Qualitative Research
Approaches
Research Methods Module
Assoc Prof. Chiwoza R Bandawe
MALAWI DHS 2010
Maternal Mortality 675/100,000
Under 5 Mortality 112/000
Infant Mortality 66/000
Age of first sexual intercourse Female: 17.3, Male 18.6
Literacy rate: Male 81%, Female 67.6%
Malnutrition stunted 47%
“Through qualitative research we can explore a
wide array of dimensions of the social world,
including the texture and weave of everyday life,
the understandings, experiences and imaginings of
our research participants, the ways that social
processes, institutions, discourses or relationships
work, and the significance of the meanings that
they generate” Jennifer Mason
Qualitative research approaches:
“Celebrate richness, depth, nuance, context, multidimensionality and complexity” of the social world
Can help us see “how things work in particular contexts”
Have grown out of a wide range of disciplinary and
intellectual traditions
Qualitative research theories
Assumes a psychological reality and that methods are a way
of getting to this reality
Wide range of theories. It is a theory method
Discourse analysis: Language a reflection of inner reality.
Language constructs identity. Language centred, what it
does, how it operates
Quantitative Research methods
Repeatability
Facts. How many, how long?, how much?
Predetermined categories of analysis
Structured, based on analysis
Compare groups and focus on variables
Weakness: Not all social problems addressed
What are qualitative research
approaches?
Based on interpretation: Asks why
Holistic understanding of behaviour
Based on language
Captures the perspective of the population in their world view
experience
Patterns of themes said, not said
Context sensitive
Challenges of qualitative research
Systematically and rigorously conducted
Strategically conducted, flexible, contextual
Active reflexivity (researcher is a player)
Produce explanations or arguments.
Be generalisable and show wider resonance
Qualitative Tenets
• There are “multiple realities” not just one
objective reality.
• Truth is in informant’s perspective, not
the assessors.
• Assessment “emerges” from data, rather
than being determined ahead of time.
Which is better Qualitative or
Quantitative research?
Complimentary:
Qualitative can help develop quantitative instrument
Quantitative findings embellish qualitative findings
Qualitative data explains quantitative findings
Qualitative vs. Quantitative
The different enquiry approaches demand different
knowledge (Stevenson & Roger, 1995).
Synergetic effect: “The outcome of the two used together is
greater than the effects of either used separately” Steckler
et al. (1992) .
Qualitative Approaches
Ethnography
Grounded theory
Phenomenology
Case studies
Ethnography
Concerned with experience as it is lived, felt or undergone
Participates in people’s daily lives
Purpose is to uncover social, cultural, or normative
patterns
Participants are the experts
Is essentially a cultural description
Ethnography
Behavior occurs in a context and ethnography takes that
context into account
Assessors must become immersed in a particular
situation in order to describe and interpret
people’s actions
Involves observation, interviews, construction of
working hypothesis and action
Ethnography uncovers…
Understandings (e.g., beliefs, perceptions, knowledge)
which participants share about their situation
Routine methods (e.g., social rules, expectations,
patterns, roles) by which their situation is structured
The legitimizations by which participants justify the
normality and unquestioned character of their situation
Motives and interests (e.g., purposes, goals, plans)
through which participants interpret their situation
Ethnography strengths &
weaknesses
Strengths
Uses multiple methods of collecting data
Can provide rich data
Weaknesses
Assessor is assessment tool, subject to
subjectiveness
Time consuming for data collection
Time consuming for analysis
May be difficult to gain access to group
Case studies
Single group e.g students
Single village
Single family
Individual e.g. Eugene de Kock
Qualitative Methodologies
Interviews
Focus Group Discussions
Participant Observation
Direct Observation
Diary Methods
Role Play and Simulation
Interviewing
Informal interviewing
Unstructured interviewing
Semi-structured interviews
Fully structured/formal
Probing: Silent, Echo, Uh-hum, Probing by leading.
Focus Group Discussions
Quick effective, homogenous group
Focussed on specific topic
6-12 persons, 45-90 minutes
Set agreed rules
Observe group dynamics
Record and transcribe
Participant observation
Ethnographic approach
Structured to unstructured continuum
Unobtrusive note taking
Context, participants, observer, actions, interpretation,
alternative interpretation, feelings
Why observe, who observe, what used?