Logistics 354 Exam summaries
Textbook: Business Research Methods (international 4th edition)
Bryman & Bell
Chapters 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
,CHAPTER 14: THE NATURE OF QUALITATIVE (QL) RESEARCH
INTRODUCTION
QL research tends to be concerned with words rather than numbers
3 further features are particularly NB:
- an inductive view of the relationship between theory, whereby the former is
generated out of the latter;
- an epistemological position described as interpretivist, meaning that, in contrast to
the adoption of a natural scientific model in quantitative (QN) research, the stress is
on the understanding of the social world through an examination of the
interpretation of that world by its participants
- an ontological position described as constructionist, which implies that social
properties are outcomes of the interactions between individuals, rather than
phenomena ‘out there’ & separate from those involved in their construction
Stipulating what QL research is & is not is not straightforward. There are 3 reasons for
this uncertainty
- As a term, QL research is sometimes taken to imply an approach to business research
in which QN data are not collected or generated. However, the distinctiveness of QL
research does not reside solely in the absence of numbers
- Sometimes, QL research is discussed ito the ways in which it differs from QN
research. A problem with this tactic is that it means that QL research ends up being
addressed ito what QN research is not
- Several traditions in QL research can be identified
4 traditions of QL research
- Naturalism: seeks to understand social reality in its own terms; ‘as it really is’;
provides rich descriptions of people & interaction in natural setting
- Ethnomethodology: seeks to understand how social order is created through talk &
interaction; has naturalistic orientations
- Emotionalism: exhibits a concern with subjectivity & gaining access to ‘inside’
experience; concern with the inner reality of humans
- Postmodernism: has an emphasis on ‘method talk’; sensitive to the different ways
social reality can be constructed
Several reasons might be proposed for the unease among some writers about specifying
the nature of QL research
- First, QL research subsumes several diverse research methods that differ from each
other considerably
- Second, the connection between theory & research is more ambiguous than in QN
research
o With the latter research strategy, theoretical issues drive the formulation of a
research question, which in turn drives the collection & analysis of data – findings
then feed back into the relevant theory
o In QL research, theory is supposed to be an outcome of an investigation rather
than something that precedes it
The following are the main research methods associated with QL research:
- Ethnography/participant observation. While some caution is advisable in treating
ethnography & participant observation as synonyms, they refer to similar approaches
to data collection in which the researcher is immersed in a social setting for some
, time in order to observe & listen with a view to gain an appreciation of the culture of
a social group
- Qualitative interviewing. This is a very broad term used to describe a wide range of
interviewing styles. Moreover, QL researchers employing ethnography or participant
observation typically engage in a substantial amount of QL interviewing
- Focus groups
- Language-based approaches to the collection of QL data, such as discourse &
conversation analysis
- The collection & QL analysis of texts & documents
THE MAIN STEPS IN QL RESEARCH
The sequence outlined in Figure 14.1 provides a representation of how the QL research
process can be visualised
2 distinctive aspects of the sequence of steps in QL research are the related issues of
theory & concepts, issues to which we now turn
Figure 14.1: An outline of the main steps in QL research
THEORY & RESEARCH
Most QL researchers when writing about their craft emphasise a preference for treating
theory as something that emerges out of the collection & analysis of data
But some QL researchers argue that QL data can & should have an NB role in relation to
the testing of theories as well
One key point that is implied by Figure 14.1 is that the typical sequence of steps in QL
research entails the generation of theories rather than the testing of theories that are
specified on the outset
, Pre-specified theories can be & sometimes are tested with QL data but the generation of
theory tends to be the preferred approach
CONCEPTS IN QL RESEARCH
For most QL researchers, developing measures of concepts will not be a significant
consideration, but concepts are very much part of the landscape in QL research
- However, the way in which concepts are developed & employed is often rather
different from that implied in the QN research strategy
Blumer’s distinction between ‘definitive’ & ‘sensitising’ concepts captures aspects of the
different ways in which concepts are thought about
- Blumer argued stridently against the use of definitive concepts in social research
- The idea of definitive concepts is typified by the way in which, in QN research, a
concept, once developed, becomes fixed through the elaboration of indicators
o For Blumer, such an approach entailed the application of a straightjacket on the
social world, because the concept in question comes to be seen exclusively ito
the indicators that have been developed for it
- Fine nuances in the form that the concept can assume or alternative ways of viewing
the concept & its manifestations are side-lined
o In other words, definitive concepts are excessively concerned with what is
common to the phenomena that the concept is supposed to subsume rather than
with variety
- Instead, Blumer recommended that social researchers should recognise that the
concepts they use are sensitising concepts in that they provide a ‘general sense of
reference & guidance in approaching empirical instances’
RELIABILITY & VALIDITY IN QL RESEARCH
Reliability & validity are NB criteria in establishing & assessing the quality of research for
the QN researcher
However, there has been discussion among QL researchers concerning the relevance of
reliability & validity for QL research
Even writers who do take the view that the criteria are relevant have considered the
possibility that the meaning of the terms need to be altered
For example, the issue of measurement validity almost by definition seems to carry
connotations of measurement
- Since measurement is not a major preoccupation among QL researchers, the issue of
validity would seem to have little bearing on such studies
Adapting reliability & validity for QL research
One stance is to assimilate reliability & validity into QL research with little change of
meaning other than playing down the salience of measurement issues
- Validity, reliability & generalisability are different kinds of measures of the quality,
rigour, wider potential of research, which are achieved according to certain
methodological & disciplinary conventions & principles
External reliability, by which they mean the degree to which a study can be replicated.
This is a difficult criteria to meet in QL research, since it is impossible to ‘freeze’ a social
