Qualitative Research Methods
Summary
Week 1..................................................................................................................................... 3
Lecture 1 - What and Why Qualitative Research? & Access............................................. 3
Article 1 - Merriam, S. B. (2009a). What Is Qualitative Research? In Qualitative
Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (third ed., pp. 3–19). Jossey-Bass..... 8
Article 2 - Ostrander, S. A. (1993). “Surely You’re Not in this Just to Be Helpful": Access,
Rapport, and Interviews in Three Studies of Elites. Journal of Contemporary
Ethnography, 22(1), 7-27.................................................................................................. 11
Week 2................................................................................................................................... 15
Lecture 2 - Research approaches & design..................................................................... 15
Article 1 - Myers, M. D. (2013a). Case Study Research. In Qualitative Research in
Business & Management(second ed., pp. 73–91). Sage................................................. 26
Article 2 - Myers, M. D. (2013b). Ethnographic Research. In Qualitative Research in
Business & Management(second ed., pp. 92–103). Sage............................................... 30
Article 3 - Myers, M. D. (2013c). Grounded Theory. In Qualitative Research in Business
& Management (second ed., pp. 104–118). Sage............................................................33
Article 4 - Patton, M. Q. (2002a). Designing Qualitative Studies. In Qualitative Research
& Evaluation Methods(third ed., pp. 209–257). Sage. (only pages 242-47 and 254-55 are
mandatory reading).......................................................................................................... 37
Week 3................................................................................................................................... 39
Lecture 3 - Data collection................................................................................................39
Article 1 - Patton, M. Q. (2002b). Fieldwork Strategies and Observation Methods. In
Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (third ed., pp. 259–332). Sage. (only pages
259-91 are mandatory reading)........................................................................................48
Article 2 - Patton, M. Q. (2002c). Qualitative Interviewing. In Qualitative Research &
Evaluation Methods (third ed., pp. 339–427). Sage. (only pages 339-84 are mandatory
reading)............................................................................................................................ 51
Week 4................................................................................................................................... 55
Lecture 4 - Data analysis..................................................................................................55
Article 1 - Kelle, U. (1997). Theory Building in Qualitative Research and Computer
Programs for the Management of Textual Data. Sociological Research Online, 2(2),
10-22................................................................................................................................ 63
Article 2 - Tracy, S. J. (2013). Data Analysis Basics: A Pragmatic Iterative Approach. In
Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating
Impact (pp. 183–202). Wiley-Blackwell............................................................................ 69
Week 5................................................................................................................................... 73
Week 6................................................................................................................................... 73
Lecture 5 - Data synthesis................................................................................................73
Article 1 - Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Drawing and Verifying
Conclusions. In Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook (third ed., pp.
275–321).......................................................................................................................... 83
Article 2 - Welch, C., Marschan-Piekkari, R., Penttinen, H., & Tahvanainen, M. (2002).
Corporate Elites as Informants in Qualitative International Business Research.
International Business Review, 11(5), 611-628................................................................ 85
Week 7................................................................................................................................... 87
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, Lecture 6 - Reporting qualitative research....................................................................... 87
Article 1 - Pratt, M. G. (2009). For the Lack of a Boilerplate: Tips on Writing Up (and
Reviewing) Qualitative Research. Academy of Management Journal, 52(5), 856–862... 94
Article 2 - Whittemore, R., Chase, S. K., & Mandle, C. L. (2001). Validity in Qualitative
Research. Qualitative Health Research, 11(4), 522–537................................................. 96
Article 3 - Merriam, S. B. (2009b). The Methodology Section of a Qualitative Research
Study. In Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (third ed., pp.
265–270). Jossey-Bass....................................................................................................98
Exam question examples.................................................................................................... 99
Question 1........................................................................................................................ 99
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,Week 1
Lecture 1 - What and Why Qualitative Research? & Access
What is qualitative research?
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
(Albert Einstein).
Qualitative research is systematic, empirical, critical, and iterative.
Systematic = Being systematic means that qualitative research follows a structured and
organized process.
Empirical = Empirical refers to the collection of data based on observation or experience.
Critical = Being critical involves questioning assumptions, examining biases, and scrutinizing
the research process and findings.
Iterative = Iterative means that the research process is repetitive and cyclical, allowing for
continuous refinement and development.
An useful metaphor:
Quantitative research = baking.
Qualitative research = cooking.
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,“Basically, qualitative researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people
have constructed, that is, how people make sense of their world and the experiences they
have in the world.” (Merriam, 2009).
“Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world.”
(Denzin & Lincoln, 2005).
“...an umbrella term covering an array of interpretive techniques which seek to describe,
decode, translate, and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the frequency, of
certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world.” (Van Maanen,
1979).
Rather than testing theory, qualitative research enables to build theory by inductively
analyzing social phenomena.
Qualitative research is primarily naturalistic: a study takes place in a real-world setting rather
than a laboratory, and whatever is being studied is allowed to happen “naturally”.
Qualitative researchers are interested in understanding how people interpret their
experiences, how they construct their worlds, and what meaning they attribute to their
experiences.
Qualitative research is an effort to understand situations. To understand the nature of the
setting, what it means for participants to be in that setting, what their lives are like, what’s
going on for them, what their meanings are, what the world looks like in that particular
setting.
Approach: What is knowable?
Interpretivist approach to the world:
● Data is constructed with participants. (you have an impact on the data).
● Data is expressed in language.
● “Subjective”.
● Linked to context.
● Seeking evidence of meaning.
Positivist approach to the world:
● Data is collected from the ‘real’ world.
● Data is expressed in numbers.
● “Objective”.
● Generalizable.
● Seeking evidence of frequency.
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,Data: how do we get knowledge?
Qualitative researchers look for ‘meaning’.
Methods for gathering interpretations… e.g.
● Interviews
● Ethnography
● Case studies
● Document analysis
➢ Focus is on “emic” perspective.
➢ The researcher’s intuition can be an asset.
Quantitative researchers look for ‘truth’.
Methods for collecting frequency… e.g.
● Surveys
● Polls
● Questionnaires
● Content analysis
➢ Focus is on “etic” perspective.
➢ The researcher’s influence should be minimized.
What do we do as qualitative researchers?
DO THE PRACTICE EXERCISES IN THE SLIDES OF THE LECTURE.
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,Access (1)
● To the “the field”: institution, subculture, group, etc.
○ Where you want to be - where your participants are.
● Looking for “participants”: people whom you can talk to and observe.
○ A “gatekeeper” - person responsible for authorizing your research.
● Your role as a researcher?
○ Peripheral, active or complete member (Adler & Adler, 1987).
Access (2)
● Access is something that increases over time.
○ Starts out limited - grows once “trust” has been established. May move from
peripheral to more active member of the research site.
● Different levels of access over time is good.
○ Allows you to experience “the field” as both an outsider and insider.
● Consider their point of view.
○ A research project is an intrusion into the life of the institution to be studied - it
can disrupt routines.
How to ask for “access”
● Network, via via
● Explain what exactly you need access to
● Is it confidential
● Are there any questions
● Don’t forget to follow up
Purpose of a research question
● Gives you a starting point for your investigation.
● Helps you narrow your focus.
● Acts as a guide, giving you a sense of purpose during data collection.
● Your question can change over time as you learn more about the context of your
study and further narrow your research purpose.
Research question form
● Should be a “how” question that includes: Subject, Action and Domain/context.
● Examples:
○ How can multi-stakeholder initiatives organize open strategizing when
tackling grand challenges?
○ How do modes of closure generate modes of openness? How are modes of
openness and closure orchestrated over time?
○ How can open innovation be organized for tackling grand challenges?
○ How are OI initiatives orchestrated around wicked problems with constantly
evolving sets of stakeholders?
○ When to close certain dimensions of an open organizing process to enable
particular open qualities and how to orchestrate such a dynamic process?
○ How do high reliability teams establish a positive climate to speak up during
mistakes? (surgeries).
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,Article 1 - Merriam, S. B. (2009a). What Is Qualitative
Research? In Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and
Implementation (third ed., pp. 3–19). Jossey-Bass.
Research is typically divided into the categories of basic and applied. Basic research is
motivated by intellectual interest in a phenomenon and has as its goal the extension of
knowledge. Its primary purpose is to know more about a phenomenon. Applied research is
undertaken to improve the quality of practice of a particular discipline. Applied social science
researchers generally are interested in speaking to an audience different from that of basic
researchers. They hope their work will be used by administrators and policymakers to
improve the way things are done. A form of applied research is evaluation studies. The
difference between evaluation and research lies in the questions asked, not in the methods
used. Evaluation research collects data or evidence on the worth or value of a program,
process, or technique. Its main purpose is to establish a basis for decision making. One
other form of applied research is action research. Action research has as its goal to address
a specific problem within a specific setting. This kind of research often involves the
participants in the research process. Action research is often conducted by people in the real
world who are interested in practical solutions to problems and who are interested in social
change.
Research is a systematic process by which we know more about something than we did
before engaging in the process. We can engage in this process to contribute to the
knowledge base in a field (pure research), improve the practice of a particular discipline
(applied research), assess the value of something (evaluation research), or address a
particular, localized problem (action research).
Survey or descriptive designs are intended to systematically describe the facts and
characteristics of a given phenomenon or the relationships between events and phenomena.
Sometimes these designs are grouped together and labeled “quantitative” because the focus
is on how much or how many and results are usually presented in numerical form.
Qualitative researchers are interested in understanding how people interpret their
experiences, how they construct their worlds, and what meaning they attribute to their
experiences.
Ontology = what one believes about the nature of reality.
Epistemology = what one believes about the nature of knowledge.
Carr and Kemmis make distinctions among three forms of research: positivist, interpretive,
and critical. To this typology Lather adds poststructural and postmodern. A positivist
orientation assumes that reality exists “out there” and it is observable, stable, and
measurable. Interpretive research assumes that reality is socially constructed, that is, there
is no single, observable reality. Rather, there are multiple realities, or interpretations, of a
single event. Researchers do not “find” knowledge, they construct it. Critical research goes
beyond uncovering the interpretation of people’s understandings of their world. Those who
engage in critical research frame their research questions in terms of power - who has it,
how it’s negotiated, what structures in society reinforce the current distribution of power, and
so on. A postmodern world is one where the rationality, scientific method, and certainties of
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,the modern world no longer hold. Explanations for the way things are in the world are
nothing but myths or grand narratives. There is no single truth, rather there are multiple
truths. Postmodernists celebrate diversity among people, ideas, and institutions.
Epistemological perspectives
Positivist / Interpretive / Critical Postmodern /
Postpositivist Constructivist Poststructural
Purpose Predict, control, Describe, Change, Deconstruct,
generalize understand, emancipate, problematize,
interpret empower question,
interrupt
Types Experimental, Phenomenology, Neo-Marxist, Postcolonial,
survey, quasi- ethnography, feminist, poststructural,
experimental hermeneutic, participatory action postmodern,
grounded theory, research (PAR), queer theory
naturalistic / critical race theory,
qualitative critical ethnography
Reality Objective, Multiple realities, Multiple realities, Questions
external, out context-bound situated in political, assumption that
there social, cultural there is a place
contexts (one reality where reality
is privileged) resides; “Is there
a there there?”
“Qualitative research is an umbrella term covering an array of interpretive techniques which
seek to describe, decode, translate, and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the
frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world” (Van
Maanen, 1979). Qualitative researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people
have constructed, that is, how people make sense of their world and the experiences they
have in the world.
Four characteristics to understand the nature of qualitative research:
● The focus is on process, understanding, and meaning.
● The researcher is the primary instrument of data collection and analysis.
● The process is inductive.
● The product is richly descriptive.
The focus is on process, understanding, and meaning:
The overall purposes of qualitative research are to achieve an understanding of how people
make sense out of their lives, delineate the process (rather than the outcome or product) of
meaning-making, and describe how people interpret what they experience. The key concern
is understanding the phenomenon of interest from the participants’ perspectives, not the
researcher’s. This is sometimes referred to as the emic or insider’s perspective, versus the
etic or outsider’s view.
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, The researcher is the primary instrument of data collection and analysis:
The human instrument, which is able to be immediately responsive and adaptive, would
seem to be the ideal means of collecting and analyzing data. Researchers can expand their
understanding through nonverbal as well as verbal communication, summarize, and check
with the respondents for accuracy. However, the human instrument has biases that might
have an impact on the study. It is important to identify the biases and monitor them as to how
they may be shaping the collection and interpretation of data.
The process is inductive:
Researchers gather data to build concepts, hypotheses, or theories rather than deductively
testing hypotheses as in positivist research. Qualitative researchers build toward theory from
observations and intuitive understanding gleaned from being in the field and doing interviews
and observations.
The product is richly descriptive:
Words and pictures rather than numbers are used to convey what the researcher has
learned about a phenomenon. Data in the form of quotes from documents, field notes, and
participant interviews or a combination of these are always included in support of the
findings of the study.
Characteristics of qualitative and quantitative research
Point of comparison Qualitative research Quantitative research
Focus of research Quality (nature, essence) Quantity (how much, how
many)
Philosophical roots Phenomenology, symbolic Positivism, logical
interactionism, constructivism empiricism, realism
Associated phrases Fieldwork, ethnographic, Experimental, empirical,
naturalistic, grounded, statistical
constructivist
Goal of investigation Understanding, description, Prediction, control,
discovery, meaning, hypothesis description, confirmation,
generating hypothesis testing.
Design characteristics Flexible, evolving, emergent Predetermined, structured
Sample Small, nonrandom, purposeful, Large, random,
theoretical representative
Data collection Researcher as primary Inanimate instruments
instrument, interviews, (scales, tests, surveys,
observations, documents questionnaires, computers)
Primary mode of analysis Inductive, constant comparative Deductive, statistical
method
Findings Comprehensive, holistic, Precise, numerical
expansive, richly descriptive
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