Marcus Ormerod

The University of Salford

Usually concerned with a deep understanding of “real world” issues

Hypothesis generating

Insider researcher approach compatible

Techniques can be developed as research unfolds

Emerged from Social Science research

Still gaining credibility in some disciplines

Criticised for its subjective nature

Case Study

Action Research

Archival analysis

Ethnographic research

Feminist/Emancipatory research

Grounded theory

Surveys (can also be quantitative)◦ Interviews

◦ Questionnaires

◦ Observations

Cases can be anything you want to focus on

Cases are studied in their context and comparison can be made between them

Gives chance for in-depth study

Can use a variety of techniques to collect data

The timing of cases needs to fit with your study period

Play to strengths, be open about weaknesses

Work as a team

Give everyone a chance

Respect others views

Work towards a common goal

Communication should be inclusive

Create comfortable working environments

The researcher is involved in the situation and trying to resolve a problem, or implement a change

More suitable to practitioners in the workplace

Resolves practical problems

Needs the organisation to commit to the project

Reviews existing documents and records

Assumes you can get access to the records

Assumes the documents are accurate reflection of what happened

Seeks to understand the life and customs of people in a particular culture

Involves participant observation

Needs careful ethical consideration

A very flexible approach is needed

Difficult for the novice researcher

Usually applied with research involving groups that are marginalised by a society

Researching with, rather than on, a group

Tendency towards qualitative data collection

Researcher immerses themselves in area to be studied in order to determine the research questions that emerge

Usually not theory driven

Requires careful coding and analysis of qualitative data

So what‟s with this ageing society thing?

„The interview is a kind of conversation – a conversation with a purpose‟ (Robson 2003)

„The interview is initiated by the interviewer for the specific purpose of obtaining research relevant information and focussed by him on content specified by research objectives of systematic description, prediction or explanation‟ (Cohen and Manion 1989:307)

„Interviewing is a powerful way of helping people to make explicit things that have hitherto been implicit –to articulate their tacit knowledge, feelings and understandings‟

(Arksey & Knight 1993:32)

Fully structured – predetermined set of questions are asked; responses are recorded on a standardised schedule; in effect similar to a questionnaire

Semi-structured – set of questions worked out in advance, but these may change during the interview

Unstructured – completely informal; there is a general issue to be discussed but the conversation develops as it goes along; also called “non directive”

There is a need to attain highly personalised data

There are opportunities for probing

A good response rate is important

Participants have difficulty with language

Participants would struggle with alternative techniques such as a questionnaire

Can test hypotheses, or identify variables and their relationships with each other

Alternative method to postal survey low response rate

Flexible and adaptable way of finding things out

Interviewer can pick up on non verbal communication

Interviewer can follow-up interesting responses and probe

Potential for rich and highly illuminating data –participants personal knowledge, values, preferences and attitudes

Complimentary other research techniques (triangulation)

(Cohen and Manion 1997, Gray 2004, Robson 2003)

Time consuming – (less than 30 minutes unlikely to get good data; more than one hour participant has had enough)

Further time consuming – preparation, during the interview and post interview

Some groups of people do not want to be interviewed

Data can be affected by the characteristics of the respondents

Participants may feel anonymity is compromised by interview process

Participants may not accurately report their beliefs, attitudes, etc.

Please consider the following questions….

1. Do you like the design of the paper?

2. Why?

3. Is it easy to open?

4. Did the taste / flavour of the sweet meet your expectations?

5. Did the texture of the sweet meet your expectations?

6. Anything else you would like to add ….

Have their roots in focus groups for market research

Increasing popularity over the last 10 years

Typically small group of 8-10 people

Used to explore issues / preferences

Follows the principles of one-to-one interviews

Unlikely to be very structured

Typically would not use a questionnaire in the group

context

Useful as an exploratory study

Less time consuming than one-to-one interviews

Used to gain consensus and agreement

Allows for a variety of ideas to emerge

Group members can contribute to the stimulation of new ideas

Heavily reliant on recording of conversation

Very difficult to record exactly who said what

Needs a well organised facilitator

Needs a good facilitator to manage group dynamics and over-enthusiastic participants

Listen more than you speak

Ask questions in a straightforward, clear and non-threatening way

Send the participant a copy of the questions in advance

Avoid cues which lead the participant to respond in a particular way

Record the interview in a number of formats

Transcribe the interview and ask the participant to sign it off

Maintain anonymity of the participant

Ensure ethical guidelines are followed

Consider personal safety

Interviews with 200 people to find out their likes and dislikes (preferences) for design features of the external environment and the reasons for their preferences, so we asked about footways, crossing the road, seating, toilets, public art, street greenery, signage for example

Consent Form for Research Project: Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors (I‟DGO)

I confirm that I have read and understand the information sheet for the above study and have had the opportunity to ask questions.I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw at any time, without giving reason.I understand that my name will not be used in publications.

I agree to take part in the interview for the above study.I agree to the interview being tape-recorded.

Name of Participant DateAddress and telephone number of participant

Name of Researcher Date

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wooden,

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rests

modern

wooden,

back rest

stone bench metal, back

rest

Participants keen to give you their life experiences

Researcher from Croatia so participants wanted to talk about World War 2

Comprehensive and structured questionnaire format for the interview

The questionnaire was far too long and participants became both bored and tired

Participants gave long answers to the first sections of the questionnaire

We asked the most important questions last

We are still analysing some of the data (2 years later!)

We formed good relationships with some of the participants

Observation of people

◦ Overt

◦ Covert

Observation of objects

◦ Physical measures of erosion, or accretion

◦ Placement of objects within the space

There are 2 polar extremes (Saunders et al 2000) –

Participant Observation – qualitative (text) approach,

„the meanings people give to their actions‟ (Gray 2004)

The complete participant

The marginal participant

The participant as observer

The observer as participant

Structured Observation – quantitative (numbers) approach,

„the frequency of actions‟ (Gray 2004)

„Interview and questionnaire responses are notorious for discrepancies between what people say they have done, or will do, and what they did‟ (Oskamp 1977, Hanson 1980 cited in Robson 2003)

Useful at the initial exploratory stage of research to help inform hypothesis development (typically the observation would be unstructured)

Useful as a supportive or supplementary technique to complement other data collection methods

Can provide a rich picture „an appropriate technique for getting at “real life” in the “real world”‟ (Robson 2003)

Robson defines Participant Observation as

„The observer seeks to become some kind of member of

the observed group. This involves not only a physical

presence and a sharing of life experiences, but also entry

into their social and symbolic world through learning their

social conventions and habits, their use of language and

non verbal communication etc‟ (Robson 2003)

Quite immersive !

The observer conceals that they are an observer, acting as naturally as possible, and seeking to become a full member of the group

An example cited in Robson (2003) is Festinger et al (1956) who infiltrated a sect who predicted the destruction of the world on a particular date

“Research from a covert or manipulative perspective is generally not acceptable” (Kirby and McKenna 1989)

The role as a participant is marginal (small) but the role is still covert but more acceptable, so examples would be as a passenger on a train observing the behaviour of fellow passengers

Zeisel (1984:119) however suggests that just because you know what role you are taking, do not assume this is obvious to those being observed. He gives the example of a marginal observer taking the role of spectator watching a football game in the local park, but the footballers may think he is the local park attendant about to stop them playing on the grass

The role of the observer is made clear to the group

The role is made clear. The observer then tries to establish close relationships with the group, so by participating in activities etc the observer has a dual role as both observer and participant.

Because the role is made clear, gaining the trust of the group is very important

The observer is known to the group as an observer but takes no part in the activity (Gold 1958 cited in

Robson 2003)

We are not counting, we are collecting data on the meanings people give to their actions

Based on field notes the observer would typically record: Key quotations and phrases

Observation of verbal behaviours

Observation of non verbal behaviours

Time of events and activities

Observers views and feelings at the time of observation

(Berg 1995 cited in Gray 2004, Gray 2004)

Limit the time in the field (Berg 1995 suggests 1 hour in the field = minimum 4 hours write-up, write up full notes immediately)

Structured observation tends to be detached “pure” observation as a way of quantifying behaviour

The key feature is the development of a coding scheme – which can be a category system or checklist and its use by trained observers

Category system = small number of items fairly general in nature

Checklist = long series of items which can be recorded

Coding schemes discussed further in Walker 1985 (cited in Robson 2003)

Gives reliable data because working off a checklist

Researcher can be objective (because working off a checklist)

Can be used across different observational sites (so good replication)

Data generated is easier to analyse than data from participant observation methods

Questionnaires - snapshot

Postal

Delivery and collection

face-to-face

telephone

electronic

Interviews - snapshot

face-to-face (individual or group)

telephone

electronic

Panel surveys - longitudinal

Probability samples simple random

systemic

stratified

cluster

multi-stage

Non-probability samples quota

dimensional

convenience

purposive

snowball

Data collection

◦ Quantitative: Emphasis on numeric data

◦ Qualitative: Emphasis on non-numeric data in the

form of words and phrases

Use of statistics

◦ Descriptive statistics: Data is presented in variety

of ways, characteristics identified

◦ Inferential Statistics: To draw conclusions about

the population

Code quantitative data for entry into statistical package

Identify markers for themes and trends in qualitative data

Patterns, themes, trends, categories

Explanation-building

Rich pictures

Environmental-behaviour analysis

Triangulation with other methods

Counting - categorising data and measuring frequency

Patterning - noting recurring patterns or themes

Clustering - grouping items with similar characteristics

Factoring - grouping variables into hypothetical factors

Relating variables - relationships

Building causal networks

Clarify the nature of the initial relationships

◦ is it causal?

Account for unexpected findings

Check for robustness of the initial findings relationships

◦ is the pattern likely to apply only to this sample, does it work for subgroups, does it persist with different indicators?

Eliminate alternative explanations of the findings

Khan 2008

Reliability subject error

subject bias

observer error

observer bias

Construct validity face validity

predictive criterion validity

Having Fun!!!!

SURFACE Inclusive Design Research CentreThe University of SalfordSOBE 4th Floor Maxwell BuildingSalford, England, M5 4WTTel +44 (0)161 295 5405Fax +44 (0)161 295 5011Website www.surface.salford.ac.uk

That‟s all for now folks!

Thanks

Arksey, H & Knight P (1999) Interviewing for social scientists, London, Sage.

Berg, BL (1985) Qualitative research methods for the social sciences, Needham Heights, MA, Allyn & Bacon

Cohen, L & Manion, L (1989) Research methods in education, London, Routledge

Crotty ,M (1998) The foundation of social science research: meaning and perspectives in the research process, London, Sage

Festinger, I, Riecken, HW & Schachter, S (1956) When prophecy fails, New York, Harper and Row

Gray DE (2004) Doing research in the real world, London, Sage

Khan, C. 2008. Doing Qualitative Research Using Your Computer: A Practical Guide. London: Sage

Kirby, S & McKenna, K (1989) Experience, research, social change: methods from the margins, Toronto, Garamond

Malinowski, B (1922) Argonauts of the western pacific, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul

Malinowski, B (1935ª) Coral gardens and their magic volume 1, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul

Malinowski, B (1935b) Coral gardens and their magic volume 2, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul

Robson, C (2003) Real world research, Oxford, Blackwells

Saunders, M, Lewis, P & Thornhill, A (2000) Research methods for business students, London, Prentice Hall

Walker, R (1985) Doing research: a handbook for teachers, London, Methuen

Zeisel, J (1984) Inquiry by design: tools for environment behaviour research, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press