Transcript Document 7171714

Qualitative Techniques
in Data Gathering
IT 162 Research Project
Brief Review: Objectives of the
Session
What is qualitative Research
Method?
When to use
Qualitative/Quantitative Date
Gathering Techniques
IT 162 Research Project
Objectives of the Session
At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:
• Differentiate qualitative and quantitative techniques
• Discuss the advantages and limitations of qualitative and
quantitative methodologies (when to best use quanti and
quali methods)
• List and explain three qualitative research methodologies
that are used alone or to complement conventional surveys
IT 162 Research Project
Objectives of the Session
At the end of the session, the participants will be able
to:
• discuss and differentiate from one another the
different qualitative data gathering tools such as:
– Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
– In-depth Interviews (IDIs)
– Participant Observation (PO)
IT 162 Research Project
Objectives of the Session
At the end of the session, the participAt the end of
the session, the participants will be able to:
ants will be able to:
• Discuss the methods of selecting participants for:
– In-depth Interviewing
– Focus Group Discussion
IT 162 Research Project
Qualitative Method
• What is it?
• Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods Qualitative and Quantitative Data
– Quanti and Quali Data Compared - characteristics
– Quanti and Quali Data Collection Compared
– Uses of Quantitative and Qualitative Data
IT 162 Research Project
What is it?
• A type of formative research that offers specialized
techniques for obtaining in-depth responses
regarding what people think and feel
• Allows researchers to gain insights into attitudes,
beliefs, motives and behavior of target groups
IT 162 Research Project
What is it?/Why use it?
• Provides answers to “why” questions
•
•
Interpretive as well as descriptive
Enables researchers to tie together clusters of
behavior that relate to a given “consumer” decision,
action or behavior
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Contrast and Choice...
• In social research - contrast is drawn between
the traditional and quantitative methods of
the discipline close linked to census and
survey research methods and qualitative
methods, often described as anthropological
or micro research
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Contrast
• Quantitative Approach
– conventional
questionnaire-based
surveys to gather data
– application of statistical
techniques of data
analysis
• Qualitative Approach
– anthropological method
of data collection (indepth, focus group
discussion, and
participant observation)
IT 162 Research Project
Contrast
• Quantitative Approach
– use standardized
measures that fit diverse
various opinions and
experiences
– allows measurement of
reactions of a great
number of people in a
large area
• Qualitative Approach
– permits one to study
selected issues/cases in
depth detail
– produces a wealth of
detailed data about
smaller number of
people and cases
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Limits
• Quantitative Approach
– confined to
unambiguous data which
are quantifiable by
nature
– sampling makes it
impossible to study a
single person or hh in
context
• Qualitative Approach
– cannot draw conclusion
that will apply to the
whole population
IT 162 Research Project
Limits
• Quantitative Approach
– closed questions may force respondents to
answer in a way that does not express what they
feel
– survey analysis is dominated by the search for the
statistically significant correlations – result in
being distracted from the socially most significant
point
IT 162 Research Project
However...
• In applied research, particularly in developing
countries, there is really no choice between
the two.
• Each is an essential component of good
research design and practice
IT 162 Research Project
Thus, both approaches...
• Are complementary rather than alternatives
because they fulfill quite different functions
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Quantitative and Qualitative Data:
Compared
• Quantitative data are usually obtained by
questionnaire administered tool and as part of
a census or survey
• May also be obtained directly from
administrative records
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Characteristics of
Quantitative Data
• Simple - provides a response to a simple question
(such as height and weight) and are used to
capture only one dimension of a more complex
phenomena (age, may be used to represent lifecycle stage)
– number of vehicles and frequency of trips
– yield/hectare
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Characteristics of
Quantitative Data
• Anonymous - personal identity is of no interest
• Numeric - result of counting (total number of
hours spent in fetching water), classification (e.g.
sex or type of vehicles) or measurement (e.g.
height, distance)
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Characteristics of
Qualitative Data
• Consists of words or visual images, including text.
May include:
– field notes, describing field observations
– photographs, sketches
– reports or tape-recording or in-depth interviews
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Characteristics of
Qualitative Data
• Consists of words or visual images, including text.
May include:
– official reports
– uncoded responses to open-ended questions in a a
conventional questionnaire
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Characteristics of
Qualitative Data
• Personal - personal characteristics of each
respondent (age, sex, education, marital
status, occupation, etc.) and the context in
which the data were obtained (place, time,
identities of others present, etc.) are needed
in order to interpret the significance of the
data
IT 162 Research Project
Characteristics of
Qualitative Data
• Multi-dimensional - they cover the social,
cultural or economic aspects of such complex
issues such as beliefs, attitudes, utilization of
services, decision-making
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For example...
• A young man who had been unable to find work in
his home village quarreled with his father over
money. As a result of the quarrel, he visited a
relative in CDO. While in CDO, he was told by his
relative’s neighbor that the factory where the
neighbor worked was hiring more workers. He
applied for a job and was hired. How would you
answer the question, “Why did you migrate to
CDO?,” which requires a single factor answer, and
what would such an answer mean?
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Survey and Qualitative Data
Collection: Compared
• Quantitative Data Collection (Survey)
– preliminary research to identify info required and how
best obtained
– research design
– construction of sampling frame
– selection of the sample
IT 162 Research Project
Survey and Qualitative Data
Collection: Compared
• Quantitative Data Collection (Survey)
– preparation of individual questions and construction of a
questionnaire
– pilot testing of the questions and the questionnaire
– revision of the questionnaire
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Survey and Qualitative Data
Collection: Compared
• Quantitative Data Collection (Survey)
(continuation…)
– training of interviewers
– implementation of the survey
– coding
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Survey and Qualitative Data
Collection: Compared
• Quantitative Data Collection (Survey)
(continuation…)
– data entry
– data cleaning and editing
– presentation and analysis of data
IT 162 Research Project
Survey and Qualitative Data
Collection: Compared
• Qualitative Data Collection
– generally, less systematic approach to data collection than
the survey method
– use variety of tools or instruments, such as structured indepth interviews with interview guide, unstructured indepth interviews, PO, FGD, photography, video recording,
tape recording
IT 162 Research Project
Survey and Qualitative Data
Collection: Compared
• Qualitative Data Collection (continuation…)
– use of multiple sources of information over a period of
time
– emphasis on data validity and much less concern for
reliability
IT 162 Research Project
Survey and Qualitative Data
Collection: Compared
• Qualitative Data Collection a much greater
personal role for the individual involved in
data collection
• preliminary data analysis is integral element of
data collection
IT 162 Research Project
Uses of Quantitative and
Qualitative Data
• Quantitative data
– numeric and able to deal with a whole population (census or
survey)
– most obviously useful for research questions that seek
information about quantities - what, how much, measurement
of quantitative effects (e.g. what would be the effect on IM of a
x per cent increase access in potable water?)
– particularly suited to answering - what, who, where (Who are
most likely to increase their income? What are the
characteristics of those who were able to increase their
income? Where are the areas with highest mortality?
IT 162 Research Project
Uses of Quantitative and Qualitative Data
• Quantitative data
– used to address more complex questions about the
existence or strengths of relationships between variables
through the use of multivariate and other statistical
techniques. However, while they can identify
relationships, in general quantitative data and statistical
technique cannot explain why such relationship came
about.
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Uses of Quantitative and
Qualitative Data
• Qualitative data
– necessary to establish validity in individual
survey questions (measure the phenomenon,
provide information on the “meaning” of the
responses to questions.
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Uses of Quantitative and
Qualitative Data
• Qualitative data
– Suited to questions that focus on explanations - Why?
How?
– Typically relate to small numbers or respondents and
therefore not generally appropriate to research
questions that deal with quantities
IT 162 Research Project
Applications...
• The following are examples of population research
problems which have been intensively studied for
decades, but which can be declared to be largely
unsolved:
– Morbidity and Mortality - Why does a substantial
proportion of the population throughout the world
continue to smoke, consume more alcohol than
recommended by physicians and use debilitating drugs despite being well-informed of the consequences and
punitive laws regulating their use?
IT 162 Research Project
Applications...
– Adopted of improved technology - Why does a
substantial proportion of the farmers in the
project area continue to adopt or practice the
traditional technology despite being wellinformed of the consequences of adopting such in
terms of yield and income?
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Applications...
• Reduce incidence of water borne diseases Why does the incidence of water borne
disease remained the same in spite of the fact
of the availability of potable water
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Precautions...
• Qualitative Data Collection takes a lot of time
• Over field work process, field notes, interview
materials and observations accumulate to vast
amounts and many researchers suffer from “data
overload”
• Quail data are not easy to analyze
IT 162 Research Project
Writing up...
• One woman said, “Oh, but is is very easy to get an
abortion right here.”
– We know that one woman provided the information and
we have a direct translation (assuming that conversation
took place in a language other than English). However, we
still don’t know whether this was a woman who was likely
to know whether abortion was available, or the
circumstances in which she made the statement. (It is not
the kind of remark one would expect a woman to make in
the course of a casual conversation.)
IT 162 Research Project
Writing up...
• A 45-year old woman had six children, the
youngest aged four years old, said: “Oh, but is
very easy to get an abortion right here.”
– This is better. An older woman with a large
number of children might be expected to have this
kind of knowledge. However, it is not clear why
she made this statement.
IT 162 Research Project
Writing up...
• I was discussing the problems of large families and children
born close together with a group of older women outside the
local health center. One of the women remarked that it was
shameful for older women to become pregnant and that they
should avoid it. I asked how, and a 45-year old woman with
six children, the youngest aged four smiled shyly and said in a
quiet voice (looking over her shoulder, apparently to make
sure were were not being overheard by the local nurse who
was busy talking to a group of young mothers): “Oh, but is
very easy to get an abortion right here.”
IT 162 Research Project
Writing up...
• We can judge that the woman, surrounded by a group of her
peers, would probably not make this statement if it was
obviously untrue. The concept of shame apparently attached
to older women giving birth suggests a motive for women of
her age to be interested in abortion. We can also guess from
the description, that although the availability of abortion is
not a secret, at least to these women, it was also not
something to be discussed in any company. In particular, we
would probably wonder why she was concerned that the
nurse should not overhear - and would expect the researcher
to take this point in the analysis
IT 162 Research Project
Writing Up
Primary reporting of concrete events and things
in fieldwork --A vague note: “A” showed hostility to “B”, is
overly general, and will be difficult to interpret
in later months.
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Better to write…
“Ä” scowled and spoke harshly to “B”, saying a
number of negative things, including, “Get the
hell out of here, Mr. “B”. He then shook his
fist in B’s face and walked out of the room.
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Writing up...
• ALL RELEVANT INFORMATION THAT BEARS ON
THE INTERPRETATION OF DATA SHOULD BE
PROVIDED...
IT 162 Research Project
Personal Reflection
• Qualitative methods allowed me to know people individually
and to view them as they were. I was able to learn somehow
of how their lives had evolved, unraveling the meanings of
their roles, relationships within the home, and work within
and outside the home for them and for my research.
Participant observation allowed me to experience what it is
like to be a woman working in the factory. In McCracken’s
(1988:17) words, ‘qualitative research does not survey the
terrain, it mines it.’
IT 162 Research Project
Personal Reflection
• Qualitative methods not only add explanation
to the analysis but also demonstrate meanings
and understanding about the problems and
phenomena under study (Berg, 1989:6).
IT 162 Research Project