module 10 Flashcards
Qualitative research
A research strategy that collects and analyzes non-numerical data:
Words rather than numbers
rimary qualitative data
Qualitative data that are collected first-hand by the researcher for a specific research purpose.
How to collects primary qualitative data
Through interviews, focus groups, or observations
Secondary qualitative data
data that have already been collected by someone else for a different purpose. The researcher reanalyzes these data for a new purpose.
What includes secondary data
Written texts, such as company and financial reports, press releases, blogs etc.
When to use qualitative research
Qualitative research is useful to generate insights into less mature topics, in order to clarify key constructs and develop new theoretical frameworks. in business research it is particularly suited to uncover unexpected pain points or opportunities to add value.
Qualitative research is typically
Inductive rather than deductive
Why is qualitative research typically inductive
Because the researcher develops a theoretical model during the empirical research (rather than before the empirical research), including propositions/hypotheses that can subsequently be tested in future quantitative research. However, while qualitative researchers tend to subscribe to an inductive research process, qualitative research can also be used to deductively test theorys
More mature research areas usually benefit more from:
Quantitative research studies and a deductive approach
Are qualitative and quantitative research opposites
no, they complement each other well and together may provide the best answer to a research question
For example, mature research topics that are addressed using quantitative research can be complemented with qualitative interviews to capture rich, vivid descriptions, in the respondents own words
An example of a less mature research topic that would benefit from qualitative research is
Consumers reactions toward drone delivery services. AMazon has been toying with the idea of drone delivery, but it is still in the testing phase. Whereas previous research has explored consumers reactions toward a large variety of technological innovations, no reasearch to date has studies consumers reaction towards this new form of delivery service. As a result, it is very hard to come up with expectations (hypotheses) that can, later on, be tested by data.
To evaluate consumers’ reactions, Amazon could show consumers a video in which they explain various ways in which drone delivery could be organized. An example is the (second half of the) video below. Subsequently, participants could be asked to report their concerns about the way in which the delivery service is organized. This research could guide Amazon by creating ideas on how to better serve consumers to increase the chances of adoption.
Interviews
An interview is a conversation where the researcher asks questions and listens while the respondent answers.
Respondents can e.g. be CEOs, middle managers, employees, investors, accountants, suppliers or consumers
Types of interviews
Structured inverview
Unstructured interview
Semi-structured interview
Structured interview
has carefully worded set of interview questions. The interviewee can typically be brief in his/her responses
Unstructured interview
The interviewer does not have a planned sequence of questions to be asked to the interviewee. The interviewer usually begins the interview with a broad question, for example: what are your vies on..? the interviewee then responds to this questions and can talk freely. The interviewers next questions are very much dependent on the answers given by the interviewee.
A semi structured interview
Is a hybrid form of the structured and unstructured interview approach. The semi-structured intervie is based on a set of predetermined questions, but it also leaves room for the interviewee to elaborate on his/her responeses and for the interviewer to introduce additional questions based on the interviewes answer.
The semi-structured approach tends to be the favored choice for collection interview data
An interview contains the following stages:
setting the scene
warm up questions
Interview
summarizing
Interview stages setting the scene
Introduce yourself. Briefly inform the interviewee about the prupose of the interveiw and why s/he was chosen to be among those interviewed. Ask for the interviewees permission to audiotape the interview and assure confidentiality: explain that the interviewees anonymity will be preserved
Interview stages
Warm up questions
Start with a few warm-up questions: easy-to-answer, non-sensitive questions
Interview stages
Interview
Then ask the main questions of interest, organized per subtopic. Start with an open-ended question based on the interviewees answer, continue with one or more probing questions. Probing questions are follow-up questions that help the interviewee to thin through issues. Examples of probing questions are can you give an example or what doy ou exactly mean by that
Interview stages
Summarizing
Summarize/rephrase important information given by the interviewee, to make sure you interpreted his/her answers correctly.
After the interview took place you must transcribe it.
You should reproduce exactly what has been said by you and the interviewee, in the language in which the interview was conducted. It is advisable to transcribe interviews immediately as you may then still be able to recall the interviewees non-verbal cues during the interview.
Do not underestimate the time it takes to transcribe your interviews. As a rule of thumb, one hour of interviewing takes four hours of transcribing
Focus group
An unstructured interview conducted by a moderator with a small group of participants, varying from appx 8-14
The moderator asks questions in an interactive setting where participants are free to talk to each other. Listening to others expressing their experiences and ideas stimulates participants to express their own options.
Where are focus groups often used by firms
In the area of new product developement, to acquire customer feedback on the new product
Large organizations such as coca-cola and nike but also the banking industry regularly conduct focus groups to tap their customers for ideas for new products. Focus groups allow people to physically see, touch, smell and use a product. In this way you can get their full reaction to a new product, which you can use to enhance or change it before launching it into the market
Focus groups are often used to find out
Why specific management techniques dont work
The role of the moderator in focus groups
The role of the moderator is to ensure that all members participate in the discussion and that no member dominates the group
Eg. salsa example
Some participants hold back. Therefore, the moderator tries to engage everyone, for example by giving turns
One of the participants is very dominant. This participant said “I think its a no-brainer” which made the other participants somewhat uncomfortable. It created the impression that there was onl one correct answer, hers! When one participant is dominant this may cause other participants to no longer dare to express their own opinions. This can be damaging for the research findings. One way to avoid this is to ask the participants to write down their thoughts before starting the group discussion.
stages to a focus group
Setting the scene
introductions
Discussion
closing round
stages to a focus group
setting the scene
The moderator introduces the topic and explains the purpose of the focus group. S/he should also negotiate consent to record the focus goup. It is very important that the participants taking part in the focus group understand how recordings will be used
stages to a focus group
Introductions
Go around the table and ask everyone to introduce themselves, stating their first name clearly. This will be important for writing up the recording later. The moderator can also ask participants to give a short answer to an introductory question to get everyone involved in the discussion from the outset
stages to a focus group
Discussion
A topic guide needs to be planned in advance; this outline the areas for discussion during the focus group with key ideas and questions to be discussed. It is useful to construct the topic guide with the thought of conversation in mind rather than interview questions. Therefore include topic questions possibley with areas for prompting rather than exact questions. it is highly likely that the discusssion will take place in a different order compared to the order of the topic guide. The moderator should also be prepared to tactuflly steer the group back to the topics under consideration if the converstaion goes too much off track
stages to a focus group
Closing round
It is good to end the discussion with a closing round, asking each participant in turn to offer final reflection or answer a final question. This is followed by informing the participants of the next steps and how they can stay informed or involved with the research
Choosing between focus groups and interviews
When is it a good idea to organize focus groups and when is it a good iddea to schedule interviews
Focus groups
When interaction helps i.e. when people can build on each others answers
When respondents can say what is relevant in <10 minutes
Intervies
when interaction hurts, i.e. for sensitive topics
When detailed answers are needed
Complex topics
Expert respondents
Focus groups allow for groups
interactions
Therefore, focus groups are preferred for topics where new ideas or insights are more likely to emerge when people can build on each others answers
Intervies are a better method compared to focus groups to research
More sensitive topics. For example, consumers or firms investment strategies may be too sensitive for respondents to be willing to talk openly about them in a group.
Interviews are also the better method when
The interviewer is looking for more detailed answers, which is the case for more complex topics, and when expert respondents are being interviewed.
Focal groups work well compared to interviews when
Respondents can say all that is relevant or all that they know in response to a question in less than 10 minutes
Observations
Involve systematically recording the behaviors of small groups of people in their natural surroundings
Four types of of observational research along two dimenstions
1 dimension
Pertains to whether the research identity is revealed (overt observation) or confcealed (covert observation) during the study.
Four types of of observational research along two dimenstions
Second dimension
Pertains to the extent to which the researcher participates in the activities of the organization that s/he is observing
Imagine a grid:
Researcher takes part in a ctivity or researcher does not take part in a activity left side
Covert/concealed or overt/unconcealed top part of activity side
Combinations:
Top left: Complete participation
Top right: participant as observer
Bottom left: complete observer
Bottom right: observer as participant
Four types of observation research
Complete participant
Complete observer
Observer as participant
Participant as observer
Complete participation
In the complete participant role the researcher
Tries to become a member of th egroup which s/he is researching
Does not reveal his/her true purpose to those he is observing
Example complete participant
For example, a researcher may participate as a co-worker in an organization to evaluate some of the companys working practices
Complete observer
In the complete observer role the researcher
Does not reveal his/her purpose to those he is observing
Does not take part in the activities of those S/he is observing
Example complete observer
For example, a researcher may observer consumers behavior at a supermarkets checkkout. Which checkouts do they choose? how much do they interact with the cashier? how long are the delays, and how impatient do consumers become of these delays
Observer as participant
In the observer as participant role the researcher
Does not take part as a member of the group which s/he is observing
Reveal his/her true purpose to those he is observing
Observer as participant example
You may observe a team-building course as a spectator
Participant as observer
In the participant as observer role, the researcher
Takes part as a member of the group which s/he is observing
Reveals his/her true purpose to those he is observing
participant as observer example
You may participate in a strike and completely immerse yourself in it, spending long hours with those on strike, without being an employee of the company involved
Primary observations
notes about what happened or what was said
Experimential data
Notes on your perceptions and feelings as you experience the process you are researching
Contextual data
Notes on the research setting (e.g., organizational structure, communication patterns, …) that may help you interpret other data
Observations
To provide direct information about subjects behavior
When directly asking subjects would lead to distorted infor
Interviews
To identify the reasons underlying subjects behavior
When observation would affect subjects behavior
Observations are most suited if
you are interested in direct information about peoples behavior. however it does not uncover the reasons underlying peoples behavior
If you are interested in finding out what drives peoples behavior
Interviews are more suitable than observation
Problems with interviews
Might lead to distorted information, for example, because people may provide socially desirable answer. In such instances, it might be better to observe peoples actual behavior
Two common threats to internal validity in qualitative research are
researcher bias and respondent bias
Researcher bias
Is the influence of researchers prior knowledge and assumptions on their study
Respondent bias
Refers to participants not providing honest responses to the researcher
Researcher bias happens when
The researcher skews the process towards a specific research outcome by introducing a sstematic error into the sample data. The results then deviate from the true outcomes
An example of researcher bias is
Selective perception and interpretation
This means that the researcher preceives what s/he wants to hear in a message while ignoring opposing viewpoints. Differently stated, the researcher only hears what confirms his/her views and neglects everything that contradicts them
Respondent bias (eg authority bias and conformity bias)
The tendency to blindly follow or believe the instructions and views of a person in authority. Milgrams obedience study, conducted in 1961, was the first and most infamous study on authority bias
Although milgrams study is an extreme example of how authority bias can affect people this phenomenon also plays a role in qualitative research. If the interviewer, moderator in a focus group, or (overt) observer is perceived as a person in authority by the interviewed/observed subject, the latter may adapt his/her answers or behavior in an attempt to come across as obedient. Therefore, interviewers, moderators, and observers should take great care not to come across as authoritarian.
Conformity bias occurs when
Individuals sway their opinion to match the opinion of the majority. The problem is that the majority is not always right
In a focus group the participants that express their opinion first
Inherently influence the responses of the others. In fact, the least respondents have a tendency to conform to the previous responses in order to avoid conflict or eembarrassment.
Conformity bias can be controlled by
systematically varying the order in which participants speak and by encouraging debate and controversial opinion. The moderator should convince participants that no stupid or wrong answers exist
How to increase the internal validity of qualitative research
To increase the internal validity of your qualitative research study, you can consider one or more of the following strategies
Triangulation
Means that the research will be conducted from different or multiple perspectives. For example, this can take the form of using several moderators, different locations or it could be using multiple individuals to analyze the same data. Basically, triangulation includes any techinique through which the researcher can analyze the data from different angles
Peer debriefing
Refers to receiving feedback from other people at different stages of your research. If you perform a qualitative research study in the context of your bachelor or masters thesis, you will receive feedback from your supervisor but can you also ask other student for feedback. This feedback will help you assess the study form a more objective perspective.
Member checking
Refers to testing the emerging findings with your research participatns. It is a valuable way to reduce researcher bias, reactivity, and respondent bias.
Member checking can be done in multiple ways
You may send your participants the interview transcripts and ask them to read them and provide any necessary comments or corrections
You may send participants an email and ask them to verify your interpretations before you jump to conclusions
You may schedule a validation interview (follow up interview)
Negative case analysis is
analyzing those cases that do not match the trends or patterns emerging from the rest of the data. Although you may be tempted to ignore these cases, you should explore them in a lot of detail to understand why they differ from the rest of the data. Negative case analysis is a valuable way of reducing researcher bias.
External validity
External validity refers to the degree to which findings can be generalized to other settings. Unlike internal validity, external validity represents a problem for qualitative researchers because of their tendency to use small samples.
Qualitative researchers can enhance generalizability by doing a thorough job of
describing the research context and the assumptions that were central to the research. The person who wishes to “transfer” the results to a different context is then responsible for judging how sensible the transfer is.
