Qualitative lecture 5

Question 1

What do we know about approaches to qualitative research?

Answer 1

• Approaches to research inform the types of data we will collect, how we will collect it, and how we will analyze it.

Question 2

What is the approach adopted informed by?

Answer 2

• It is informed by the issue/phenomena under study and the purpose of the research.
  Ask yourself:
• What is the aim of the study?
• What kinds of questions are you interested in exploring?
• What forms of data are you seeking?
• We need to identify the approach so others can assess our methods and research procedures.

Question 3

Why is important to identify the approach we will be using?

Answer 3

• We need to identify the approach so others can assess our methods and research procedures.

Question 4

What are the five approaches to inquiry according to Creswell (2013)?

Answer 4

• Narrative research
• Phenomenological approach
• Grounded theory
• Ethnographic research
• Case study research
  (The first step is to determine if the research problem or question best fits the approach selected.

Question 5

What is narrative research?

Answer 5

• Narrative: this means it involves the analysis of stories told. It refers to the “spoken or written text that gives an account of an event or series of events/actions, chronologically connected”
• Researchers collect stories from individuals about their lived experiences.
• The focus is on studying one or two individuals: collecting stories, reporting individual experiences, and chronologically ordering the meanings of those experiences.
• Narrative research is often used in biographical work. E.g. the life and times of Robert Sobukwe or Nelson Mandela.

Question 6

What are the four types of narrative approaches?

Answer 6

1. A biographical approach- the researcher writes and records the experiences of another person’s life
2. Autoethnographic- written and recorded by the individual who is the subject of study
3. A life history- portrays an individual’s entire life rather than a specific moment/experience/season/episode of their life.
4. An oral history approach- gathering personal reflections of events and their causes and effects from one or several individuals.

Question 7

What is the phenomenological approach?

Answer 7

• Describes the common meaning for several individuals of their lived experience of a phenomenon (focuses on what all participants have in common as they experience a phenomenon)
• Seeks to describe a “universal essence” or shared meaning. E.g Students’ experiences of moving from in-person to PDL. What common experiences do students share?
• Researchers collect data from people who have experienced the phenomenon (this employs purposive sampling, and interviews are conducted)
• Researcher provides a description of the meaning for all participants.
• The focus for this type of approach is on what participants experienced, and how they experienced it. (emphasis is on the phenomenon being explored)

Question 8

What are the two types of phenomenological approaches?

Answer 8

• Hermeneutic phenomenology: involves a description of the phenomenon and involve interpretation, researcher has a strong relation to the topic under study.
• Transcendental phenomenology: focuses on bracketing and involves both a textural description (what) and a structural description (how)

Question 9

What is the phenomenological approach most suitable for?

Answer 9

• It is most suited for a study with an interest in understanding several individual’s shared experiences of a phenomenon. E.g. FeesMustFall.

Question 10

What is the Grounded Theory approach?

Answer 10

• GT moves beyond description to generate or discover a theory- it basically tries to find an explanation
• The researcher focus on a particular process or action that they want to explain (e.g. what does fatherhood “look” like within the first 1000 days of a child’s life)
• Explanations are generated from the data and not based on existing ideas- grounded in the data
• Explanations are shaped by a large number of participants.
• The process involves memoing: memos in which they write down ideas as data is collected
• Data collection is primarily through interviews. (this involves theoretical sampling to address particular gaps/questions in the development of the theory.

Question 11

What are the two approaches to grounded theory?

Answer 11

1. Systematic: the researcher seeks to develop a theory that explains process, action, or interaction on a topic. (focuses more on procedure- it is structured)
2. Constructivist- includes an emphasis on diverse local worlds, multiple realities and complexities of particular worlds, views and actions, rather than seeing research as a single process. (focuses more on content- it is flexible)

Question 12

When is grounded theory most suitable?

Answer 12

• When a theory is not available to explain or understand a process.

Question 13

What is ethnographic research?

Answer 13

• The researcher focuses on shared patterns in larger studies with a culture sharing group- that is; a close-knit community or group living together for long.
• Researcher describes and interprets the shared and learned patterns, values, behaviours, beliefs, language etc.
• Involves extended observations of the group being studies through participant observations.
• Requires extensive fieldwork- the researcher is immersed in the community under study.
• Data analysis relies on participants’ views as insiders to their experiences (e.g. kenyan village where men are not allowed. What is life like for women there? How is the community socially organized? What kind of hierarchies exist?)

Question 14

What are the two types of ethnographies?

Answer 14

1. Realist ethnography- provides an “objective account of the situation typically written in third person, reporting on what is observed (more descriptive)
2. Critical ethnography- advocates for the emancipation of marginalized groups in society, researchers are often politically oriented people who seek to challenge the status quo.

Question 15

When is an ethnographic approach more suitable?

Answer 15

More suitable for a study that seeks to describe how a cultural group works and explore their beliefs, language, behaviours, practices etc.

Question 16

What is case study research?

Answer 16

• Involves an in-depth understanding of a single case or the exploration of an issue using the case as an illustration. (uses one or more cases)
• Involves the study of a case within real life context or setting. E.g. the treatment of fee-exempted learners in schools. Can choose one or several schools
• Researcher explores a case or cases over time through detailed, in-depth collection of information using multiple sources. E.g. interviews, observations, documents etc.

Question 17

What are the three types of case studies?

Answer 17

1. Single instrumental case study- researcher focuses on an issue or concern and then selects one bounded case to illustrate the issue.
2. Collective case study- researcher selects the issue and then selects multiple cases to illustrate the issue.
3. Intrinsic case study- a case that has unusual interest in and of itself and needs to be described in detail.

Question 18

When is a case study approach most suitable?

Answer 18

Most suitable for a study where the researcher has clearly identifiable cases and seeks to provide an in-depth understanding of an issue using one case or several cases to compare
e.g. the first year psychology curriculum in university.