Qualitative Methods in Media and Communication
CM2006
By Esmée Lieuw On
Course material: readings through Canvas
This summary includes:
Brennen, B.S. (2017). Qualitative Research Methods for Media Studies. Chapter 1, 2, 7
Flick, U. (2007). Ethics in Qualitative Research.
McKechnie, L. E.F. (2012). Observational Research.
Dumitrica, D. & Pridmore, J. (2021). Interviews and Sampling.
Dumitrica, D. & Pridmore, J. (2021). Focus groups.
Dumitrica, D. & Pridmore, J. (2021). Working with textual and material data.
Dumitrica, D. & Pridmore, J. (2021). Data analysis and interpretation.
Semiotic Analysis Module. Canvas.
Narrative Analysis Module. Canvas.
Thematic Analysis Module. Canvas.
Constructivist Grounded Theory Module. Canvas.
Discourse Analysis Module. Canvas.
Lectures week 1 through 8
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, Week 1: Introducing Qualitative Methods
Brennen: Chapter 1
• Full disclosure is always appropriate in the realm of qualitative research
• The cultural approach to communication taken in this book understands the communication
process as a means of production that is based on the discourse of individuals and groups
and is produced within a specific cultural, historical and political context
• It is through our use of language that we make meaning and construct our own social
realities (fundamental part of qualitative research)
• Qualitative research is interdisciplinary, interpretive, political and theoretical in nature →
using language to understand concepts based on people’s experiences, it attempts to create
a sense of the larger realm of human relationships
• Steiner Kvale (1996): “Not objective data to be quantified, but Meaningful relationships to be
interpreted”
• As we consider connections between a socially constructed reality and the qualitative
research process, it is important to consider the notion of transparency → when researchers
openly describe their theoretical foundations and research strategies, along with the basis
for their decisions, intentions and motivations, readers become aware of the potential uses
and implications of the research
• Rather than focusing on media effects or influences, they attempt to understand the many
relationships that exist within media and society
• Qualitative and quantitative researchers like to draw on intellectual maps and models
(a.k.a. paradigms) to help them represent their philosophical worldviews → an
understanding of paradigms is very important because they often find methodological
questions of secondary importance to the larger philosophical issues and questions
• When thinking of different research paradigms, three conceptual elements: epistemology
(“How do we know the world?), ontology (Qs about the nature of reality) and methodology
(“How do we gain knowledge about the world?”)
• Other paradigms that influence qualitative research: Positivism, Post-Positivism, Critical
Theories, Constructivism
o Positivism: internal versus external validity (how findings correspond to issue being
studied versus generalization)
o Post-Positivism: findings that can be replicated are thought to be probably true
o Constructivism & Critical Theories: incorporate various non-Positivist alternative
worldviews that blend research issues and theoretical positions, blur disciplinary
boundaries and draw upon all types of qualitative methodologies
▪ Critical theorists consider reality and truth to be shaped by specific historical,
cultural, racial, gender, political and economic conditions, values and
structures
▪ Constructivism represents a theoretical shift regarding the concept of reality
from realism to relativism → an anti-foundational understanding of truth,
rejecting any permanent “standards by which truth can be universally
known”
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, o Participatory/Cooperative Inquiry is another paradigm: emphasizes the subjectivity
of practical knowledge and the collaborative nature of research
Brennen: Chapter 2
• Two very different understandings of the communication process (James Carey):
1. Transmission view: communication as a process of sending, transmitting or delivering
information in order to control others
2. The ritual view: communication as a process that reinforces and maintains a common
culture where people share customs, beliefs, ideas and experiences (a communion)
• Neil Postman (1998): “the purpose of research is to rediscover the truths of social life; to
comment on and criticize the moral behavior of people; and finally to put forward
metaphors, images, and ideas that can help people live with some measure of understanding
and dignity”
• Qualitative researchers understand that while words and concepts have important
denotative meanings, they also have connotative interpretations that are important to
consider
• All individuals who participate in qualitative research projects must voluntarily agree to
participate in the studies without any psychological/physical pressure, manipulation or
coercion (Qualitative research = no deception)
• Qualitative research process often consists of five distinct phases:
1. Choosing a topic of study
2. Constructing a research question and picking a method of analysis based on an
interpretive paradigm or theoretical framework: RQs should be clearly stated specific
and researchable, open-ended in nature, encouraging you to understand a variety of
potential responses, experiences and connections
3. Gathering evidence
4. Analyzing & interpreting evidence: use of big data, researchers continue to emphasize
contextualizing and interpreting all data sets, and they remind us that bigger data are not
always better data
5. Crafting a research report: majority include introduction, RQ, theoretical framework,
literature review, methodology, analysis, interpretations, commentary, conclusion and
references
Flick: Ethics in Qualitative Research
• Most institutions doing research, such as universities, now have institutional review boards
or ethics committees that have to approve a project if it involves human subjects as research
partners (big step in avoiding unethical research)
• Several basic principles of ethically sound research:
o Informed consent
o Deception should be avoided
o Privacy should be respected and confidentiality guaranteed and maintained
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, o No omission or fraud with the collection or analysis of data
o Respect for the person is seen as essential
o Beneficence, which means considering the well-being of participants
o Justice, which addresses the relation of benefits and burdens for the research
participants
• Ethics should play a role in your considerations of how to plan a study, who you want to work
with, how you (or your fieldworkers) should act in the field
• In preparing your project, you should reflect several issues for their ethical dimensions:
1. Relevance: how much research has already been done on your topic and will yours
contribute something new?
2. Participants: Is it justifiable to expose your possible participants to your research?
3. Researchers: researchers should be trained in using their methodological approach,
know what is about and what problems might arise in applying it (ex. Interview
training with role-play)
• Research questions also have several ethical issues:
1. How focused is the question – does it give clear advice for what is necessary as data
to collect for answering it or not? (focus)
2. What will they be confronted with when they agree to take part in the research and
to answer the questions in the interview? (confrontation)
3. Will it be helpful for the research if we inform our research participants in great
detail about our research question? (deception)
• When entering the field for your research, we should:
o Prepare a form that regulates the informed consent, wherever this is possible and
should be signed by researcher & participant
o Clearly define how the informed consent can be guaranteed as a principle, and what
kind of substitute could be acceptable
o Make sure that they do not suffer any disadvantages, harm or risks from taking part
o Be aware of our influence on the field or on the subjects our research, not
necessarily in the sense of bias, but seen from a perspective of our partners
(disturbance, being pushy, being ignorant)
o Analyze our data carefully, read and reread them continuously
o Try to avoid interpretations of data that come along with a devaluation of people,
instead respect their intentions and agencies when you interpret
practices/statements that you collected as data
o Not have concrete information about real persons and sites, but have it anonymized
right away
Lecture 1: introducing Qualitative Methods
• Understanding the qualitative research paradigm
• Four principles of qualitative research:
1. Meaning-making NOT numbers
2. Complexity NOT causal relationships
o Observe phenomenon in natural context
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