QUALITATIVE

Saeed Behjati (Ph.D)

'A fundamental characteristic of a good qualitative [... ] is that it implies or

expresses the assumptions of the qualitative paradigm, such as the language of
qualitative research' (Firestone, 1987).

OUTLINE

Part
Part
Part
Part

1. a bit about philosophy assumption

2. a bit about qualitative research
3. a bit about quality of qualitative
4. write like a qualitative researcher

Part 1.

a bit about philosophy assumption

In a qualitative study, the research question needs to be EXPLORED because

little information exists and the variables are mostly unknown.
The investigator focuses on the context that may shape the understanding of the
phenomenon being studied, rather than relying on a theoretical base that may
not even exist (Creswell, 1994).

why Philosophical assumption is needed?

Roots of the research

Address the research methodology

Strength quality of research

philosophic
level (belief)

social level
(methodology)

technical level
(technical
method)

1
2
Axiology

Rhetoric

Methodology

the best way to acquiring to the nature of knowledge

Epistemology

assumption about what we make about the nature of reality

Ontology

Research belief
World view

5 PHILOSOPHICAL
COMPONENTS

Theory of knowledge
/ how to get the
belief
The way to get the
knowledge

language

4
Value / ethic

Ontology

objective
certainty
positivist

subjective
uncertainty
interpretivist

social constructionism
post-positivism
pragmatism
interpretive
communities
ethnicity
ethnography
phenomenology
constructivism
critical theory
naturalism
postmodernism
feminism
realism
nominalism

Creswell

5 main Qualitative methods (strategies)

Ethnographyi
s

studies an intact cultural group in a natural setting

over a prolonged period of time by collecting,
primarily, observational and interview data
lived realities encountered in the field setting

Grounded
theory

comprehensive inquiry to derive a general, abstract

theory of a process, action, or interaction grounded
in the views of participants
using multiple stages of data collection and the
refinement and interrelationship of categories of
information

Case studies

explores in depth a program, event, activity, process,

or one or more individuals.
bounded by time and activity and using a variety of
data collection procedures

Phenomenological
research

identifies the essence of human experiences about a

phenomenon as described by participants.
studying a small number of subjects through
extensive and prolonged engagement to develop
patterns and relationships of meaning

Narrative research

studies the lives of individuals and asks one or more

individuals to provide stories about their lives.

Part 2. A BIT ABOUT QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH

Principles Of Qualitative Research

The basic purpose of qualitative research:

to understand, how people "do" communication (describing people's communication)

Thick describe; description is not just what people do but also what their acts mean to
them

Qualitative nature: to

understand

the social reality

QUALITY OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Superficial
Test the assumption
Deliberate the phenomenon

Thin Description
provides an explanation of communication with little sense of what the actions mean to
the participants.
It might be very detailed and accurate in terms of each action, but it does not address
why the actions were taken, how the actors interpreted the actions, how they felt about
what happened, and so on.
done by quantitative researchers and/or by unskilled qualitative researchers.
Thick description
describes communication with an explanation from the "native's" point of view.
The goal is not to merely describe what the actions were, nor what the researcher thinks
they mean, but what they mean to the people involved in the communication.
Requires the researcher to spend more time with the people he/she studies, to pay
attention to them more, and to interact with them more than quantitative researchers do.
It also means that qualitative researchers cannot deal with nearly as many people as do
quantitative researchers.

Part 3. a bit about quality of qualitative

3.1. Nature of qualitative research
3.2. Support the validity and reliability
3.3. Essential part of writing

3.1. Nature of qualitative research

emic analysis - explanation of subjective meaning systems via understanding

embraces subjective capabilities of the internal dimension
human relationships are central to understanding
unstructured approach to determine the internal logic
allow for human subjectivity without creating distortion

3.2. Support the validity and reliability

Validity :

determined by internal validity; whether the analysis has some truth or

confirmability

coherence of interpretation; agreement among others, including the participants

and the consensus that understanding is enhanced as a result of the analysis
and that the analysis is salient

methods of studying the data (determining in what manner the themes and
categories were developed.)

Confirmability indicates the ability of an outside reviewer to audit the procedures

and analysis and reach the same conclusions (Creswell, 1994)

Reliability

Trustworthiness refers to credibility. Credibility describes the appropriateness of

the methods and subjects to the goals.
Transferability indicates the contextual limitations of the data. (Guba & Lincoln,
1994).
Dependability pertains to the quality of the conclusions and data evaluations
that framed them

CRITERIA OF SOUNDNESS (TRUSTWORTHINESS)

(Lincoln & Guba, 1985)

Criteria of Research Quality and Rigor

Lincoln and Guba (1985)

3.3. Essential part of writing

Richie et al (1997) language as validity support

Discussed various measures taken to improve confirmability and

transferability in the study.
For example, specific wording was chosen that would minimize response bias
due to preconceptions of constructs already in the literature. (Richie et al.,
1997)

key to rhetorical assumption

researchers tend to embrace the rhetorical
assumption that the writing needs to be
personal
- Makes the writer, part of the text
- engage, involve and move the reader
and literary in form rather then social scientific
employ device like metaphor, irony, paradox,
imagery, plot, flashback, tone shift, dialogue,
interior monologue

the qualitative researcher writing a case study may employ

terms such as "credibility", "transferability", "dependability",
and "confirmability" (Lincoln &Guba 1985)

Part 4. WRITE LIKE A QUALITATIVE RESEARCHER

The final written report or presentation includes the voices of participants
'Convey a sense of atmosphere, ethos, mood or tone... represent feelings
and emotions, to re-create people's experiences, to transport the reader to
a scene in order to deepen understanding' (Wood, 2002, p. 65)

Rhetorical your work

Introduce

Literature

Methodology

Analyse

Discussion/ Conclude

(Chapter 1)
(Chapter 2)
(Chapter 3)
(Chapter 4)
(Chapter 5)

INTRODUCE

(CHAPTER 1)

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
e.g. Grounded Theory

- What are the categories to emerge from interactions between care-givers and patients?

- How does caregiving relate to actions by nurses?

- What are the major sources of academic change?

- What are the major processes thru which academic change occurs?

eg. Ethno

- How are conceptions of social studies played out or not played out in classroom practice?

eg. Phenomenology

- What is it like for a mother to live with a teenage child who is dying of cancer?

eg. Action research

How does MA training, developed management skill, among entrepreneur?

Purpose statement:

The aim of this qualitative study is to understand subjective issues of life after xxx surgery.
Increased knowledge about this group of women may direct or guide nursing practice.

How to write purpose statement

The purpose of this study is to (understand/describe/ develop/ discover) the .... using (the
unit of analysis: a person/ process/groups/ site) using a (ethno/GT/case study/ etc) resulting
in a (ethno/ phenomenological description of themes or patterns). (Creswell, 1994, p. 59)

Formulating of research problem

Elucidation of the figure is partially adapted from

Krishnaswamy, K. N., Sivakumar, A. I., & Mathirajan, M.
(2009)

LITERATURE

(CHAPTER 2)

Outline

History
Prior studies (what has been done)
introduced concept of research
Stress on Gap (what has not been done)

METHODOLOGY

(CHAPTER 3)

Outline
Describe 'how' using rhetorical assumption
Include qualitative wording for:
Philosophical assumption
Method of inquiry
Data collection
Data analysis

Research Hierarchy of Methodological Dimensions

RESEARCH METHOD

e.g. phenomenology

A phenomenological approach was used to provide a rigorous, critical, and systematic study of
the phenomenon.

Analysis involved looking for themes.

Triangulated Data Collection

e.g GT

Grounded theory data analysis was used to provide a systemic approach

in categorising, sorting, and analysing data gathered.
Analysis. Data were analysed following the grounded theory principles:
open coding and memos for conceptual labelling, axial coding and memos
for category building, and selective coding for model building

ANALYSIS

(CHAPTER 4)

Based on the interpretation of

the data, the study found
several patterns emerged

Narrative Analysis
Semiotics
Content Analysis
Conversation Analysis
Discourse Analysis
Grounded Theory
Hermeneutics
Phenomenology
Coding
Literary Criticism
Series Of Events
Deconstruction
Critical Incidents
Decision Modelling
Cognitive Maps
Analytic Induction

Within Case Analysis

Cross Case Analysis
Pattern Matching
Explanation Building
Time Series Analysis

DISCUSSION

(CHAPTER 5)

E.g. Themes that emerged were improved physical health, increased self-esteem,
self-confidence, and enhanced body image. In addition, preoperative expectations of
the postoperative period varied from those of actual recovery, creating issues for
some women.

Recommendations for further reading

Merriam (1998)
Creswell (1994 - 2007)
Denzin & Lincoln (2000)
Yin (2003)
Glaser and Strauss (1967)
Charmaz (1990)

http://www.slideshare.net/hiramparousia/in-house-training-151114-qualitativeresearch

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME LISTENING TO

ME