FIVE DIFFERENT

QUALITATIVE STUDIES
dr. Dwita Oktaria, M. Pd. Ked.

Departement of Medical Education

Faculty of Medicine Universitas Lampung
2018
TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

Grounded
Narrative Phenomenology
theory

Ethnography Case study

KEY QUESTIONS
• What is of central interest in the narrative study,
the phenomenology, the grounded theory study,
the ethnography, and the case study?
• How do the five approaches differ?
NARRATIVE
NARRATIVE
• Overview of the study
• The story of Vonnie, a 29-year-old mentally ill man
whom the author met at Opportunity House
• Vonnie Lee talks openly about his life but his
descriptions of his life centered on a bus route
• The author took a bus trip with Vonnie Lee to his work
place
• The bus held special meaning for Lee and on the bus he
supplied the researcher with details about the people,
places, and events of the journey
NARRATIVE
• Researcher conclusions
• The bus gave meaning to Vonnie Lee’s life through escape
and empowerment
• This meaning explained why he told his life stories in the
form of bus routes
• Vonnie Lee’s stable self-image, the bus trip, helped him
survive the problems in his life
• The researcher reflected on the use of metaphor as a
framework for analyzing stories of participants in life history
projects at the end of the study
NARRATIVE
NARRATIVE
FEATURES OF NARRATIVE
The central focus of the study was the story of an individual

The researcher collected stories and reconstructed life experiences

through researcher participant observation

Reporting individual experiences

It explores what the story means and the lessons to be learned

PHENOMENOLOGY
What?
Describes the structures
of experience as they
Way of describing present themselves to
The study of something that exists as consciousness, without
phenomena part of the world in recourse to theory,
which we live deduction, or
assumptions from other
disciplines
PHENOMENOLOGY
Why?
Our lack of understanding
of these phenomena may
Phenomenological
exist because the
We are surrounded by research will not
phenomenon has not been
many phenomena, which necessarily provide
overtly described and
we are aware of but not definitive explanations but
explained or our
fully understand. it does raise awareness
understanding of the
and increases insight.
impact it makes may be
unclear.
PHENOMENOLOGY
Example Randomised controlled trials of drugs compare the effectiveness of
one analgesia against another in order to treat low back pain

But what is it actually like to live with back pain?

What are the effects on peoples’ lives?

What problems does it cause?

A phenomenological study might explore the effect that back pain has on sufferers’
relationships with other people by describing the strain it can cause in marriages or
the effect on children of having a disabled parent.
FEATURES OF PHENOMENOLOGY

The study used systematic data analysis procedures of significant

statements, meanings and themes, and an essence

The results were integrated into an in-depth exhaustive description

of the phenomenon

The study ended by describing the essence of the experience

ETHNOGRAPHY
What?
Focuses on the Methodology for
sociology of descriptive
meaning through
“Portrait of a Focuses on a studies of
close field
people” community. cultures and
observation of
sociocultural peoples.
phenomena.
ETHNOGRAPHY
What?
Examples of parameters
The cultural include:
parameter is that 1. Geographical -
It has a
the people under particular region or
background in country
investigation
anthropology 2. Religious
have something 3. Tribal
in common 4. Shared experience
ETHNOGRAPHY
Why?
In health care settings,
Ethnography helps health care
researchers may choose an
professionals to develop
ethnographic approach
cultural awareness and
because the cultural parameter
sensitivity and enhances the
is suspected of affecting the
provision and quality of care for
population’s response to care
people from all cultures
or treatment
CHALLENGES
Time-consuming

The researcher attempts to interpret data from the

perspective of the population under study

Should sufficiently familiar with the social mores of the

people being studied or with their language

Interpretation from an “etic” perspective - an outsider

perspective - may be a misinterpretation causing confusion.
FEATURES OF ETHNOGRAPHY
The study focused on a culture-sharing group and their core values

The author first described the group and themes about the group, and
ended with a suggestion of how the subculture worked

The author positioned himself by describing his involvement in the

subculture and his role of the group for many years

The author used a critical ethnographic perspective to examine the

issue of resistance to opposition

The author concluded with comment about how the subculture resisted the
dominant culture
GROUNDED THEORY
What?
The explanations
Development of The new theories
that emerge are
new theory through can be applied
genuinely new
the collection and enabling us to
knowledge and are
analysis of data approach existing
used to develop
about a problems in a new
new theories about
phenomenon way
a phenomenon
GROUNDED THEORY
Why?
You may be in You may want
You may not
an area where to evolve and
agree with
there is little or take ownership
existing
no theory in of a theory over
theories.
existence. your lifetime.
CHALLENGES
Felt by some to be wishy-washy.

Difficult to gain funding

A relatively young and developing method

It is not developed to test hypotheses

FEATURES OF GROUNDED THEORY

Simultaneous collection and analysis of data using a

process known as constant comparative analysis

Generate a theory using a construct-oriented

approach

The study included a visual model of the theory

CASE STUDY
What?
Attempts to shed
light on a The value of case
The case can be an
phenomena by study relates to the
individual person,
studying indepth a in depth analysis of
an event, a group,
single case a single or small
or an institution.
example of the number of units
phenomena
CASE STUDY
Why?
To offer a
richness and
To describe that
depth of Particularistic and
particular case in
information not contextual
detail.
usually offered by
other methods
Disadvantage The case under study is
not necessarily
representative of similar
cases and therefore the
results of the research
are not generalisable
FEATURES OF CASE STUDY

Identified a case for study

Used extensive multiple sources of data to provide a

detailed picture of the incident and response

Spent considerable time describing the context for the

case
DIFFERENCES AMONG THE FIVE APPROACHES

A Portrait A Case
A Culture-Sharing
Group
An Individual
Case Study

Ethnography
Narrative Study
A Theory
Phenomenology
A Phenomenon
Creswell qualitative Inquiry 2e
Grounded Theory
5.33
DIFFERENCES AMONG THE FIVE APPROACHES

Narrative • Focuses on the life of an individual

• Focuses on a phenomenon and the essence of the lived

Phenomenology experiences of persons about that phenomenon

Grounded Theory • Focuses on developing a theory about a process

• Focuses on a description and interpretation of a culture-

Ethnography sharing group

Case study • Focuses on an in-depth understanding of a case

REFERENCES
• Creswell JW. Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches.
Second edition. 2012. SAGE Publications.