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Designing Qualitative Research. Assoc . Prof. Dr. Şehnaz Şahinkarakaş. A qualitative study reflects the researcher’s goal of discovering what is important to know
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DesigningQualitativeResearch Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şehnaz Şahinkarakaş
A qualitativestudyreflectstheresearcher’sgoal of discoveringwhat is importanttoknow • It has a focuswhich is broadandopen-ended at thebeginningand it allowsforimportantmeaningsto be discovered. • Theremay be 8 characteristics of qualitativeresearch:
1. An exploratoryanddescriptivefocus • Qualitativeresearchdevelops a general ‘focus of inquiry’ • Interested in investigatingandrespondingtoexploratoryanddescriptivequestions: • What is youngchildren’sconception of ‘mind’? • How do peoplewhowork in thisplacethinkthephysicalenvironmentcould be improved? • Inwhatways do teachers in thiscitybuildinformalsocial network? • Theoutcome of suchstudies is not togeneralize but toget a deeperunderstanding of experiencefromothers’ perspectives.
2. Emergentdesign • Innon-emergentdesign, wecollectthe data accordingtothefocusandthenanalyze(qualitativeandquantitative) • Inemergentdesign, in theearlyphases of data collection, newquestions can be pursued. • Thus, we can broadenornarrowthefocusduringthestudy.
3. A Purposivesample • Carefullyselectedparticipants, whorepresentthegroup of peopleforthefocus of inquiry • E.g. Ifyouwanttounderstand how younglearners in ruralareasusetechnology, youwouldincludepeoplewhohaveaccesstotechnology in ruralareas • As yourstudyproceeds, youmayneedtoincludesomeotherpeopletofullyunderstandyourinquiry.
4. Data collection in naturalsetting • People’sexperience in context • Personalmeaning is tiedtocontext • E.g. Tounderstand how teachersgivefeedback, youwouldneedtogototheclassrooms.
5. Emphasis on ‘human-as-instrument’ • Qualitativeresearchers’ mutualresponsibility: • i) Collectingrelevant data • ii) Collectingthemeaningfromthat data (in the form of people’swordsandactions).
6. Qualitativemethods of data collection • Generally data is people’swordsandactions • Sometechniques: • Participantobservation • Interviews • Collection of relevantdocuments • How tocollect: • Observationschemes • Field-notes • Audio/video tapes (transcribedlater).
7. Earlyandongoinginductive data analysis • Two main characteristics: • Ongoingresearchactivity • Inductive: What is important is not predeterminedbytheresearchers
8. A casestudyapproachtoreportingoutcomes • Resultsarepresented in a richnarrativeway. • Descriptionshouldprovidethereaderwithenoughinformationtodeterminewhetherthefindings of thestudyapplytootherpeopleorsettings.