase

• Evaluation of rigor is based,

in part, on the logic of the
emerging theory and the
clarity with which it sheds
light on the phenomenon
studies.
• Causes of lack of rigor

• Inconsistency in adhering to the
philosophy of the approach being used
• Failure to get away from older ideas
• Poorly developed methods
• Inadequate time spent collecting data

• Causes of lack of rigor

• Poor observations
• Failure to give careful consideration
to all the data obtained
• Inadequacy of theoretical
development from the data

Decision Trails
• Strategies by which other
researchers, using the same
data, can follow the logic of
the original researcher
and arrive at the same
conclusions.
Decision Trails
• Requires that the researcher
establish decision rules for
categorizing data, arriving at
ratings, or making judgments.

Decision Trails
• A record is kept of all decision rules used
in the analysis of data.
• All raw data are stored so that they are
available for review if requested.
• Thus, evidence is retained to support the
study conclusions and the emerging
theory and is made available on request.

Decision Trails
• Some qualitative researchers are opposed to
the idea of decision trails.
• Of concern is that data analysis would become
too mechanistic.
• Some qualitative researchers are opposed to
the expectation that other researchers would
come to the same conclusions since one would
expect each researcher’s work to be unique.

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Copyright © 1999 by W.B.Saunders Company. All rights reserved.

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• The person is integral with the

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and shared meanings

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• Artinian’s Four Qualitative

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• How can we in nursing today possibly plan

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• The researcher must become

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