Research Process
TECH3030
5 ECTS
Module 1: Qualitative methods
Tasks
Preliminary task: basics of qualitative methods
Answer the following questions with the help of the summary description below and in addition to literature listed in Moodle (under qualitative module). The length of the answer must be 1-2 pages and include references.
1. What are the basic characteristics of qualitative research methods?
2. How to evaluate quality of qualitative research?
Master’s or doctoral thesis review
3. Find a master’s or doctoral thesis, which is interesting to you for which qualitative methods are used, and make a review of the research with the help of the answers of the questions 1 and 2. The length of the answer must be 1-2 pages and include references. You may also consider the following:
a. What is the thesis about?(very brief summary of the background)
b. Identify the research question(s)
c. Are there some stated objectives of the study?
d. Can you identify the main theory?
e. Can you identify the method applied in answering the research question?
f. Do you see any connection to the keywords and literature review?
Identifying a good research questionnaire
4. What are the characteristics of a good research questionnaire? See the list of studies in the end of this document and literature in the Moodle.
What is qualitative research?
Qualitative research is linked to in-depth exploratory studies (exploring, for example, why students pick a particular module to study), where the opportunity for ‘quality’ responses exist. Denzin and Lincoln (1994: 2) hold that qualitative research involves studying ‘things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them’
In general, quantitative research answers the how questions, whereas the why questions are left to qualitative research. Of course, the reality is that it is rare that professional researchers, and dissertation students for that matter, stick to only collecting and analyzing either quantitative or qualitative data. They usually mix and match (Myers, 1997)
A student could be interested in quantitative issues such as how many postgraduate students picked a particular module for the taught part of their course, the number that passed that module, as well as qualitative matters such as why students selected the module in the first place and what they liked/disliked about the module. This mix of quantitative/qualitative questions is common in everyday life: someone might ask you if you attended so-and-so’s party at the weekend (begging a quantitative y/n response) but also enquire what you thought of the party (encouraging a qualitative answer).
A common mistake by students
A common mistake by students is to equate research strategies with quantitative or qualitative research. Too many students think that it is the research strategy that determines whether their research is quantitative, or qualitative, in nature. For instance, it is common for students to relate surveys to quantitative research and case studies to qualitative research. Although it is generally true that a case study, for example, suggests a qualitative study and that a survey, for example, suggests a quantitative piece of research, it is not necessarily the case. It is not the research strategy – case study, survey, experimental, action research, etc. – that determines whether or not your empirical study is quantitative or qualitative in nature: that is dependent on a combination of your research strategy, your individual research objectives and your data collection technique(s).
Suppose that you decide to do a case study of one university in Paris (e.g. the Sorbonne). A case study is normally associated with an in-depth exploratory study, so a case study of one university in Paris must be a qualitative study, yes? Well, not necessarily. If your case study was intended to determine issues surrounding pass rates, such as the number of students passing each module, the progression rates for different courses and years, including direct entrants, and that you want to collect your data through the use of closed questionnaires, then the nature of this research would be quantitative in nature because the research objectives relate mainly to how questions (how many students passed each module, etc.) and because questionnaires limit the opportunity for in-depth exploratory responses, tending to yield answers that are easily quantifiable (six people said this, four said that, etc.).
On the other hand, you could implement a survey of universities in France, but instead of focusing on how many students failed modules, etc., you could focus on why students are failing, and collect your data through interviews. The ‘why’ nature of the research and the use of interviews – where the opportunity to explore matters in depth exists – provide evidence that the research would now be primarily qualitative in nature.
Case study
Researches can use questionnaires also in the following situations:
- As a part of case study as a part of collecting of various kinds of data
To help a student understand the parameters involved in a case study, first read the material in module titled: The value of the case study as a research strategy by Charles Schell. Then answer the following question. The length of the answer must be 2-3 pages and include references.
o What is a case study?
o What are the 2 types of Case Studies usually applied by researchers? Explain
o How are data collected for a Case Study?
o What are the key justifications for Case Study as a research strategy? (singular/plural)
o What are the popular criticisms of Case Study?
o What should you take into account when designing a Case Study?
o Name and explain each of the 4 tests of reliability and validity?
References and some literature for students
Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (2000). Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2nd edition, Thousand Oaks.
Schell, C. (1992). The Value of the Case Study as a Research Strategy. Manchester Business School
Silverman, D. (1997). Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analyzing Talk, Text and Interaction, London: Sage.