Qualitative research
Content
Required reading and exam material.....................................................................................................1
Lecture 1: Introduction and Focus Group Research...............................................................................3
1A: Introduction to qualitative research.............................................................................................3
1B: Focus groups.................................................................................................................................9
Lecture 2: Interview Techniques and Atlas.ti........................................................................................24
2A: Knowledge Clips.........................................................................................................................24
2B: Q&A Lecture...............................................................................................................................35
Lecture 3: Think Aloud Protocols in Usability Testing & Content Analysis............................................36
3A: Think aloud protocols in usability testing...................................................................................36
3B: Content and Media-analysis.......................................................................................................40
Lecture 4: Observation techniques + Ethics in Qualitative Research and Reporting............................45
4A: Observation techniques.............................................................................................................45
4B: Ethics in Qualitative Research and Reporting.............................................................................46
Exam information / preparation – Qualitative Research Pre-master COM...........................................53
Required reading and exam material
Introducing Qualitative Research (lecturer: Joris van Hoof)
Required reading / exam material:
- Book chapter 1 and 2 of Boeije, H. (2009). Analysis in qualitative research. Sage publications.
Focus Group Research (lecturer: Menno de Jong)
Required reading / exam material:
- Smithson, J. (2000). Using and analysing focus groups: limitations and possibilities. International
journal of social research methodology, 3(2), 103-119.
Applying interview techniques (lecturer: Suzanne Janssen)
Required reading / exam material:
- Book chapter 4 of Boeije, H. (2009). Analysis in qualitative research. Sage publications.
Analyzing qualitative data (lecturer: Suzanne Janssen)
,Required reading / exam material:
- Book chapters 5 and 6 of Boeije, H. (2009). Analysis in qualitative research. Sage publications.
Think Aloud Protocols in Usability Testing (lecturer: Joyce Karreman)
Required reading / exam matarial:
- Van den Haak, M. J., de Jong, M. D., & Schellens, P. J. (2004). Employing think-aloud protocols and
constructive interaction to test the usability of online library catalogues: a methodological
comparison. Interacting with computers, 16(6), 1153-1170.
- Elling, S., Lentz, L., & De Jong, M. (2012). Combining concurrent think-aloud protocols and eye-
tracking observations: An analysis of verbalizations and silences. IEEE transactions on professional
communication, 55(3), 206-220.
Content Analysis (lecturer: Jordy Gosselt)
Required reading / exam material:
- Book chapter 9 of Boeije, H. (2009). Analysis in qualitative research. Sage publications.
- Gosselt, J. F. , van Hoof, J. J., & Kokkeler, L. (2018). The framing of alcohol in (non-)sponsored
movies: A comparative content analysis of alcohol advertising and portrayals in sponsored and non-
sponsored Dutch movies. Drugs : education, prevention and policy, 25(5), 365-
375. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2017.1296932 (Links to an external site.)
- Jansma, S. R. , Gosselt, J. F., Kuipers, K. , & de Jong, M. D. T. (2020). Technology legitimation in the
public discourse: applying the pillars of legitimacy on GM food. Technology Analysis and Strategic
Management, 32(2), 195-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2019.1648788 (Links to an external
site.)
Observation Techniques (lecturer: Joris van Hoof)
Required reading / exam material:
- Gosselt, J. F., van Hoof, J. J., de Jong, M. D., & Prinsen, S. (2007). Mystery shopping and alcohol
sales: Do supermarkets and liquor stores sell alcohol to underage customers?. Journal of adolescent
health, 41(3), 302-308.
- Van Hoof, J. J. (2017). The effectiveness of ID readers and remote age verification in enhancing
compliance with the legal age limit for alcohol. The European Journal of Public Health, 27(2), 357-359.
Research Ethics, reporting (lecturer: Joris van Hoof)
Required reading / exam material:
- Book chapter 3 and 10 of Boeije, H. (2009). Analysis in qualitative research. Sage publications.
Exam and exam materials:
Online exams:
o The exam is scheduled on March 10 (13.45 – 16.45)
o The re-sit exam is scheduled on April 22 (13.45 – 16.45)
, Materials / readings to be studied for the exam:
o Boeije, H. (2009). Analysis in qualitative research. Sage publications.
(chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10)
o Lecture articles (see info on Canvas Modules)
o Lecture slides / lecture content (note: lecture attendance is advisory)
Exam format:
o 25 MC questions, related to book chapters and articles
o 5 open questions, related to the methods discussed during the lectures.
o Pass/fail criteria: grade MC (50%) + grade Open (50%) must in total be above 5.5. Hence,
compensation between MC and Open part of exam is possible.
Lecture 1: Introduction and Focus Group Research
1A: Introduction to qualitative research
Slides:
The essence of qualitative research: “Qualitative research generally starts with the assumptions that
individuals have an active role in the construction of social reality and that research methods that
can capture this process of social construction are required.” (Boeije, 2009. p.p 6)
Diversity in qualitative research:
Conversation and/or discourse analysis from a language point of view or…,
Qualitative research to interpret and explain human experiences and behaviour.
Phenomenology (i.e. by interviewing)
Ethnographic studies (i.e. by observing)
Case study analysis (i.e. by focus group research)
Participatory research (i.e. by usability research)
Narrative studies (i.e. by content or discourse analysis)
Qualitative and quantitative research might be intertwined (see examples)
Boeije (2009), on page 11 of her book, use a definition for qualitative research, taking into account
three key elements:
1. Qualitative research is looking for meaning
2. Qualitative research is using methods enabling contact with or between humans / participants
3. Qualitative research involves the reporting of qualitative findings
How to design a qualitative research:
In chapter 2 of Boeije (2009), the process outline of designing a qualitative research is presented.
Basically Boeije distinguishes following steps in setting-up a qualitative research:
1. Draft a research planning / proposal
2. Perform a literature review
3. Formulate the research question and purpose of the study
4. Legitimize the choice for qualitative research
5. Formulate a strategy for sampling and recruiting participants
, Perform a literature review
Boeije (2009) challenges whether literature research actually relevant when conducting
qualitative research…
It was argued that, performing a literature review may block researchers from being
open-minded towards the topic being researched.
However, currently - and in general - a proper literature review in qualitative research is
perceived as very important…
…, to accumulate on to other / previous research findings
…, to proper introduce the central problem area or domain
…, to indicate the gaps in literature addressed by the study
…, to convince funding commissioners of the (scientific) relevance of the proposed study
Legitimize the choice for qualitative research
It is important that choosing a qualitative approach is in line with the central research question
and purpose. Depending on the topic(s) studied, reasons to choose for a qualitative design can
be because of:
The explorative nature of the topic
The descriptive nature of the topic
The explanatory nature of the study
The changing nature of the topic(s) studied / responsiveness of the method
The (direct) usability of findings
The sensitive nature of the topic(s) studied
Formulate a strategy for sampling and recruiting participants
1. Choose or select the appropriate research context or setting to collect data and define a strategy
to recruit participants.
Ultimately this is important to demonstrate (face) validity of research findings
2. Purposive sampling of participants
More or less contrary to the (random) sampling procedures in quantitative
research, selecting participants based on their specific characteristics is often
applied in qualitative research.
However, and depending on the topic, sampling of participants may also involve
looking for a degree of diversity in the population.
Hence, depending on the topics studied, you may need to focus, or you may
need to diverge participant selection and recruitment.
Formulate a strategy for sampling and recruiting participants
Recruiting and accessing (or contacting) participants can be a very open or public procedure, as
well as a very closed or selective procedure.
Depending on the sensitivity of the topic, some ethical concerns may also arise.
Think about recruiting participants with certain type of illness
Or recruiting participants who have been a victim of (cyber-)bullying on the workplace.
Always consider whether you are targeting the right participants for your research and be as
objective as possible when selecting your participants.
Think about random chance when selecting participants
