Qualitative Research

Question 1

Case Study Method

Answer 1

A research method focusing on the study of a single case. Usually it is not designed to compare one individual or group to another, although sometimes a case study may be included in comparative analysis as a key or illustrative example.

Question 2

Comparative Analysis

Answer 2

Analysis where data from different settings or groups at the same point in time or from the same settings or groups over a period of time are analyzed to identify similarities and differences.

Question 3

Discourse Analysis

Answer 3

A study of the way versions or the world, society, events, and psyche are produced in the use of language and discourse. It is often concerned with the construction of subjects within various forms of knowledge/power. Semiotics, deconstruction, and narrative analysis are forms of discourse analysis.

Question 4

e-Research

Answer 4

Also known as e-Science or e-Social Science, e-Research is the harnessing of any digital technology to undertake and promote social research. This includes treating the digital sphere as a site of research by examining social interaction in the e-infratstructure.

Question 5

Ethnography

Answer 5

A multi-method qualitative (participant observation, interviews, discourse analyses of natural language and personal documents) approach that studies people in their “…naturally occurring settings or ‘fields’ by means of methods which capture their social meanings and ordinary activities, involving the researcher participating directly in the setting…”

Question 6

Field Research

Answer 6

Field research is when a researcher goes to observe an everyday event in the environment where it occurs.

Question 7

Grounded Theory

Answer 7

an inductive form of qualitative research where data collection and analysis are conducted together. Theories remain grounded in the observation rather than generated in the abstract. Grounded theory is an approach that develops the theory from the data collected, rather than applying a theory to the data.

Question 8

Narrative Analysis

Answer 8

Narrative analysis is a form of discourse analysis that seeks to study the textural devices at work in the constructions of process or sequence within a text.

In narrative research, the respondent gives a detailed account of themselves and is encouraged to tell their story rather than answer a predetermined list of questions. this method is more successful when people are discussing a life change event.

Analysis of the narrative tells the researcher about the person’s understanding of the meaning of events in their lives.