This document provides an overview of qualitative research methods. It discusses that qualitative research relies on linguistic data and meaning-based analysis rather than numerical data and statistics. The document outlines several types of qualitative research designs including grounded theory, empirical phenomenology, and interpretative phenomenological analysis. It also discusses important aspects of qualitative research such as conducting a literature review, developing open-ended exploratory research questions, collecting data through interviews and observations, and analyzing data through categorization and interpreting results. The goal of qualitative research is to provide an in-depth understanding of phenomena through rich description rather than making generalized inferences.

1. By- Robert Elliot and Ladislav Timulak

2. Qualitative Research Methods are all those
methods that rely on linguistic rather than
numerical data, and employ meaning based
rather than statistical forms of data analysis.
- Polkinghorne,1983

3.  emphasis on understanding phenomena in
their own right
 open, exploratory research
 unlimited, emergent description options
 use of a special strategies for enhancing the
credibility of design and analyses
 definition of success conditions in terms of
discovering something new
- Elliot , 1999

4.  GROUNDED THEORY
 EMPIRICAL PHENOMENOLOGY
 HERMENEUTIC – INTERPRETIVE RESEARCH
 INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
 CONCENSUAL QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

5.  Should we read the available literature first
before getting into the field?
•familiarity with the previous knowledge will ‘taint’ the
researcher
•researcher might impose their preconceptions on the
data
•raise the danger of not being sensitive enough to allow
the data to speak for itself
YES
•researcher will remain ignorant of previous work
•Researcher’s work will be guided by uninformed rather
than informed expectation.
NO

6. So what should we do?
According to the writers, the first approach is somewhat naïve, because
bias is an unavoidable part of research and research is impossible
without some kind of previous conceptual structure.
So, before commencing data collection, we should
I. Fully examine available knowledge and theory
II. Carry out a thorough literature search that includes up to date
information on the topic of investigation
III. the researcher should become as aware as possible of the nature of
their pre-understandings of the phenomenon, as these are likely to
shape the data collection, analysis and interpretation. At the same
time, the researcher should regard their expectations lightly, in a way
that is open to unexpected meanings.

7. It should be guided by traditional questions
like :
1. What do we know?
2. Why is it important to know more?
3. What influenced previous research findings?
4. What do we want to make clearer by new
study?

8.  Research questions should be open ended
and exploratory in nature, especially when:
I. there is little known in a particular research
area;
II. existing research is confusing,
contradictory, or not moving forward; or
III. the topic is highly complex.

9.  Types of Exploratory Questions:
I. Definitional
II. Descriptive
III. Interpretive
IV. Critical/Action
V. Deconstruction
- Elliott, 2000

10. Qualitative Research data
 looks for verbal accounts or description in
words
 Puts observation into words
 Uses open ended questions
 Uses open ended strategy for obtaining data

11. Qualitative Interviews
 Mostly semi structured or unstructured interview
formats
 The interviewer should have basic skills plus
additional training in open-ended interviewing;
 Such interviews are very similar to the empathic
exploration found in good person-centered
therapy
 Good practice is to develop an interview guide
 It is recommended to provide interviewees with a
list of questions before the interview.

12.  Variant Formats
I. Self report questionnaires
II. Focus group
III. Tape assisted recall
IV. Think aloud protocols
V. Observational Methods

13.  Self report questionnaires are used much less
 Given time and space constraints,
questionnaire may be used consisting of
open ended questions asking for
elaborations, examples, etc.
 Follow up questionnaire by phone interview
or e-mail correspondence

14.  Focus Group
a group format in which participants share
and discuss their views of a particular topic
allowing access to a large number of possible
views and a replication of naturalistic social
influence and consensus processes.

15.  Tape-assisted recall
Here, a recording of an interaction is played
back for the interviewee so that they can
recall and describe their experience of
particular moments (Elliott, 1986).

16.  Think-aloud protocols (McLeod, 1999)
These are special forms of interview in which
the participant is asked to verbalise their
thought processes as they deal with a
problem.

17.  Observational methods
I. Extensive use of field notes and memos
II. Often use non interview archival data (tape
recordings, associated transcripts)

18.  The three key aspects typical of the data
collection in descriptive/interpretive
qualitative research:
1. it always has a focus.
2. gives power to respondents
3. triangulation strategy

19.  It is focused on application of findings beyond the
research sample
 It does not aim at securing confidence intervals of studied
variables around exact values in population
 It tries to sample broadly enough and interview deeply
enough that all the important aspects and variations of the
studied phenomenon captured in the sample
 Generalisability is replaced by thorough specification of
sample characteristics
 Size of sample is much lower than Quantitative research

20.  Uses the criteria of saturation, (Strauss and
Corbin, 1998),
which means adding new cases to the point
of diminishing returns, when no new
information emerges.
 To satisfy the saturation criterion, purposeful
sampling is used
 In grounded theory tradition, theoretical
sampling is used
 Sampling should be flexible and reflect the
research problem.

21. Data analysis in Qualitative research includes
flexibility, constant critical self reflection,
checking and auditing all steps and archiving
each step in a systematic and organized
manner.

22. 1. Data Preparation
2. Delineating and processing Meaning units
3. Finding and overall organizing structure for
the data
4. Generation of Categories
5. Abstracting the main findings
6. Validity of analysis
7. Interpretation of results

23. STEP 1 : DATA PREPARATION
 Obtained from notes and tape-recordings
(transcribed verbatim)
 Initial reading gives insights and
understanding : written down as memos
 Later readings lead to editing of data
(redundancies, repetitions and unimportant
digressions are omitted)

24. STEP 2 : DELINEATING AND PROCESSING
MEANING UNITS
 Divide the data into distinctive meaning units
 Length depends on the judgment of the
researcher
 Shorten them by getting rid of redundancies
but do not change the meaning
 Assign consecutive code to each meaning
unit to track them back if needed
 Analysis is done on these meaning units

25. STEP 3: FINDING THE OVERALL ORGANISING
STRUCTURE OF THE DATA
 Different sets of meaning units describe different
aspects of the phenomenon
 Data is organized in different phases, referred to
as domains
 Critical auditing and testing of different possible
framework is done
 Find various kinds of relation between domains
(sequence, causes, signification, etc.)
 Domains may mirror different sources of data

26. STEP 4 : GENERATION OF CATEGORIES
 Meaning units are coded within each domain in
which they have been organized.
 Labels can be redefined during the analysis
 Categorizing the categories as per similarities
and regularities (hierarchy or cross case analysis)
 Relationship among categories are often pictured
in the forms of figures and diagrams.

27. STEP 5: ABSTRACTING THE MAIN FINDGINGS
FROM THE CATEGORY STRUCTURE
 Abstracting follows essential sufficiency rule
 Employ graphs, diagrams, figures, tables, and
narratives to communicate the essence of the
phenomenon

28. STEP 6: VALIDITY OF ANALYSIS
 It is assessed throughout the study by:
1. Independent auditing
2. Validation by research participants
3. Triangulation strategy
4. Collection of more cases
5. Resonation with the reader of the research
paper
 It should ground the findings in illustrative
examples.

29. STEP 7 : INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS OF
CATEGORISED DATA
 It is done by reflecting thoroughly on
methodological influences and limitations
 Probing the implication of research through
existing literature
 Findings should be within socio-historic and
scientific context

30. 1. Own your perspective
2. Describe your sample
3. Ground categories in examples
4. Provide one or more credibility checks
5. Organize categories to provide coherent
understanding of how they fit together
6. Accomplish general vs. specific research tasks
7. Allow readers to evaluate whether the
categories resonate with first – or- second hand
experience of the phenomenon

31. Qualitative research is a breath of fresh air to
social sciences.
Although they are under- utilised by
researchers, they vastly complement the
enriching, enlivening and illuminating
quantitative results.

32. THANK YOU !
(prepared by : Stutty Srivastava)