Class notes
Lecture notes Research methods part 2 (qualitative research)
- Course
- Institution
An overview of the course material of Research Methods part 2. The qualitative part, in English. Colleges 1 to 4 only.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
juliaansems
Content preview
Research methods part 2: qualitative researchAlex Voicu
Lecture 1
The foundations of qualitative research
Qualitative research: a definition
“Qualitative research includes various strategies for the systematic collection, organisation,
and interpretation of textual material obtained by talking with people or through
observation, in order to investigate the meaning of social phenomena as experienced by the
people themselves.”
(Adapted from: Malterud, K. (2001). The art and science of clinical knowledge: Evidence
beyond measures and numbers. The Lancet.)
General features of qualitative research
- Inductive view of relationship between research and theory
o Theories and concepts emerge from the data
- Interpretivist epistemology (vs. empiricism)
- Constructivist ontology (vs. objectivism)
- Emphasis on words/text rather than numbers
- Diversity of approaches & strategies of inquiry
Key principles of qualitative research
Seeing through the eyes of those studied
- Taking the role of the other & understanding the meanings that people
(‘participants’) attribute to their world
- A possible outcome: unexpected findings
- Some possible problems:
o ‘Going native’
o (not) knowing where to stop
o Seeing through only some people’s eyes
Key principles of qualitative research
Description and emphasis on context
- Detailed account of the social setting
o ‘Thick descriptions’ of what is going on
- Possible problem: ‘descriptive excess’
Emphasis on social process
- Interest in how patterns of events unfold over time within social worlds characterized
by change and flux
- Process-tracing
Flexibility and limited initial structure
- Emergent research design (at least to some extent)
Concepts & theory emerge from the data
- Letting yourself be led by what you find in the field
Purposive sampling
- Strategic (vs. random)
- Saturation (theoretical & empirical)
, Contrasting qualitative and quantitative research
Qualitative Quantitative
Theory-generating Theory-testing
Affinity: better suited Contextual understanding (depth) Generalization (breadth)
for… Micro level Macro level
Causal mechanisms; process Causal effects
Words Numbers
Nature of data Rich, deep data Hard, reliable data
Participant’s view prominent Researcher’s view prominent
Researcher & Proximity (researcher close) Distance (researcher distant)
participant
Qualitative research questions
Generated in response to:
- A knowledge gap in the existing body of literature
- A practical problem
- Observed particularities in social surroundings (or statistics)
- Intended policy development or implementation
Types of questions
- Descriptive (What is happening in…? How do people organize themselves when…?
What meanings do people attach to…?)
- Explanatory (Why is it that…? What are people’s motivations for…? How could
intervention X be improved? Under what conditions does Y occur?)
Methods of qualitative research
- Ethnography / participant observation
o Prolonged immersion in the field
- Qualitative interviewing
o In-depth; semi- or unstructured
- Focus groups
- Rapid appraisal techniques
- Study of documents (incl. archival research)
- Discourse analysis
- QCA
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller juliaansems. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $3.24. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
75632 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now