Qualitative Research

Sean Bruna-Lewis, MA, PhD(c)

Ethnology & Linguistics

Department of Anthropology

University of New Mexico

GRC Fall Lecture Series

October 9, 2012

Photos from field research. Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (left); Community Garden in Albuquerque (top right), HSHPS Internship in Atlanta, GA (center right); Napo Runa Amazonian Ecuador (bottom right),

Overview

• What is qualitative research?

• Key differences between qualitative and quantitative research

• Different research designs

• Types of data: 3 Examples

• Data collection

• Data analysis

What Methods are you comfortable with?

• Quantitative (rank from 1 to 3, with 3 as the highest)

• Qualitative (I’m really comfortable. This one time….)

• Mixed (I’m the #1 expert)

• Neither (If a tree falls…..)

• I’m not sure

DefinitionsQualitative research is concerned with developing explanations of social phenomena among groups of people.

• Why people behave the way they do in a given context (structure/agency)

• How opinions and attitudes are formed

• How people are affected by the events that go on around them and how they shape events (opportunities/limitations)

• How and why cultures have developed in the way they have

• The differences between social groups

Differences Between Qualitative & Quantitative Research

• Quantitative research asks questions that begin include How many? In what way?

• Qualitative research asks How much? Preference? How /Why so often? To what extent? When?

• Qualitative research is also interested in:• social phenomena, in situ, not in the lab• opinions, experiences and feelings• Holistic, not variable• Inductive not deductive theoretical development of

world around us (deductive test a theory, for example)

Differences Between Qualitative & Quantitative Research

Qualitative

• Empirical

• Holistic (expanding)

• Phenomenological

• Descriptive

• Inductive

• Subjective

• “Natural”

Quantitative

• Empirical

• Reductionist (minimizing)

• Structured Scientific

• Experimental

• Deductive

• “Objective”

• Contrived

Both approaches are valuable, built on certain assumptions and have weaknesses.

Which Approach Would You Choose?Qualitative or Quantitative

• Compare the effectiveness of drug A versus B?

• National survey about car seat use by rural Latina mothers?

• Compare the effectiveness of a promotora led hypertension education program for frontier Latinos plus clinical care vs. only clinical care?

• Examination of how non-diabetic American Indian adults explain the cause of diabetes and their experience preventing it?

Key Aspects of Qualitative Research

Qualitative Research is:

• Focused on groups of people

• Contextualized in a specific research setting

• Built on researcher-participant relationships

• Immersed and impacted by the “real world”

• Guided by emic perspectives

• Described using Thick Description

4 Types of Qualitative Research Designs

• Phenomenology – study seeks to explore a phenomenon (neck pain and computer use, feeling “awkward”)

• Ethnology – seeks to understand the beliefs and practices of a specific group of people (religious gardens for diabetes prevention)

• Grounded Theory – understanding meaning in context (not being “lazy” is the reason why youth don’t get diabetes)

• Case Study – a specific unit of study as a “case” (how different Latino communities respond to “soda prohibition”)

Types of Data(there are many types)

Qualitative

• Primary• Key participant

interviews

• Focus Groups

• Participant-Observation

• Dietary Food Recalls

• Sorting

• Photo, Video, Audio

• Secondary• Document/Policy Analysis

• Archival Research

Quantitative

• Primary• Closed Survey

Questions

• Observational counts

• Data extraction from medical records

• Secondary• existing data sets

Texts Numbers

“Sowing the seeds to honor Tigua History and Tradition”:

A CBPR Study of Type II diabetes Prevention at Ysleta del Sur Pueblo

Dissertation research by Sean Bruna-Lewis and Ysleta del Sur Pueblo

Dissertation Research: “Sowing the Seeds for the Future to Honor Tigua History and Tradition”: A Community Based Participatory Research Study of Type II Diabetes Prevention Practices at Ysleta del Sur Pueblo

Tribal Property Map, El Paso County, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, 1999.

“Community based participatory research begins with a research topic of importance to the community with the aim of combining knowledge and action for social change

to improve community health and eliminate health disparities.”

W.K. Kellogg Community Scholar’s Program (2001)

Interviews

Structured

Semi-structured

Unstructured

Experimental in-situ or walking*

Simple Audio (if recorded)

Learn How To Ask:

(Lawyer vs. Mom, DC vs. YDSP)

Researcher Needs Personable Skills

Impacted by Gender, Place, Ethnicity

* note….

Focus Groups

Good when you have limited resources

Insights via group interaction

Discussion and Consensus

Researcher needs facilitation skills

6-10 participants

Enhanced audio recording equipment

Participant IDs for Tracking

Participants share something

Groups are natural or convened

Multiple Groups w/ different populations

Participant - Observation

• Require extended time (1 mo. – 2 years)

• Specific field/boundary and activity to observe (people, activity, environment, public private, etc.)

• Researcher needs people skills

• Advanced Ethnographic Skills & Training

• Participants share something

• Written, Video, Photography

Data Collection

• Monolingual, bi/tri-lingual, code switching, or other special language?

• Interview location and impact? Doctors office vs. Dinner Table vs. Community Garden .. vs. Taco Cabana music (doh!)

• Notes or no notes during interview?

• Record or not to record?

• Transcribe or not transcribe? (1 to 4 hour ratio for transcription. Fees = $100+/ hour)

• How to transcribe: “He was a good CHR.”• “He was a GOOD CHR.” (He was very good)• “HE was a good CHR.” (He was the only good one)• “He WAS a good CHR.” (He once was a good CHR)

• How to back up recordings?

Data Analysis

• Software or highlighters

• Format transcripts for software

• Decide on a Coding technique

• Decide on a content analysis process

• Reliability

• Triangulation

Resources

• QualQuant.org , National Science Foundation

• AdademyHealth.org, Academy Health

• Field Methods (FMX) Journal. fmx.sagepub.com/

• Research Methods in Anthropology. By H. Russell Bernard - AltaMira Press (2011)

• Ethnographers Toolkit. By Jean J. Schensul, Margaret Diane LeCompte, G. (eds) - AltaMira Press (1999)

• Research Methods for Community Change. By Randy Stoecker - Sage Publications (2012)

• Community-Based Participatory Research for Health: From Process to Outcomes. By Meredith Minkler and Nina Wallerstein – Jossey-Bass 2nd Edition, (2011)

• Research Is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods. By Shawn Wilson. Fernwood Publishing Company, (2009)

• Indigenous Research Methodologies. By Bagele Chilisa. Sage Publications (2011)

• Mobile Ecology Tools. List compiled by Dr. Emilio Bruna.http://www.wec.ufl.edu/faculty/brunae/MobileEcology.php

Software Recommendations: Mobile Field Tools And Digital Analysis

Analysis & Management Software

• Nvivo 9 - http://www.qsrinternational.com/• student - $199 or single user - $650

• Atlas.ti - http://www.atlasti.com/ • student - $99 or single user - $1,800

• Transana - http://www.transana.org/

• TAMS - http://tamsys.sourceforge.net/

• hyperResearch -http://www.researchware.com

• MAXQDA - http://www.maxqda.com/

• Dedoose - http://www.dedoose.com/

• Post-It Notes -http://www.post-it.com

Digital Data Collection

• iPhone/Pad

• Electronic Surveys

• Type Field Notes

• Transcribe interviews

• Digital Photos

Sean Bruna-LewisMA, PhD (c)

Andrew W. Mellon & RWJF Fellow

Department of Anthropology

University of New Mexico

sbruna@unm.edu http://BrunaLewis.com

twitter: bruna_lewis

Questions?