This document discusses key concepts in qualitative research including its definition, purpose, characteristics, approaches, technical issues, and ethics. The qualitative research process involves six general steps: identifying a topic, reviewing literature, selecting participants, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting results. Some qualitative approaches described are case study, ethnography, grounded theory, and phenomenology. Ensuring validity, reliability, and addressing ethics are important considerations for qualitative research.

1. Educational Research
Overview of Qualitative Research
Gay, Mills, and Airasian

2. State the definition and purpose of qualitative
research.
 1.1 Define qualitative research.
 1.2 Describe the purpose of qualitative
research.
 1.3 Identify four unique characteristics
of qualitative research.

3. Describe the six steps in the qualitative
research process.
 2.1 Describe the six steps of the
qualitative research process.
 2.2 Compare the six steps used to
conduct qualitative research with the six
steps used to conduct quantitative
research.

4. Identify different qualitative research
approaches.
 3.1 Describe the primary difference
among qualitative research
approaches.
 3.2 Identify nine qualitative research
approaches and discuss the unique
characteristics of each.

5. Describe the characteristics of qualitative
research.
 4.1 Describe eight unique
characteristics of qualitative research.

6. State the definition of validity in
qualitative research.
 5.1 Define the term validity and identify
two of its components.

7. Describe strategies to address the trustworthiness
(validity) of qualitative research
 6.1 Describe four issues Guba suggests the
researcher address in order to establish
trustworthiness.
 6.2 Describe five issues Maxwell suggests the
researcher address to establish understanding.
 6.3 Describe thirteen strategies Wolcott believes will
enhance validity.

8. Describe strategies to address the
replicability (reliability) of qualitative
research.
 7.1 Define the term reliability.
 7.2 Discuss how reliability should be
viewed in qualitative research.

9. Describe the relationship between validity
and reliability in qualitative research.
8.1 Discuss why generalizability is NOT
an issue in qualitative research.

10. Describe the role of ethics in qualitative
research.
 9.1 Describe the role of ethics in qualitative research.
 9.2 Discuss why it is important to think about possible
ethical dilemmas in a qualitative research study
before they become a problem.
 9.3 Identify two reasons why confidentiality is
important in qualitative research and the way in which
it is usually assured.
 9.4 Identify six ethical guidelines that should be
followed when conducting qualitative research.

11. Topics Discussed in this Session
 Definition and purpose of qualitative
research
 General steps involved in qualitative
research
 Qualitative research approaches
 Characteristics of qualitative research
 Validity, reliability, and generalizability
 Ethics

12. The Nature of Qualitative Research
 Qualitative research is the collection,
analysis, and interpretation of
comprehensive narrative data in order
to gain insights into a particular
phenomenon of interest
 Useful for describing and answering
questions about participants and contexts
Objective 1.1

13. The Nature of Qualitative Research
 Purpose of qualitative research
 Promote a deep, holistic understanding of
a particular phenomenon
 Importance of exploring qualitative
topics
 Provide insight into the complexity of
common occurrences
 Provide specific concrete details to guide
understanding in a particular setting
Objectives 1.2 and 1.3

14. The Nature of Qualitative Research
 The importance of exploring qualitative
topics (continued)
 Provide insight into the “local” meanings
that activities and practices have for
participants
 Develop a comparative understanding of
phenomena as experienced by different
participants in different settings
Objective 1.3

15. The Nature of Qualitative Research
 Six General Steps
 Identify the research topic
 Review the literature
 Select the participants
 Collect data
 Analyze the data
 Report the results
 These are the same steps as those used in
quantitative research
Objectives 2.1 and 2.2

16. Range of Qualitative Approaches
 Nine approaches
 Case study

An effort to seek an understanding of a single person or
entity
 Ethnography

An effort to describe and analyze all or part of the culture
of a community by identifying and describing participants’
practices and beliefs
 Ethology

An effort to compare several cultures with one another
Objective 3.2

17. Range of Qualitative Approaches
 Nine approaches (continued)
 Ethnomethodology

An effort to examine people’s understanding of their daily
activities
 Grounded theory

An effort to derive theory grounded in the perspectives of
the participants
 Phenomenology

An effort to understand the meaning of an individual’s
experiences
Objective 3.2

18. Range of Qualitative Approaches
 Nine approaches (continued)
 Symbolic interaction

An effort to seek common understandings that emerge to
give meaning to participants’ interactions
 Action research

An effort to seek a solution or improvement to a practical
problem in the setting in which it is occurring
 Historical research

An effort to seek to understand the past by studying
documents, relics, and interviews
Objective 3.2

19. Features of Qualitative Approaches
 Differences between approaches
 Different social contexts are being studied
in each approach
 The participants are selected for different
reasons in each approach
Objective 3.1

20. Features of Qualitative Approaches
 Eight unique characteristics
 Researchers immerse themselves in the situation
 The data reflects the participants’ perspectives
 Sources of data are real-world situations or natural
contexts
 Data is narrative in nature
 Researchers focus on personal interactions with
participants
Objective 4.1

21. Features of Qualitative Approaches
 Eight unique characteristics (continued)
 Researchers avoid early decisions or
assumptions about the study
 Data are analyzed inductively
 Methods provide clear, detailed information
reflecting participants’ voices
Objective 4.1

22. Technical Issues
 Validity
 The degree to which the qualitative data
collected accurately gauges what is being
measured
 Two components

Trustworthiness

Understanding
Objective 5.1

23. Technical Issues
 Validity
 Trustworthiness

Credibility – taking into account all the complexities in the
study and addressing problems that are not easily
explained

Transferability – including descriptive, context-relevant
statements so the reader can identify with the setting

Dependability – collecting stable data

Confirmability – assuring the neutrality and objectivity of
the data
Objective 6.1

24. Technical Issues
 Validity
 Understanding

Descriptive validity – the factual accuracy of the account

Interpretive validity – the meaning attributed to the
behaviors or words of the participants

Theoretical validity – the explanation of the phenomenon
being studied in relation to a theory

Evaluative validity – sufficient objectivity in reporting data
to avoid bias, preconceived judgments, or evaluations
Objective 6.2

25. Technical Issues
 13 strategies to ensure validity
 Participate at the study site for a prolonged period
of time
 Use persistent observation
 Use peer debriefing
 Collect mechanically recorded data
 Use member checks
 Establish structural corroboration/coherence
 Establish referential adequacy
Objective 6.3

26. Technical Issues
 13 strategies to ensure validity (cont.)
 Collect detailed descriptive data
 Develop detailed descriptions of the
context
 Overlap methods (i.e., multi-methods)
 Establish an audit trail
 Practice triangulation
 Practice reflexivity
Objective 6.3

27. Technical Issues
 Reliability
 The consistency with which data measures
what is being attempted to be measured
over time
 Qualitative perspective

The reliability of the techniques that are being
used to collect data
 Reliability is a necessary but not sufficient
characteristic – validity is the priority
Objectives 7.1 and 7.2

28. Technical Issues
 Generalizability
 The applicability of findings to settings and
contexts different from the one in which they were
obtained
 Internal-external validity issues revisited

A depth of understanding can only be achieved from a
few participants in a very limited number of contexts

Generalizability is therefore very limited

Qualitative researchers are primarily concerned with
validity and reliability and to a much lesser extent
generalizability
Objective 8.1

29. Technical Issues
 General strategies for ensuring the technical
merit of a qualitative study
 Talk little, listen a lot
 Record observation accurately
 Begin writing early
 Let readers see for themselves
 Report fully
 Be candid
 Seek feedback
 Write accurately

30. Ethical Issues
 Ethics can be considered in terms of how the
researcher treats the participants in the
research setting.
 The nature of qualitative research provides
the potential for conflict and harm.
 Qualitative research is intimate – there is little
distance between the researcher and the
participants
 Qualitative research is open-ended – the nature of
the process requires the use of an emergent
design as the situation unfolds
Objectives 9.1 and 9.2

31. Ethical Issues
 Six guidelines to help avoid ethical problems
 Researchers should have an ethical perspective
that is close to their personal ethical position
 Informed consent should take the form of a
dialogue that mutually shapes the research and
the results

Confidentiality is more complicated even with the use of
pseudonyms

Consider the use of a video tape to illustrate a point
being made
Objective 9.4

32. Ethical Issues
 Six guidelines to help avoid ethical problems
(cont.)
 You should be able to identify broader social
principles that are an integral part of who you are
as a researcher and a contributing member of the
community in which you live.
 Avoidance of harm morally binds qualitative
researchers to conduct their research in a manner
that minimizes potential harm to those involved in
the study.
Objective 9.4

33. Ethical Issues
 Six guidelines to help avoid ethical problems
(cont.)
 Even though an action can bring about good
results, it is not ethical unless it also conforms to
ethical standards such as honesty and justice.
 The qualitative researcher must remain attentive
to the relationships between the researcher and
the participants – a relationship that is determined
by “roles, status, language, and cultural norms.”
Objective 9.4