Summary Qualitative Research Methods
Chapter 1 – The foundations of qualitative research
There is no single way of carrying out qualitative research, but it depends on:
- Their beliefs about the nature of the social world, ontology.
- The nature of knowledge and how it can be acquired, epistemology.
- The purpose and goals of the research; the characteristics of research participants; the audience
for the research; the funders; the positions and environments of the researchers.
The nature of qualitative research
It is difficult to give one definition to qualitative research, but key elements of the research are:
- Aims and objectives are directed at providing an in-depth and interpreted understanding of the
social world of research.
- Use of non-standardized, adaptable methods of data generation that are sensitive to the social
context.
- Data that are detailed, rich and complex.
- Analysis that retains complexity and nuance.
- Openness to emergent categories.
- Output that include detailed descriptions.
- A reflexive approach, where the role and perspective of the researcher is acknowledged.
Key philosophical issues in social research
Different understandings of philosophical issues have led to different approaches to qualitative research.
Some of these relate to ontology and epistemology.
Ontology
The nature of reality and what there is to know about the world. Key questions are:
- Is there such thing as social reality that exists independently of human conceptions and
interpretations?
- Is there a shared social reality or only context-specific ones?
Two opposing ontological positions are realism and idealism.
Realism: there is an external reality, which exists independently of people’s beliefs about, or
understanding of it there is a difference between how the world actually is and the meaning and
interpretation of it held by individuals.
Idealism: reality is fundamentally mind-dependent and is only knowable through the human mind and
socially constructed meanings, no reality exists independently.
Naïve realism: reality can be observed directly and accurately
Cautious realism: reality can be known approximately or imperfectly
, Depth realism: different level empirical domain: what we experience; actual domain: exists
regardless of whether or not it is observed; real domain: underlying processes and mechanisms
Subtle realism: external reality exists but is only know through human mind and socially
constructed meaning
Materialism: recognizes only material features, tangible aspects
Subtle idealism: social world is made up of representations constructed and shared by people
Radical idealism: no shared social reality, only a series of different individual constructions.
Epistemology
Concerned with ways of knowing and learning about the world and focusses on issues such as how we
can learn about reality, and what forms the basis of our knowledge. There are some key issues:
- How is knowledge acquired? Induction vs deduction
o Induction: patterns or theories are derived from observations. Qualitative research is
often inductive.
o Deduction: logically derived hypothesis are tested against observations.
There is no such thing as pure induction or deduction, so there are two more strategies:
o Retroduction: Devise a possible explanation for patterns in data and identify structures
that might have produced them.
o Abduction: Everyday ideas, activities or beliefs are described using participants’
language and meanings.
- The relationship between researcher and that researched, and how this influences the
connection between facts and values.
o Objective: that being researched is independent of and unaffected by the behavior of
the researcher.
o Empathic neutrality: recognizes research cannot be value free but advocates that
researchers should try to make their assumptions, biases and values transparent.
o Value mediated: the relationship between the researcher and what is researched is
interactive, thus the findings are mediated through the researcher, or agreed upon
researcher and participants.
- What is truth?
o Correspondence: there is a match between observations of the natural world and an
independent reality.
o Coherence theory of truth: reality can only be gauged in a consensual way; if more
reports confirm a statement, it is true.
, o Pragmatic theory of truth: an interpretation is true if it leads to actions that produce
the desired/predicted results.
Key developments and traditions in qualitative research methods
Traditions: schools of thought within qualitative research. Different school give different answers to
questions about the nature of the social world, what it is possible to know about it, and how we can
arrive at this knowledge. Overview in table 1.6, page 18.
Choosing an approach
While some researchers might want to stick to one traditions, it may be good to look per study at the
aims and context of the study, to choose the tradition that best fits the study pragmatism.
Chapter 2 – The applications of qualitative methods to
social research
Theoretical and applied research
Theoretical research: the aim of testing, generating or enhancing thinking within a particular discipline.
Applied research: using knowledge acquired through research to contribute directly to the
understanding or resolution of an issue.
Within social sciences, there is a debate whether you should distinguish between applied and
theoretical research. There is a view that social research is at its most useful when theoretical insights
and social investigation are mutually enhancing: social policy research.
The functions of qualitative research
Some functions of social research in general, based on key stages of the policy-making cycle:
- Formulation: research is required to understand a social problem and/or to generate ideas for a
policy.
- Implementation: research focuses on the process of implementing a policy.
- Appraisal: assessing impacts.
From these, a classification of functions of social research can be drawn:
- Contextual: describing the form or nature of what exists. Descriptive or exploratory qualitative
research.
- Explanatory: examining the reasons for what exists.
- Evaluative: appraising the effectiveness of what exists.
- Generative: aiding the development of theories, strategies or actions.
, Qualitative research as an independent research strategy
There are certain circumstances where a qualitative approach is the only approach needed to address a
research question. Generally, factors that determine whether qualitative methods should be used are
related to the objectives of the research, but they can also be related to the subject. This is the case with
the following features:
- Ill-defined/not well understood
- Deeply rooted
- Complex
- Specialist
- Delicate or intangible
- Sensitive
Combining qualitative and quantitative methods
A combination is often found in applied research.
Approached to mixing methods
Qualitative research is still seen as preliminary compared to quantitative research. A more effective way
to combine the two methods is to see them as equal but separate, suited to answering different
questions about the same topic. They can also be mixed to see them as triangulation of each other:
describing a social phenomenon from different perspectives, which each perspective testing and adding
to or validating the other, to make up for the others’ blind spots.
Sequencing of quantitative and qualitative methods
Qualitative research may precede statistical enquiry, accompany it or may be used in some form of
follow-up study.
Mixing qualitative methods
An interview with for example both interviews and focus group. The objectives of the study and the
nature of the data required will be central to whether or not using mixed methods.
Chapter 3 – Design issues
A good research study is one with a clearly defined purpose and coherence between objectives, the
research questions and the methods used. It also generates data which are meaningful, robust and
relevant. Choosing the right research design will result in this, because of the following aspects of the
research design.
Defining the research question
Identifying the research topic
An initial idea for a research is framed through the review of existing theory, research and literature on a
theory, problem or hunch of the researcher or the funder. The research questions develop by talking to
people whose daily lives bring them in contact with the topic.
