The Information School of the University of Washington LIS Qualitative_1 LIS 570 Sessions 3.1, 3.2

LIS Qualitative_1

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LIS 570

Sessions 3.1, 3.2

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LIS 570_Measurement Mason; p. 2

Objectives• Have some experience with early

steps in research design• Understand the distinction

between qualitative and quantitative research

• Understand the relationships among quantitative-qualitative and positivist-constructionist philosophies

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Agenda• Q/A last session; readings• Exercise & Discussion: Life on

Campus• Discussions: deduction-induction;

qualitative-quantitative; positivist-interpretive (or positivist-constructivist)

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Readings, Assignments

Updates/Announcements– Text: requested to be on reserve– Research methods:

• 1pp; font at least 10pt; margins—1” L & R, min. 0.6” top/bottom

• Post not later than 8PM Tuesdays

– Email anytime w/ questions/issues/clarifications Reflections: focus on learning

Q/A

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Short Exercise

Life on Campus• In groups, discuss 1st group of

questions– 10 minutes– Report back on each of the questions

• Observers – Observe– Make notes on how the team

operated

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Teams• SGHR: Kate Sellers, Rachel Howard, Jonathan Rochkind,

Brian Greene

• JAO: Serin Anderson, Karen Jaskar, Stacey O'Shea

• OEH: Solveig Ekenes, Heather Higgins, Erin Ostrander

• EJM: Laurel Evans, Ben Johnson, Liz Melson

• BBW: Hannah Burke, Beth Barrett, Amy Wilcox

• SST: Jennifer Seib, Esti Shay, Kyla Tew

For today, “observers” of teams will be: Anne, Scott, Adam, Shawn, Rose, John, Dani

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Qualitative Methods• Definition• Researcher’s role• Features of qualitative research

– Context– Description– Process– Participant perspective– Induction

• Implications of research setting• Some qualitative field research

frameworks

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Definition - Qualitative Research

A process of enquiry that draws from the

context in which events occur, in an attempt

to describe these occurrences, as a means of

determining the process in which events are

embedded and the perspectives of those

participating in the events, using induction to

derive possible explanations based on

observed phenomena.

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Researcher’s role

In qualitative field research:fly on the wall vs. complete

participant “scientific” detachment immersing into subjects’ “world”

Personal involvement and partiality•Reflexivity•Discuss considerations of local culture

Empathetic understanding

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Features of Qualitative Research

Context

Description

Process

Participant perspective

Induction

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Context• Draws from the context or environment

in which events occur

• Uses the natural setting

• Researcher does not remain remote

•enters the context or situation to collect data

•enhances this data through insights gained onsite

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Context

Identify with your subjectsExperience what they are experiencing

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DescriptionDescribes occurrencesthe ‘flavor’ of events is included in the

research

– Instruments: researcher, tape recorders, video cameras, notes, camera, diaries, memos

– Collection: verbal narratives from the participants, observations. diary.

– Report: narrative, themes, corroborated by other analyses

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ProcessNot just the result of events but the

events themselves

•understanding the process of events

•how ideas become action

• the reactions to actions

•components of a process

• richer and fuller understanding through immersion in the entire activity

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Participant perspective

What do the people involved in a particular process think

• what people believe• how people feel• how people interpret events

Often involves participant involvement in or comment on the researchers observations and interpretations

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Exercise• What is the next number in these

sequences?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, ?

1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, ?

How did you decide the next number in the sequence?

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Agenda• Presentations/discussions on methods

– Serin: Repertory Grid– Brian: Action Research– Jennifer: Self-administered questionnaires– Rose: Quantifying data– Scott: Critical Theory and information studies

• Qualitative Methods (Cont.)– Inductive – Deductive – Qual./Quan. – Positivist/Constructivist– Grounded theory– Actor Network Theory

• Summary

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Definition - Qualitative Research

A process of enquiry that draws from the

context in which events occur, in an attempt

to describe these occurrences, as a means of

determining the process in which events are

embedded and the perspectives of those

participating in the events, using induction to

derive possible explanations based on

observed phenomena.

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InductionAnalysis of observations in a

coherent and meaningful mannera ‘bottom-up” approach after data

have been collected• from the particular to the general

• evidence is used to develop an explanation of events - to establish a theory based on observed phenomena

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Deduction

Collection of data based on prior assumptions

“Top down” approach– From general to specific– Typically begins with theory– Data are used to support or question

theory

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Positivism vs. Constructivism and

Qualitative Research• Can one be a positivist and still conduct qualitative research?

• What is the relationship between philosophical foundation (positivist or constructionist) and research method?

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Research setting

Effect of the research agenda • E.g. R & D in industry

Effect of the research institution• Power relationship?

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Data recording sheet (Bouma: 182)

What you observe Your reactions/ thoughts

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Grounded Theory• Approach data collection with little or

no theory (“let data speak for themselves”)

• Once some data are collected, review and see what theories might match

• Theory development (or matching) is “grounded” in the observations/data

• Theory-data collection are interactive

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Actor Network Theory• Network structure emerges from

interactions among “actants,” who may be both human and non-human

• Analyst looks at issues such as – Translation– Enrollment– Delegation

• Example: consortium of universities

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University Consortium

ActantsState of FloridaUniversitiesERPConsortiumState “Sunshine”

Law

RoleInitiator [“devolution”]Holder of traditionSolution; an idealSolution to $ limitationFacilitated and

inhibited information and knowledge exchange

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Qualitative research• Researchers work within the natural setting of

the data, and the key data collection instruments are the researchers themselves

• The data (collected) are verbal, not numerical

• Researchers are concerned with the process of an activity, not only the outcomes of that activity

• Researchers usually analyze their data verbally rather than statistically

The outcomes are often the generation of research questions and conjectures, not the verification of predicted relationships or outcomes

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A

B

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Particular Behavior SystemsUniversal Behavior Systems

Unobtrusive Research

Operations

Obtrusive Research

Operations

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Uses of Qualitative Research

• Phase 1: Essential First Steps

• Phase 2: Data Collection

• Phase 3: Analysis and Interpretation

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Qualitative Research and Essential First

Steps

Phase 1– Select, Narrow, and Define Problem

• Exploratory Qualitative Research• Refine “problem statement”

– Select a Research Design– Design and Devise Measures for Variables

• “Operationalization” of the variable• Measurement Process

– Select Tables for Analysis– Select a Sample

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Qualitative Research and…

Purpose– Descriptive

•What is ….

– Exploratory—seek Relationships•Association Between Ideas (Concepts)

– Explanatory and predictive•Cause and Effect Relationships

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Summary – Qualitative Research Often Goes from Bottom Up in

Ladder of Abstraction

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Advantages of Qualitative Research

• Human behavior is significantly influenced by the setting in which it occurs; thus one must study that behavior in situations. The physical setting e.g., schedules, space, pay, and rewards and the internalized notions of norms, traditions, roles, and values are crucial contextual variables. Research must be conducted in the setting where all the contextual variables are operating.

• Past researchers have not been able to derive meaning...from experimental research.

• The research techniques themselves, in experimental research, [can]...affect the findings. The lab, the questionnaire, and so on, [can]...become artifacts. Subjects [can become]...either suspicious and wary, or they [can become]...aware of what the researchers want and try to please them. Additionally, subjects sometimes do not know their feelings, interactions, and behaviors, so they cannot articulate them to respond to a questionnaire.

• One cannot understand human behavior without understanding the framework within which subjects interpret their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Researchers need to understand the framework. In fact, the "objective " scientist, by coding and standardizing, may destroy valuable data while imposing her world on the subjects.

• Field study research can explore the processes and meanings of events.

--Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (1980). Designing qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

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For more readings in

Qualitative Research in IS

http://www.qual.auckland.ac.nz/

Documents

The Information School of the University of Washington LIS Qualitative_1 LIS 570 Sessions 3.1, 3.2