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CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 3
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Contents…
Contents…
1. Definition & Characteristics
2. Qualitative vs. Quantitative research
3. Qualitative data collection
4. Qualitative data analysis
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I . DEFINITION:
Qualitative research includes an “array of
interpretive techniques which seek to describe,
decode, translate, and otherwise come to terms
with the meaning, not the frequency, of certain
more or less naturally occurring phenomena in
the social world.”
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•
Aims to achieve an in-depth understanding of a

Building
•
Understanding
•
Interpretation
•
How / Why
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Texts; detailed descriptions
of events, situations, and
interactions (verbal/visual).•
Description
•
Explanation
•
What/ How many/ When
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Data are coded, categorized,
and reduced to numbers for
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III.1. Sampling

interviews (IDIs)
Individual
interviews (IDIs)
Case Studies
Action
Research
Grounded
Theory
Group
Interviews
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III.2.1. Individual depth interview (IDI) :
•
Best used for “How, Why” questions or “Story telling”
, “Feeling” questions
•
Exploratory stage
•
Can be unstructured, semi-structured or structured
•
From broad issue to narrow topic
•
Face-to-face or via telephone/online
•
Situational / personal bias
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May be biased by leading opinions
May be biased by leading opinions
•
Important role of the moderator
Important role of the moderator
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Individual Interview Focus Group Interview
Research Objective
•
Explore life of individual in depth
•
Create case histories through
repeated interviews over time
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Test a survey
•
Orient the researcher to a field of
inquiry and the language of the field
•
Explore a range of attitudes, opinions,
and behaviors
•
Observe a process of consensus and
disagreement
Topic Concerns
•
Detailed individual experiences,

positions on issues
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Interviewer / moderator qualifications
Requires training or experience.
Skills include:
•
Making respondents comfortable
•
Probing without making the respondent feel harassed
•
Remaining neutral while encouraging participants to talk openly
•
Following a participant’s flow of thought
•
Extracting insights from detailed descriptive dialogue
Use their personal similarities / differences :
•
Similarities to convey sympathy and understanding
•
Differences to demonstrate eagerness to understand.
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III.2.3.Case study method
•
Combining Interviews + record analysis + observations.

is the central process
Quali. data analysis creates new
concepts/theory; not test them
Avoiding errors, false conclusions,
misleading inferences
Quali. data analysis is closer to raw
data/ less abstract, less precise,
context-based, more-than-one
meaning
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IV.
IV. QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
2. THREE BASIC PROCEDURE:
Description – Classification - Connection
•
Step 1: Phenomenon description
Purpose: to form/create concepts
Technique: open coding
Guide:
+ Retrieve abstract concepts from concrete raw data
+ Locate themes & assign initial codes/labels to pieces of
raw data bearing the same meanings
+ Condense mass data into codes/concepts
+ Theoretical framework may help
+ Open to change / flexible manner / back and forth
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Guide:
+ Connect concepts / arrange them into sequences
+ Compare/contrast to identfy possible relations
+ Form overall connections among concepts
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Our Practice Project
Learning Effectiveness
• Use
group discussion to collect qualitative data
group discussion to collect qualitative data
•
Analyze qualitative data and develop the model
Analyze qualitative data and develop the model
reflecting
reflecting
“determinants of learning performances”
“determinants of learning performances”
• Present your results
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End session 5
End session 5