Qualitative Method

Question 1

Main sources of qualitative data

Answer 1

1. Observations: description of activities, behaviours, interactions, or any other observable aspect.
2. Interviews. Open questions and other forms. Do not take anything for granted. (Focus groups, one-to-one, …)
3. Documents. Written material from individuals or organisations.
   Can be primary source of data (emails, books, social media…)

Question 2

Sampling strategies in qualitative research

Answer 2

Purposeful sampling

The main goal is NOT representativeness, but rather generating the best understanding possible of the phenomenon under examination.

• > Selecting information-rich cases
• > Sample size is not known in advance
• > Sampling is finished when theoretical saturation is reached.

Question 3

Types of purposeful sampling

Answer 3

1. Outlier sampling: learning from unusual manifestations of phenomenon.

Intensity sampling: information rich-cases that experience phenomenon intensely (serial entrepreneurs).

Maximum variation sampling: pick wide range of cases.

Homogeneous sampling: reduce variation to simplify analysis. (freshmen only)

Typical case sampling: picking standard cases.

Critical case sampling: if “true” here, true everywhere.

Snowball sampling: ask to current case the next case.

Criteria sampling: sample base on criteria.

Theory-based sampling:

(Dis)confirming sampling: confirm to refine, disconfirm fro external validity.

Opportunistic or emergent sampling: follow new leads generated during fieldwork.

Purposeful random sampling: systematic way of generating samples in population of interest. To increase credibility not representativeness.

Convenience sampling: DO NOT USE.

Stratified random sampling: sample from subgroups.

15. Mixed purposeful sampling: a combination of any of the above.

Question 4

Risk of researcher’s role in qualitative research tools

Answer 4

Observation, subjectivity.

Interviews, requires mastery and technique.

Field notes, both facts and observations (separated).

Focus group, Researcher vs moderator.

Video Ethnography, Coding the data is crucial.

Virtual Ethnography, Ethical issues.

Question 5

Well known non-ethical experiments

Answer 5

1. The Milgram Experiment, Yale, 1963
   Electric Shocks.
2. Stanford Prison Experiment, 1971

Result: The Belmont Report, Basic Ethical Principles in Research with Human Subjects.

Question 6

What does the Belmont Report consist of?

Answer 6

1. Respect of persons
2. Beneficence
3. Justice

Question 7

Process phases in Qualitative Data Analysis with interviews

Answer 7

Transcribe interviews.

Coding, process of abstraction.

Question 8

Approaches to Coding

Answer 8

1. Thematic coding: Development of main themes and patterns, when comparing different cases.
   Main steps:
   - Summarise each case.
   - Extract motto, demographic, key points
   - Identify common patterns and categories
2. Theoretical Coding: generate a high level understanding by abstracting one layers after the other.
   Main steps:
   - First-order labels/categories.
   - Axial Coding (Second-order labels)
   - Selective coding (identify core categories)
   - Provide possible explanation

Question 9

Solutions to Validity dangers in qualitative research

Answer 9

1. Conclusion validity
   - Document the research project
   - Standardise field notes, train for interviews, repeat data collection.
2. Internal validity
   - Address rival explanations
   - Explain negative evidence
3. Construct Validity
   - Triangulation of data sources, investigators, theories, methods.
   - Have key informants review the draft reports.
4. External Validity.
   - Research is usually contextual, if generalising, provide convincing theoretical explanations.