QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH METHODS
Case Study
Social researches
are curious about their social settings. Their interest are virtually unlimited.
Any social setting is potential for scientific inquiry. The diversity of social
topic and situation made researcher to plan their action. This plan for
research is conventionally labeled as research design.
Case study method is
considered as one of the popular type of research design used by social
scientist. It is an intensive study of a particular case. In sociological
investigation a case may be any of the following, taken singly or in combination.
(1) A person, (2) A group of person such as family or gang, (3) A class of
person such as thieves or professors, (4) An ecological in it such as neighbourhood
or community, (5) cultural unit such as fashion or institution.
Definitions:
Kvomvey (1986)
defined “case study involves studying individual cases, often in their natural
environment and for a long period of time”.
Yin (1991) has
defined case study as “an empirical inquiry that investigate contemporary phenomena
within its real-life context.
This kind of research
design usually involves the qualitative method of data collection. It presents
holistic account that offers insights in to the case understudy. Thus case
study is not a method of data collection; rather it is a research strategy. An
empirical inquiry that investigates contemporary phenomenon by using multiple
source of evidence.
Characteristics:
Hartfield (1982) has
referred to the following characteristics of case study.
Ø It studies whole unit in their totality.
Ø It employees several methods in data
collection to prevent errors and distortions.
Ø It often studies a single unit: one unit in
one study.
Ø It perceives the respondent as knowledgeable
person, not just as a source of data.
Ø It studies typically case.
Purpose of case
study
Burns (2000) has
point out the following purposes of case study.
Ø It may be a source of hypotheses for future
research.
Ø It helps to establish generalizations about
the wider population to which the unit belongs.
Ø It provides anecdotal evidence that
illustrates more general findings.
Ø To refute a universal generalization, a
single case can represent a significant contribution to theory building.
Ø To test the feasibility of the quantitative
study.
Advantages of
case study
Black champion
(1976) enlisted following advantages of case study.
Ø It makes in-depth study possible.
Ø It is flexible in data collection methods.
Ø It could be used for studying any dimension
of the topic; one specific aspect of the problem.
Ø It could be conducted practically any kind of
social setting.
Ø Case studies are inexpensive.
Ø It helps to study unique case.
Disadvantages or
criticism.
Case study method is
generally criticised on the following basis:
1. Subjective
bias:
Research
subjectivity in collecting data for supporting or refuting a particular explanation,
personal view of investigation influences the findings and conclusion of the study.
2. Little
evidence for scientific generalization:
The common complaint
against case study is; how can generalization be made from a single case? As an
answer to this case studies are generalize to theoretical propositions, not to
statistical populations.
Object of case study
is to expand theory and not to undertake statistical generalization.
3. Time
consuming:
As it produces a lot
of information which is difficult to analyse adequately.
4. Doubtful
reliability:
The investigator
cannot prove his authenticity for obtaining data or having no bias
in analyzing them.
5. Missing
validity:
For investigator,
what seems to be true is more important than what is true. The case study can
oversimplify or exaggerate leading to erroneous conclusions.
6. Case study has no representatives, i.e. each case studied does not represent
other similar
cases.
Yin’s criticism
1. Findings of
case studies are biased because the research is usually sloppy.
This criticism is
probably based on the prejudice that quantitative researchers are against qualitative
data. They also believe that qualitative study cannot be replicated.
2. Case studies
are not useful for generalization.
Ø It is not possible to generalize from a
single case
Ø If a number of cases are used for
generalizations, it will be extremely difficult to establish their
comparability.
3. Case studies
take too long time and
produce unmanageable amounts of data. The methods of data collection which are
time consuming.
Content
Analyses
Human beings
communicate through language. Language helps to convey our emotions, knowledge,
opinions, attitudes and values. Print media, television, radio; movies also
communicate ideas, beliefs and values. The analysis is of communication
content-written and pictorial- has now become a methodological procedure for
extracting data from a wide range of communications.
Definition:
Content analysis is
a method of social research that aims at the analysis of the contentqualitative
and quantitative- of documents, books, newspapers. magazines and other forms of
written material.
According to
Berelson (1952), “content analysis is a research technique for the objective, systematic
and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication”.
According to
Eckhardt and Ermann (1977), as a qualitative technique, content analysis is directed
towards more subjective information such as attitude, motives and values.
The content may be
manifest or latent. The former refers to the visible actual parts of the text
as manifested in the document, sentences, and paragraphs and so on. The latter
is the underlying or implied meaning conveyed.
Characteristics
of content analysis
Gardner (1975) has
identified four characteristics of content analysis.
1. Objectivity: Explicitly
formulated rules of content analysis enable two or more persons to obtain same
results from the same document.
2. Systematic: It
provides enough freedom for the researcher to eliminate unnecessary materials
which is not supporting the research hypotheses.
3. Generality: In
content analysis, the characteristic of the sender or recipient of the communication
is little scientific value.
4. Quantification:
The inferences from the study must be in precise numerical terms. This means
that inferences must be derived strictly from counts of ‘frequency’ steps in
content analysis.
Sarantakos (1998)
formulated following steps in content analysis;
I step: The
selection of the Research Area.
The topic can be one
from the newspaper, TV, magazines, books, movies and the like.
II step:
Formulation of Research Topic.
It involves
explaining and operationalising the topic, selection of units, determining categories
and formulating hypotheses.
III step:
Research Design.
It aims at
determining the size of sampling method of data collection and so on.
IV step: Data
Collection
It involves counting
frequencies, gathering information about the study unit and evaluating units.
V step: Lastly, the analyses and interpretation of data
aims at giving inferences and conclusions.
Types of
content analyses:
Sanders and piney
(1983) have suggested five types of content analysis: (1) word counting analysis,
(2) conceptual analysis, (3) somatic analysis, (4) evaluative assertion
analyses, (5) contextual analysis.
Strength and
limitations of content analysis
Following are the
strength and limitations of content analysis,
Strength:-
Ø It is unobtrusive method; it is not threatens
respondent directly
Ø It is useful in historical research, studying
people who are no longer available to answer questions.
Ø It makes possible a variety of cross cultural
studies.
Ø It can be used to test preliminary ideas,
hypotheses or theories etc.
Ø It is powerful tool for evaluating personal
or social values.
Ø It is more useful where research budget is
small and resources are limited.
Ø It is easier to repeat the study through this
method.
Limitations:
Ø Unforeseen aspects of research field.
Ø Determining validity is difficult.
Ø Some required documents may not be available
to the researcher which may affect the conclusion.
Ø Its conclusion remains the shadow of personal
bias.
Narrative
Method
A narrative is
a constructive format (as a work of speech, writing, song, film, television, video
games, photography or theatre) that describes a sequence of non-fictional or
fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb “narrare” to recount”,
and is related to the adjective “gnarus”, “knowing” or “skilled”.
Narrative is often
used in case study research in the social sciences. Here it has been found that
the dense, contextual, and interpenetrating nature of social forces uncovered
by detailed narratives is often more interesting and useful for both social
theory and social policy than other forms of social inquiry. Prominent social
scientists have pointed out that a social science expressed in terms of
narrative case studies would provide better access for policy intervention than
the present social science of variables.
Narrative Inquiry
emerged as a discipline within the broader field of qualitative research. It is
an approach to understanding/researching the way people make meaning of their
lives as narratives, linked fields are narrative analysis, narratology and life
writing. Narrative Inquiry should be distinguished from storytelling in that
the word narrative implies an audience and a narrator. Of interest to narrative
inquirers is not what happened so much as what meaning did people make of what
happened. Narrative Inquiry is a fairly recent movement in social science
qualitative research. It has been employed as a tool for analysis in the fields
of cognitive science, organizational studies, knowledge theory, sociology and
education studies, among others.
The starting point
of the Narrative Method is the story. Story telling is a deeply rooted human
phenomenon. It is a natural way of sharing our knowledge, insights and feelings
with others.
Stories or personal
experiences are especially appropriate for making complicated subjects comprehensible
to others. Compared to answers to specific questions, stories (and the context
in which they are told) frequently lead to a much richer output and to richer
and more profound insights.
Focused
Group Interview
A focus group is
a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their
perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service,
concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an
interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group
members. The first focus groups were created at the Bureau of Applied Social
Research in the USA, by associate director, sociologist Robert K. Merton. The term itself was coined by psychologist and
marketing expert Ernest Dichter.
Powell et al define a focus group as “A group of
individuals selected and assembled by researchers to discuss and comment on,
from personal experience, the topic that is the subject of the research. (1996:
499)”
Focus groups are
discussions that last one to two hours, usually done with 6-12 people. The discussion
is led by a moderator asking open-ended questions. Focus groups can be used to
discover people’s general reactions to an interface or services. A wide range
of information can be gathered in a relatively short time span.
In the social
sciences and urban planning, focus groups allow interviewers to study people in
a more natural setting than a one-to-one interview. In combination with
participant observation, they can be used for gaining access to various
cultural and social groups, selecting sites to study, sampling of such sites,
and raising unexpected issues for exploration. Focus groups have a high apparent
validity - since the idea is easy to understand, the results are believable.
Also, they are low in cost, one can get results relatively quickly, and they
can increase the sample size of a report by talking with several people at
once.
Focus groups are
particularly helpful when used in conjunction with surveys. Your library can
follow up a survey with focus groups to clarify the issues revealed, and
perhaps hear surprising new ideas or concerns. Unlike doing polls or asking a
listserv, the strength of this technique is the interaction between
participants. With a skilled moderator, the conversation can go beyond “like
it, don’t like it” and allow new views to surface. Since there is no pressure
to reach a consensus, all views can be encouraged and aired.
The first step is to
understand what you want to learn. Focus groups are not polls or surveys; they
are in-depth, qualitative interviews with a small number of carefully selected
people, to help you develop an idea or specific service. To prepare, you may
want to first consider your budget. This is a labor intensive project; time may
be the most expensive item. It takes considerable time to plan the sessions,
recruit volunteers, and develop your questions. If you hire a professional moderator,
that could be a considerable expense, other optional things can add to the
cost, including honorariums, refreshments and video taping
Features/advantages
of focus group interview
Ø Focus group research involves organised
discussion with a selected group of individuals to gain information about their
views and experiences of a topic.
Ø Focus group interviewing is particularly
suited for obtaining several perspectives about the same topic.
Ø The benefits of focus group research include
gaining insights into people’s shared understandings of everyday life and the
ways in which individuals are influenced by others in a group situation.
Ø Problems arise when attempting to identify
the individual view from the group view, as well as in the practical
arrangements for conducting focus groups.
Ø The role of the moderator is very
significant. Good levels of group leadership and interpersonal skill are
required to moderate a group successfully.
Ø You can get feedback about what people do
over a long period of time.
Ø Focus groups used early in a project can
produce insights and questions from the interaction among different users or
stakeholders.
Ø Focus groups are relatively inexpensive
(assuming that participants are from the same geographical area) and can be
arranged quickly.
Disadvantages of
focus group interview
(i) Impersonal
Group discussions
don’t lend themselves to personal revelations, so they might not be suitable
for sensitive or controversial issues. For example, group discussions might not
be suitable for research pertaining to products people might feel ashamed about
using, such as alcohol. If people don’t feel comfortable sharing their opinions
or experiences, the focus group interview won’t generate any useful insights.
In these situations, anonymous surveys or confidential interviews might be a
better means of obtaining information.
(ii) Difficult to Control
For a focus group
interview to be revelatory, the conversation must flow naturally to reveal what
the participants are thinking. But group discussions can get out of hand
quickly, straying from the original topic and getting lost in useless tangents.
An effective facilitator will keep the discussion on track, but this might be
impossible if the group is rowdy or young.
(iii) Dominating Individuals
The goal of a group
discussion is to discover what all the participants think, but outspoken people
might skew those results. For example, a shy dissenter might never reveal important
insights, or a single persuasive participant might cause other participants to change
their original opinions, meaning you never learn about their initial reactions.
To avoid these problems, facilitators must involve everyone to ensure all the
participants have equal time and that all points of view are heard.
(iv) Not
Representative
The selection of
people for the group discussion is unlikely to be representative of the larger
population, so you can’t assume the opinions you uncover have any significance past
whatever insights they offer into possible thought patterns. For example,
unanimous agreement about a product’s effectiveness might have no correlation
to how most consumers feel about that product, though a discussion of the
product’s effectiveness might help you generate targeted questions for future
research.
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH METHOD: SOCIAL SURVEY
Social Survey
Method
Social survey
technique is very popular in sociology. Survey research is the systematic gathering
of information about individuals and collectivities. The purpose of surveying
may be description or casual analysis. Large scale descriptive surveys have
long history in social research. National census is the biggest form of social
survey in which surveys, the whole nation regarding its population, their
economic condition including their earning, birth, death etc.
Definition
In general social
surveys are concerned with (a) the formation of constructive programme of social
reform and (b) amelioration of current or immediate conditions of social
pathological nature, which have definite social significance.
Duncan Mitchell’s
Dictionary of sociology defines social survey as follows, “the social survey is
a systematic collection of facts about people living in a specific geographic,
cultural or administrative area”.
Bogardus says “A
social survey is the collection of data concerning the living and working conditions,
broadly speaking of the people in a given community”.
E.W. Burgess defined
“A social; survey of a community is the scientific study of its conditions and
needs for the purpose of presenting a constructive programme of social advance”.
Social surveys are
usually for dealing with many related aspects of social problem. They provide
the data for administration, rather than for the illustrative or descriptive
material. They are generally quantitative and the history of the social survey
is intimately bound up with the development of statistics.
Surveys vary greatly
in their scope, their design and their content. The specific characteristics of
any survey will determined by the basic objectives, which conducting survey there
must be a specific pattern or design to follow to collect data. The research
follows a scientific step by step procedure.
Procedural
ways of social survey
The step by step
tasks involved in carrying out a survey from the first state off planning to the
preparation of the final report in as follows;
a) Statement of
the problem or general objectives
The problem which
make survey necessary and the general objectives of the survey are stated. The
statement is generally expressed the area and scope of the study.
b) Specific
objectives of the survey
Although the general
objectives, usually few in number are formulated with out regarding to the
requirements of the survey technique; these general objectives are broken down
in to numerous specific objectives. The specification of data to be gathered
and the hypotheses to be tested by the survey is accomplished at this stage.
c) Sample
Two major divisions
in the survey sample are (a) the universe of the survey (b) the size and design
of the sample. After there two are made the actual selection of the sample
units take place.
d) Questionnaire
After the selection
of sample units a questionnaire is prepared, to collect facts from the sample.
The questionnaire must be carefully designed with in limits of the problem. The
preparation of questions, degree of probing, the sequence of questions and the
establishment of rapport, a specific pattern and a skill to be applied. The
questionnaire is pre-tested in the field for proper application.
e) Field work
The next important
step is field work. Gathering facts from sample through personal interview and
observation. The interviewers are usually provided with an instruction manual which
explain the objectives of the study and the meaning of each question.
f) Data coding
and tabulation
After careful coding
and editing of the data collected through survey may transcribed into tables.
This may be done by preparing a code, a numbered list of major items such summing
all the responses received to each question.
g) Data analysis
and reporting
The data are
analysed and a report is written which embodying the survey findings. The survey
process is a highly interconnected chain of events so the above steps are
independent of one another.
Limitation of
survey method
Even though the
survey method is applicable to wide range problems, it has evident limitations.
The major limitations are;
a) Sample error:
survey method is subjected to the selection of sample,
b) Errors of
measurement: A scone representing a person’s attitude, abilities traits or behaviours
may not match with reality.
c) Limitations of
questionnaire: the imitations on length of the questions, that can be asked in
a survey an there are limits to the number of topics that can be covered.
d) Limitations of
population: A sample survey designed to represent a population over a wide geographical
area is likely not to given adequate representation to any population which highly
localized in its character.
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