EDL 7160 Qualitative
Research Methods
Professor: Kelly Clark/Keefe
Phone: 262-7508
Email: clarkkeefeka@appstate.edu
Office: 302D Duncan Hall
Office Hours: M & Th. 9-11, Tu.1-3 (or by appointment)

Semester: Spring, 2009
Time: Thursday, 4:00-6:30
Location: Hickory
Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with purpose. (Zora
Neale Hurston)
Every thinker puts some portion of an apparently stable world in peril.
(John Dewey, 1929)
Research is an organized, systematic process of seeking answers to some problem or
understanding of some issue. Different research questions require different data-gathering
techniques. Different ways of gathering data provide different perspectives of the
phenomena in question. What we learn depends, to a large extent, on how we learn, on what
methods we use to reach our state of knowing.
Although not mutually exclusive, research methods are commonly divided into two categories:
quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative methods depend highly on experimental design and
statistical correlation. Qualitative methods argue for naturalistic design and the emergence of
important attributes through in-depth study of a few. Quantitative research frequently tests
hypotheses while qualitative research generates them. Both can contribute to what we know.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Some set great value on method, while others pride themselves on dispensing
with method. To be without method is deplorable, but to depend on method
entirely is worse. You must first learn to observe the rules faithfully;
afterwards, modify them according to your intelligence and capacity. (Lu
Ch'ai, 1701, The Tao of Painting)
In this course, you will become acquainted with the issues and strategies involved in developing and
piloting a qualitative research study. Research design and the ethnographic techniques of
participant-observation and open-ended interviewing receive particular attention. Other topics
include developing and maintaining rapport, reflecting upon ethical dilemmas, coding and analysis
of data, and writing-up findings.
Specifically, you will become knowledgeable about and acquire practice in the following:
 describing strengths and limitations of qualitative research approaches,
 determining what kind of research questions require qualitative methods,
 observing and field note taking,
 developing questions for open-ended interviews,
 conducting in-depth interviews, and
 maintaining a reflexive field log
COURSE READINGS
There is no burden of proof. There is only the world to experience and understand.
Shed the burden of proof to lighten the load for the journey of experience. (From
Halcom’s Laws of Inquiry)
The following readings are required. The books are available directly from the publisher or by
visiting an online bookstore of your choice.
1.
Glesne, C. (2006). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (Third Edition). New
York: Longman.
2.
Maxwell, J. (2004). Qualitative Research Design (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
3.
Pugach, M. C. (1998). On the Border of Opportunity: Education, Community, and Language
at the U.S. – Mexico Line. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
4.
Assorted articles and book chapters will be made available on my webpage:
http://faculty.rcoe.appstate.edu/clarkkeefeka/html . Click on “Selected Readings” under the
appropriate course title. These readings are password protected. I will supply you with the
information you need to gain access to these readings.
COURSE PROJECT GOALS
Come, give us a taste of your quality. (William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act II,
scene ii)
You are expected to become familiar with qualitative research skills through using the skills
yourselves. The readings and class periods are necessary and complimentary resources for
2|P age
individual projects, which put into practice the concepts learned. Each of you will investigate,
through qualitative methods, social phenomena of interest to you. Towards the end of the semester,
a field notebook will be assessed. The final paper is a preliminary analysis and report of fieldwork
(or--with permission--a qualitative research proposal based upon completed fieldwork.) Guidelines
for field notebook and final projects are included. PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE SEMESTER. They form the basis for coursework and evaluation and
provide the details of course projects.
EVALUATION
Quality isn't method. It's the goal toward which method is aimed. (Pirsing,
Robert, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, 1974, p. 332).
Course grades will be based on the following:
 20% short assignments and class participation (this includes attendance.)
 40% field notebook (evaluated on the basis of thought, improvement over time, thoroughness,
and organization). See "Guidelines for Field Work and Notebook."
 40% final report (evaluated on demonstration of research work, reflective thought, organization,
and writing). Please read “Guidelines for Final Project Reports.”
ACCOMODATIONS
Appalachian State University is committed to making reasonable accommodations for
individuals with documented qualifying disabilities in accordance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973. Those seeking accommodations based on a substantially limiting disability
must contact and register with The Office of Disability Services (ODS) at
www.ods.appstate.edu <http://www.ods.appstate.edu> <http://www.ods.appstate.edu/>
or 828-262-3056. Once registration is complete, individuals will meet with ODS
staff to discuss eligibility and appropriate accommodations.
3|P age
GUIDELINES FOR FIELDWORK AND FIELD NOTEBOOK
Fieldwork
Your fieldwork project will be based on 8 to 10 hours of in-field time in which you investigate
social phenomena of interest to you through the qualitative research skills of participant-observation
and in-depth interviewing. Some research problems do not lend themselves easily to participantobservation, but there is always something to observe. Each of you should plan to conduct, at the
minimum, 2 hours of participant-observation in your research setting (and not all at one time).
The number of people interviewed is somewhat up to you and your research question. You may
interview a few intensively or a greater number more generally. For instance, after 2 one-hour
periods of observation, you may decide to conduct one-hour interviews with 7 people or to
interview only 4 in multiple or longer periods. Try to not schedule individual interviews for longer
than 1 1/2 hours at the most (preferably 1 hour). It is too exhausting on both interviewer and
interviewee. For purposes of this course, each of you should plan on conducting, at the minimum,
interviews with 4 different people. (Please note, however, that 2 hours of observation and 4 onehour interviews do not add up to 8 to 10 hours of fieldwork. The minimums are included here so
that everyone does some participant observation and some interviews.)
The Field Notebook
The field notebook is a document of your work and of your thoughts throughout the research
process. It will trace your path from the first conceptualizations of your research statement to your
final analysis of interviews and observations. As much as a place to describe what you see and
hear, it is also a place to reflect on what you are learning about qualitative methods, your research
topic, and yourself as a researcher.
Get a loose-leaf notebook in which you can create labeled dividers for collecting and organizing
your data and research thoughts (see Contents). Also, some people like to use a spiral bound
notebook for field notes and for research memos/reflections. These notes can be inserted into your
notebook later in the semester.
Style:
Although we usually think about writing as a mode of “telling” about the social world,
writing is not just a mopping-up activity at the end of a research topic. Writing is also a
form of “knowing”—a method of discovery and analysis. (Laurel Richardson, Writing: A
Method of Inquiry, 1994)
Record research notes and memos freely in whatever style is most comfortable to you. Your
audience is mainly yourself at this point. The log is your place to describe what you are observing
and feeling, to jot down fleeting thoughts and insights, and to explore those thoughts.
Write on only one side of the page. Even your reflective notes become part of your "data."
Eventually, you analyze and code it. Some sections may become paragraphs in your final paper.
Your notes will be easier to use if you have written/recorded on only one side of each page.
4|P age
Contents:
What follows is an outline for the bare essentials of your field notebook. Do not feel limited to the
topics presented, but do include them. You may organize your notebook in whatever way makes
most sense to you. Make your organization clear, however, by including a table of contents at the
beginning of your field notebook.
1.
Developing Fieldwork Plans (keep all versions, dated, chronologically arranged)
 purpose for fieldwork
 concept map
 research statement and research questions
2.
Developing Interview Questions
 All versions of interview questions arranged chronologically.
 After completing fieldwork, reflect upon the questions. If you were to continue with your
project, would you change them in any way? In other words, create a final draft of your
interview questions after your pilot fieldwork.
3.
The Fieldwork Process: Participant-Observation Notes
 Note date, location, and the beginning and ending time of each of your fieldwork periods.
 Record as fully as possible the interactions taking place.
 While in the process of observing, you may be struck by thoughts concerning the process.
Jot them down, but mark them in some way as your opinions, judgments, or questions and
not as descriptions of how things are (or appear to be).
 After completing an observation, read though your notes. Make your scribbled renditions
legible and add remembered, but omitted descriptions. Do this as soon as possible, while
your memory is fresh. You may want to use a different color pen so that you can easily tell
later on which notes were taken on site and which were added.
4.
The Fieldwork Process: Interview Notes
 Note date, location, and the beginning and ending time of each interview period.
 Record as close to verbatim as possible the interviews. Experiment with the interviewing
process. Try to do each of the following at least once:
 Take extensive notes without the assistance of a tape recorder.
 Use a tape recorder and jot notes as well, and
 Use a tape recorder with minimum note taking.
 Reflect upon the advantages and disadvantages of each approach for both interviewing and
data analysis.
 After completing an interview, read through your notes (particularly important if not using a
recorder). Make your scribbled renditions legible and add remembered, but omitted words.
Do this as soon as possible, while your memory is fresh. You may want to use a different
5|P age
color pen so that you can easily tell later on which notes were taken on site and which were
added.
 After the interview, you may be struck by thoughts concerning the process. Jot them down.
5. The Reflexive Journal: Research Memos/Reflective Thoughts
 Begin a reflexive journal at the beginning of the semester. In it develop thoughts about the
purpose and significance of your research topic. Work out exactly what it is that you want
to learn and why.
 Organize and extend thoughts triggered by data collection. This is the beginning of your
reflections on what it is you are seeing and your hunches about what is happening.
 Keep a running record of all questions that your fieldwork raises. This list may include
questions you would like to ask other people, substantive questions, or methodological
questions.
 Record thoughts about you as researcher and your assumptions about, interactions with, and
feelings toward research participants. Think about what areas of subjectivity are roused by
your fieldwork. How do you think you affected the data collected? What might you have
done differently?
 Record any problems you may be having in the fieldwork process. Think about possible
solutions to these problems.
 Note that these reactions should be recorded along the way and not only at the end of the
semester. The main purpose is to reflect on what you are doing while you are doing it. Date
all entries. You should have at least one entry for each week of the semester.
6. Preliminary Coding and Analysis
 Read through all your data and create major code categories (no more than 10)
 Create sub-category codes for each of your major codes
6|P age
GUIDELINES FOR FINAL PROJECT REPORTS
With data collection and field notebook kept up, you are ready to prepare a “final” document for
this class. This document will be a 15 to 18 page paper that includes the following (and any other
relevant components you want to include) in an order that makes sense to you. In preparing this
document, think about it as though it were an article based upon preliminary research.
1.
Introduction to your Pilot Research
 Describe your research purpose and significance. How did this change, if at all, during your
pilot work?
 What was your specific research statement and sub-questions? How did these change, if at
all, during your pilot work? Why?
 Create a brief introduction to the research context through the literature (no more than 2
pages). Discuss what literature you would explore for future work.
2.
Discussion of your Research Methods
 Describe what participant selection strategies you used. What would you use in a future
study and why?
 Describe your data collection methods (include the time spent, numbers interviewed, hours
observed, etc.)
 What did you learn about gathering data through participant observation? How
would you use participant observation in your real research study?
 What did you learn about gathering data through in-depth interviews? How
would you use interviews as you continue your research?
 Discuss any problems or unexpected events along the way and what you learned
about qualitative research methods via using them.
3.
Discussion of Preliminary Findings
 Provide a descriptive account of the setting, people, events, or whatever is important to your
study (this section should make extensive use of both observation notes and interviews).
Take the reader to your research setting and to the focus of your inquiry.
 Discuss the major themes or patterns that emerge from your pilot data. Write-up a complete
analysis of at least two of these major themes, using evidence from your observations and
interviews to support your ideas.
4.
Reflexivity
 Write about yourself, the researcher, and the lens through which you view your topic. What
are your possible biases? Possible strengths?
 How will you, in future work, emphasize your strengths and minimize or counteract the
possible biases?
 How will you use the pilot study to make your research topic more “trustworthy?”
 Reflect in general on your experience learning about qualitative research methods. What
advice would you give to other novice qualitative researchers interested in a similar topic?
7|P age