qualitative research methods communication research week 12
TRANSCRIPT
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Qualitative Research Methods
Communication ResearchWeek 12
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Who uses qualitative methods? Philosophers Psychologists Sociologists Anthropologists Students of literature Historians …anyone who finds the methods of the
physical sciences inappropriate for understanding human realities
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Why qualitative methods?
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
… Albert Einstein
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Varieties of Qualitative Methods
Sources of data can include: One’s own immediate experience Other’s experiences that can be
sought to be understood via … their speaking or writing their other behaviours their other products – technology,
artwork, footprints etc
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Qualitative Methods
provide in-depth descriptions study things in natural settings
from the individual’s perspective complexity
in-depth examination of a number of issues
contextual situational and environmental concerns
specific to people
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Myths and Realities of Qualitative Research
Qualitative research …
is not as reliable as takes more time than does not involve numbers like is generalisable unlike is subjective unlike is not as systematic as
…quantitative research
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Why do some researchers prefer qualitative methods?
Ethical concerns about manipulation Reliance on measurement a concern Issue of control in quantitative
methods Concern on quantitative tendency to
reductionism Concern that experimental methods
are deterministic
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Some types of qualitative research methods
Historical Survey Case Study Participant Observation Ethnography Phenomenological Interviews
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Historical Research
Studies available data to study, understand, and interpret past events
Uses primary, secondary and tertiary data sources Art or science? Interpretation can change over time and according
to political, social and philosophical perspectives ie historical revisionism was Australia “discovered” or “invaded”? C19th Colonialism and the “White Man’s Burden”
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Views of history
History is the record of progress … History is the study of class conflict …
Marx History is bunk … Henry Ford History is the story of great figures … History is the study of everyday life …
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What is history?
“These so-called facts which are the the same for all historians, commonly belong to the category of raw materials of the historian rather than of history itself … The necessity to establish these basic facts rests not with any quality in the facts themselves, but on an ‘a priori’ decision of the historian …
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What is history? …continued
It used to be said that facts speak for themselves. This is, of course untrue. The facts speak only when the historian calls on them: it is he who decides to which facts to give the floor, and in what order or context.”… E.H. Carr (1961,5) What is history?
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Potential problems of historical research
Limited to data already available
Excessive reliance on secondary sources
Uncertainty about authenticity and/or accuracy of sources
Lack of objectivity
Need to find patterns/weave a narrative
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Case Studies
Pioneered by Sigmund Freud – case of Anna O
Examine the characteristics of a particular entity, phenomenon, or person
Focus is on a single subject or unit (could be multiple individuals)
A rich account of a phenomenon not available by other means
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Problems with case studies Limited generalisability
Deep but not broad
What you see is not always what you get
Researchers notes may only reflect one reality
Observer (researcher) bias
Cause-effect links difficult to validate
Need for extensive data collection
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Ethnographic Research studies cultural patterns and perspectives of
participants in their natural settings describes and analyses practices and beliefs of
cultures and communities guided by theory: anthropology, education,
psychology understand the culture from insider and outsider
perspective focus on behaviors, ideas, beliefs, knowledge, etc…
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Phenomenological Research considers how the experience of particular
participants exhibits a unique perspective aims to understand and describe an event
from the point of view of the participant subjective experience is the centre of the
inquiry researcher does not make assumptions
about reality that is outside of the individual
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Unstructured Interviews Interaction between researcher and
person(s) of interest Guiding questions; but no formal structured
instrument or protocol Interviewer moves conversation in direction
of responses Need to tape record the interviews Consent forms for tape recording
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Focus Groups
group interviews that rely on the interaction within the group
designed to elicit more of the participants’ points of view
interested in how individuals perceive a problem
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Focus Groups exchange of ideas of how to interpret key
terms or differences are resolved and consensus is built
systematic variation across groups variations in:
ordering of questions background traits of participants homogenous groups vs heterogeneous groups compare responses of individuals who meet
several times
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Grounded Theory – Glaser & Strauss 1960s
method for developing grounded theory is based on data that are systematically gathered and analysed
theoretical propositions are not stated at the beginning
generalisations (theory) comes from the data and not before data collection
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Grounded Theory emerging theory is ‘grounded’ in the
current project constant comparative method researcher interprets the data and uses
it to generate theory must verify the hypotheses that emerge
from the study
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Key Features of Grounded Theory
constant interaction with data to identify possible theories & relate to the study
select incidents that seems to reflect the emerging theory; ask more questions that will fill in the gaps
coding techniques to help organize the information
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Finally …general characteristics of qualitative research...
Data sources are real-world situations
Data are descriptive
Emphasizes a holistic approach (processes and outcomes)
Data analysis is inductive
Describes the meaning(s) of research finding(s) from the perspective of the research participants
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The general characteristics of qualitative research...
Involves developing generalisations from a limited number of observations or experiences
Highly dependant upon the representativeness of the specific observations used to make the generalisation
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The last word on qualitative methods from a famous researcher…
Anyone who wants to know the human psyche will learn nothing from experimental psychology. He would be better advised to abandon exact science, put away his scholar’s gown, bid farewell to his study, and wander with human heart through the world. There in the horror of prisons, lunatic asylums and hospitals, in drab suburban pubs, in brothels and gambling hells in the salons of the elegant …
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Last word continued …
…the Stock Exchange, socialist meetings, churches, revivalist gatherings and ecstatic sects, through love and hate, through the experience of passion in every form of his own body, he would reap richer stores of knowledge than text books a foot thick could give him, and he will know how to doctor the sick with the real knowledge of the human soul. …Carl Jung