CDE4121 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Deeper Understanding, Numerical Analysis, Descriptive Statistics
MODULE 4: QUALITITIVE RESEACH METHODS
Qualitative:
• Provides a richer and deeper understanding of the topic
• Used to define key issues (thematic)
• Small number of respondents
• Research is not based on numerical analysis
• More inductive and subjective than quantitative research
• Triangulation is important for generalising results (populations)
• Includes: focus groups, in-depth interviews, observation & case studies
• Used when little is known about the topic, gain deeper understanding of perceptions and interpretations
Sample Sizes:
• sample sizes will vary, depending on technique
• no new insights are obtained from additional data
• interviews: samples should be large in size
• between 24-30 interviewees
Generalising Qualitative Research: trustworthiness (credibility, transferability, dependability, & confirmability)
Commonalities across methods:
• Meeting and coding data
• Recording reflections and insights
• Sorting and shifting through data to identify (similar phrases, relationships, patterns etc.)
• Seeking patterns or processes, commonalities and differences
• Gradually elaborating a small set of generalisations
• Confronting these generalisations with a formalised body of knowledge
Analysis Process:
• Derived from interviews, observations, etc. (either structured or semi-structured)
Iterative process: look at the data many times to reach saturation point
• 1st iteration – general themes (open coding)
• 2nd iteration – sub themes (axial coding)
• 3rd iteration – sub sub themes (selective coding)
• Continue the iterative process until your data set cannot get you any further information (reach saturation)
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