This document provides an overview of qualitative research methods. It discusses various qualitative research designs including case studies, comparative studies, retrospective studies, and longitudinal qualitative studies. It also covers qualitative research sampling techniques like theoretical sampling and purposive sampling. Common qualitative study designs such as ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, and participatory action research are defined. The document also discusses principles of qualitative research including saturation, appropriateness of the approach, and fitting the approach into the research process.

1. 210 Qualitative Research Methods
MBA I
By Asst Prof Anil Sharma
7990189234

2. Qualitative Research Design
• Basic Qualitative Research Designs, Case Studies,
Comparative Studies, Retrospective Studies,
Longitudinal Qualitative Studies, Appropriateness of
the Approach to the Issue, Fitting the Approach into
the Research Process.
• Qualitative Research Sampling - Theoretical Sampling,
Gradual Selection as a General Principle in Qualitative
Research, Purposive Sampling, Width or Depth as Aims
of Sampling, Case Constitution in the Sample, Sample
Size decisions in Qualitative Research, Principle of
Saturation. (5)

3. Common Qualitative Study Designs
Study design Description
Ethnography Portrait of people- study of the story and culture of a
group usually to develop cultural awareness &
sensitivity
Phenomenology Study of individual’s lived experiences of events-e.g. the
experience of AIDS care
Grounded theory Going beyond adding to the existing body of
knowledge-developing a new theory about a
phenomenon-theory grounded on data
Participatory
action research
Individuals & groups researching their own personal
beings, socio-cultural settings and experiences
Case study In-depth investigation of a single or small number of
units at a point (over a period) in time. E.g. Evaluation of
s service

4. 1. Phenomenology
• Literally we know that phenomenology means the
study of phenomena.
• Phenomena may be events, situations, experiences or
concepts
• Sometimes it happens that our lack of understanding in
respect to these phenomena may exist because the
phenomenon has not been overtly described and
explained or our understanding of the impact it makes
may be unclear. For example, we know that lots of
people are counselors. But what does “counseling”
actually mean and what is it like to be a counselor?

5. • Let us take another example of back pain. There are
so many co-relational studies available which tell us
about the types of people who experience back pain
and the apparent causes.
• What are the effects on peoples‟ lives? What
problems does it cause? A phenomenological study
might explore, for example, the effect that back pain
has on sufferers‟ relationships with other people by
describing the strain it can cause in marriages or the
effect on children of having a disabled parent.

6. • Finally we can say that wherever is a gap in
our understanding and that clarification or
explanation will be needed there the
phenomenological research can begin in a
systematic way with the full confident.
• Phenomenological research will not
necessarily provide definitive explanations but
it does raise awareness and increases insight
about the phenomena.

7. 2. Ethnography
• The social science that studies the origins and
social relationships of human beings is known
as anthropology.
• Ethnography is a branch of anthropology that
provides scientific description of individual
human societies
• The term means “portrait of a people” and it
is a methodology for descriptive studies of
cultures and peoples.

8. • According to Van Maanen, "ethnography
fieldwork usually means living with and living
like those who are studied.
• In its broadest, most conventional sense,
fieldwork demands the full-time involvement
of a researcher over a lengthy period of time
(typically unspecified) and consists mostly of
ongoing interaction with the human targets of
study on their home ground".

9. • The cultural parameter is that the people
under investigation have something in
common.
• The cultural parameters include:
– geographical – a particular region or country
– religious
– tribal – a family construction or its types
– shared experience
– life style – a manner to live together

10. • Because of this, ethnography is extremely time
consuming as it involves the researcher spending
long periods of time in the field.
• For example, a researcher may explore behaviour
which we traditionally in the westernized medical
world would describe as mental illness. However,
within the population under study, the behaviour
may not be characterised as illness but as
something else - as evidence that the individual is
“blessed” or “gifted” in some way.

11. • Ethnographic research can be problematic
when researchers are not sufficiently familiar
with the social mores of the people being
studied or with their language.
• Interpretation from an “etic” perspective - an
outsider perspective - may be a
misinterpretation causing confusion

12. Purpose - to describe a culture's characteristics
Method
•Identify culture, variables for study, & review
literature
•Data collection - gain entrance to culture;
immerse self in culture; acquire informants;
gather data through direct observation &
interaction with subjects
Analysis - describe characteristics of culture

13. 3. Grounded theory
• Grounded theory is a type of qualitative
research methodology that allows
theory/theories to emerge from the data that
is collected.
• Grounded theory research follows a
systematic yet flexible process to collect data,
code the data, make connections and see
what theory/theories are generated or are
built from the data.

14. • There are so many techniques for the data
collection are used to develop grounded
theory, particularly interviews and observation
although literature review and relevant
documentary analysis make important
contributions.
• Basically, grounded theory is the simultaneous
collection and analysis of data using a process
known as constant comparative analysis.

15. • In any holistic programme of care health care
professionals may talk about the need to meet
the spiritual needs of patients. However, we
understand very little of what this means. At first
view, spiritual needs might be interpreted as
referring to religious beliefs but many people
would say that spiritual needs are more than this.
It may be an individual's sense of well being,
happiness or peace of mind. Grounded theory
research could provide health care professionals
with a better framework for providing truly
holistic care.

16. • Analytic induction
– Starts with an examination of a single case from a ‘pre-defined’
population in order to formulate a general statement about a
population, a concept or a hypothesis
– Then the analyst examines another case to see whether it fits the
statement
– If it does, a further case is selected
– If it doesn’t fit there are two options
• Either the statement is changed to fit both cases or the definition of the
population is changed in such a way that the case is no longer a member of
the newly defined population
– Then another case is selected and the process continues
– In such a way one should be able to arrive at a statement that fits
all cases of a population-as-defined
– This method is only for limited set of analytic problems: those
that can be solved with some general overall statement

17. 4. Case study
• According to the Thomas the case study is defined as: "Case
studies are analyses of persons, events, decisions, periods,
projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are
studied holistically by one or more methods.
• The case study can be done in social sciences and life
sciences. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory.
• Like surveys, case study research approaches can be
treated as a qualitative or quantitative.
• Case study research is used to describe an entity that forms
a single unit such as a person, an organization or an
institution.
• Some research studies describe a series of cases

18. • The case that is the subject of the inquiry will be
an instance of a class of phenomena so as to
provide an analytical frame an object within
which the study is conducted and which the case
illuminates and explicates.“
• Types of cases Three types of cases may thus be
distinguished:
• 1. Key cases
• 2. Outlier cases
• 3. Local knowledge cases

19. • According to the frame of reference of particular
choice of the subject, the case study (key cases,
outlier cases and local knowledge cases) can be
made between the subject and the object.
• The subject is the “practical, historical unity”
through which the theoretical focus of the study
is being viewed. The object is that theoretical
focus – the analytical frame. For example, a
researcher can make interest in the expansion of
western culture in India.

20. • As a research design, the case study claims to recommend a wealth
and depth of information which is not usually offered by other
methods.
• With many variables the case studies can be identified as a complex
set of conditions which produce a particular demonstration. It is a
highly multipurpose research method.
• It can employ any and all methods of data collection from testing to
interviewing. The most simple is an illustrative description of a
single event or occurrence. More complex is the analysis of a social
situation over a period of time.
• The most complex is the extended case study which traces events
involving the same actors over a period of time enabling the
analysis to reflect changes and adjustments.

21. • Another example, a case study may be
conducted of the development of a new
service such as a collaboration of hospital to
run under the discharge liaison scheme. So
that an outreach teenage health service set up
as an alternative of general practice based
teenage clinics centers in promoting teenage
health.

22. Misunderstandings about case study
research
• 1. General, theoretical knowledge is more valuable
than concrete, practical knowledge.
• 2. One cannot generalize on the basis of an individual
case and, therefore, the case study cannot contribute
to scientific development.
• 3. The case study is most useful for generating
hypotheses, whereas other methods are more suitable
for hypotheses testing and theory building.
• 4. The case study contains a bias toward verification,
i.e., a tendency to confirm the researcher‟s
preconceived notions.
• It is often difficult to summarize and develop general
propositions and theories on the basis of specific case
studies.

23. Comparative Study
• Comparative study looks at two or more
similar groups, individuals, or conditions by
comparing them.
• Comparative study is a type of research that is
necessary to achieve higher studies.
The comparative study explains what the
relation is between the two subjects.

24. Retrospective study
• An a retrospective study the outcome of interest has
already occurred at the time the study is initiated.
• There are two types of retrospective study: a case–
control study and a retrospective cohort study.
• A retrospective study design allows the investigator to
formulate hypotheses about possible associations
between an outcome and an exposure and to further
investigate the potential relationships. However, a
causal statement on this association usually should not
be made from a retrospective study.

25. Examples of case study based
Research
• Vijaywada Municipality a case study
• Solid waste a case study of chennai
• Socio economic aspects of female education a
case study of Pune
• NGOS and rural development a case study
• Infrastructural development for sustainable
tourism a case study on Madurai district

26. Longitudinal qualitative research
• Longitudinal qualitative research endeavors to
understand how people successively make
meaning about the trajectories of their lives,
or specific conditions of their lives, by
following them through time.
• It is also a key to understanding how people
experience and respond to developmental
change.

27. Appropriateness of the Approach to
the Issue
• The notion of “appropriateness,” as applied to social and
behavioral research methods, refers to the most suitable
research approach associated with different points across
the broad spectrum of methodological strategies.
• Does it appropriate to the problem;
• Does it appropriate in terms of community resources and
skills (i.e., it was cost efficient); and
• Does it socioculturally appropriate (i.e., it was compatible
with local community values and the indigenous health
system).
• In other words, the term "appropriate" encompasses
effectiveness, cost efficiency, and sociocultural acceptability
at whatever level.

29. Theoretical Sampling
• Theoretical sampling is a pivotal part of theory
construction in grounded theory but one of its
most misunderstood strategies.
• The term confuses some researchers because the
term ‘sampling’ ordinarily refers to specific
populations that researchers intend to
investigate. In contrast, theoretical sampling
means sampling to develop, refine, or fill out the
properties of tentative theoretical categories.

30. • Theoretical sampling means sampling to develop or to
refine emerging theoretical categories, not to describe
populations chosen before the research begins.
• Thus, theoretical sampling occurs after the grounded
theorist has defined and analyzed core theoretical
categories through focused coding and memo-writing,
but needs more data to develop, refine, and check the
properties, boundaries, causes, and consequences of
these theoretical categories. Thus, theoretical sampling
builds precision, density, and complexity into the
emerging theoretical statements and keeps them
grounded in data.

31. Sampling in Qualitative Research
• A sample size should be large enough to
sufficiently describe the phenomenon of
interest, and address the research question at
hand. But at the same time, a large sample
size risks having repetitive data. The goal
of qualitative research should thus be the
attainment of saturation

32. Random Sampling is not useful
• A random sample is used in quantitative studies when we
want to generalize the results to the wider population.
– Every person from the population has equal chance of being
selected.
• Theoretical and practical reasons why random sampling is
not appropriate for qualitative studies:
– Qualitative samples tend to be small and sampling error would
be large.
– The characteristics under study in the population are often not
known.
– The research characteristics, values, beliefs and attitudes, are
unlikely to be normally distributed in the population.
– Some people may provide more information than others.

33. Sample size in
Quantitative
research

34. • Qualitative Sample Size. Qualitative analyses
typically require a smaller sample size than
quantitative analyses. ... The goal
of qualitative researchers should be the
attainment of saturation. Saturation occurs
when adding more participants to the study
does not result in additional perspectives or
information.

35. • While some experts in qualitative
research avoid the topic of “how many”
interviews “are enough,” there is indeed
variability in what is suggested as a minimum.
An extremely large number of articles, book
chapters, and books recommend guidance
and suggest anywhere from 5 to
50 participants as adequate

36. • Determining the sample size in a quantitative
research study is challenging.
• Step 1
• Choose an appropriate significance level (alpha
value). An alpha value of p = .05 is commonly
used. This means that the probability that the
results found are due to chance alone is .05, or
5%, and 95% of the time a difference found
between the control group and the experimental
group will be statistically significant and due to
the manipulation or treatment.

37. • Step 2
• Select the power level. Typically a power level
of .8, or 80%, is chosen. This means that 80%
of the time the experiment will detect a
difference between the control and
experimental groups if a difference actually
exists.

38. • Power analysis combines statistical analysis,
subject-area knowledge, and your
requirements to help you derive the
optimal sample size for your study.
Statistical power in a hypothesis test is the
probability that the test will detect an effect
that actually exists.

39. • Step 3
• Estimate the effect size. Generally, a moderate
to large effect size of 0.5 or greater is
acceptable for clinical research. This means
that the difference resulting from the
manipulation, or treatment, would account for
about one half of a standard deviation in the
outcome.

40. Principle of Saturation
• Saturation has attained widespread acceptance
as a methodological principle in qualitative
research. It is commonly taken to indicate that,
on the basis of the data that have been collected
or analysed hitherto, further data collection
and/or analysis are unnecessary.
• Data saturation refers to the quality and quantity
of information in a qualitative research
study. Researchers usually define
data saturation as the point when “no new
information or themes are observed in the data”

41. • It is assessed based on the qualitative
researcher’s interpretation, not using any
quantitative methodology and this cannot be
used to estimate sample sizes a priori (Guest et
al, 2006).
• The sample size to achieve saturation depends on
how many concepts are present/to be identified,
and on the heterogeneity of the population.
• “Often, researchers invoke the criterion of
saturation to justify small samples — very small
samples with thin data”.

42. • Thank you