EQL 671: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHOD IN
EDUCATION (Chapters 1 & 2)
Facilitator: Prof Dr Chang Lee Hoon
Chapter 1: Introduction to Qualitative Research
What is Qualitative research?
- Interpretation of phenomena in natural setting
- Understand in-depth meanings
- Focuses on why?
- Inductive research
- Rich description of data
Differences between Quantitative and
Qualitative R
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Philosophy
Goal
Focus
Method
Data collection techniques
Research design
Sample
Generalisation
Analysis
Role of researcher
Qualitative research methods
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Case study
Ethnography
Phenomenology
Historical
Action Research
Content analysis
Grounded theory
Generic
Checklist on Qualitative research
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Theoretical approach
- Phenomenology in educational research
Study design
- Sampling
Data collection
- methods
Validity
- Researcher as the research instrument
- Context biasness
- Triangulation
Analysis
- coding and analysis
- reliability & creditability
Ethics
- human subjects
Qualitative Data Collection Techniques
• Document examination
• Observation
• Interviews
Kinds of Documents as Data:
• Bogdan & Biklen (1998) categorized documents as
(a) Personal documents – written by subjects on their
actions, experiences and beliefs, private purposes and
limited use
– diaries – description and reflective commentary of events e.g.
record on experience, thoughts, feelings, problems etc
– logs – less intimate e.g. daily entry on lesson plans or daily
activities
– personal letters between friends and family members – reveal
relationships, experiences
– Autobiographies – available source of data on person’s own
story –useful for understanding categories under study e.g.
gender, ethnic minorities etc
Kinds of Documents as Data:
(b) Official documents – produced by organizations for
specific purpose - record keeping and dissemination
- internal documents – memos, minutes of meetings and
others that are circulated inside an organisation usually
in hierarchical course – provide info on internal rules &
regulations, leadership style, organisational values etc
- external communication – produced by organisation for
public consumption eg. Newsletters, yearbook, notes to
parents, brochures etc – indicators of organisational
strategies
- Student records and personnel files – achievement
records, discipline records, attendance, profiles of family
etc – indicators of student’s school career, comments
from teachers on the student’s records
Kinds of Documents as Data:
(c) Popular culture documents – produced
for commercial purposes to entertain,
persuade & enlighten the public
- videos, magazines, TV, films,
advertisements
– studied as texts (transcripts of shows,
lyrics etc) and interpretations of viewers –
to make visible “messages” or social
constructions in the texts.
Personal Documents
• Broadly refer to any first person narrative that
describes an individual’s actions, experiences
and beliefs (Plummer, 1983; Taylor & Bogdan,
1984)
• Intimate diaries; for educational researchers,
teachers’ diaries that record in detail first
teaching experiences, problems with students.
• Personal letters (emails?); could reveal the
nature of relationships between people, insights
of author’s experiences
• Autobiographies, including novels
Official Documents
• Internal documents
– Memos or other communications that are circulated inside an
organization
– Could provide the hierarchical structure, leadership style,
potential insight about what organizational members value
• External communication
– Materials produced for public consumption e.g. letters to parents,
curriculum materials etc
– Useful in understanding official perspectives on programs,
administrative structure
• Student Records and Personal Files
– Records of all testing, attendance etc
Popular Culture Documents
• Advertisements
• Magazines
• Eg. How advertisement of cigarette
smoking was constructed as healthy in
advertisements (Kellner, 1991); how
romance novels for adolescence girls
constructed femininity (Christian Smith,
1988)
Why documents?
• As sole data source (e. g. text and
discourse analysis)
• As supplement or in support to other data
source – interviews and observations
Guidelines on documents
• Keep a record of documents required and
received
• Guideline on Document Summary
- Ref no:
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Site:
Date received:
Type and name of document:
How was the document obtained
Document’s summary of content
Importance of document to study
Observation
(1) Non-participant/Passive observation
- Keep your distance
- Unobstrusive
- Outsider observation/etic
- Phases of non-participant observation (Adler & Adler,
1998; Denzin, 1989, Spradley (1980):
- Selection of a setting (where and when)
- Definition of what is to be documented in observation and in
every case
- Training of observers for standardisation in observation
- Descriptive observations – initial, general presentation of the
field
- Focused observation – on aspects relevant to research Q
- Selective observation – to purposively grasp central aspects
- The end of observation – when theoretical saturation is reached
(2) Participant Observation
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Participates in activities
Insider/emic perspective
Active to stimulate discussion
Phases of participant observation (Spradley, 1980)
- descriptive observation – provides orientation to field
under study, non-specific descriptions to grasp
complexity of the field and develop more concrete
research questions
- focused observation – narrows perspectives on
processes and problems most essential for research
questions
- selective observation – towards end of data collection
and focused on finding further evidence and e.g. for the
types of practices and processes found in step 2.
(3) Active Observation
• Participation is allowed but limited
• Can intrude in activities but researcher
remains passive.
Process of Observing (Creswell, 2005)
• Select a site to be observed that can help you
best understand the central phenomenon –
obtain required permission to gain access
• Ease into the site slowly by looking around,
getting a general sense of site, taking limited
notes initially
• At the site, identify who, what, when, how long
to observe
• Determine your role
• Conduct multiple observation over time
• Design some means of recording notes during
observation – protocol/fieldnotes
Example of Observation Protocol
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Event/Activity of observation:
Site/Address:
Observer
Role of observer
Date and time of observation
Length of observation
Place of observation
Guideline
Descripton of
• physical environment
• social enviromment
• participants
Desciption of activites
conducted
- types of learning
activities
- teacher’s teaching style
- use of materials
- students’ responses
Description of social
interactions
T–P
P–T
P-P
Obsevational notes
Researcher’s
reflective notes
Repetitive event/
activity/issue
Emerging
idea/issue/theme
Unique event/
activity/issue
Interviews
Three types
• Structured interviews
• Semi-structured interviews
• Unstructured interviews
Three types of probe questions
• Detailed oriented “What happened after you
found out that your friend cheated?
• Elaboration e.g “Can you tell me more”
• Clarification e.g “Did you talk to your teacher?
Conducting Interviews (Creswell, 2005)
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Identify the interviewees
Determine type of interview you will use
During interview, audiotape the questions and responses
Take brief notes during interviews
Locate a quite and suitable place for conducting
interview
Obtain informed consent from interviewee to participate
in study
Have a plan, but be flexible
Use probes to obtain additional information
Be courteous and professional when interview is over
Example of interview protocol
Name of project:
Time of interview:
Date:
Place:
Time:
Interviewer:
Interviewee:
Duration of interview:
Guideline
Establishing Rapport:
Desribe the project, tell
interviewee of purpose of
study, sources of data
being collected, how long
the interview will take, read
and sign the consent form.
Probe Questions
• detailed-oriented
• elaboration
•Clarification
Closure
Thank interviewee, assure
confidentiality and
potential for future
interview (if required)
Researcher’s notes
Researcher’s
reflective notes
Triangulation of methods
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3 types
Methods triangulation
Investigator triangulation
Theory triangulation
Sampling
• Gaining access
• Selecting samples
- convenience/availability,
-representativeness/critical/typical case
• Sampling techniques
- purposive
- quota
- snowballing
Skills required of Qualitative Researcher
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Impartiality
Tolerance for ambiguity
Sensitive
Detect personal biases
Good communicator, including writing
skills
Length of time spent in collecting data
• Span of time
• Degree of contact
• refer to other studies
Validity of Qualitative Research method
3 types
- Descriptive validity
- Interpretative validity
- Theoretical validity
External validity
Internal validity