Transcript Researching the research question

The Use of Qualidata Datasets in PG Unit
Dr Jo Haynes
Department of Sociology
University of Bristol
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Rationale for using Qualidata archive in unit
The assessment
Problems
Benefits
Example of student approaches
Summary of strengths/weaknesses of
submitted work
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Rich data generated by students in
dissertations going to waste
Lack of adequate training/support for qual
data analysis, e.g. assumption that it is ‘easy’
or ‘self-evident’
Comparison with teaching of quantitative
data analysis
Lack of adequate training in QDAS
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Students are constantly reminded in the
course of the unit that they:
◦ Need to have a research question/issue
◦ Research question/topic needs to relate to
previous studies/literature
◦ Data analysis should address research
question/issue
◦ Analysis should be data driven (not simply
confirmation of researcher’s views)
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Virtually Second-Hand: a Case Study of eBay, the Internet Auction
Site, 2004-2005
Consumption, Lifestyle and Identity : Reading the New Men's
Lifestyle Magazines, 1985-1997
Dynamics of Transformative Ideas in Contemporary Public
Discourse, 2002-2003
British Migrants in Spain: the Extent and nature of social
integration, 2003-2005
Creating Citizen-Consumers: Changing Relationships and
Identifications, 2003-2005
Employment and Working Life Beyond the Year 2000: Employee
Attitudes to Work in Call Centres and Software Development,
1999-2001
A Qualitative Study of Democracy and Participation in Britain,
1925-2003
Context and Motive in the Perpetuation of Racial Harassment and
Violence in North Staffordshire, 2004
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The projects were selected on the basis that:
◦ they appeal to a broad a range of substantive
interests as possible
◦ there are identifiable ways in which the data could
be carved for up for sampling purposes
◦ the project has ‘good’ quality data
◦ With your selected study, you will design and carry
out your own ‘small-scale’ qualitative analysis on a
sample of documents from the data. Choose an
analytical approach that best suits the
question/issue you want to address and what you
want to do with the data, e.g. discourse analysis;
narrative analysis, and so on. You must also
incorporate Nvivo to support your analysis of this
data. You should explore relevant literature that will
provide theoretical/empirical support for your
analysis.
You are expected to write a 4000 word research report which should
contain the following elements:
 Introduction: a discussion of the study and relevant
theory/background detail
 Methodology: a description of the analytic process and justification
for the specific approach to the analysis, which should be linked to a
discussion of how you incorporated Nvivo. You should also describe
the sample of documents included in the study. There should also
be a discussion of any issues raised by carrying out secondary
analysis of this data.
 Findings: presentation of the analysis carried out. This should
include quotations or data from the study. You should also include
your interpretation of the findings here.
 Conclusion
 References
 Appendix You should include a list of the nodes used as part of your
analysis with descriptions explaining each node, any models,
memos, or other pertinent information from Nvivo.
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Secondary analysis
◦ Common issues such as ethical considerations and
lack of insider perspective (Hammersley)
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For students
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Project information and data
◦ Difficulty of coming up with ‘different’ or ‘original’
approach
◦ First/early encounter with qualitative data as
secondary not primary researcher, i.e. from a
distance
◦ Uneven quality and amount of
information/guidance about each project
◦ Mixed methodologies
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Opportunity to critically evaluate the design,
execution and conclusions of original
research
Practice
◦ Developing new theoretical rationale to re-interpret
data
◦ Devising a data subset to explore same/new theme
◦ Integrating theory, data analysis and discussion in a
report
◦ Presenting qualitative data appropriately
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Utilising QDAS to support data analysis
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A Qualitative Study of Democracy and Participation in Britain,
1925-2003 by Devine and Roberts
◦ Primary research: In-depth study of
activists to explore
mobilisation processes, group life experiences and assessments
of democracy and political life in Britain. It asked: “do voluntary
activities generate social capital? Does group life sustain networks
and norms of trust and reciprocity? Do positive experiences of
group life instil wider feelings of confidence in political
institutions and the system overall?”
◦ Student: Examined whether it is accurate to link affective social
behaviour with perception of community and state-level political
inclusion. S/he asked: “how do socially active citizens perceive
their local community attachment? How do they asses their
personal ties? Do social identifications with the local
neighbourhood correlate with political participation? Is local
attachment linked to trust in national politics?”
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Consumption, Lifestyle and Identity : Reading the New Men's
Lifestyle Magazines, 1985-1997 by Jackson and Stevenson.
◦ Primary research: assessed mens’ magazines’ significance in
terms of competing theories of masculinity and in relation to
Britain’s changing media and consumption cultures.
◦ Student A: explored how the interviewers participated in the
knowledge production process of the interview, whether there
were any clear gender differences in the amount of researcher
involvement and the process of creating a group identity within
the focus group as a whole.
◦ Student B: explored the extent to which discourses of new
manhood permeated responses; shifting the
emphasis from
magazines to a broader examination of the constructs of the ‘new
man’ and the ‘new lad’, analysing how these discourses are
creatively utilised by the participants through resistance.
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Dynamics of Transformative Ideas in Contemporary
Public Discourse, 2002-2003 by McLennan,
Osborne and Vaux
◦ Primary Research: through two case studies of the LSE and
DEMOS, the research “sought to understand the way in which
societal ideas (e.g. ‘the Knowledge society’ and ‘Third Way’)
emerge into the wider cultural and political arenas; how they
are initiated, established, networked and modified as their
careers unfold”.
◦ Student A: provided a case study of the LSE- its present
function and the role of intellectuals given tendency for
universities to become ‘businesses’
◦ Student B: explored the organisational culture of LSE
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British Migrants in Spain: the Extent and nature of
social integration, 2003-2005 by Karen O’Reilly
◦ Primary research: explored the trends, motivations,
mobility patterns, identity and way of life of British migrant
communities in the Costa del Sol. A major theme in the
findings was the lack of integration of British migrants with
local Spanish people.
◦ Student: explored the reproduction of class differences
amongst British migrants in Spain and how British migrants
“engage with the cultural conception of class in
constructing themselves in opposition not just to tourists,
but to other expatriate Britons”.
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Context and Motive in the Perpetuation of Racial
Harassment and Violence in North Staffordshire,
2004 by Gadd, Dixon and Jefferson.
◦ Primary research: addressed the question of “why some
people engage in racially-motivated violence, and how their
motivations for doing so intersect and/or conflict with
publicly-expressed nationalist, racist/anti-racist, and
religious sentiments”.
◦ Student: explored whether “people use cognitive reduction
strategies in the narrative construction of the self and how
common modes of narrative construction themselves can
[…] contribute to consonance, a means which psychology,
through the use of experimental methods, has failed to
appreciate. It therefore seeks to create a bridge between a
psychological concept and sociological practice [….]”
Comments fed back to students about ways
to improve their data analysis concentrated
on:
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Failure to identify an independent way of working
with the data
Lack of integration of theory with data analysis
Lack of clarity about analytical approach
Poor presentation and interpretation of data
Positive comments fed back to students
included their
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Innovative, original lines of enquiry
Strong theoretical support for analysis
Integration of theory, analysis and methodological
discussion
Creative use of NVivo, e.g. modelling frameworks,
relationships between themes, etc.