Qualitative Research I

Dr George Varvatsoulias

Ways of collecting qualitative data (1)

Data collection approaches for qualitative research usually involves: Direct interaction with individuals on a one to one basis Or direct interaction with individuals in a group setting Qualitative research data collection methods are time consuming, therefore data is usually collected from a smaller sample than would be the case for quantitative approaches - therefore this makes qualitative research more expensive. The benefits of the qualitative approach is that the information is richer and has a deeper insight into the phenomenon under study. The main methods for collecting qualitative data are: Individual interviews Focus groups Observations Action Research

Ways of collecting qualitative data (2): Interview Techniques

Interviews can be: Unstructured

Can be referred to as 'depth' or 'in depth' interviews They have very little structure at all The interviewer may just go with the aim of discussing a limited number of topics, sometimes as few as just one or two The interviewer may frame the interview questions based on the interviewee and his/her previous response This allows the discussion to cover areas in great detail They involve the researcher wanting to know or find out more about a specific topic without there being a structure or a preconceived plan or expectation as to how they will deal with the topic

Ways of collecting qualitative data (3): Interview Techniques

Semi structured

Semi structured interviews are sometimes also called focused interviews A series of open ended questions based on the topic areas the researcher wants to cover A series of broad questions to ask and may have some prompts to help the interviewee 'The open ended nature of the question defines the topic under investigation but provides opportunities for both interviewer and interviewee to discuss some topics in more detail' Semi structured interviews allow the researcher to prompt or encourage the interviewee if they are looking for more information or find what they are saying interesting This method gives the researcher the freedom to probe the interviewee to elaborate or to follow a new line of inquiry introduced by what the interviewee is saying Work best when the interviewed has a number of areas he/she wants to be sure to be addressing

Ways of collecting qualitative data (4): Interview Techniques

Structured
The interviewed asks the respondent the same questions in the same way A tightly structured schedule is used The questions may be phrased in order that a limited range of responses may be given - i.e. 'Do you rate our services as very good, good or poor' A researcher needs to consider whether a questionnaire or structured interview is more appropriate 'If the interview schedule is too tightly structured this may not enable the phenomena under investigation to be explored in terms of either breadth or depth.'

Ways of collecting qualitative data (5)

Qualitative interviews should be fairly informal and participants feel they are taking part in a conversation or discussion rather than in a formal question and answer situation. There is skill required and involved in successful qualitative research approaches - which requires careful consideration and planning. Good quality qualitative research involves:

Thought Preparation The development of the interview schedule Conducting and analysing the interview data with care and consideration

Thematic Analysis (1)

Thematic analysis is historically a conventional practice in qualitative research which involves searching through data to identify any recurrent patterns. A theme is a cluster of linked categories conveying similar meanings and usually emerge through the inductive analytic process which characterises the qualitative paradigm. The exploratory power of this popular technique can be enhanced by the analyst lacking previous knowledge of the research topic as they are not guided by any preconceptions. Thus, the analyst does not have to be an expert in the research topic. However, in order to begin analysis a researcher must have at least some conceptual understanding to guide the insight processes.

Thematic Analysis (2)

Thematic analysis and grounded theory are methodologically similar analytic frameworks but the manner in which themes, concepts and categories are managed varies considerably between these approaches. They both attempt to represent a view of reality via systematically working through text to identify topics that are progressively integrated into higher order themes, via processes of de-contextualisation and recontextualisation. Their procedures are more conceptually demanding than content analysis which employs a much simpler ordering of data. However, thematic analysis and content analysis are often confused. The former, through focusing purely upon meaning, promotes a more discursive interpretation since individual codes can cross-reference multiple themes, whilst the latter employs predefined mutually exclusive categories to count the frequency of a theme and is more appropriately used to statistically test any hypotheses.

Thematic Analysis (3): Analytic process

1. Prepare the data for analysis Transcribe the interview into text and format the document so the margin could be used for identifying individual bits of data. This can be done by assigning line numbers as identifiers for cross referencing. 2. Read the text and noting items of interest perform:

i. Initial reading of the text An inductive approach to thematic analysis allows themes to emerge from the data, rather than searching for pre-defined themes. During the first reading make note of major issues as they come to mind in order to acquire a sense of the various topics embedded in the data. ii. Re-read the text and annotate any thoughts in the margin Examine the text closely, line by line, to facilitate a micro analysis of the data. This also promotes open coding which identifies any new information by de-contextualising bits of data embedded within the primary material.

Thematic Analysis (4): Analytic process

3. Sort items of interest into proto-themes This is where themes begin to emerge by organising items relating to similar topics into categories. Computers are great for pasting the line references together. This should be a fluid process so categories can be modified, developed and new ones allowed to emerge freely. At this stage keeping the themes as simple as possible assists flexibility in the categorisation process whereby any re-ordering of the clusters of categories can help create and re-define the initial themes. 4. Examine the proto-themes and attempt initial definitions This phase of trawling back through the data examines how information was assigned to each proto-theme in order to evaluate its current meaning. A provisional name and flexible definition should now be created for each emerging theme.

Thematic Analysis (5): Analytic process

5. Re-examine the text carefully for relevant incidents of data for each proto-theme This second process of trawling back through the data is also called axial coding. It involves re-contextualisation whereby any data is now considered in terms of the categories developed through this analysis. Taking each theme separately and re-examining the original data for information relating to that theme is a vital stage in the analytic process because human perception is selective and the relevance of data can be easily overlooked. Furthermore, pieces of data previously assigned to a theme may in fact be contradictory.

Thematic Analysis (6): Analytic process

6. Construct the final form of each theme The name, definition and supporting data are reexamined for the final construction of each theme, using all the material relating to it. This stage of recontextualisation focuses more closely upon the underlying meaning of each theme. 7. Report each theme Finalise the name of each theme, write its description and illustrate it with a few quotations from the original text to help communicate its meaning to the reader.