Handling qualitative data examples
Kristi Winters
Reminder and notes
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Today’s lecture will first consider standards of
good social science research from a qualitative
perspective and then examine data from real
research projects.
‘Verification Strategies for Establishing
Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research’
article available on the course website.
Sampling
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Quantitative research relies upon probability
sampling in order to be able to generalise results to
the wider population.
Qualitative research has different aims, but sampling
is still an important consideration (see Bryman 2008).
Purposive sampling – selecting participants based
upon their relevance to the question(s) posed.
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Theoretical sampling – data collection is guided by the
codes, categories and concepts emerging from the data.
Snowball sampling – initial contact using theoretical
sampling and then get referrals from participants.
Reliability
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In quantitative research a reliable measure is one
which produces the same response to a question.
Allows for replication of previous studies – e.g.
measuring party identification over time.
In qualitative research our goals are different,
however we can re-conceptualise the concept of
reliability in order to produce good social
research.
Reliability (LeCompte and Goetz 1982)
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External reliability – can the study be repeated? If
you are replicating a previous study, adopt similar
role to previous researcher.
Internal reliability – when there is more than one
observer all should agree on what is seen and
heard.
Validity (LeCompte and Goetz 1982)
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Validity - Correctly inferred or deduced from a
premise.
Internal validity – a good match between
observations and the theoretical ideas they
develop.
External validity – the degree to which the
results can be generalised. This is difficult in
qualitative research because of the small
sample size.
Alternative criteria for qualitative research (Guba
and Lincoln, 1994; Lincoln and Guba, 1985)
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Trustworthiness – four criteria (see Bryman, 2008)
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Credibility – parallel of internal validity
Transferability – parallel of external validity
Dependability – parallel of reliability
Confirmability – parallel of objectivity
Credibility
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Acknowledges there are multiple accounts of
social reality.
Credible research is that which has been carried
out according to best practices and peer-review.
Goal is to confirm the social researcher correctly
understood the social world.
Transferability
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Qualitative research illuminates the contextual
uniqueness of their object of inquiry.
Instead of holding to quants standards of external
validity, Lincoln and Guba recommend producing
thick description of a culture/setting/etc.
Thick description can assist in the determination
of whether findings are valid in other situations
(e.g. Consider transferability of Tower Hamlets
findings vs. brief interventions from last week)
Confirmability
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Aims for ‘objectivity’ – being a neutral observer
of events – is impossible given the qualitative
epitsemology.
Instead confirmability is concerned with ensuring
the researcher has acted in good faith.
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Research and finding have not been overtly swayed by
personal values
Confirmability should be a criteria for auditors or
peer review.
Handling data
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Using grounded theory to identify emerging
categories
Focus group data
Ice breaker question – when did you first become
aware of politics
Not intended as a data source, rather to get
conversations going –
HOWEVER
Handling data
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Reading through each groups’ responses at the
same time – reading with and against each other –
three themes emerged out of the data again and
again:
Handling data – Theme 1
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(YW) ...I do try and take quite an interest in politics. I’ve done
so I guess in the last few years, just to sort of try and make
myself aware of what the main policies are and try and keep
up to date with what they say, because they keep changing
their minds. And trying to decide who it’s best to vote for
really.
(YM) ...the first time I really became overly interested in
politics was when I started to teach, which was three years ago
now.
(MM) ... I have always been interested in politics ever since I
can remember and I remember I was twelve years old in the
1977 election and ** something about council houses. It was
my first feeling of political…
Handling data – Theme 2
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(MM) ...I came here as a student in 1969 which was just about the
tail end of the student revolution here and that is when I went into
politics, initially very left wing and usually a lot more towards
anarchy.
(WM) ...Probably first, my parents weren’t very active, very
political at all, but my sort of first memory of politics would
probably be in the ‘70s, things like power cuts where… and
shortages where people kind of… would moan. But I think I
became more in my late teens, early twenties with things like miners
strikes and CND.
(OM)…and I think probably for me it was when the miners’ strike
happened, when the Heath government was in. That was a time
when I started to stop and think about what politics meant to people.
Handling data – Theme 3
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(WM) ... I became aware of politics from a really, really young age
because my parents were both sort of very active campaigners for all
sorts, CND and Amnesty International…
(MM) …I suppose I have always been interested in politics. The
family that I come from was involved in the trade union movement
from the very beginning.
(YM) ...I suppose when I was studying A level, because I was doing
economics and my economics teacher was always talking – he was very
left wing – he was always talking about the things the Conservative
government was doing and why they were bad....
(OW) I was brought up in a split household. My father was Labour.
My mother was Conservative. And as soon as I could vote, I voted
Labour and I decided that Labour was the thing to be because it was
socialist and socially responsible and that kind of thing. And I just kind
of carried that through with me.
Handling data
Three ‘accounts’ of introduction to politics emerged:
1) Self motivated – the respondent presents their political
awakening as self-generated.
2) Event-led – some political event (or events) drew their
attention and forced them to confront a political value/s.
3) Relationally influenced – the respondent’s political interest
was embedded in his/her interactions with others, usually
family although not exclusively.
Narrative analysis
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Links back to lecture on Analyzing talk: discourse
analysis
Designed to be used in conjunction with Gee’s
‘Seven building tasks of language’
Narrative analysis
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Analysis of a chronologically told story (Garson,
2009)
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focus on how elements are sequenced,
why some elements are evaluated differently from
others,
how the past shapes perceptions of the present, the
present shapes perceptions of the past, and how both
shape perceptions of the future.
Raw Data
I: Do you remember how you coped with that very uncomfortable time.
P: (inhales, pause) Um, I think I threw myself into the job. Um, oh yeah, well I- I mean
I realised, what this made me realise quite quickly that the only way I was going to,
um, survive the camp, cuz it’s an incredibly difficult job, was to, um, realise that the
reason I was there, was to, uh, while I was at camp, was to make it the best
experience it could be for the kids, so that gave me something to focus on, gave me
something to work on, it gave me – it gave me something that could actually reward
me. I mean it was quite rewarding, sometimes the kids would have a good time,
most of the time the kids would have a good time, but sometimes when you went out
of your way to do something extra special, and you realised it made a difference to
the kids, I mean that was rewarding. Um, and, uh, when I sort of turned to that
instead like, trying to fit in with the people I was working with and having a good
time for myself, when I, instead it became about making sure the kids had a good
time, um, it, uh, I mean that’s kind of redeemed the whole experience for me and
what made it what it was. That’s the philosophy, if you like, that I took back with
me the second time, and, um, tried to put into practice a lot more. Um, so I guess
that’s how I...coped.
Cleaned up ‘pull quote’
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‘The reason I was there was to make it the best
experience it could be for the kids, so that gave
me something to focus on, gave me something to
work on. It gave me something that could actually
reward me.’
‘Stanza’ method using idealized text
(Gee, 2005)
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Each line contains usually one main piece of
salient information (requires some interpretation).
Each stanza is a group of lines about a character,
theme, image, topic or perspective.
Idealized lines have removed various sorts of
speech hesitations, moved partial clauses back
into previous clauses.
Stanza 1: Transforming the problem
I: Do you remember how you coped with that very uncomfortable
time.
1a I think I threw myself into the job.
1b I mean I realised, this made me realise quite quickly
1c that the only way I was going to survive the camp,
1d cuz it’s an incredibly difficult job,
1e was to realise that the reason I was there, while I was at camp,
1f was to make it the best experience it could be for the kids.
Stanza 2: A new focus, a new reward
2a So that gave me something to focus on,
2b gave me something to work on.
2c It gave me – it gave me something that could actually reward me.
2d I mean it was quite rewarding,
2e sometimes the kids would have a good time
2f – most of the time the kids would have a good time –
2g but sometimes when you went out of your way to do something
extra special,
2h and you realised it made a difference to the kids,
2i I mean that was rewarding.
Stanza 3: Shifting focus and coping
successfully
3a And when I sort of turned to that
3b instead like, trying to fit in with the people I was working with
3c and having a good time for myself,
3d when I, instead it became about making sure the kids had a
good time,
3e I mean that’s kind of redeemed the whole experience for me
3f and what made it what it was.
Stanza 4: Closure
4a That’s the philosophy, if you like,
4b that I took back with me the second time, and
4c tried to put into practice a lot more.
4d So I guess that’s how I...coped.