Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e

3.1

Chapter 3

Designing a Qualitative Study

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3.2

Key Questions

• What are the key characteristics of all qualitative studies?

• When do we use qualitative research? • What is required to undertake a

qualitative research study? • How do we design a qualitative study? • What topics should be addressed in a

plan or proposal for a qualitative study?

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Definitions: Denzin and Lincoln

Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world. It consists of a set of interpretive, material practices that make the world visible. These practices transform the world. They turn the world into a series of representations, including field notes, interviews, conversations, photographs, recordings and memos to self. At this level, qualitative research involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to the world. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. (2005, p.3)

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Definitions: Creswell Qualitative research begins with assumptions, a

worldview, the possible use of theoretical lens, and the study of research problems inquiring into the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem. To study this problem, qualitative researchers use an emerging qualitative approach to inquiry, the collection of data in a natural setting sensitive to the people and places under study, and data analysis that is inductive and establishes patterns or themes. The final written report or presentation includes the voices of participants, the reflexivity of the researcher, a complexity, description, and interpretation of the problem, and it extends the literature or signals a call for action. (Creswell 2007)

Characteristics of Qualitative Research

Characteristics LeCompte & Schensul (1999)

Marshall & Rossman (1999)

Hatch (2002)

Natural setting field focused as source of data for close inaction

Yes Yes Yes

Researcher as key instrument of data collection Yes

Multiple data sources in words or images Yes Yes

Analysis of data inductively, recursively, interactively Yes Yes Yes

Focus on participants’ perspectives, their meaning, their subjective views

Yes Yes

Frames human behavior and belief within a social-political/historical context or cultural lens

Yes

Emergent rather than tightly prefigure Yes Yes

Fundamentally interpretive – researcher reflects on her/his role, role of the reader, and the role of the participants in shaping the study

Yes

Views social phenomenon holistically Yes Yes

3.5Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e

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Common Characteristics ofQualitative Research

• Natural setting• Researcher as key instrument• Multiple sources of data• Inductive data analysis• Participant meanings• Emergent design• Theoretical lens• Interpretive• Holistic account

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When to Use Qualitative Research

• When there is a need to explore a problem or an issue

• When there is a need to have complex detailed understanding of an issue

• When there is a need to empower individuals to tell their story and hear their voices

• When there is a need to write in a literary flexible style that conveys stories, plays or poems without the restrictions of formal academic structures of writing

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When to Use Qualitative Research

• When there is a need to understand the contexts or settings of the participants

• When there is a need to follow up quantitative research to help explain linkages in causal theories or models

• When there is a need to develop theories when only partial or inadequate theories exist

• When quantitative measures do not fit the problem

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What the Qualitative Researcher Must be Willing to Do

• Commit extensive time in the field • Engage in complex and time-consuming data

analysis – Sorting through large amounts of data– Reducing data to a few themes or categories

• Write long passages – The evidence must substantiate claims– Writer must show multiple perspectives

• Participate in a form of social and human science research that does not have firm guidelines or specific procedures and is evolving and changing constantly

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Designing a Qualitative Study:A Social Science Framework

• Identify an issue or problem• Examine the literature related to the

problem to locate deficiencies• Construct a purpose and write research

questions• Gather data• Analyze data• Write the report• Are sensitive to ethical considerations• Use validity strategies

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Designing a Qualitative Study:Differences to Consider

• The use of the literature– It is used to inform the questions asked– It may be reviewed late – It may only be used to help document the

importance of the research problem

• The use of theory– Ethnographers use cultural theory as a basic

building block– Grounded theory develops theory during the

process of research– A priori theories may be used in some

disciplines

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What Constitutes a “Good” Qualitative Study

• The study uses rigorous data collection procedures

• The study recognizes philosophical assumptions and key characteristics of qualitative research

• The study uses an accepted “approach” to qualitative research (such as advanced in this book)

• The study has a single focus

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What Constitutes a “Good” Qualitative Study

• The study includes detailed methods• The study uses multiple levels of analysis• The study is written persuasively• The study demonstrates reflexivity of the

author(s)• The study is ethical

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Writing Formats for a Qualitative Proposal or Plan

• Scientific approaches• Storytelling• Performances• Poems• Some structures contain a theoretical lens • Some structures serve to advocate for

change• No one standard is accepted structure• Writing formats many times vary with the

approaches to qualitative research

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Three Models of Writing Structures for Qualitative Proposals/Plans

• Structure without a theoretical lens or advocacy perspective (Creswell, 2003)

• Structure with a theoretical lens and an advocacy perspective (Marshall & Rossman, 1999; Creswell, 2003)

• Structure based on nine central arguments (Maxwell, 1996)

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A General Approach (Creswell, 2003)• Introduction

– Statement of the problem (including literature)– Purpose of the study– Research questions– Delimitations and limitations of the study– Significance of the study

• Procedures– Characteristics of qualitative research (optional)– Qualitative research strategy– Role of the researcher– Data collection procedures– Data analysis procedures– Verification procedures– Narrative structure

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A General Approach (Creswell, 2003)

• Anticipated ethical issues• Significance of the study• Preliminary pilot findings• Appendices

– Interview protocols– Observational protocols– Timeline– Proposed budget

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A Proposal That Includes a Theoretical Lens (Marshall & Rossman, 1999)

• Introduction– Overview– Type and purpose– Potential significance– Framework and general research questions

• Review of related literature– Theoretical traditions

• Essays by informed experts (related research)

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A Proposal That Includes a Theoretical Lens (Marshall & Rossman, 1999)

• Design and methodology– Overall approach and rationale– Site or population selection– Data-gathering methods– Data analysis procedures– Trustworthiness– Personal biography– Ethics and political considerations

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Advocacy/Participatory Format (Creswell, 2003)

• Introduction– Statement of the problem (including

relevant literature about the problem)– Advocacy/Participatory issue– Purpose of the study– The research questions– Delimitations and limitations of the study

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Advocacy/Participatory Format (Creswell, 2003)

• Procedures– Characteristics of qualitative research (optional)– Qualitative research strategy– Role of the researcher– Data collection procedures (including

collaborative approaches used and sensitivity toward the participants)

– Data recording procedures– Data analysis procedures– Strategies for validating findings– Narrative structure of the report

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Advocacy/Participatory Format (Creswell, 2003)

• Anticipated ethical issues• Significance of the study• Preliminary pilot findings• Expected advocacy/participatory changes• Appendices

– Interview protocols– Observational protocols– Timeline– Proposed budget

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Adaptation of Maxwell’s (1996) Approach

• We need to better understand… (the topic).

• We know little about… (the topic).• I propose to study…• The setting and participants are

appropriate for this study.• The methods I plan to use will provide

the data I need to answer the research questions.

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Study Proposal Outline: Adaptation of Maxwell’s (1996) Approach

• Analysis will generate answers to these questions.

• The findings will be validated by…• The study poses no serious ethical

problems.• Preliminary results support the

practicability and value of the study.

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Chapter 3

Designing a Qualitative Study