JOURNAL ARTICLES

Effectively Communicating Qualitative Research

Joseph G. Ponterotto and Ingrid Grieger
The Counseling Psychologist 2007 35: 404

Aimed at graduate students, this article discusses the basic characteristics of qualitative research and how to present your findings effectively.

Does British Sociology Count? Sociology Students' Attitudes toward Quantitative Methods
Malcolm Williams, Geoff Payne, Liz Hodgkinson & Donna Poade
Sociology, Vol. 42, No. 5, 1003-1021 (2008)

This paper reports findings from a national survey of British sociology students’ attitudes towards quantitative methods.

What Good Is Polarizing Research Into Qualitative and Quantitative?
Kadriye Ercikan & Wolff-Michael Roth
Educational Researcher, Vol. 35, No. 5, 14-23 (2006)

How useful is the distinction between qualitative and quantitative methods? This paper argues that it is best to treat research methods as a continuum from which we select methods depending on our research question.

TIPS

Quantitative methods are usually the most appropriate if you want to find out social facts or the causes of some phenomenon. If you are more interested in how social phenomena arise in the interactions of their participants, then qualitative methods should be your choice.

VIDEO MATERIAL

For a 7 minute introduction to qualitative research [QR], by Alison Anderson, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWb-M4rnxlY

For a 19 minute introduction by Martyn Hammersley, a respected British sociologist, go to:

http://www.methodspace.com/video/what-is-qualitative-inquiry-by

EXERCISE

1. List the key features of QR presented by Hammersley or Anderson.
2. Compare and contrast this list with Chapter 2 of this book.
3. What features make most sense to you?

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Of Quant Jocks and Qual Outsiders: Doctoral student narratives on the Quest for Training in Qualitative Research
Amy D. Benton, David K. Androff, Ben-David Barr & Sarah Taylor
Qualitative Social Work 2012 11: 232 originally published online 24 June 2011

In this paper, Amy Benton and others present personal narratives of four current and recent doctoral students who have incorporated qualitative methods into their research. The themes that emerge from these narratives include early exposure to qualitative methods and a commitment to methodological pluralism, as well as experiences with encountering biases, additional costs, and the challenges of translating the methodologies of other disciplines. Although this paper focuses on American social work PhD students, it has relevance for all beginning qualitative researchers.

Learning to Do Qualitative Data Analysis: An Observational Study of Doctoral Work
Sarah Li & Clive Seale
Qualitative Health Research, Volume 17 Number 10, December 2007 1442-1452

What happens in the early stages of a student research project? In this fascinating article, based on their own supervisor-student relationship, Li and Seale examine the kinds of problems that can arise in analyzing your data and how these problems can be overcome.

EXERCISE

- Review what lessons you have learned from this paper.
- What new questions can you ask your supervisor to help you improve your data analysis skills?

Justifying Knowledge, Justifying Method, Taking Action: Epistemologies, Methodologies, and Methods in Qualitative Research
Stacy M. Carter and Miles Little
Qualitative Health Res 2007 17: 1316
 
In this article, the authors clarify a framework for qualitative research, in particular for evaluating its quality. They explain ‘epistemology’, ‘methodology’ and ‘method’ and show their relevance for research design

A spy, a shill, a go-between or a sociologist: unveiling the ‘observer’ in participant observer
Susan B. Murray
Qualitative Research, Vol. 3, No. 3, 377-395 (2003)

What is it like to do fieldwork?  In this paper, Susan Murray teases out the moral, ethical and political decisions that take place in the field.

Repositioning Documents in Social Research
Lindsay Prior
Sociology, Vol. 42, No. 5, 821-836 (2008)

Too often, qualitative researchers use documents as mere background material. In this paper, Lindsay Prior shows you how to think about using documentary material as basic data.

'Entering the blogosphere': some strategies for using blogs in social research
Nicholas Hookway
Qualitative Research, Vol. 8, No. 1, 91-113 (2008)

Since 1999, blogs have become a significant part of online culture. In this paper, Nicholas Hookway considers how you can treat the ‘blogosphere’ as data.

Feminist Conversation Analysis: Research by Students at the University of York, UK
Celia Kitzinger
Feminism and Psychology 2007; 17; 133

Moira and Simon’s research, discussed in Chapter Three, made use of conversation analysis (CA). In this paper, Celia Kitzinger offers a non-technical introduction to feminist CA, illustrated with interviews with undergraduate, MA and PhD students that she has supervised. This is an opportunity to read students speaking in their own words about what it is that has drawn them to CA as an intellectual and political endeavour.

TIPS

Not every document you come across in your research has to be treated as a set of true or false statements. Take any one document relevant to your topic and ask:

• How has the document been put together to make its statements seem credible?
• What can you learn from this about how the topics you are concerned with are being ‘constructed’ by the authors of this document?
• Where could you find other documents which might construct these ‘facts’ differently?

VIDEO MATERIAL

Focus groups are increasingly used in qualitative research. For a 10 minute interview with David Morgan on focus groups, go to:

http://www.methodspace.com/video/david-morgan-on-research

For a 6 minute interview by Sarah Pink on using visual data, go to:

http://www.methodspace.com/video/sage-methodspace-sarah-pink

For another short interview on visual methods, this time by Marcus Banks, go to:

http://www.methodspace.com/video/marcus-banks-advice-for-new

EXERCISE

1. Compare and contrast Pink and Banks’ views on the uses of visual data
2. Which aspects of their advice are most useful to you?

Helen Snee, a British sociologist, talks about how to analyze blogs using qualitative methods. She discusses Hookway’s work. Go to:

http://www.methodspace.com/video/helene-snee
[don’t worry about the poor sound quality at the start of this video; it is corrected soon]

 

EXERCISE

If you are considering interviewing people face-to-face, assess what you would gain and lose by using the Internet as an alternative source of data.

Several students discussed in these chapters use Discourse Analysis. For a short lecture on DA by Stephanie Taylor, go to:

http://www.methodspace.com/video/what-is-discourse-analysis-by

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Navigating the waves: the usefulness of a pilot in qualitative research
Helen Sampson
Qualitative Research, Vol. 4, No. 3, 383-402 (2004)

Helen Sampson suggests that a pilot study is very valuable prior to the main body of data collection.

What Good Is Polarizing Research Into Qualitative and Quantitative?
Kadriye Ercikan & Wolff-Michael Roth
Educational Researcher, Vol. 35, No. 5, 14-23 (2006)

How useful is the distinction between qualitative and quantitative methods? This paper argues that it is best to treat research methods as a continuum from which we select methods depending on our research question.

 

Talking and Thinking About Qualitative Research
Carolyn Ellis, Arthur Bochner, Norman Denzin, Yvonna Lincoln, Janice Morse, Ronald Pelias, Laurel Richardson
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 14, No. 2, 254-284 (2008)

This is an edited transcript of a recent discussion about the nature of qualitative research in which a number of scholars respond to questions about their personal history with qualitative methods. As you will see, the participants take a rather different position to my own. I have included this article for that very reason.

 

VIDEO MATERIAL

A basic introduction to formulating a research question is given by the leading methodologist, Prof. Alan Bryman at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHzM9RlO6j0&feature=related

WEBSITE LINKS
A very useful website based on Clive Seale’s edited book Researching Society and Culture is: www.rscbook.co.uk 

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Reflexive Accounts and Accounts of Reflexivity in Qualitative Data Analysis
Natasha S. Mauthner & Andrea Doucet
Sociology, Vol. 37, No. 3, 413-431 (2003)

Sometimes social theory can appear to be abstract and daunting. In this paper, Mauthner and Doucet discuss how basic theoretical issues arose and were settled during their own PhD dissertations.

Data analysis and 'theorizing as ideology'
Kathryn Roulson
Qualitative Research, Vol. 1, No. 3, 279-302 (2001)

In this fascinating paper, based on her study of music education, Kathryn Roulson reviews the problems she discovered in her first research report and the importance of theoretical ideas in reshaping her data analysis.

EXERCISE

Kathryn Roulson reveals the importance of analytical models in shaping your data analysis.

• What model informs your research and why are you using it?
• Try redoing your analysis of a small piece of data using a different model
• Now assess what you gain and lose by using each model.

Pluralism in qualitative research: the impact of different researchers and qualitative approaches on the analysis of qualitative data
Nollaig Frost, Sevasti Melissa Nolas, Belinda Brooks-Gordon, Cigdem Esin, Amanda Holt, Leila Mehdizadeh & Pnina Shinebourne
Qualitative Research 2010 10: 441

Qualitative research can mean many different things. This article presents very different analyses of a single semi-structured interview transcript using different theoretical approaches: grounded theory, Foucauldian discourse analysis, interpretative phenomenological analysis and narrative analysis. The variation and agreement in the analysis of the data are discussed. The implications of the findings on the conduct, writing and presentation of qualitative research are presented.

Discursive Psychology: Between Method and Paradigm
Jonathan Potter
Discourse & Society, Vol. 14, No. 6, 783-794 (2003)

In this response to a paper by Martyn Hammersley, Jonathan Potter, a leading exponent of discourse analysis (DA), shows how his approach, based on a constructionist model, can generate theory.

EXERCISE

• Which analytical model (e.g. positivist, naturalist or constructionist) does your research problem presuppose?
• Reframe your problem in terms of a different model and consider the gains and losses of such reframing.

Theorizing in Qualitative Research: A Cultural Studies Perspective
Pertti Alasuutari
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 2, No. 4, 371-384 (1996)

How can you seek to build a theory while doing a qualitative case study?
In this paper, Pertti Alasuutari answers this question by applying a constructionist model to research in cultural studies.

EXERCISE

Try to apply Alasuutari’s discussion to your own research. What theory or theories could your data analysis help to build? Notes on the Nature and Development of General Theories.

Anselm Strauss
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 1, No. 1, 7-18 (1995)

This paper is authored by Anselm Strauss, one of the founders of the Grounded Theory approach. It offers insights into how to develop substantive and formal theories from qualitative data.

Problematics of grounded theory: innovations for developing an increasingly rigorous qualitative method
Jason Adam Wasserman, Jeffrey Michael Clair, Kenneth L. Wilson
Qualitative Research, 2009, vol. 9(3) 355–381

Grounded theory seeks to generate codes from data. This advanced paper considers how codes can be related to one another. It illustrates the argument with research on homelessness.

Common knowledge: reflections on narratives in community
Erin E. Seaton
Qualitative Research 2008 vol. 8(3) 293–305

This paper shows how narrative analysis can be carried out. It is based on interviews with schoolchildren.

Madness to the method? Using a narrative methodology to analyse large-scale complex social phenomena
Liz Stanley
Qualitative Research, 2008, vol. 8(3) 435–447

In this paper, Liz Stanley considers how you can use a narrative inquiry approach for investigating large-scale complex social phenomena, in this case connected with the rise of nationalism in South Africa and women’s role in it

EXERCISE

Take any one data extract used in any of the linked papers. Now attempt data analysis using any ONE approach not used by the author. For example, use content analysis or narrative analysis when the data has been analysed by the author using grounded theory.
Consider what you have learned about the strengths and weaknesses of the approach you have used.

TIPS

Students often err by assuming that ‘theory’ is best done from the armchair while speculating upon great philosophical problems. By contrast, theorising is best accomplished by thinking through the implications of how you have gathered and analysed your data.

VIDEO MATERIAL

An excellent introduction to grounded theory by Professor Tony Bryant is at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmWKf5L0mfA

In this podcast interview, we learn how one researcher has used narrative analysis

http://www.ipp-shr.cqu.edu.au/podcasts/?id=10&podcastType=1

For an excellent 5 minute interview on DA by Jonathan Potter, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4wJyFumjn8

 

WEBSITE LINKS

Social Theory Research Network (European Sociological Association)
www.social-theory.eu

Social Theory Pages
www.socialtheory.info

e-Source: Chapter 3 on ‘Theory development’ by Stephen Turner
www.esourceresearch.org

Social theory and the study of popular culture
www.theory.org.uk
www.groundedtheory.com/
http://sbs.ucsf.edu/medsoc/anselmstrauss

This link gives you a basic understanding of content analysis:
http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=17

JOURNAL ARTICLES

The Need for Thin Description
Wayne H. Brekhus,  John F. Galliher &  Jaber F. Gubrium
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 11, No. 6, 861-879 (2005)

Qualitative research is supposed to offer ‘rich’ descriptions of social reality. This paper shows that such richness will vary according to our research problem and methodology.

 

EXERCISE

In what sense is ‘rich description’ the aim of your research?  If so, how can you achieve it? If not, why not?

 

Natural’ and ‘contrived’ data: a sustainable distinction?
Susan A. Speer
Discourse Studies, Vol 4(4): 511–525.

Two kinds of natural
Jonathan Potter
Discourse Studies, Vol 4(4): 539–542.

The two articles above debate whether naturally-occurring material should be the basic data for qualitative research. Susan Speer raises several reservations about the value of this assumption. To which, Jonathan Potter replies, arguing that naturally-occurring data remains highly relevant to qualitative research

 

EXERCISE

• Is your research based on naturally-occurring data?
• If so, why?
• If not, why not?
• If you worked with a different sort of data (naturally-occurring or otherwise) how would that impact on your definition of your research topic and the kind of conclusions you could reach?

 
Triangulation and integration: processes, claims and implications
Jo Moran-Ellis, Victoria D. Alexander, Ann Cronin, Mary Dickinson, Jane Fielding, Judith Sleney & Hilary Thomas
Qualitative Research, Vol. 6, No. 1, 45-59 (2006)

 Beginning researchers are often tempted to use mixed or multiple methods. This paper reviews the problems in working with multiple datasets and how these problems can be overcome.

Tracking the Reflexivity of the (Dis)Engaged Citizen Some Methodological Reflections
Tim Markham & Nick Couldry
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 13, No. 5, 675-695 (2007)

Following on from the themes raised in the previous paper, Markham and Couldry discuss how they integrated different datasets in their research on citizenship.

 

EXERCISE

• If you are considering using multiple methods, examine what you would gain and lose by using just one method.
• If you are planning to use a single method, consider what you would gain and lose by using multiple methods.

 

VIDEO MATERIAL

You can find a video of me giving a brief account of why naturally-occurring data are important at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW_SKXYnhyQ

WEBSITE LINKS
For a helpful discussion on the uses and limits of interview data, go to Sage Methodspace at:

http://www.methodspace.com/forum/topics/epoche-bracketing-and-mind?commentId=2289984%3AComment%3A104728

JOURNAL ARTICLES

The process of sample recruitment: an ethnostatistical perspective
Michelle Thomas, Michael Bloor & Jane Frankland
Qualitative Research, Vol. 7, No. 4, 429-446 (2007)

This paper shows how a sample was gathered during four research studies. It is particular useful for revealingthe practical issues involved in recruiting people to study.

Manhunt : The Challenge of Enticing Men to Participate in a Study on Friendship
Karina J. Butera
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 12, No. 6, 1262-1282 (2006)

Karina Butera offers further reflections on gathering a sample to study. She considers the role of gender in deciding whether to
participate in research.
 

EXERCISE

Both these papers assume that research is based on sampling people.  What other kinds of samples are worth considering? [Hint: how can we sample social situations or processes?]

 

Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research
Bent Flyvbjerg
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 12, No. 2, 219-245 (2006)

This classic paper explains the rationale behind the case-study method in qualitative research.

You Can Generalize Stupid! Social Scientists, Bent Flyvbjerg, and Case Study Methodology
Lee Peter Ruddin
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 12, No. 4, 797-812 (2006)

Lee Ruddin examines the arguments in Flyvbjerg’s paper.

 

EXERCISE

• Assess whether Flyvbjerg or Ruddin has the better of this argument
• How would you explain the value of your data to a sceptical quantitative researcher?

 

Methodological Practicalities in Analytical Generalization
Bente Halkier
Qualitative Inquiry 2011 17: 787

We are usually concerned about the number of cases in our study because we want to generalize from our findings. In this paper, Bente Halkier discusses three ways in which we can generalize in case study research

 

‘How many cases do I need?’: On science and the logic of case selection in field-based research
Mario Luis Small
Ethnography 2009 10 (5): 5-38

This paper continues the debate about case study research with a particular focus on ethnographic work.

 

TIPS

Try not to be defensive if your data is limited to one or two ‘cases’. Instead, seek to understand the logic behind such an approach and work out what you can gain by intensive analysis of limited but rich data.

 

VIDEO MATERIAL

A leading methodologist, Professor Alan Bryman, discusses the basics of case study research. For Part I go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja3nlZ6vHog

For Part II of Bryman’s talk, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lcWn596kXI&feature=relmfu

For Parts III-VII of this talk go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y8DDJ6rsKo&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOX3GN9Hkj8&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j68z9kObsak&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9T8u5K3mdg&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuDKUQYnIb4&feature=relmfu

WEBSITE LINKS

For a useful online discussion of appropriate sample size in studies using qualitative interviews, go to:

http://www.methodspace.com/forum/topics/sample-size-and-number-of

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Ethics and the Practice of Qualitative Research
Ian Shaw
Qualitative Social Work 2008 7: 400

This article shows how the application of ethical codes is complicated in qualitative research. In particular, the issues of consent and social justice are highlighted.

Research Ethics Review and the Sociological Research Relationship
Adam Hedgecoe
Sociology, Vol. 42, No. 5, 873-886 (2008)

In this paper, Adam Hedgecoe reports research on Research Ethics Committees in the UK. His findings are encouraging and reject the assumption that such committees are biased against qualitative research.

Feminist Research Practice: Using Conversation Analysis to Explore the Researcher’s Interaction with Participants
Estefania Guimaraes
Feminism & Psychology, Vol. 17, No. 2, 149-161 (2007)

Based on her own PhD research on sexual abuse in Brazil, Estefania Guimares shows how ethical issues enter into the nitty gritty activity of collecting data

EXERCISE

Not every student research project is set in such a ‘loaded’ situation as Estefania’s. Nevertheless, review how you propose to collect your data (or have collected it). What ethical issues arise and how do (will) you resolve them?

Informed Consent, Deception, and Research Freedom in Qualitative Research
Marco Marzano
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 13, No. 3, 417-436 (2007)

Sometimes we need to conceal our identity in order to research a particular setting. In this paper, based on his own research in a cancer hospital, Marco Marzano considers when it is appropriate to use concealment and when it should be abandoned. As Marco’s paper shows, we always need to relate ethical decisions to the context which we are studying

Between Overt and Covert Research: Concealment and Disclosure in an Ethnographic Study of Commercial Hospitality
Peter Lugosi
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 12, No. 3, 541-561 (2006)

Peter Lugosi’s paper addresses the issues of concealment and context in a different research setting.

The Art and Politics of Covert Research Doing `Situated Ethics' in the Field
David Calvey
Sociology, Vol. 42, No. 5, 905-918 (2008)

The final paper on ethics reviews a study of ‘bouncers’ in Manchester, UK. It returns to the issue of covert research and considers the relevance of ‘informed consent’ in such a setting.

 

EXERCISE

• What ethical issues (might) arise in your own research?
• How can you respond to each issue?
• How does (might) the context in which you are researching affect your ethical decisions?

 

VIDEO MATERIAL

To look at a psychologist’s introduction to research ethics (this talk also includes a discussion of plagiarism) go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir3VvYNzHeM&feature=related

For a 35 minute talk on the ethics of researching social media, go to:

http://www.methodspace.com/video/farida-vis-on-ethics-research-and-social-media-renegotiating-the

JOURNAL ARTICLES

How do we Talk to Each other? Writing Qualitative Research for Quantitative Readers
Linda Liska Belgrave, Diane Zablotsky & Mary Ann Guadagno
Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 12, No. 10, 1427-1439 (2002)

Based on the experience of reviewing small grant applications, this paper considers how to write an effective research proposal in a climate where quantitative research is the norm.

EXERCISE

After reading this paper, prepare two research proposals:

• A description of your research for a quantitative audience
• A description of your research aimed at other qualitative researchers

 

VIDEO MATERIAL

Candace Schaefer explains strategies for preparing a successful dissertation proposal. Although oriented to US students, it contains basic information which is relevant to all research proposals. Go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5ESD58XUGk&feature=related

Writing a compelling research proposal - CEU's Eszter Timar tells you how. Go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAFHfGJGxu8&feature=related

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Creating the interviewer: identity work in the management research process
Catherine Cassell
Qualitative Research, Vol. 5, No. 2, 167-179 (2005)

In this paper, Catherine Cassell, a management researcher, discusses the dynamics of interviewing. She shows that the interview involves considerable ‘identity work’.

EXERCISE

Make an audio-recording of one interview. Then review how your contribution is presenting a version of your identity. Consider how this might affect your interviewee’s responses.

Online Dating and Mating: The Use of the Internet to Meet Sexual Partners
Danielle Couch & Pranee Liamputtong
Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 18, No. 2, 268-279 (2008)

This paper shows how you can use the Internet to recruit people for an interview study.

`Entering the blogosphere': some strategies for using blogs in social research
Nicholas Hookway
Qualitative Research, Vol. 8, No. 1, 91-113 (2008)

Since 1999, blogs have become a significant part of online culture. In this paper, Nicholas Hookway considers how you can treat the ‘blogosphere’ as data.

EXERCISE

If you are considering interviewing people face-to-face, assess what you would gain and lose by using the Internet as an alternative source of data.

Focus groups and the study of violence
Tarja Pösö, Päivi Honkatukia & Leo Nyqvist
Qualitative Research February 2008 vol. 8 no. 1 73-89

Tarja Pösö, Päivi Honkatukia and Leo Nyqvist have written a paper on violence in childrens’ homes which is a good example of focus group research.

Writing fieldnotes in an ethnographic study of peers – collaborative experiences from the field
Sarah L Condell
Journal of Research in Nursing, Vol. 13, No. 4, 325-335 (2008)

In this paper, Sarah Condell looks at how she made fieldnotes in a study of nursing.

Using Photographs to Capture Women's Experiences of Chemotherapy: Reflecting on the Method
Hannah Frith & Diana Harcourt
Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 17, No. 10, 1340-1350 (2007)

Hannah Frith and Diana Harcourt asked women undergoing chemotherapy for cancer to keep a photographic record of their experiences. In this paper,they discuss photography as an alternative way of accessing experience.

EXERCISE

Studies of ‘experience’ usually fit within a naturalist model. Is this true of the Frith and Harcourt paper e.g. what other model[s] can you detect in how they describe their research?

 

Transcription in Research and Practice: From Standardization of Technique to Interpretive Positionings
Judith C. Lapadat & Anne C. Lindsay
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 5, No. 1, 64-86 (1999)

Qualitative research usually involves careful recording and transcription. This paper discusses the practical and theoretical choices you make when you transcribe your data.

EXERCISE

• What method of recording your data are you using?
• What are the practical reasons for doing things this way?
• What are the theoretical consequences?
• What alternative transcription methods might be useful in your research?

TIPS

• Don’t think of the role of the interviewer as just asking questions. Consider the variety of your other actions e.g. saying ‘hmm, mm’, reformulating a question, agreeing and remaining silent. Always assess how these influence what an interviewee says.

• If you are interested in understanding people’s experiences, do not assume that the interview is the only appropriate research method.

• Like so many activities when doing qualitative research, choosing a transcription method is never a purely technical matter. Transcription is saturated with theoretical assumptions.

VIDEO MATERIAL

In this podcast, a researcher talks about why people agree to participate in qualitative research.

http://www.ipp-shr.cqu.edu.au/podcasts/?id=11&podcastType=1

 

WEBSITE LINKS

For a useful online discussion of appropriate sample size in studies using qualitative interviews, go to:

http://www.methodspace.com/forum/topics/sample-size-and-number-of

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Notes on the Nature and Development of General Theories
Anselm Strauss
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 1, No. 1, 7-18 (1995)
http://qix.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/1/1/7

This paper is authored by Anselm Strauss, one of the founders of the Grounded Theory approach. It offers insights into how to develop substantive and formal theories from qualitative data.

Problematics of grounded theory: innovations for developing an increasingly rigorous qualitative method
Jason Adam Wasserman, Jeffrey Michael Clair & Kenneth Wilson  
Qualitative Research, 2009, vol. 9(3) 355–381
http://qrj.sagepub.com/content/9/3/355

Grounded theory seeks to generate codes from data. This advanced paper considers how codes can be related to one another. It illustrates the argument with research on homelessness.

Common knowledge: reflections on narratives in community
Erin E. Seaton
Qualitative Research 2008 vol. 8(3) 293–305
http://qrj.sagepub.com/content/8/3/293

This paper shows how narrative analysis can be carried out. It is based on interviews with schoolchildren.

Madness to the method? Using a narrative methodology to analyse large-scale complex social phenomena
Liz Stanley
Qualitative Research, 2008, vol. 8(3) 435–447
http://qrj.sagepub.com/content/8/3/435

In this paper, Liz Stanley considers how you can use a narrative inquiry approach for investigating large-scale complex social phenomena, in this case connected with the rise of nationalism in South Africa and women’s role in it

EXERCISE

Take any one data extract used in any of the linked papers. Now attempt data analysis using any ONE approach not used by the author. For example, use content analysis or narrative analysis when the data has been analysed by the author using grounded theory.

Consider what you have learned about the strengths and weaknesses of the approach you have used.

Dismantling Mantelpieces: Narrating Identities and Materializing Culture in the Home
Rachel Hurdley
Sociology, Vol. 40, No. 4, 717-733 (2006)
http://soc.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/40/4/717

Rachel Hurdley’s paper is an illustration of how narrative analysis can be used in the analysis of interview data.

There’s Risks in Everything: Extreme-Case Formulations and Accountability in Inquiry Testimony
Jack Sidnell
Discourse & Society, Vol. 15, No. 6, 745-766 (2004)
http://das.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/15/6/745

In this paper, based on a video record of a public inquiry, Jack Sidnell shows how you can begin to theorise through qualitative data.

On Being a 'Good' Mother: The Moral Presentation of Self in Written Life Stories
Vanessa May
Sociology, Vol. 42, No. 3, 470-486 (2008)
http://soc.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/42/3/470

Vanessa May’s paper shows how you can use written life stories in qualitative research.

EXERCISE
Using any one of these last three papers as a model, think about how you might improve your data analysis.

Writing small discoveries: an exploration of fresh observers’ observations

Aksel H. Tjora
Qualitative Research, Vol. 6, No. 4, 429-451 (2006)
http://qrj.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/6/4/429
Aksel Tiora’s paper discusses different ‘modes’ of interpretation which shape how students take fieldnotes.

EXERCISE

If you are doing an observational study, experiment with at least two different methods of keeping fieldnotes.  Now read through your notes and consider which format is likely to be most productive to address your research problem and to provide you with reliable data.

Making the familiar strange: can visual research methods render the familiar setting more perceptible?
Dawn Mannay
Qualitative Research vol. 10(1) 91–111, 2010

In this paper, Dawn Mannay discusses how she used visual datato explore and represent the everyday experiences of working-class mothers and daughters residing on a peripheral social housing estate.

 

VIDEO MATERIAL

For a useful video on Grounded Theory by Professor Tony Bryant go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmWKf5L0mfA

For a useful 36 minute lecture by Vanessa May on Narrative Analysis [text only] go to:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWTNuloKSGQ

WEBSITE LINKS

www.groundedtheory.com/
http://sbs.ucsf.edu/medsoc/anselmstrauss

In this podcast interview, we learn how one researcher has used narrative analysis
http://www.ipp-shr.cqu.edu.au/podcasts/?id=10&podcastType=1

For a useful set of introductory notes on the analysis of visual data presented by Dr. Christine Rivers, Surrey University, go to:

http://www.surrey.ac.uk/sociology/research/researchcentres

JOURNAL ARTICLES

‘Using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software to develop a grounded theory project’,
Bringer, J.D., Johnston, L.H. and Brackenridge, C.H.
Field Methods, 18: 245-26

This paper provides a detailed description of how researchers used NVivo to support a grounded theory study of swimming coaches’ perceptions of sexual relationships in sport.

 

EXERCISE:

• Which features of NVivo software proved the most useful to these researchers?
• Which of these features would be useful on your project?

 

Developing and using a codebook for the analysis of interview data: an example from a professional development research project’,
DeCuir-Gunby, J.T., Marshall, P.L. and McCulloch, A.W. (2011)
Field Methods, 23,2: 136-155

This paper describes the development of coding scheme for analysing qualitative data. Examples are given from a study of mathematics teachers who were taking part in a new approach to teaching. Theory-driven codes and data-driven codes are distinguished from each other, and examples of each are given.

EXERCISE:

• How did these researchers develop theory-driven codes?
• How did these researchers develop data-driven codes?
• Is this distinction useful in thinking about the codes you are using, or want to use, on your research project?

 

‘Three approaches to qualitative content analysis’,
Hsieh, H-F., and Shannon, S.E.
Qualitative Health Research, 15: 1277-1288.

Three different approaches to analysing the content of text are described in this paper, and illustrated through examples taken from research into end-of-life care.  The three types of analysis are labelled conventional, directed and summative.

• ‘Conventional’ analysis is similar to the ‘data-driven’ approach described by DeCuir-Gunby et al
• ‘Directed’ analysis is similar to the ‘’theory-driven’ approach DeCuir-Gunby et al describe.
• ‘Summative’ analysis draws on techniques similar to the keyword analysis described in Chapter 14

 

EXERCISE:

• Study the examples given by Hsieh and Shannon in Tables 1, 2 and 3.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, according to these authors?
• How might these approaches be implemented using CAQDAS software?

TIPS

• Visit the web sites of CAQDAS software sellers and see if you can download a test version: try before you buy!

• The quality of your project will depend largely on the quality of the analytic categories you use to understand your data. Pretty often, these categories are embodied in a coding scheme.
• CAQDAS can’t do your thinking for you but once you have applied a coding scheme to your data the software can speed up your ability to think about your codes, as well as retrieve data associated with each code.

 

VIDEO MATERIAL

For a short talk on credible qualitative research by the management researcher Prof. Catherine Cassell go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_nEgHq5DNk&feature=relmfu

JOURNAL ARTICLES

The Ethnographic Method in Sociology
Raymond L. Gold
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 3, No. 4, 388-402 (1997)

In this paper, Raymond Gold shows how ethnographic work can be scientifically credible.

EXERCISE:

• List the ways in which you can make your data analysis credible?
• In the context of your own research project, what is the SINGLE best way of achieving credibility?

Generalization in Qualitative Research
Geoff Payne & Malcolm Williams
Sociology, Vol. 39, No. 2, 295-314 (2005)

Using examples from a number of studies, Payne and Williams show how we can make generalizations in qualitative research.

 

Counting in Qualitative Research: Why to Conduct it, When to Avoid it, and When to Closet it
David R. Hannah and Brenda A. Lautsch
Journal of Management Inquiry 2011 20: 14 originally published online 8 Sept 2010

This paper reviews why counting is a controversial issue in qualitative research and explains how this controversy creates “multiple audience problem” for qualitative researchers. It goes on to identify the purposes that can be served by four different types of counting

EXERCISE

• How might you count in your data analysis i.e. what objects would you count and why?
• What difference, if any, is there between counting in qualitative and quantitative research?

Validity in qualitative research revisited
Jeasik Cho & Allen Trent
Qualitative Research, Vol. 6, No. 3, 319-340 (2006)

What exactly do we mean by ‘validity? In this paper, Cho and Trent review  various meanings and argue for a ‘process-oriented’ version.

Unreliable narrators? ‘Inconsistency’ (and some inconstancy) in interviews
Cate Watson
Qualitative Research, Vol. 6, No. 3, 367-384 (2006)

How should you handle apparently ‘contradictory’ data in an interview? In this paper, Cate Watson discusses the solution she adopted to this problem.

EXERCISE

In the light of any of the papers recommended here, review your analysis of any part of your data. What claims can you make for its:

• Reliability
• Validity
• Generalizability?

TIPS

• Apparent ‘contradictions’ in your data depend on the model you are employing. For constructionists, such contradictions may reflect the different discourses that are being used by participants.

           
WEBSITE LINKS

This Sage Methodspace discussion is about how to assess quality in qualitative research:

http://www.methodspace.com/forum/topics/qualitative-research-vs

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Qualitative Quality: Eight “Big-Tent” Criteria for Qualitative Research
Sarah J. Tracy
Qualitative Inquiry 16(10) 837–851, 2010
http://qix.sagepub.com/content/16/10/837.full.pdf+html

Sarah Tracy presents what she sees as eight key markers of quality in qualitative research including (a) worthy topic, (b) rich rigour, (c) sincerity, (d) credibility, (e) resonance, (f) significant contribution, (g) ethics, and (h) meaningful coherence.

 

Ethnographic evidence: The value of applied ethnography in healthcare

Jan Savage, PhD, BSc(Hons), RN
Journal of Research in Nursing, Vol. 11, No. 5, 383-393 (2006)
http://jrn.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/11/5/383

In this article, pitched at an introductory level, Jan Savage discusses the value of ethnographic work in the context of the debate about evidence-based healthcare.

 

Life is out there: a comment on Griffin
Jonathan Potter & Alexa Hepburn
Discourse Studies 2007; 9; 276
http://dis.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/2/276

Following my critique of some interview studies in Chapter 16, Potter and Hepburn’s short piece offers further criticism of over-reliance on interview data.

 

TIP:

Potter and Hepburn introduce the anthropological terms ‘emic’ and ‘etic’. ‘Emic’ refers to the categories that participants use. ‘Etic’ refers to an analyst’s categories.

 

Objectivity and Subjectivity in the Ethnographic Method
Allan Hegelund
Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 15, No. 5, 647-668 (2005)
http://qhr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/15/5/647

In this article, Allan Hegelund reviews the categories of ‘objectivity’ and ‘subjectivity’. He shows how theoretical models can shape what these terms mean in qualitative research.

 

Auditing Constructivist Inquiry: Perspectives of Two Stakeholders
Mary K. Rodwell & Katharine V. Byers
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 3, No. 1, 116-134 (1997)
http://qix.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/3/1/116

The concept of ‘audit’ is a useful way of thinking about the evaluation of qualitative research. In this paper, Rodwell and Byers show the standards through which different audiences may audit our work.

 

EXERCISE:

• Who are the stakeholders in your research?
• What audit standards might each stakeholder use?
• How can you make your research satisfy these stakeholders?

VIDEO MATERIAL

Michael Agar is a distinguished American ethnographer. For his views on effective qualitative research, go to:

http://www.methodspace.com/video/in-conversation-with-michael

Anne Oakley is a distinguished British sociologist associated with feminist research. You can find her in discussion at:

http://www.methodspace.com/video/in-conversation-with-ann

 

  EXERCISE

1. Compare and contrast Agar and Oakley’s versions of effective qualitative research.
2. Which aspects of their versions and mine are most relevant to your own research?

 

WEBSITE LINKS

For online papers on reporting and evaluating qualitative research, go to:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/cree/resources/p59_s.pdf

and:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1089058/pdf/hsresearch00022-0076.pdf

In 2003, the UK government set up a working party to report on how to judge the quality of qualitative research. For its findings go to:
http://resources.civilservice.gov.uk

VIDEO MATERIAL

For a very helpful 45 minute lecture on this go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1hG99HUaOk&feature=related

For a shorter, but still helpful, talk, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOSBiOMCOe4&feature=relmfu

 

EXERCISE

• Compare what is said in these videos to the advice I give in Ch.19
• List three useful ideas you can use in your own literature review.

 

WEBSITE LINKS

For a template for recording literature searches, go to:
http://www.scu.edu.au/omyr/

For some short tips on literature reviews go to:
http://www.qmu.ac.uk/psych/RTrek/study_notes/web/sn9.htm

For a helpful online forum on templates for writing literature reviews, visit:
http://www.methodspace.com/forum/topics/literature-review-1

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Navigating the waves: the usefulness of a pilot in qualitative research
Helen Sampson
Qualitative Research, Vol. 4, No. 3, 383-402 (2004)

In line with my suggestion that you keep a research diary, in this paper, Helen Sampson argues that you should report both your findings and the natural history of your research. She also suggests that a pilot study is very valuable prior to the main body of data collection.

 

EXERCISE:

What factors influence whether a pilot study is possible/useful in your research?

 

Encounters and Directions in Research
Cate Watson
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 12, No. 5, 865-885 (2006)

In this article, Cate Watson reflects upon the nature and consequences of keeping a research journal.

 

EXERCISE

• What have your learned from Cate Watson’s experience of keeping a research journal?
• How could you incorporate such a journal in your methodology chapter?

 

VIDEO MATERIAL

For a simple discussion of writing a methodology chapter go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQFSNB-0sfQ&feature=related

 

EXERCISE

1. Compare the advice given in this video to what I say in Chapter 20. What lessons do you take from each source?
2. What are the advantages of writing your methodology chapter in the form of a natural history of your research?
3. What are the disadvantages?

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Effectively Communicating Qualitative Research
Joseph G. Ponterotto and Ingrid Grieger
The Counseling Psychologist 2007 35: 404

Aimed at graduate students, this article discusses the basic characteristics of qualitative research and how to present your findings effectively.

'Dangerous fieldwork' re-examined: the question of researcher subject position
Pamela M Nilan
Qualitative Research, Vol. 2, No. 3, 363-386 (2002)

Based on her fieldwork in Bali, Pam Nilan examines the problems involved in writing up research from messy and chaotic data sets.

Data analysis and 'theorizing as ideology'
Kathryn Roulson
Qualitative Research, Vol. 1, No. 3, 279-302 (2001)

In this fascinating paper, based on her study of music education, Kathryn Roulson reviews the problems she discovered in her first research report and shows how she revised her data analysis with striking results.

EXERCISE:

Kathryn Roulson reveals the importance of analytical models in shaping your data analysis.

• What model informs your research and why are you using it?
• Try redoing your analysis of a small piece of data using a different model.

Writing the Exotic, the Authentic, and the Moral: Romanticism as Discursive Resource for the Ethnographic Text
Amir Marvasti  & Christopher Faircloth
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 8, No. 6, 760-784 (2002)

In this article, Marvasti and Faircloth show how ‘romantic’ assumptions may unintentionally influence how we write ethnography.

EXERCISE

• What ‘romantic’ elements are present in your data analysis?
• How would your analysis differ/be improved/worsened if you removed them?

TIPS

• Romanticism is an approach in which ‘authenticity’ is attached to ‘personal’experiences. Although this approach originated in the early nineteenth century, it underlies much contemporary popular culture.

WEBSITE LINKS

This website gives you many links to tips on good social science writing

http://www.abacon.com/compsite/subjects/ssciences.html

WEBSITE LINKS

This paper considers the generic structure of Conclusion chapters in PhD theses or dissertations. The majority of such chapters were conventional: summarising the thesis and suggesting further research. A minority discussed the implications of the research for their discipline.

http://www0.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/M.Sewell/faq/publishing-research/Bunt05.pdf

 

EXERCISE:

1. List four groups who might be interested in the findings of your research [e.g. theorists, methodologists, policymakers, activists, academic specialists etc].
2. Summarise your findings differently for each of these groups.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Acquiring a Sociological Identity: An Observational Study of a PhD Project
Sarah Li  & Clive Seale
Sociology, Vol. 42, No. 5, 987-1002 (2008)

In this fascinating paper, Sarah Li and Clive Seale show how, during the course of her supervision by Clive, Sarah took on a new professional identity (from nurse to sociologist).

TIPS

• Providing your supervisor is willing, it makes sense to audio record each supervision as well as to keep written notes. This will allow you to review what was said in greater detail. It may also provide material for your methodology chapter.

WEBSITE LINKS

These are short piece about presenting your research to different audiences:

http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/1297/Presenting-your-research-.html

http://www.biad.bcu.ac.uk/research/rti/rtrc/pdfArchive/PRF01.PDF

http://www.cs.swarthmore.edu/~newhall/presentation.html

WEBSITE LINKS

Below is a link to a short piece which offers tips on successful PhD vivas:

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers-advice/studentships/633/ten-tips-for-getting-through-your-phd-viva

 

In the piece below, you can read stories of what happened to various students at their viva:

http://phd-viva.com/

 

These links give you guidance on how to prepare for your viva:

http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/training/resources/viva

http://www.soas.ac.uk/research/rsp/resources/preparingviva/file45253.pdf

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Improving the Odds of Publishing Inductive Qualitative Research in Premier Academic Journals
Quy Nguyen Huy
Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 2012 48: 282

This paper explores the challenges researchers face in developing qualitative work to the standards required for publication in top international journals. It lists common mistakes that we make and offers advice on how to get your work published.

Food for Thought: Nourishing the Publication of Qualitative Research
Nancy E. Schoenberg, Dena Shenk and Cary S. Kart
Journal of Applied Gerontology 2007 26: 4-16

This paper considers several key questions:

1. Why are not more research articles published that use qualitative methods?
2. What should authors of qualitative pieces keep in mind when developing their manuscripts?
3.  Why is it important that qualitative researchers publish their works in applied journals?

 

EXERCISE

1. Find two different academic journals that might be interested in your research.
2. Review recent papers in each journal in order to establish themes in which the journals are interested and styles of presenting research.
3. Recipient design your research findings for each journal.

 

What, We Worry?: The Pleasures and Costs of Defective Memory for Qualitative Sociologists
Joel Best
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 35, No. 4, 466-478 (2006)

In this paper, Joel Best reflects upon what we may have forgotten about the ethnographic tradition and reminds us about the historical context of our work.

 

TIP:
Contexting your research in a tradition is a tricky task if you want to publish an article. Following Best’s argument, it is helpful to show that you understand how your work connects to what has gone before. On the other hand, you should not spend too much time in a historical review. Perhaps the best solution to this problem is to seek to tie your article to previous papers or debates in the journal concerned.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Effectively Communicating Qualitative Research
Joseph G. Ponterotto and Ingrid Grieger
The Counseling Psychologist 2007 35: 404

Aimed at graduate students, this article discusses how we can write effectively for different audiences.

 

Building Confidence in Qualitative Research: Engaging the Demands of Policy
Harry Torrance
Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 14, No. 4, 507-527 (2008)

In this paper, Harry Torrance points out that, for some policy makers, the randomised controlled trial (RCT) is the gold standard of worthwhile research. He shows the limitations of RCTs and discusses how we can address quality issues directly with the policy audience.

 

Practice-based Evidence: Towards Collaborative and Transgressive Research
Nick J. Fox
Sociology, Vol. 37, No. 1, 81-102 (2003)

Nick Fox discusses how practice-based research may be made relevant to managers concerned with policy and service delivery.

Improving the link between policy research and practice: using a scenario workshop as a qualitative research tool in the case of genetically modified crops
Sue Oreszczyn & Susan Carr
Qualitative Research, Vol. 8, No. 4, 473-497 (2008)

In this paper, Sue Oreszczyn and Susan Carr describe a ‘scenario workshop’ aimed at encouraging a dialogue between researchers and senior policymakers.

 

TIP
Workshops for policy makers or professionals need not always be organized around presentations of your research findings. Alternative points of discussion are often more fruitful (e.g. presentations of ‘interesting’ raw data or inviting people present to begin by suggesting what they would like to get out of your research - this can also be done prior to the meeting when you send out invitations).