RESERCH DESIGN IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
It seeks to understand how people experience a
UNDEFINED TERMS
Method
Is a technique which the researcher uses to gather and
generate data about the subjects of their study.
Research Methodology
Is the section of the research paper which explains why
the researcher chose to use particular methods. The
methodology also includes descriptions of any and all
theoretical and/or ideological concepts informing and
influencing the course of the study, and the researcher’s
rationale behind adhering to these concepts.
Research Design
Is a plan which structures a study to ensure that the data
collection and generated will contain the information
needed to answer the initial inquiry as fully and clearly
as possible.
COMMON RESEARCH DESIGN
1. PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
Phenomenology has its roots in a 20th century
philosophical movement based on the work of the
philosopher Edmund Husserl
This design focuses on obtaining description of the
subjects’ or participants lived experiences either in
writing or through interviews. The goal of this study is to
analyze the meaning behind these experiences for each
subject, rather than generalizing to a greater population.
(Donalek, 2004).
It allows the researcher to delve into the perceptions,
perspectives, understandings, and feelings of those
people who have actually experienced or lived the
phenomenon or situation of interest.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL
STUDY
1.
particular situation or phenomenon.
2. It is conducted primarily through in-depth
conversations and interviews; however, some
studies may collect data from diaries, drawings,
or observation.
3. Small sample sizes, often 10 or less
participants, are common in phenomenological
studies.
4. Interview questions are open-ended to allow the
participants to fully describe the experience from
their own view point.
5. Phenomenology is centered on the participants’
experiences with no regard to social or cultural
norms, traditions, or preconceived ideas about
the experience.
6. It focuses on these four aspects of a lived
experience: lived spaced, lived body, lived time,
and lives human relations
7. Data collected is qualitative and analysis
includes an attempt to identify themes and make
generalizations regarding how particular
phenomenon is actually perceived or
experienced.
EXAMPLE OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
A qualitative phenomenological study on the lived
experiences of science teachers in The Bahamas
By: Micklewhite, Thalia Vionne.
A phenomenological study on resilience of elderly
suffering from chronic disease: a qualitative study
By: Hassani, Parkhide; Izadi-Avanji, Fatemeh-Sadat;
Rakhshan, Mahnaz; Majd, Hamid Alavi.
A Phenomenological Study: Perceptions of Student
Voice on Academic Success.
By: Marberry, Tammie
2. ETNOGRAPHIC STUDY
is a qualitative method where researchers observe
and/or interact with a study’s participants in their real-life
environment. Ethnography was popularized by
anthropology, but is used across a wide range of social
sciences.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC DESIGN
1. Researcher creates social relationship with the
participants
2. First-hand observation and participant
observation.
3. Researchers should stay inside a community of
people being studied for a period of time.
Ethnographic investigation of Issues of Race in
Scandinavian
By: Beach, Dennis; Lunneblad, Johannes
3. CASE STUDY DESIGN
It refers to an in-depth, detailed study of an
individual or a small group of individuals. Such
studies are typically qualitative in nature, resulting in
a narrative description of behavior or experience.
Case study research is not used to determine cause
and effect, nor is it used to discover generalizable
truths or make predictions. Rather, the emphasis in
case study research is placed on exploration and
description of a phenomenon.

4. Long-term involvement and observation are

considered necessary to understand the
complexity of people’s beliefs, attitudes and
behaviors.
5. Ethnographers play important role as research
instrument.
6. Ethnography involves naturalistic observation
CHARACTERISTICS OF CASE STUDY DESIGN
1. A detailed, often longitudinal investigation of a
single individual or entity (or a few individuals or
entities)
2. Naturalistic-no manipulation of subjects: no
treatment.

7. Ethnography is an eclectic approach 3. The researcher sets out to find out what’s
happening.
8. Ethnographer can make modification to the
research questions, design and technique from 4. Not merely pre-experimental
the beginning until the completion of the study.
5. The investigation of a ‘bounded instance’
(interactive-reactive approach)
6. An “instance in action”.
9. It is holistic study
EXAMPLE OF CASE STUDY
EXAMPLE OF ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY
DESIGN A study on healthy cities program at local level
government in
The Everyday Lives of Men: An Ethnographic
Indonesia (Case Study of Cimahi City
Investigation of Young Adult Male Identity
Problems with employment support of foreign
By: Peter Gil
students in Japan
Cultural Beliefs and Practices of Ethnic Filipinos:
A Case Study on Residents’ Responses and
An Ethnographic Study
Adaptations at Relocated Permanent Settlements
By: Evelyn Grey, Ph.D. (2016)
after Merapi Volcano Eruption 2010 in Yogyakarta, develop an explanatory theory but may usefully
Indonesia inform by description and exploration.)

A case study on change in leadership, local
autonomy and poverty incidence in Philippine cities
4. GROUNDED THEORY
refers to a set of systematic inductive methods for
conducting qualitative research aimed
toward theory development.
It involves a rigorous, systematic collection of rich
data and formulating a theory based on that data.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUNDED THEORY
DESIGN
1) Purposeful sampling is used. The researcher
looks for certain subjects who will be able to
shed new light on the phenomenon being
studied. Diversity rather than similarity is sought
in the people that are sampled.
2) Data is gathered in naturalistic settings (field
settings), Data collection primarily consists of
participant observation and interviews, and data
are recorded through handwritten notes and
tape recordings.
Lu, Y. (2017) "It's Not a Life or Death Thing": A
Grounded Theory Study of Smoking Decisions among
Chinese Americans, The Qualitative Report, 22, 3, pp.
797-817.
Pandit, N. R. (1996) The Creation of Theory: A Recent
Application of the Grounded Theory Method, The
Qualitative Report, 2, 4, pp. 1-13.
Pappu, M. and Mundy, R., A (2002) Understanding
strategic transportation buyer-seller relationships from
an organizational learning perspective: A grounded
theory approach, Transportation Journal, 41, 4, pp. 36-
50.
Sternquist, B. and Chen, Z. (2006) Food retail buyer
behaviour in the People's Republic of China: a grounded
theory model, Qualitative Market Research, 9, 3, pp. 243
Summarization of the Four Common
Research
Design in Qualitative Research

3) Data collection and data analysis occur

simultaneously. A process called constant
comparison is used, in which data gathered in
the course of the study is constantly compared
to other data that had been gathered in previous
studies.

4) It presumes that it is possible to discover

fundamental patterns in all social life. These
patterns are called basic social processes.

5) It is more concerned with the generation rather

than the testing of hypothesis.

6) Theoretical sampling used is a part of analysis

7) A core category grounded in the data is

identified ( a study may not be able to fully
Different Styles of Research Writing:
Modern Language Association (MLA)- most
commonly used to write papers and cite sources within
the liberal arts and humanities
American Psychological Association (APA)- is most
frequently used within the social sciences, in order to
cite various sources
Chicago Style and Turabian Style- this system uses
footnotes/end notes and a bibliography, the notes and
bibliography system is commonly used in history
courses.
Citation- reference to any item which clearly identifies
the source in which the full test of the item is to be found
Why Proper Citing is Important?
Basically, the information included in a citation are:
 Author
 Title
 Place of Publication
 Publisher
 Year of Publication
American Psychological Association- APA Format
6th Edition
A style is widely accepted in the social sciences and
other fields, such as education, business, and nursing.
The APA citation format requires parenthetical citations
or footnotes.
Citations in the text provide brief information, usually the
name of the author and the date of publication, to lead
the reader to the source of information in the reference
list at the end of the paper.
PERIODICAL ( Journals, Magazines, Newspapers in
print format)
Author,A.A.,Author, B.B., & Author, C.C. (Year). Title
of Article. Title of Journal, xx,xx-xx
ARTICLE IN JOURNAL
 One Author
William, J.H. (2008). Employee engagement:
Improving participation in safety.
Professional Safety, 53 (12), 40-45
 Eight or more Authors- list the first six
authors,…and the last author
MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Mathews,J.,Berret,D., & Brillman, D. (2005,
May 26). Other winning equations.
Newsweek, 145 (20), 58-59
BOOKS, CHAPTERS IN BOOKS, REPORTS (General
Format)
Author, A.A.(Year). Title of Work. Location:
Publisher.
 One Author
Alexie, S. (1992). The business of fancy
dancing: Stories and poems. Brooklyn, NY:
Hang Loose Press
 Corporate Author with an edition and published
by the corporate author
American Psychiatrist Association.(1994).
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Indirect Quotation with parenthetical libraries
 Anonymous Author
Darland’s illustrated medical dictionary (31st
ed.). (2007). Philadelphia, PA: Saunders.
 Chapters in a Book
Booth-LaForce,C., & Kerns, K.A.(2009).
Child-Parent attachment relationships.
Eric Document ( Education Resources Information
Center )
ONLINE JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPER
Author, A.A. (Year). Title of Work. Retrieved from
(web address)
Reference Citation in Text
APA utilizes a system of referencing in the text of a
paper, whether one is paraphrasing or providing a direct
quotation from another author’s work. Citation in the text
usually consist of the name of the author(s) and the year
of publication. The page number is added when utilizing
a direct quotation.
CHAPTER 4
Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data
Major Elements of the Section:
1) Presentation of Data –this part features the data
for easy understanding of the reader. The data
are usually presented in chart
2) Analysis- this intelligence and logic of the
researcher are required in this part in which
important data are emphasized and this will be
the basis of the findings of the study
3) Interpretation- comprehensible statements are
made after translating the statistical data and it
is also the process of attaching meanings to the
data
4) Discussion- in this part, the result or findings of
the investigation are compared and contrasted
with those of the reviewed literature or studies.
CHAPTER 5
The Summary of Findings, Conclusions,
Recommendations
1) Summary of Findings- restatement of main and
sub-problems
2) Conclusions- stated devoid of any elaborated
discussion of findings
3) Recommendations- The researcher’s final
recommendation is addressed to other
researchers who may pursue similar to studies
Data Gathering and Storage
 You can never cram data gathering
 More data is better than less ( it is costly to go
back to the field)
 Craft the best plan from formulation, gathering,
analysis, to seeking consent and approval of
transcripts/ foresights
 Organize and store your data
Qualitative Data analysis involves identification,
examination, and interpretation of patterns and
determines how these patterns and themes help answer
the research questions at hand
Remember what Qualitative Analysis Means:
 Focus on meanings, rather than on quantifiable
phenomenon
 Rich descriptions, not measurement of specific
variables
 Collection of many data on a few cases, rather
than few data on many cases
 Sensitivity to context, not generalizations
 Researcher as an instruments not the designer
 Not absolutely value-free, observe reflexivity
Coding
A code in qualitative inquiry is most often a word or short
phrase that symbolically assigns a summative, salient,
essence-capturing, and/or evocative attribute for a
portion of language- based or visual data
Organization and reduction of data
TYPES:
• A priori codes / pre-set codes / theoretical codes
• Emergent codes / substantive codes
• Hybrid
• No standard number of codes • Codes, axial codes,
themes
Example:
I notice that the grand majority of homes have chain link
fences in front of them. There are many dogs (mostly
German Shepherds) with signs on fences that say INTERVIEW: BEST TIME
“Beware of the Dog”
 A need for highly personalized data (in-depth)
Descriptive Code: Security  Concerns meanings: understand lived

1
experiences
He cares about me. He has never told me but he does.
 Objective is exploratory (e.g. feelings and
2 He’s always been there for me, even when my parents
attitudes)
were not. He’s one of the few things that I hold as a
 Semi-structured = capability to probe
constant in my life. So it’s nice. 3 I really feel comfortable
around him.  People might enjoy talking (instead of
questionnaire)
 Meanings can be immediately clarified /
Desciptive Codes: captures nuances
 Will yield richer data (instead of questionnaire)
 Sense of Self- Worth
 Stability STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS

 Comfortable ( Invivo Coding)  Often for quantitative analysis

There’s just no place in this country for illegal  Pre-prepared and standardized questions

immigrants. Round them up and send those criminals  Same for all respondents
back to where they came from.  Responses are recorded on a standardized
schedule
Descriptive Codes:
 Interactions are kept to a minimum
 No Place  Questions are read out with the same tone
 Immigration Issues  Hence, very similar to questionnaires
 Xenophobia
SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
 Non-standardized
1) Interview  Used in qualitative analysis
2) Focus group discussion  List of issues and questions (but not deal with
3) Observation all)
 Participant  The order of questions may change
 Non-participant Additional questions may be asked (even
unanticipated ones)
INTERVIEW
 Probing is necessary
 Verbal exchange  New diversions / pathways (but anchored on
 Usually with guide questions research objectives
 Pose question, listen, pose new questions
NON-DIRECTIVE INTERVIEWS
(probing is critical)
 Body language is part of the process to analyse  Used to explore new issues or topics in-depths
 Audio, video or note taking  Usually not pre-planned questions
 Highly dependent on the skills of the interviewer  But research questions and issues are guides
 Involves transcripts (1 hr = 7-10 hrs)  Participants talk freely about the subject
  Interviewer mainly check doubtful points and • Give time to respond
rephrase answers (for accuracy) • Informal atmosphere is more favourable
INTERVIEW IS A SKILL BUT COULD DEPEND ON:
INTERVIEWING TIPS: QUESTIONS

1. Your status
Avoid questions that:

• Internal/external to the organization /your seniority / • Contain jargon

status of the • Use prejudicial language

interviewee
2. The project
• Interested for the potential interviewee /pay-off (what’s
in it for me?)
3. Yourself
• Are you trustworthy / personable /professional
INTERVIEWING TIPS:
• Initial contact matters (2-3 weeks prior to the interview)
• Be clear with time, what’s needed
•Address ethical aspects, assure them • Send the guide
questions /demographics prior
•Interviews can never be rushed • Stress-free, unhurried
• Arrive 30mins before the interview • Update them 7-10
days prior (final confirmation)
• Check all the materials you need (guide, recorder, etc.)
• Dress appropriately
• Build rapport
• Always on trust and authenticity
• Remember, this is an interview, not an interrogation!
• The more relax the interviewee, the more data will be
generated
• Always ask if they have questions
• Control the interview
• Ask right questions
• Provide verbal and non-verbal feedback
• Listen carefully and channel it back
• Know when to improvise
• Are ambiguous
• Are leading
• Are loaded (double)
• Are hypothetical
• Are personal or sensitive
• Require knowledge respondents do not posses
FGD
• An organized discussion among selected groups of
individuals.
• Difference from group interview: generate
interactions and discussions within the group. • Aim:
gain a range of perspectives about subjects and
situations.
• Synergistic building up of data: shared and unshared
experiences (degree of consensus)
• Self-disclosure
• Popular in market research (can be assembled quickly
and cheaply).
• There is a room for clarifications, probe, and observe
non-verbal responses.
• Fitting when themes and boundaries of a subject are
unknown (too broad).
•Has the ability to identify valid themes (e.g. for
surveys). • Collect data on group norms, explore turning
points, encourage participation for those who do not
want to be interviewed alone.
• Recruiting participants takes more organizing than
most other forms of data gathering method
(identification and invitation).
OBSERVATION

• Systematic viewing of people’s actions and the

recording, analysis, and interpretation of their behavior.
• Participant observation is largely qualitative.
• Structured observation is largely quantitative (focuses
on frequency of actions).
• Overt observation: those being observed are aware
that the observation is taking place.
• Covert: people are not aware

OTHER METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

• Textual (words)/visual analysis (photos)

•Narrative (Life history)
•Oral history
• Autoethnography /netnography

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

•Sikolohiyang Pilipino (SP)
• Pakapa-kapa (“groping”, a field method) •
Pagtatanong-tanong (asking questions)
• Pakikiramdam (shared sensitivities)
• Pakikilahok (participation)
• Pakikisangkot (integral involvement)
• Pagdalaw-dalaw (casual but repeated visits)
• Pakikipagkuwentuhan (casual conversations)