The Importance of
Qualitative Research in
Mixed Methods:
Part I
John W. Creswell, Ph.D., Tim Guetterman, M.A.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Presentation to the University of the Western Cape, South Africa
April 17, 2014
Topics
2
Use of qualitative research in mixed methods
Key features of qualitative research
Types of problems addressed through
qualitative research
Philosophical assumptions
Qualitative purpose statements and research
questions
Qualitative data collection
Qualitative data analysis and software
Validation/accuracy
How Qualitative Research Fits into
Mixed Methods
Useful in
 Providing multiple perspectives
 Explaining quantitative results
 Exploring before administering an instrument
 Validating quantitative results
 Hearing participant views
 Understanding process in evaluation
Key Features of Qualitative
Research
 Follow the scientific method
(e.g., problem, questions, method, results)
 Listen to participants’ views
 Ask open-ended questions
 Build understanding based on participants’ views
 Develop a complex understanding of the problem
 Go to the setting to gather data
 Be ethical
 Analyze data inductively-let findings emerge
 Write in user-friendly, literary way
 Include rich quotes
 Researcher presence in the study
Types of Problems
Need to explore
Important to listen to participants
Unusual culture, sample
Do not know questions to ask
Understand process
Need to tell a story
Philosophical Assumptions:
Worldview, Beliefs, Values
Issue
Post-positivism
Critical Theory
Constructivism
Ontology
Critical realism-”real”
reality but only
imperfec and
probabilistic.
Historical realismRelativism-local and
virtual reality shared by specific co-constructed
social, political,
realities.
cultural, economic,
ethnic, and gender
values.
Participatory
Participative realitysubjective-objective
reality, co-created by
minds.
Epistemology Modified
dualist/objectivist;
critical
tradition/community;
findings probably true.
Transactional/subjectiv Transactional/subjectiv Critical subjectivity in
ist; value-mediated
ist; co-created findings. participatory
findings.
transaction;
experiential,
propositional, and
practical knowing; cocreated findings
Methodology
Dialogic/dialectical
Modified
experimental/manipula
tive; critical multiplism;
falsification of
hypotheses; may
include qualitative
methods
Hermeneutical/dialecti
cal
Adapted from Lincoln, Lynman, & Guba , 2011
Political participation in
collaboration; primacy
of the practical; use of
language grounded in
shared context.
How are philosophies
implemented?
Multiple realities
Subjectivity
Explicit values
Emerging design
Language is personal
Writing a Good Qualitative
Purpose Statement
8
What it includes:
 Single sentence
 “The purpose of this study . . .”
 Central phenomena
 Qualitative words (e.g. explore,
understand, discover
 Participants
 Research site
Sample Purpose Statement
Script
Purpose Statement Script:
“The purpose of this qualitative study
(replace later with type of qualitative
approach later) will be to
______(understand, describe, develop,
discover) the ________(central
phenomenon) for _______(participants:
person, process, groups) at
______________(site)
Qualitative
Qualitative Purpose Statement
Approach
What I hope
Example to do in the
study
Central
Phenomenon
We therefore conducted a qualitative
study to
Participants
explore the care seeking behaviour, access to
Site
treatment, and knowledge and perceptions
about TB among men and women of The
Gambia, West Africa.
Definition of
Central
Phenomenon
?
Eastwood & Hill, 2004
Understanding a central
phenomenon
11
Quantitative
Explaining or predicting
variables
X
Qualitative
Understanding or
exploring a central
phenomenon
Y
Y
The independent variable
(X) influences a
dependent variable (Y)
In-depth understanding of
Y; external forces shape
and are shaped by Y
12
Qualitative Research
Questions
 Open-ended
 Broad
 1 or 2 central questions
 5 to 7 subquestions
 Single phenomenon
 Exploratory verbs
 Participants and site
Sample Script for the Central
Question
13
___(How or what) is the ___ (“story for”
for narrative research; “meaning of” the
phenomenon for phenomenology; “theory
that explains the process of” for
grounded theory; “culture-sharing
pattern” for ethnography; “issue” in the
“case” for case study) of ___ (central
phenomenon) for ___ (participants) at
___ (site)?
Qualitative Central Question
Example
14
What is the theory that explains the
process of accessing TB services among
women of The Gambia?
15
Methods for a Qualitative Study
 Data collection
 Data analysis
 Data representation
 Data interpretation
 Validation strategies
Data Collection
Sampling
(purposeful)
Site selection (gate
keepers,
permissions)
Recruitment
(incentives)
Types of data
(observation,
interview,
public/private
documents, audiovisual)
Locating
Site/Individual
Gaining
Access and
Making
Rapport
Storing Data
Resolving
Field issues
Purposefully
Sampling
Recording
Information
Collecting
Data
17
Interview Types
Decide on the type of interview to use
Individual
Focus group
Telephone
e-mail
18
Interview Procedures
Create an interview protocol
Ask open-ended questions (5-7)
allows the participant to create options
for responding
participants can voice their experiences
and perspectives
If possible, record and transcribe for
analysis
Interview Protocol for (Title of Study)
Interviewer:
Interviewee:
Date:
Time:
Place:
Interviewer Introduction
Start Recording
The purpose of this study is (briefly describe purpose}
Interviewee information: (e.g., position, role)
Questions:
1. What…
1. What…
Closing Comments
(Write out comments and thank the participant for the interview)
Observations
Create an observational protocol
Record descriptive notes
Record reflective notes
Decide on your observational stance
Enter site slowly
Conduct multiple observations
Summarize at end of each observation
Observation Protocol for (Title of Study)
Date:
Time:
Place
Descriptive Notes
Reflective Notes
(Portrait of informant, physical setting,
event description)
(Personal reflections, insight, ideas,
confusion, hunches, initial
interpretation)
Types of Audio-visual Materials
Examine physical trace evidence (e.g.,
footprints in sand or snow)
Videotape or film a social situation,
individual, or group
Examine website main pages
Collect sounds
Collect email or social network messages
(e.g., Facebook, Twitter)
Examine favorite possessions or ritual
objects
Steps in Qualitative Data Analysis
Reading through
databases (margin
notes)
Checking accuracy
of account (validity)
Coding
Representing
findings (figures,
theme passage)
Collapsing codes
into themes
Interrelating themes
Common Software Packages
Available
MAXQDA
NVIVO
Atlas.ti
HyperResearch
How to Code
Initially read Divide text
Label
through data into segments segments of
of information information
with codes
Many
Pages
of Text
Reduce
Overlap and
redundancy
of codes
Many
30-40 Codes
Segments codes reduced
of Text
to 20
Collapse
codes into
themes
Reduce Codes to
5-7 Themes
How to Code
Theme
Code
Term
Select Climbing Wall Narratives, Fall, 2011, Section 002, #1
 As I walked into the gym, I was bombarded with the smell
of old gym shoes, a smelly locker that had seen the many
wins and losses of a team. Around me was a juxtaposition Physical
Physical
of sights. The old wood floors and brick foundation of the description
description gym did not fit with what was inside; badminton nets, an
open view of different workout rooms, and lastly a climbing
of wall
wall. The climbing wall was separated by two activities:
instruction and climbing. To the left of the wall, an instructor
was giving a tutorial, with a typed handout, on how to use
the necessary equipment to climb. The new climbers were
asked to read a portion of the handout, as the instructor
Instructor
provided a visual demonstration on the equipment. The
new climbers asked questions regarding the handout and
the demonstration. This process continued for some time;
a detailed process, yet very relaxed and informal. Another
instructor came in, wearing jeans and a tank top.
Process of
climbing
How to Write a Theme Passage
Safety
In vivo theme
title
Codes build
evidence for
themes
Use of
quotes
The violence in the city that involved university students and the
subsequent gun incident that occurred in a campus classroom shocked the
typically tranquil campus. A counselor aptly summed up the feelings of
many: “When the students walked out of that classroom, their world had
become very chaotic; it had become very random, something had
happened that robbed them of their sense of safety.” Concern for safety
became a central reaction for many informants.
When the chief student affairs officer described the administration’s
reaction to the incident, he listed the safety of students in the classroom
as his primary goal, followed by the needs of the news media for details
about the case, helping all students with psychological stress, and
providing public information on safety. As he talked about the safety issue
and the presence of guns on campus, he mentioned that a policy was
under consideration for the storage of guns used by students for hunting.
Within 4 hours after the incident, a press conference was called during
which the press was briefed not only on the details of the incident, but
also on the need to ensure the safety of the campus. Soon thereafter the
university administration initiated an informational campaign on campus
safety. A letter, describing the incident, was sent to the university board
members. (One board member asked, “How could such an incident
happen at this university?”)
Figure 3. Data analysis to build a theme (Asmussen & Creswell, 1995,
pp. 582-584)
Sources of
information
Major Validation Strategies
28
Member checking: Members check the accuracy
of the account
Triangulation: Looking for themes across different
types of data; different researchers; different
participants
Others: peer review, external audit, report
disconfirming evidence, clarify researcher’s
stance, thick description, prolonged time in the
field
Writing the Qualitative Research
Study
Description
5-7 themes (including multiple perspectives,
good quotes, useful dialogue, even
metaphors or analogies)
Detail
Realistic, note tensions/contradictions
Engaging/persuasive/storytelling
Checklist for a Rigorous Qualitative Study
General:
___ Provide a rationale for why qualitative research is well-suited for studying the research
problem (e.g., participant views, context, complex understanding, lack of known
variables, capturing voices)
___ Describe the type of qualitative research design (e.g., narrative research,
phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, or case study) that will be used
___ Explain why the design is well-suited to address the problem
Qualitative Data Collection:
___ Discuss the site(s) that will be studied
___ Identify permissions that have been granted (include something about IRB
permissions)
___ Indicate how participants will be recruited to the study
___ N of participants
___ Discuss the type of purposeful sampling to be used (inclusion criteria)
___ Demographics of participants
___ Indicate how the participants will benefit from the study (reciprocity)
___ Indicate the types of data to be collected (perhaps a table of data collection?)
___ Indicate the extent of data collection
___ Mention the use of protocols (interview, observations, records) used to record the data
___ State the research questions that will be asked (if interviews occur)
Checklist for a Rigorous Qualitative Study
(continued)
Data Analysis:
___ Discuss preparing the data (transcriptions)
___ Indicate the general procedure of data analysis (reading through the data and writing
memos, coding the data, description, developing themes, interrelating the themes)
___ Indicate any specific procedures related to the approach to qualitative research (e.g., in
grounded theory, use open coding, axial coding, and selective coding)
___ Discuss the use of qualitative data analysis software to help analyze the data (e.g.,
MAXQDA, etc.)
___ Discuss use of multiple coders (i.e., intercoder agreement) if used in the study and how
this process was accomplished with the percent agreement
___ Discuss validity strategies (e.g., member checking, triangulation, negative case analysis,
peer audit, external audit, immersion in the field)
___ Discuss reflexivity—how the researchers’ experiences and role will influence the
interpretation of findings.
Topics
32
Use of qualitative research in mixed methods
Key features of qualitative research
Types of problems addressed through
qualitative research
Philosophical assumptions
Qualitative purpose statements and research
questions
Qualitative data collection
Qualitative data analysis and software
Validation/accuracy
Questions Asked
33
Journal to publish in
Online course to learn about
Use of theory
Funding sources for projects
Convincing faculty advisors
Variation in how to write up
Marshall and Rossman, 2011
Key Readings
Bazeley, 2013
Kuckartz, 2014
Saldana, 2013
Creswell & Guetterman, 2015
Qualitative journals:
http://www.slu.edu/organizations/qrc/QRjournals.html
The Importance of
Qualitative Research in
Mixed Methods:
Part I
John W. Creswell, Ph.D., Tim Guetterman, MA
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Presentation to the University of the Western Cape, South Africa
April 17, 2014