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QUALITATIVE PARTL1: OVERVIEW OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH – FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What is research? In a university setting, research is defined as an original investigation
undertaken in order to contribute to knowledge and understanding in a particular field.
Research is a creative activity leading to the production of new knowledge. What is the
difference between: Knowledge: a claim is accepted because proof of truth or warrant is
given, Belief/Faith: a claim is accepted without proof or warrant; yet high strength of
conviction, Opinion: personal point of view, varies in conviction. Research in business and
management: Pure research: focuses on pure knowledge creation and is the most prestigious
type of research within academia, but is not really concerned with achieving real world impact.
Applied research: involves exploring the value of basic knowledge in an applied setting, aims
at delivering outcomes that can be used by policy makers and practitioners who seek to
improve the conduct of business. Evaluation research: takes focus on application one step
further by making the evaluation of a given policy or intervention the main purpose of the
research, it’s concerned with helping practitioners understand outcomes of particular
practices. A model of research in business and management: Body of knowledge in a business
and management discipline (theories, concepts, models, beliefs, etc.) Empirical evidence
(qualitative and quantitative data). How to ensure quality in research: we need to know that
the research results are new and original and the research was conducted in a scientific
manner. The peer review system: Research findings must be open to scrutiny and formal
evaluation by experts in a particular field (experts are those who are experienced and
“qualified” to review research). If the research findings are new to these expert reviewers,
then we can say that the research findings represent an original contribution to knowledge.
This peer review system exists in all scientific disciplines, it is a social system of quality
assurance.
Quantitative and qualitative research: Quantitative research focuses on numbers and is best
if you want to generalize to a larger population (find trends, patterns, etc.). Qualitative
research focuses on text (text is what people say, verbally or in written form) and is best if you
want to study a particular subject in depth. Both quantitative and qualitative research are
useful, important and needed in research in business and management. Quantitative and
qualitative research compared: Qualitative research: a focus on text: action research, case
study research, ethnography, grounded theory, discourse analysis, hermeneutics, narrative
and metaphor. Quantitative research: a focus on numbers: surveys, laboratory experiments,
mathematical modeling, structured equation modeling, statistical analysis, econometrics.
Why do qualitative research: Qualitative research methods are designed to help researchers
understand people and what they say and do; they allow a researcher to see and understand
the context within which actions and decisions take place. It is the context that helps to explain
why someone said something or acted the way they did. Also, by talking to people, or reading
what they have written, we can find out what they are or were thinking.
Formalized research process: A research design is a plan for an entire qualitative research
project. This plan should be written in a research proposal. The main purpose is to provide a
road map for the whole research project. Another purpose is to convince your potential
supervisor(s), advisory committee and school that you are capable of doing the research and
that your project is viable. Of course, you need to be flexible and possibly change the plan as
your research progresses. The process: Starting from the Research Problem, you perform a
,Literature Review, where you study theories, models and frameworks to create Research
Questions. Then, through methods and techniques, you perform Data Collection and Data
Analysis, and after analyzing your data you come up with Conclusions.
Identifying Research Problem: Requirements for choosing a topic: you are interested in the
topic, a faculty member is prepared to supervise you, and you can obtain relevant data on the
topic. Why the Research Problem is important: it establishes the importance of the topic, it
creates reader interest, and it focuses the reader’s attention on how the study will add to the
literature. Starting the Research Problem: state the problem in the opening paragraph,
identify an issue: research-based research problems/practical problems, and reference the
problem using the literature. How the Problem differs from other parts of research: A research
topic is the broad subject matter being addressed in a study, a research problem is an
educational issue or problem in the study, a purpose is the major intent or objective of the
study, and research questions are those that the researcher would like answered or addressed
in the study. Justifying the importance of the research problem: justification based on what
other researchers have found, personal or workplace experiences, and the experiences that
others have had in the workplace. Locating the research problem: read the opening
paragraphs of existing studies for one or more of the following: what is the issue or problem,
what controversy leads to the need for a study, what concern is being addressed behind the
study, and is there a sentence such as “the problem being addressed in this study is”.
Identifying deficiencies in the evidence: what do we still need to know, what else do we need
to know to improve practice. Identify the audience: Ask the question: who will profit from
reading our study? Other researchers, practitioners, policy makers, special populations (e.g.,
parents).
Formulating Research Questions: Why Research Questions (RQs): Qualitative research
questions seek to explore or describe phenomena and understand the experiences,
understandings, and meanings. Instead of asking how one concept causes another, Qualitative
RQs are about how people understand or feel about a concept. Also, they can change over the
course of a study. The “so what?” test: Topic: I am studying X, Question: because I want to
answer Y, Significance: in order to help solve real world problem Z. To understand if your RQs
are relevant, ask yourself, so what if the problem I’m trying to solve is not solved? Example:
Topic: I am studying female entrepreneurship in transition contexts. Question: Because I want
to find out how female participation can be improved, why females do not prefer
entrepreneurship as their main career choice. Significance: In order to create policy-based
solutions that can improve female’s participation in entrepreneurship.
Rigor and relevance in research: Rigorous research: scientific research, emphasis on meeting
scientific standards such as validity and reliability, subject to academic peer review, published
in academic journals, theoretical contribution. Relevant research: relevant to business
practitioners, emphasis on being of practical immediate relevant to practice, published in
consulting reports or industry magazines, practical contribution. Qualitative RQs and
relevance: qualitative research allows scholarship and practice to come together; qualitative
researchers in business and management study real situations and engage with people in
organizations, so it is one way for business research to become more relevant. Rigorous RQs
should: be focused, drive the right research design (case study, design and creation, survey,
etc.), and drive the management of the research project (needed time, needed resources,
inherent dependencies on others). How to focus – Qualitative example: Coherence: Use of
active verb, e.g., understanding, exploring, interpreting, constructing, explaining, etc. Use of
, relevant nouns, e.g., experiences, feelings, views, perspectives, knowledge, etc. Indication of
methodology, e.g., case studies, grounded theory, action research, exploratory study, etc.
Structure: What, who, when, where, how and why will it be studied. Example of focusing:
Area: Management. Topic: Influence of job experience on organizational working. Research
question: How can past job experiences influence decision making of managers? Primary and
secondary RQs: Contributory research questions: Secondary research questions help answer
the primary research question, Ancillary research questions: The primary research question
helps answer secondary research questions. There should always be a relation between
primary and secondary RQs. Non-rigorous RQs: RQs that have yes/no answers, whose answers
don’t produce any new knowledge, that are too broad, too narrow, or include presumptions.
Checklist: Is my RQ something that I am curious about and that others might care about? Does
it present an issue on which I can take a stand? Does my RQ put a new spin on an old issue, or
does it try to solve a problem? Is my RQ too broad, too narrow, or okay? Is my RQ researchable
within the time frame of the assignment and given the resources available at my location? Is
my RQ measurable? What type of information do I need? Can I find actual data to support or
contradict a position? What sources will have the type of information that I need to answer
my RQ (journals, books, internet resources, government documents, interviews with people)?
How to formulate RQs: Types of questions using qualitative research (right wording): what is
happening here, why is it happening, how has it come to happen this way, when did it happen.
Contributions of qualitative research: Starting point: What do “things” mean, and how do
“things” work, in context? -> Seven contributions of qualitative research: 1. Illuminate
meanings: How do humans assign meaning and make sense of their world? 2. Study how
things work: How do (project) teams, start-ups, boards, top-management teams,
organizations, programs, initiatives etc. work? 3. Study people’s stories, perspectives and
experiences. 4. How do systems work and what are the consequences for peoples’ lives? 5.
Understand how and why context matters: Political, relational, organizational, historical,
societal etc. developments, state-of-affairs, etc. that influence the case/phenomenon. 6.
Identify unintended consequences. 7. Making case comparisons to discover important
patterns and themes across cases. RQs in qualitative research: Descriptive RQs: ask about
what actually happened, Interpretive RQs: ask about the meaning of what happened to those
involved, Theoretical RQs: ask about why did these things happen, Generalization RQs &
Evaluation RQs: normally not asked in QR (not big enough samples & imposes values on
people). Differences among the topic, problem, purpose and research questions: (from
general to specific) Topic: Distance learning, Research problem: Lack of students in distance
classes, Purpose statement: To study why students do not attend distance education classes
at a community college, Research question: Does the use of website technology in the
classroom deter students from enrolling in a distance education class?
PETTIGREW READING – THE CONDUCT OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN ORGANIZATIONAL
SETTINGS
Qualitative research methods have the power to observe everyday life through interpretative
frameworks, to get close to the context of the study and to reveal unfolding social processes.
Qualitative researchers should be very explicit about their biases and personal views.
Qualitative research can go beyond theory generation and elaboration to theory testing.
Interpretation, personal investment in data collection and customized and the flexible
character of data collection in qualitative work is important. The best qualitative work is
contextually grounded and seeks to understand process dynamics and not just outcomes. The
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