QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGNS
Professor Lisa High
University of Windsor
QUALITATIVE PARADIGM
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Naturalistic paradigm
Soft science
Focus: usually broad
Holistic
Subjective
Reasoning: dialectic, inductive
Basis of knowing: meaning, discovery
Shared interpretation
Communication and observation
Basic element of analysis: words
Individual interpretations
Uniqueness
The “Logic” of Qualitative Research
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(1)
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Based on holistic view & following beliefs:
There is no single reality – reality is based on
perceptions – it is different for each person –
changes over time
What we know has meaning only within a given
situation or context
The reasoning process in qualitative research involves:
- perceptually putting pieces together to make wholes
What is the concept of “Gestalt”?
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This concept is closely related to “wholism” and
proposes that a particular phenomenon is organized into
a cluster of linked ideas, “a gestalt”.
Disadvantage:
understand a phenomenon through the interpretation of
a particular theory
Experiencing “Gestalt Change”
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First to deconstruct your original sedimented views
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Reconstruct another view
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Focus on a different view point or looking at
something differently (a different lens)
To increase openness
Philosophy and Qualitative Research
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(a)
(b)
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Frameworks are not used the same as in quantitative
The goal is not theory testing
Each study should be guided by a particular
philosophical stance
Philosophical Stance assists to:
directs the question(s) that are asked
the observations which are made
the interpretation of data
DESIGN OF QUALITATIVE STUDIES
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(b)
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Specify design before data collection
Adhere to the design after study started
Study design evolves over time
Researcher Decisions include:
How to obtain
From whom to collect
How to schedule
How long
Design of Qualitative Research
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EMERGENT DESIGN
A design that emerges as the researcher makes ongoing
decisions reflecting what has already been learned
Lincoln & Cuba (1985) – not researcher laziness or
sloppiness – but rather desire to base inquiry on realities
and viewpoints of those under study
Key: realities and viewpoints that are NOT KNOWN or
UNDERSTOOD AT THE OUTSET
Characteristics of Qualitative Research
Design
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Flexible, elastic, capable of adjusting
Merging together of various data collection strategies
Holistic, understand the whole
Research intensely involved
Research to become the research instrument
Requires ongoing analysis of data to formulate
subsequent strategies and to determine when field work is
done
What is “Bricolage?”
Qualitative Designs
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PHASES of a Qualitative Study:
Orientation an overview
Focused exploration
Confirmation and closure
(Lincoln & Cuba, 1985)
Qualitative Design Features
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Control over the independent variable
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Type of group comparisons
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Number of data collection points
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Occurrence of the independent & dependent
variables
Qualitative Research Traditions
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Four traditions described by nurse researcher:
Ethnography
Phenomenology
Grounded Theory
Historical Research
ETHNOGRAPHY
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Research tradition in anthropology
Provides a framework for studying meanings,
patterns, and experiences defined by a cultural group
in a holistic fashion
Ethnoscience (Cognitive Anthropology): focuses on
the cognitive world of a culture – semantic rules and
shared meanings that shape behavoir
ETHNOGRAPHY
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Focus: the culture of a group of people
Assumption: every human group evolves a culture
that guides members view of the world and the way
they structure their experiences
At times referred to as “macroethnography: - able to
study broadly defined cultures
At times referred to as “microethnography” – able to
study cultures using a very narrow focus
Ethnography Cont’d
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Aim: to learn from rather than study members of
a cultural group
Two perspectives:
Emic – insider’s view, the way the members of a
culture envision their world
Etic - outsiders’ interpretation of the experiences
of that culture – strive to get at cultural
experiences that members do not talk about or
may not even be consciously aware
Ethnography Cont’d
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Extensive field work
Typically labor intensive
Time consuming
Researcher as instrument - to study a culture it
requires a certain level of intimacy – needs to be
developed – become one within the culture
Ethnography Cont’d
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Three types of information:
Cultural behavoir
Cultural artifacts
Cultural speech
Sources of information – in-depth interviews, records,
charts, observations and other types of physical
evidence are used
Ethnography Cont’d
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Products of this research includes:
rich and holistic descriptions
describe normative behavoir and social patterns
Information about health beliefs and health practices
Facilitates an understanding of behavoirs affecting health and
illness
Leininger coined the phrase:
“ethnonursing research” –the study and analysis of local or
indigneous people’s viewpoints, beliefs and practices about
nursing care behavoir and processes of designated cultures
Phenomenology
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Phenomenology is both philosophy and a research
method
Purpose of this research method is to describe
experiences as they are lived – to capture the
“lived experience”
Developed by Husserl & Heidegger – an approach to
thinking about people’s life experiences.
Phenomenology Cont’d
Philosophical Orientation
view the person as integral with the environment
World is shaped by the self and also shapes the self
The person is a self within a body
Person is referred to as “embodied” – our bodies
provide the possibility for the concrete actions of self
in the world
The body, the world and the concerns, unique to
each person, are the “context” within which that
person can be understood
“being in time”
Phenomenology Cont’d
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A phenomenological researcher asks the question:
“What is the essence of this phenomena as experienced by
these people and what does it mean?”
Assumption: there is an “essence”
an essential variant structure
 Investigates subjective phenomena
 Belief that truths about reality are grounded in peoples’
lived experiences
Phenomenology Cont’d
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Two Schools of Thought:
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Descriptive phenomenology
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Interpretive phenomenology (hermeneutics)
Phenomenology Cont’d
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Four aspects of the lived experience:
(1)
SPATIALITY
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CORPOREALITY
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TEMPORALITY
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RELATIONALITY
Phenomenology Cont’d
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Phenomenologists believe – human existence is “meaningful”
and “interesting”
“Being in the world” or “Embodiment” is a concept that
acknowledges people’s physical ties to their world
People:
THINK
SEE
HEAR
FEEL
CONCIOUS OF THEIR BODIES INTERACTION WITH THE
WORLD
Phenomenology Cont’d
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Data sources:
In-depth conversations
Researcher helps the participant to describe lived
experiences without leading the discussion
Two or more interviews/conversations are needed
Usually small number of participants (ie. 10 or less)
May use participation, observation and introspective
reflection
Phenomenology Cont’d
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Methodological Interpretations Used:
(a)
BRACKETING
(b)
INTUITING
Grounded Theory
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Is an inductive research technique developed for
health-related topics by Glaser & Strauss (1967)
Emerged from the discipline of sociology
“Grounded” – means the theory developed from the
research is grounded or has it roots in the data from
which is was derived
Grounded Theory Cont’d
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Philosophical Orientation:
Based on symbolic interaction theory
Explores how people define reality and how their beliefs
are related to their actions
Meaning is expressed through – symbols – such as words,
religious objects, and clothing
Symbolic meanings are different for each of us
In social life - meanings are shared by groups –
socialization process
Group life is based on consensus and shared meanings
Grounded Theory Cont’d
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Is an approach to study the social processes and
social structures
Focus: is the evolution of a social experience – the
social and psychological stages that characterize a
particular event of process
Grounded Theory Cont’d
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Methodology:
does not begin with a focused research question
the question emerges from the data
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fundamental structure feature –
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is the “data collection”
is the “data analysis”
Is the sampling of participants occurs simultaneously
This procedure is referred to as “constant comparison”
Grounded Theory Cont’d
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Constant Comparison: is used to develop and
refine theoretically relevant categories and to identify
the basic problem
Categories that are elicited from the data are
constantly compared with data obtained earlier so
that “commonalities” and “variations” can be
determined
Categories can be “condensed” and “collapsed”
Grounded Theory Cont’d
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Data Sources:
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in-depth interviews are most common
Observational methods
Existing documents
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Usually a sample of 25 to 50 informants
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Has contributed to the development of middle range
nursing theories
Historical Research
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Historiography examines events of the past
Historians believe the greatest value of historical
knowledge is an increased self-understanding
Philosophical Orientation:
A very old science
Primary question “Where have we come from, who are
we, and where are we going?”
Myths, past, present and future are not distinguishable
Myths are a form of story telling
Historical Research Cont’d
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History moves beyond the myth
Chronicling events, deeds, victories and stories about
people and civilizations
Comparing histories, identifying patterns
Aim:
to discovery new knowledge
Seeking to answer questions concerning causes, effects
and trends relating to past events
To shed light on present behaviors and practices
Historical Research Cont’d
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Assumptions:
(a)
There is nothing new under the sun
(a)
One can learn from the past
Sampling in Qualitative Research
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Usually small, non-random samples
Concern: measure attributes and relationships in a
pop’n
Need a representative sample
Aim: to discover meaning, uncover multiple realities,
therefore generalization is not a guiding criteria
Sampling in Qualitative Research
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Types of sampling:
Convenience sampling
Snowball sampling
Theoretical sampling
Purposeful sampling – several strategies –
maximum variation sampling, extreme/deviant case
sampling, and typical case sampling
Simple random
Sample Size
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No firm establishment of criteria or rules
Should be determined on the basis of informational
needs
Is largely a function of:
the purpose of the inquiry
the quality of the informants
The type of sampling strategy used
Sample Size
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Guiding Principle is that of,
DATA SATURATION: sampling to the point at
which no new information is obtained and
redundancy is achieved
Critiquing the Sampling Plan
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Evaluate the sample plan based on the following:
Terms of its adequacy
Terms of its appropriateness
Adequacy means –
Appropriateness means -
Assessment of Qualitative Data
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Need to address validity and reliability
Do the measures used by the researcher yield data
reflecting the truth?
Lincolon & Cuba (1985) – four criteria:
Credibility
Dependability
Confirmability
Transferability
(criteria for establishing “trustworthiness”)
Assessment of Qualitative Data
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Credibility – refers to confidence in the truth of the
data
Prolonged engagement
Persistent observation
Triangulation
External checks – peer debriefing & member checks
Researcher credibility
Assessment of Qualitative Data
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Dependability – refers to data stability over time
and over conditions
Steps to approach:
Stepwise replication
Inquiry audit
Assessment of Qualitative Data
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Confirmability –refers to the objectivity or
neutrality of the data – what does that mean?
AUDIT TRAIL:
Transferability – refers to the extent to which the
findings from the data can be transferred to other
settings or groups = similar to the concept of
generalizability
THICK DESCRIPTION: