Transcript The Argument

Qualitative Field
Research
Topics for Field Research
 Observing complex social phenomena
 Topics that defy simple quantification
 Topic best understood in natural settings
 Topic focused on social processes over time
All Elements of Social Life
 Practices: talking, reading a book
 Episodes: divorce, crime, illness
 Encounters: meetings, interactions
 Role: occupations, gender roles
 Relationships: friendships, mother-son
All Elements of Social Life
 Groups: cliques, teams, work groups
 Organizations: hospitals, prisons
 Settlements: neighborhoods, ghettoes
 Social worlds: "wall street", ”dorm life“
 Lifestyles/subcultures: punk, gay/lesbian
Roles of the Observer
 Participant Observation
 Full participant to complete observer
 Constructed roles and social interaction
 Ethics of involvement and deception
 Influencing the process and outcome
 Naturalism and honesty
 “Going native”
Relation to Subjects
 Maintaining some separation / objectivity
 Taking others perspectives / subjectivity
 Mutually exclusive advantages of perspective
 Acknowledging implications for reflexivity
Field Research Paradigms
 Naturalism - empirical, observable reality
 “Chicago School” sociology
 Ethnographic - use of informants
 Provide description of how things “really are”
 Ethnomethodology - socially-constructed reality
 Phenomenology - “breaching experiments”
 “Make sense” of informants perspectives
 Reveal underlying patterns of interaction
 Institutional ethnography
 Interested in institutional power relations
More Field Research Paradigms
 Grounded theory - positivism + interactionism
 Derive theories from patterns/themes in observations
 Systematic set of procedures in qualitative work
 Theoretical sampling and precise coding
 Case studies and the extended case method
 Detailed analysis of particular instance
 Way to refine and improve existing theory
 Participatory action research
 Research as resources to those being studied
Preparing for Field Work
 Fill in your knowledge of the subject
 Discuss plan with an informant
 Develop an identity, if participant
 Select initial contact
Seven Stages of Interviewing
Interviewing is flexible, iterative & continuous
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Thematizing - clarifying
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Design
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Interviewing
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Transcribing
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Analyzing
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Verifying and checking facts
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Reporting
Advantages of Focus Groups
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8 - 15 participants in guided discussion
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Foster interaction among participants
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Socially oriented research method
Flexible
High face validity
Speedy results
Low in cost
Disadvantages of Focus Groups
 Less control than individual interviews
 Data can be difficult to analyze
 Moderators may impede process
 Reactive to differences in composition
 Difficult to assemble groups
 Powerful personalities can take over
Taking Research Notes
 Don’t trust your memory
 Take notes while you observe
 Take notes in stages
 Take sketchy notes in field; fill in the details later
 Record everything
 Things that don't seem important may be significant
 Realize that most of your field notes will not be
reflected in your final project - that’s OK
Strengths of Field Research
 Permits a great depth of understanding.
 Flexibility - can be modified at any time.
 Inexpensive - few direct costs
 Validity over surveys or experiments.
Weaknesses of Field Research
 No statistical evidence - limited claims
 Personal factors may undermine reliability
 Generalizability limited to context
Is It Ethical?
 To talk to people when they don't know you will be
recording their words?
 To get information for your own purposes from people
you hate?
 To see a severe need for help and not respond to it
directly?
 To be in a situation but not commit yourself
wholeheartedly to it?