Naturalistic Inquiry

Naturalistic Inquiry Yvonna Lincoln SERA 2008 New Orleans, LA

Part One A Paradigm Shift…

The Naturalist Paradigm • Prepositivist Era • Positivist Era • John Stuart Mill’s A System of Logic (1843) • Postpositivist Era

Comparison of Inquiry Types

Reality • Objective • Perceived • Constructed • Created

Hermeneutic Dialectic Circle

Subject-Object • Threats to validity • Test-wiseness • Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

Truth Statements • Grounded Theory? • Meta-analysis of cases • Malconstructions • Misconstructions • Provisional Knowledge

Causality Statements • Mutual Causality • Anticipatory behavior

Inquirer Stance / Values Role • Implicit in conventional, but overcome through large samples • Nearly impossible to be objective from self-created quasi-reality • Must have “Critical subjectivity”

Trustworthiness

Writing as Form of Inquiry • Laurel Richardson • Postmodernist views • Doubts any theory or method or knowledge has privileged status • Suspects all truth claims • Doubts superiority of science over literature • Poststructuralism • Links language, subjectivity, social organization, and power

Experimental Writing • Writing of social science need not be tied to discourse of science • Both a violation of prescribed method and a way of knowing oneself and one’s material • Process as important as product • Evocative texts • Experiential • Inner Struggle

Narrative of the self Fiction Poetry Drama Performance science Poly-vocal texts Responsive readings Aphorisms Comedy and satire Visual presentation Mixed genres Types of Evocative Texts

Part Two Doing Naturalistic Inquiry …

Designing Experiment • Proposal • Problem statement • Action • Conceptual • Value • Context and Theoretical Framework • Purpose • Objectives • Research questions

Designing Experiment (cont) • Procedures • Sampling • Probability; Simple Random, Stratified Random, Multi-Stage, Cluster, Systematic • Non-probability: Voluntary Response, Snowball, Convenience, Quota, Purposive • Data • Collection and analysis • Asterisk first pseudonym and add confidentiality footnote • Interpretive Process

Hermeneutic Dialectic Circle

Interviewing – Studs Terkel • Curiosity about other people is most important part • Find attribute common to humanity • Improvisation • Be open to anything • Polls are for selling things • Why do they feel the way they do? • Not what is, but what can be (untapped potential) • People have to feel needed

Conducting Experiment • Field notes • Structured vs. unstructured interview • Unobtrusive measures • Nonverbal communication • Transcriptions • Unitization • Sorting & Categorization • Writing • Conference papers • Journal articles • Second study • Book

Unitization (Content Analysis) • Copy transcripts • Use visible color • Jot down figures of speech as possible category labels • Sort cards • Organize piles into outline format • Peer debriefing

Writing • Writing down • Writing up • Guidelines: • Original research questions • Salience • Most cards • Most visceral reaction • Nature of case study you intend to write • Realist • Confessional • Impressionist

Nature of Case Studies • Realist tales • Etic point of view • Unproblematic / monumentalized • Ignore history / future • Strictly descriptive, rather than product of interactions • Confessional tales • Demystifies fieldwork • Highly personalized style • Companion / subsequent piece to realist tale

Nature of Case Studies (cont) • Confessional tales (cont) • Happy ending • Empathy • Performance of culture • Impressionist tales • Striking but rare event • Leave interpretation to reader • Stand alone

Audit trail Quotations Specific Notation [iM11.10/25/07.3] Citations Author Title in italics Reference List Master list of names and contacts Separate from case study! Secure for 3 years Reduce descriptive indentifiers for small populations Reporting and Record-Keeping

Naturalistic Inquiry