Chapter 3. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGNS

Objective 1 – Define a qualitative research design.

Objective 2 – Explain the narrative research design.

Objective 2 – Explain the grounded theory research design.

Objective 3 – Give guidelines on the use of the phenomenological research design.

Objective 4 – Give guidelines on the use of the participatory action research.

Objective 5 – Explain how to use ethnomethodology.

Objective 6 – Explain the essentials of historical research.

Objective 7 – Give guidelines on the use of different types of case study.

A research design is ’a set of guidelines and instructions to be followed in addressing the research problem’ (Creswell et al., 2007, p. 238). The definition implies that a research problem or research question informs the choice of design, whereas a research design serves as the plan that the researcher will use in conducting the research and addressing the problem in such a way that will ensure the maximum validity of the findings. These questions are open-ended, calling for views supplied by participants in a study (Creswell et al., 2007, p. 238). The research design influences the choice of research methods, i.e. the strategies to be used to implement the plan.

Some of the most common qualitative research designs include: narrative research, grounded theory, phenomenology, participatory action research (PAR), ethnomethodology, and historical study.

Narrative research is a specific type of qualitative designs in which ‘narrative is understood as a spoken or written text giving an account of an event/action or series of events/actions, chronologically connected’ (Czarniawska, 2004, p. 17). It implies studying one or two individuals, collecting data through their stories in which they report individual experiences, and then chronologically ordering the meaning of the experiences (Creswell et al., 2007, p. 240). Narratives may have a guiding theoretical lens or perspective (e.g. a feminist lens).

According to Creswell (2007), various forms of narrative study can be found in the narrative research practice, such as:

• biography – the researcher writes about/records the experiences of another person’s life;
• autobiography – the individuals who are the subjects of the study write about/record the experiences of their lives;
• life histories – portrayals of an individual’s whole life;
• oral histories or personal-experience stories – a study of someone’s personal reflections of events, and their causes and effects, collected from one or several individuals (Plummer, 1983).

The narrative study procedure implies:

• determining if the research problem or question best fits the narrative study;
• selecting one or two individuals of interest to the study and having them tell their stories (field texts), thus collecting raw data. The field texts may include a record of their stories in a journal or diary. The researcher may also observe them, and record field notes, or collect letters sent by them, gather documents about them, stories about them from family members, photographs, etc.;
• collecting information about the context of these stories (the participants jobs, homes, culture, historical contexts, etc.);
• the researcher analyses the participant’s stories searching for key elements, and orders them into a chronological presentation. It is this chronology with an emphasis on the sequence that represents the distinctive feature of narrative research. The final story might include the elements typically found in novels, such as time, place, plot, and scene;
• collaborating with participants by actively involving them in the research and negotiating the meaning of stories with them to add to the validity of the analysis (Creswell & Miller, 2000).

These narrative research procedures and characteristics make this research design challenging to use – an extensive amount of information needs to be collected, the context of the individual’s life needs to be clearly understood, active collaboration with the participant is mandatory, a keen eye is needed to identify the particular stories that capture the individual’s experiences in the gathered source material, and the researcher has to be reflective about their own personal and political background, which determines how they present the participant’s stories (Creswell, 2007, p. 57).

Additional source of information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKTH5_k50vM&t=37

Grounded theory is a qualitative research design in which the researcher generates a general explanation or a theory of a process, action or interaction based on the views of a large number of participants, i.e. theory is grounded in data from the field, not off the shelf (Creswell, 2007, p. 62). Despite the diversity of the collected data, the grounded theory approach presumes it is possible to discover fundamental patterns, or basic social processes, in social life.

The grounded theory procedure includes as follows:

• deciding if the grounded theory is best suited to study the research problem (there is no theory available to explain the problem, or there are available theories but developed on samples and populations other than those of interest to the researcher);
• data collection, typically in one-on-one interviews, from a larger number of individuals who have directly experienced an action, interaction or process. Other forms of data collection may be used such as observations, documents, and audiovisual materials;
• data analysis aimed at forming categories of information by segmenting information, or grouping statements into broad ideas (open coding), while trying to identify the core idea. The researcher carefully reads and re-reads the data, breaking it down into discrete incidents or ideas. Each of these incidents is then given a code – a word or short phrase that represents the essence of that piece of data. Open coding is also where constant comparison begins. As each piece of data is coded, it is compared to other data coded in the same way, and during this stage, categories start to emerge.
• axial coding – the researcher constantly compares data within a category, as well as compares categories to each other. The researcher usually returns to the participants to ask more detailed questions in order to develop or saturate the model.
• selective coding – the researcher has a clear idea of the main categories and how they relate to each other. The researcher connects the categories, discussing the relationships between these categories and the core category. The core category represents the main theme or process that the theory explains.
• developing a theoretical model, with which the study may end or which may be tested later for its empirical verification with quantitative data to determine if it can be generalized to a sample and population.

Both inductive and deductive approach to theory development are used in the grounded theory design because concepts are grounded in data, and hypotheses are tested as they arise from the research (Field & Morse, 1985, p. 23), but theory generation is more important than theory testing. Purposeful sampling is used, i.e. 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 participants. Data collection takes place in natural settings, and primarily involves participant observation and interviews. Data collection and analysis occur simultaneously, and new data are constantly compared with the already gathered data through a process called constant comparison.

Theoretical saturation is a critical concept in grounded theory. It refers to the point at which no new insights or concepts can be found in the data, indicating that the categories are well-developed, and that further data collection is unnecessary.

A grounded theory study is challenging in that it requires the researcher to set aside as much as possible theoretical ideas or notions so that that an analytic, substantive theory can emerge. It is difficult to determine when the saturation of the categories is reached or when the theory is sufficiently detailed. One way of ensuring this is discriminant sampling, i.e. gathering additional information from individuals similar to those people initially interviewed to determine if the theory holds true for these additional participants is one way of ensuring this.

As in the grounded theory, the views of a number of participants are collected, but instead of theorizing from these views, phenomenologists describe what all the participants have in common as they experience a phenomenon, with an aim to reduce their experiences with a phenomenon to a description of the universal essence. So, the aim is not an explanation or analysis, but a description of the essence of people’s experiences as they are lived every day, which requires the researcher’s bracketing or setting aside their own experiences as much as possible to take a fresh perspective towards the phenomenon studied (Creswell, 2007, p. 59). The procedure involves the following steps:

• identifying the phenomenon;
• the researchers identify their own experiences with the phenomenon, as well as what they expect to discover, and then deliberately put aside these ideas, thus bracketing their own views with an aim to be as objective as possible, and see the experience from the eyes of the person who has lived the experience;
• selecting the participants who have experienced the phenomenon. It is recommended that from 5 to 25 individuals be interviewed;
• collecting information, most often through interviews or multiple interviews, but the participants may also write about their experiences. According to Moustakas (1994), there are two broad, general questions that have to be asked in order to perform phenomenological research: (1) What have you experienced in terms of the phenomenon? (2) What contexts or situations have typically influenced or affected your experiences of the phenomenon? Of course, they may be followed by other open-ended questions;
• data analysis – highlighting significant statements, sentences or quotes that provide an understanding of the overall experience;
• collapsing these statements into broader themes, then going back through the transcripts to look at the themes more closely;
• describing the essence of the experience, i.e. the common experiences of the individuals studied (Creswell et al., 2007, p. 255).

In order to carry out a phenomenological study, the researcher needs to have at least some understanding of the broader philosophical assumptions. The participants need to be carefully selected to make sure that they have experienced the phenomenon in question. Bracketing personal experiences may be difficult for the researcher to do (Creswell, 2007, p. 62).

‘Action research brings together action and reflection, as well as theory and practice, in participation with others, in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern’ (Bradbury, 2015, p. 1).

Unlike other qualitative designs, the main aim of PAR is to produce social change and improve the quality of life in opressed and exploited communities (Stringer, 1999). Its unique feature is that the researcher and members of the community collaborate at all levels of the research process to help find a suitable solution for the social problem that significantly affects the community (Creswell et al., 2007, p. 255).

PAR is a social process in which the researcher deliberately explores the relationship between the individual and other people in order to find out how individual relationships are formed and reformed through social interaction. ’Participatory’ means that people are involved in examining their understandings, skills, and values, ’action’ relates to the aim of improving the lives of individuals by studying the problems they face.

There is no clear procedure for conducting this type of research. The request for the research might originate from the members of the community who ask the researchers to help them or from the researcher who is an active member of the community, and they establish a mutually respectful and collaborative relationship. Then they identify and define community problems, develop research questions to be explored, and discuss the resources needed to address the problems. Then the plan of research is developed, and data are collected. Community members are included in data analysis, and recommendations for policy changes are made, i.e. an action plan is designed, the implementation of which is afterwards monitored (Creswell et al., 2007, p. 258).

Watch the recording and identify seven activities the PAR usually includes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ISl7JKQuxw

Ethnomethodology is a new research design. As its name implies, it refers to the study of a nation and characteristics of its communities. It is a bit related to ethnograhy, which provides the description of the collective values of a community, though it also describes other important elements of a social group, such as its tools, food, culture, and way of life. Ethnomethodology places an emphasis on the attitudes of a society, and the way in which they are expressed linguistically. Unlike sociology, which does not have a data collection system, ethnomethodology endeavours to develop one.

Ethnomethodology uses facts obtained from the speech of an ordinary person, a man from the people. It is aimed at defining the attitudes of individuals towards their society, formed on the basis of their environment, its influences, and interpersonal communication, i.e. at understanding how people make sense of their own lived realities and practices. People have a perception of something, be it what they simply see or what they accept or do not accept through various media, and they use it to form an opinion. The purpose of the ethnomethodological design is to collect the facts about how, i.e. in which social conditions and situations, individuals gain emotional perceptions of reality (Ristić, 2016, p. 228).

The object of the ethnomethodological research is defined by people, because people decide what is important to them by expressing their emotions. The aim is to express one’s feelings and perceptions regardless of those who disagree with them. Every person needs to have a personal perception of society, and if they find the collective perception unacceptable, the attitudes can change. People create society and therefore people can change it.

Ethnomethodology is a new scientific design, and based on the type of perceptions, can be divided into limited and unlimited ethnomethodology, as well as ethnomethodology of direct and indirect influence. Limited ethnomethodology deals with a specific group of people and their attitudes. This method is used to analyse the relationships within a group, and how people are perceived. Unlimited ethnomethodology goes beyong a specific group to other social wholes. It shows what the members of a group think of their group, and whether they accept other groups. Direct influence ethnomethodology is characterised by personal and autonomous perceptions of the members of a society or group. The aim is to identify similar opinions, and group them. On the other hand, indirect influence ethnomethodology is characterised by external influences. The members’ opinions are corrected under the external pressure in order to conform to the majority group.

Data is usually collected through the extended observation of the behaviour, language and the interaction among members of a culture-sharing group, and interviews with the most knowledgeable members of a community, who are called key informants. Researchers have to bracket themselves. The data collection and analysis occur simultaneously. According to Creswell (2007), the procedure of conducting such research includes the following steps:

• determining if etnomethodology is the most appropriate design to use to study the research problem (it is appropriate when it is necessary to describe how a cultural group functions, and to explore the beliefs, language, behaviours, and issues such as power, resistance and dominance);
• identifying or locating a culture-sharing group to study – the one that has been together for an extended period of time so that their shared language, patterns of behaviour, and attitudes have merged into a discernable pattern, or a group marginalised by society;
• selecting cultural themes or issues to study about the group (such as learning, socialisation, cognition, domination, inequality, etc.);
• fieldwork/gathering information where the group works and lives, while respecting the daily lives of individuals on the site. Observations, interviews, tests, surveys, audiovisual methods can be used for data collection;
• data analysis – description of themes that emerge from the group, and an overall analysis of how the group functions and lives;
• providing a holistic cultural portrait of the group that incorporates the views of the participants, as well as the views of the researcher, so that the reader learns about the culture-sharing group from both the participants’ and researcher’s interpretation. It might advocate for the needs of the group or suggest changes to address these needs. Theatre productions, plays or poems can be some of the end products of ethnomethodology.

In order to engage in ethnomethodology, the researcher needs to have a grounding in cultural anthropology and the meaning of a socio-cultural system. Data collection is extensive and time-consuming. There is a possibility that the researcher will go native, and be unable to complete the study. The researcher needs to acknowledge his or her impact on the people and places being studied (Creswell, 2007, p. 72). 

Historical studies imply the identification, location, evaluation, and synthesis from the past, with an aim not to only discover the events of the past, but to relate these past events to the present, and to the future. According to Leininger (1985, p. 109), ’Without a past, there is no meaning to the present, nor can we develop a sense of ourselves as individuals and as members of groups’.

The process of conducting a historical study includes some typical steps such as problem identification, literature review, data collection and analysis. The data are usually found in documents, artefacts and relics, but are also obtained through oral reports. The data sources may be found in libraries, archives, or in personal collections.

The sources of historical data are divided into primary and secondary sources, the former providing first-hand information or direct evidence, and the latter providing second-hand information. Primary sources include: oral histories, written records, diaries, eyewitnesses, photographs, and physical evidence. Secondary sources often use the primary sources to analyse the topic.

The collected data undergo two types of evaluation – external and internal criticism. External criticism is concerned with the authenticity of the data (validity), whereas internal ctiticism examines the accuracy of the data (reliability), and it follows the extrenal criticism. Internal criticism is more difficult to conduct because when evaluating the material in a document and determining if the material is accurate, motives and possible biases of the author must be taken into consideration.

Narrative study vs phenomenology: Whereas a narrative study reports the life of a single individual, a phenomenological study describes the meaning for several individuals or their lived experiences of a concept or a phenomenon. Phenomenologists focus on describing what all participants have in common as they experience a phenomenon.

Phenomenology vs grounded theory: Phenomenology describes the experience of a number of individuals, whereas the intent of a grounded theory study is to move beyond the description, and to generate or discover a theory.

Grounded theory vs ethnomethodology: Although a grounded theory researcher develops a theory by examinating many individuals who share the same process, action, or interaction, the study participants are not likely to be located in the same place or interacting on so frequent a basis that they develop shared patterns of behaviour, beliefs, and language. These shared patterns are at the focus of ethnomethodology, and entire cultural group (not only 20 or so individuals) are needed for it.

Case study vs ethnomethodology: An entire culture-sharing group in ethnomethodology may be considered a case, but the intent in ethnomethodology is to determine how the culture works rather than to understand an issue or a problem using the case as its specific illustration.

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