LECTURE ON QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN.pdf
- 1. Lecture 06 Research Design: Qualitative Approach to Research Professor Dr. Sadik Hasan University of Dhaka
- 2. Introduction •Qualitative research is not based on a single, unified theoretical concept, nor does it require a single methodological approach. Rather, a variety of theoretical approaches and methods are involved. •All of these approaches and methods have one common underlying objective: understanding of the event, circumstance, or phenomenon under study. Thus, description is less important than the researcher’s interpretation of the event, circumstance, or phenomenon. •To achieve qualitative study objectives, researchers analyze the interaction of people with problems or issues. These interactions are studied in their context and then subjectively explained by the researcher. •Some use the term “construction-ism” to cover the same group of designs that fall collectively under the qualitative designs label.
- 3. …continue •All the approaches seem to share common points: •Political reality is subjective; it is constructed and interpreted by researchers rather than something that exists independently. •Humans react to the knowledge that they are being studied. When they become aware that they are under investigation their behavior often changes. Thus, there is no one single truth; it is situation-specific. •It simply is not possible to gain objective knowledge about political phenomenon; researchers cannot be objective, no matter how hard they try. •In light of the above three conditions, there is little prospect of ever producing grand theories that explain the political world.
- 4. Schematic Representation of Qualitative Research Design Process Establish Research Objectives Select a Qualitative Research Design Gather, Code, & Conceptually Order the Qualitative Data Analyze & Interpret Data Explain Findings and Interpret Relationships Interpretive Research Critical Research Explanatory Research Report Study Findings
- 5. Types of Qualitative Research Design • Broadly speaking, qualitative strategies fall into three categories of study techniques: • Explanatory Designs: It is the approach taken in most mainstream qualitative research. Its goal is to go beyond the traditional descriptive designs of the positivist approach to provide meaning as well as description. The purpose of explanatory research is also broader than that of descriptive research; it is conducted to build theories and predict events. • According to White (1999, 44): Explanatory research stives to build theories that explain and predict natural and social events. Theory building requires the development of a collection of related and testable law-like statements that express causal relationships among relevant variables. The ultimate goal of explanatory research is the control of natural and social events. Typical objectives for explanatory research include explaining why some phenomenon occurred, interpreting a cause-and-effect relationship between two or more variables, and explaining differences in two or more groups’ responses.
- 6. …continue ▪Interpretive Designs: It is characterized by a strong sense of connection between the researcher and subjects who are part of an interpretive study. The goal of interpretive study is to build understanding between the participants and researcher. Therefore, it often focuses on standards, norms, rules, and values held in common, and how all these influence human interactions. ▪The primary objective of interpretive study is to establish the meaning of a circumstance, event, or social situation. ▪It goes beyond simple description or explanation in aiming to enhance people’s understanding of the symbols, artifacts, beliefs, meanings, feelings, or attitudes of the people in the study situation.
- 7. …continue ▪ Critical Research: It is the least-used approach in political science research in general, although it is an increasingly important tool in public administration and sociological approach. ▪ The overriding objective of critical research is to change people’s beliefs and actions in ways that the investigator believes will better satisfy their need and wants. ▪ The criticism points out inconsistencies that exist between what is true and false and what is good and bad. ▪ It aims to bring people to actions that are commensurate with accepted truth and goodness. ▪ The “truth” of critical research is only realized when people (through a process of self-reflection) finally take action to change their situation.
- 8. Qualitative Data Collection • The three methods used most often for gathering qualitative data in political science research are: ▪ Observation: In this approach, the researcher simply watches and records the social behavior of subjects. This method is used for the study of the behavior, beliefs, and customs of primitive cultures. It is still the predominant data gathering method in anthropology’s ethnographic studies and is also common in sociological field studies. Here the researcher must interpret what they see in the light only of the conditions that exist in a culture at a given time. Not in terms of their own experiences within their own modern culture. ▪ Participation: It is more intrusive than observation. The researcher’s involvement in the culture, subculture, clan, group, or organization under study cannot help but have some influence on the study target. Participation requires that the researcher become wholly absorbed in the activities and environment of the study group. Here is the goal is to understand what individuals in the group see, feel and hear. For greater understanding, the researcher often includes personal experiences in the analysis.
- 9. …continue ▪ Interviewing: It is one of the mostly used strategies and is the most intrusive of all qualitative data collection methods. It can be of two types—structured and unstructured. ▪ Document Analysis/Content Analysis: Documentary analysis is a type of qualitative research in which documents are reviewed by the analyst to assess an appraisal theme. Dissecting documents involves coding content into subjects like how focus group or interview transcripts are investigated.