Steps of qualitative research

2013-2014

INTRODUCTION

Research is an inquiry process that has clearly defined parameters and as its aim the discovery or creation of knowledge or theory building, testing, confirmation, revision, refutation of knowledge and theory; and/ or investigation of a problem for local decision making.

(C.R. McClure and P. Hersson, 1991)

MEANING OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative Research is an umbrella covering several forms of inquiry that help us understand and explain the meaning of social phenomena with as little disruption to the natural setting as possible. Qualitative research is concerned with non statistical methods of inquiry and analysis of social phenomena. It draws on an inductive process in which themes and categories emerge through analysis of data collected by such techniques as interviews, observations, videotapes, and case studies. Samples are usually small and are often purposively selected. Qualitative research uses detailed descriptions from the perspective of the research participants themselves as a means of examining specific issues and problems under study. Qualitative research differs from quantitative research in that the latter is characterized by the use of large samples, standardized measures, a deductive approach, and highly structured interview instruments to collect data for hypothesis testing (Marlow, 1993). In contrast to qualitative research, in quantitative research easily quantifiable categories are typically generated before the study and statistical techniques are used to analyze the data collected. Both qualitative and quantitative research is designed to build knowledge; they can be used as complementary strategies. Qualitative research differs from the traditional logical – positivistic, quantitative research in a variety of ways. In qualitative research the focus is on in-depth interviews, observations and document analysis. A holistic perspective permits a broader view of the complex issues facing educational researchers. In addition, while some qualitative research include limited quantification (e.g. counting the number of occurrences of an event). In general qualitative research interprets data without numerical analysis. 

BROAD APPROACHES OF RESEARCH

Qualitative                b) Quantitative                 c) Action research

CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative research is an effort to understand situations in their uniqueness as part of a particular context and the interactions there (Patton, 1985).A second characteristic of all forms of qualitative research is that the researcher is the primary instrument for data collection and analysis. A third characteristic of qualitative research is that it usually involves fieldwork.  The researcher must go to the people, setting, site, institution, in order to observe behavior in its natural setting. A fourth characteristic of qualitative research is that is uses an inductive research strategy.  This type of research builds abstractions, concepts, hypothesis, or theories rather than tests existing theory.

The approach is inductive.

Its focus is on specific situations, institutions, communities, groups of people etc.

Its emphasis is on causes, interpretations and implications rather than quantitative scores, measurement and statistical analysis.

Its emphasis is on personalized experiences rather than structures tools.

It is based on smaller number of cases.

   PURPOSES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Identifying an anticipated phenomenon

Understanding the process

Developing causal explanations

Understanding the meaning of broad terms like attitude, prejudice, organizational climate etc.

Understanding the context in which some behavior finds expression or some phenomenon takes place.

In depth study to find out the constellation of factors that determine a particular type of behavior or lead to a particular phenomenon

Studying inter- relationships between various factors responsible for a phenomenon or a behavior. Freud developed his theory of psychoanalysis through qualitative research; Piaget developed his theory of cognitive development by initially starting the study of language development in his own children.

PRACTICAL USES

Generating theories that are understandable

Engaging in collaborative research with practitioners

Conducting formative evaluation; intended to improve the existing practices rather than to simply assess the value of programme or product being evaluated.

TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Under qualitative research, the main types are:-

             ♫ Phenomenological

            ♫ Ethnographical

            ♫ Heuristic

♫ Case studies

♫ Historical studies

♫ Philosophical studies

STEPS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative research is often used as a catch-all phrase to mean not to expect any "hard numbers" from research findings.  While qualitative research is the collection and analysis of primarily non-numerical activities (words, pictures and actions), it doesn't mean you can't apply a structured approach to your research efforts. Usability testing is often characterized as a qualitative activity. Summarizing findings from watching participants in a usability test generates a lot of utterances, actions and images.  In reality, usability testing is (or at least should be) a mixed-method approach: both qualitative and quantitative data are collected. Qualitative methodology is inductive in its reasoning.  The researcher selects a general topic and then begins collecting information to assist in the formation of an hypothesis.  The data collected during the investigation creates the hypothesis for the researcher in this research design model.  

THE BASIC METHODOLOGY FOR A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

Identify a general research question.

Choose main methods, sites, and subjects for research. Determine methods of documentation of data and access to subjects.

Decide what you will collect data on: questions, behaviors to observe, issues to look for in documents (interview/observation guide), how much (# of questions, # of interviews/observations, etc.).

Clarify your role as researcher.  Determine whether you will be obtrusive or unobtrusive, objective or involved.

Study the ethical implications of the study.  Consider issues of confidentiality and sensitivity.

Begin to collect data and continue until you begin to see the same, repeated information, and stop finding new information.

Interpret data.  Look for concepts and theories in what has been collected so far.

Revise the research question if necessary and begin to form hypotheses.

Collect further data to address revisions.  Repeat Steps 6 and 7.

Verify your data.  Complete conceptual and theoretical work to make your findings.  Present your findings in an appropriate form to your audience.

     STEPS IN DETAIL

Determine Research Questions: Focused questions are at the heart of actionable qualitative research. In fact, they are at the heart of good quantitative research as well and play a key role in Lean UX thinking . Are users not using the mobile app because of usability, security concerns or something else? How do users make decisions about how to invest: do they ask a friend, use a financial advisor, or research on their own?   

Design the Study: Getting input from users instead of just internal discussions is an essential first step. With research questions defined, the "What" of the study has been established? Now think Who, When, Where and How.  There are logistical advantages and challenges to collecting the data you need. It's a matter of trading them off.

Who: For in-person sessions, figure out who will be attending: both the type of participant and the facilitators. All the usual guidelines for recruiting participants  apply here.  It's often valuable to have a product stakeholder participate along with the facilitators. Back when I worked at Intuit, we'd have both a UX researcher and a product manager attend in-home sessions with users. It was the PM who would ultimately decide what goes into products, so having them see and hear users first hand was impactful.

Where: Determine if you will collect data at participants' homes, in a coffee shop, in a company conference room, or in a usability lab.

When: Will this occur during one week or over different seasons, buying periods, or product releases? Is it during working hours, weekends, or after work?  Days and times impact the types of participants, their attitudes and potentially your findings.

How: Work out the details of what the participants will do, if anything, and what you need to have ready to collect data. When attending a remote location, we come equipped with a notepad and portable usability lab (basically a laptop, webcam and software).

Collect Data: The qualitative researcher should assume the role of an unobtrusive observer  and have little impact on the settings being observed—whether it is watching participants use existing products at home or in a more controlled lab environment. Qualitative is often used synonymously with small samples, but one can take a qualitative approach to larger sample sizes (more than 50 participants) just as one can take a quantitative approach to small sample sizes  (less than 10).

Analyze Data: Most qualitative research studies generate a lot of data. Creating a system for coding actions and notable quotes helps speed through the process of turning utterances into actionable insights .

Generate Findings: What was learned from engaging users? This step involves synthesizing the copious amount of notes, videos and artifacts.  As many of the responses from participants will be open-ended, there will be a need to identify patterns . For example, when we were interviewing users about why they didn't pay their credit card bill on their mobile phone, we didn't ask users if they had security concerns. Instead, many of them voiced the concern in their own words and stories. 

Validate findings: One of the best ways to validate findings is to triangulate using other methods , including surveys or additional sources. One weakness of qualitative research is that it is hard to establish external validity, that is, to provide corroborating evidence that the findings aren't just the opinion of the researcher.  Every researcher, of course, does bring with her biases on the problems with a product or what deserves emphasis in the interview. One approach to minimize this researcher bias is to include a section on the interviewer or principal investigator's background and how it might influence their conclusions. Having recordings of sessions and detailed notes helps other interested parties come to their own conclusions and can help validate findings. Including verbatims along with the interpretation also helps others see how the conclusions were drawn.

Report:  We usually deliver a power point with backup notes or an appendix with more detailed findings and verbatim. While information comes in sequentially from each participant, we find reporting the data in an inverted pyramid by issue works best.  We start with the most important findings, and then note the number of participants that supported these findings and some good quotes to support what we concluded.  We also provide confidence intervals  around the issue and insight frequency so readers have some idea about the prevalence of an issue in the larger user population. 

FUTURE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 

Qualitative research methodology is receiving growing acceptance in the social work research community. Qualitative methods are becoming particularly popular among researchers working on family issues. A Qualitative Family Research Network was formed in the late 1980s, and an increasing number of social workers and family researchers exchange ideas on qualitative methodologies (Gilgun, 1990). Another indicator of the growing acceptance of qualitative research in social work practice is the recently established journal Research on Social Work Practice, which seeks manuscripts based on qualitative studies as well as on a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. Clearly, quantitative and qualitative methodologies have different strengths and weaknesses, and the strategy taken should depend on the nature of the question being investigated. 

In many instances, both qualitative and quantitative approaches can be used in the same study. For example, standardized measures might be used to collect data in conjunction with open-ended interview questions. It is possible to code interview data using both qualitative and quantitative techniques and to report the results of both the qualitative and quantitative analyses of the same data set (McRoy et al., 1988). Qualitative strategies need not be limited to small-scale studies. Daly (1992) reported a technique for applying grounded theory principles in the design and analysis of a large national survey on adoption trends. 

The close compatibility of qualitative research methods with social work practice techniques is likely to lead to greater use of qualitative strategies in practice evaluation. As more social work researchers network and refine and publish qualitative studies that clearly specify the techniques used, qualitative methodology is likely to receive even greater acceptance among social workers. 

REFERENCES

Allen-Meares, P. (1985). Content analysis: It does have a place in social work research. Journal of Social Service Research, 7(4), 51–69. 

Austin, D. (1978). Research and social work: Educational paradoxes and possibilities. Journal of Social Service Research, 2(4), 159–176. 

Retrieved from 

  http://www.measuringu.com/blog/qualitative-steps.php on 29/9/14

  http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/develop_qualitative.html on 29/9/14