The document discusses qualitative research design. It begins by distinguishing qualitative research from quantitative research, noting that qualitative research seeks to describe topics rather than measure them. The research problem examined is the terrorist threat to international business. The main qualitative research designs are then outlined as case study, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and narrative research. Their key aspects are summarized and they are compared based on foundational considerations, data procedures, and research reporting. Grounded theory is defended for its ability to generate new ideas without assumptions.

1. Qualitative Research
Design
Bus-7380 V1
Qualitative Business
Research Design
Presented by Gideon
Wambua

2. Introduction
• What’s the difference between qualitative research
and quantitative research?
• Qualitative research describes a broad array of
scientific inquiry approaches and methods (Astalin,
2013).
• Qualitative research seeks to describe a topic rather
than measure it(Creswell & Verfasser, 2013).
• Quantitative research collects cold, hard facts that
are numerical (Bansal et al., 2018).
• McCusker and Gunaydin (2015) aptly point out that
the qualitative method helps in gathering detailed
information about a topic that can become
hypotheses to be proven through quantitative
approach

3. Research
Problem
• The research problem to be investigated using
qualitative research design is terrorist threat to
international business.
• Terrorist threat to business increases the level of
uncertainty that in turn affect business decisions
(Essaddam & Karagianis, 2014)
• Terrorist attacks are on the increase hence the need
to understand the impact of terrorism on
international business.
• In the United States between 1970 and 2014, there
have been over 2600 terrorist attacks (Dai, Rau,
Stouraitis, & Tan, 2018).
• In 2014, the loss associated with terrorism was 52.9
billion dollars (Goel, Cagle, & Shawky, 2017)

4. Main Types of Qualitative
Research Designs
• Case study research
• Phenomenology research
• Grounded theory
• Ethnography
• Narrative research

5. A critique of
five qualitative
research
designs
1. Case study
• The case study research design attempts to shed
light on a contemporary phenomenon over time
through data collection using techniques such as
observations, interviews, documents, and reports
(Creswell & Verfasser, 2013).
• The case could be an individual person, a small
group, an event, an organization, or a partnership.
• A major challenge in qualitative case study is
identifying the case.
• Case study strengths-used as exploratory,
descriptive, and explanatory studies (Creswell &
Verfasser, 2013).

6. Critique
(Cont.)
2. Phenomenology
• The focus for phenomenology research is describing the lived experiences
and perspectives of several individuals (Ram & Houston, 2015).
• Data collection is mainly through interviews for phenomenology (Ram &
Houston, 2015).
• A major drawback of phenomenology research design is that individuals
interpret a single experience differently, and reality is in each individual’s
interpretation (van Manen, 2017).
3. Grounded theory
• Grounded theory research seeks to generate or discover a theory (Creswell &
Verfasser, 2013).
• This design employs systematic comparison and data analysis to build
inductive logic that in turn produce theoretical ideas (Charmaz & Henwood,
2019).
• The major challenge for a researcher using the grounded theory is
determining when the theory is sufficiently detailed (Creswell & Verfasser,
2013).

7. Critique
(cont.)
4. Ethnographic Research
• Ethnography research design focuses on the entire community (Creswell &
Verfasser, 2013).
• Ethnographers attempt to investigate social life as it happens as group
members go on with day-to-day life (van Donge, 2011).
• Ethnography employs extensive observation of the group usually done
through participative observation (Creswell & Verfasser, 2013).
• It is ideal for studying behavior, language, and the interaction processes
among members of a community (Creswell & Verfasser, 2013).
5. Narrative Research
• Narrative research is an umbrella term that refers to approaches that rely on
the written or spoken words or visual representation of individuals (Creswell
& Verfasser, 2013).
• Narrative approaches typic focus on the lives of individuals as told through
their own stories (Creswell & Verfasser, 2013)..

8. Comparison
and Contrast
of research
designs
The five approaches can be compared using Creswell and
Verfasser (2013) four dimensions as discussed below:
1. Foundational Considerations
Under the foundational considerations, the difference lies in
what each design is trying to achieve.
2. Data Procedures
Under the data procedure dimension, the five approaches
apply similar forms of data collection primarily using interviews
and observations in varying degrees (Creswell & Verfasser,
2013).
3. Research Reporting
Under this dimension, the key areas are “introduction of
written report, description of research procedures,
organization of research outcomes, and concluding format”
(p.106).

9. Defense of
Grounded
Theory
• Grounded theory avoids making
assumptions(Charmaz & Henwood, 2019).
• It adopts a more neutral view of human action
in a social context (Creswell & Verfasser, 2013).
• Its application in psychology attests to its
strength in churning out new ideas and
challenging past truths (Charmaz & Henwood,
2019).

10. Conclusion
The main qualitative research designs are:
• Case study
• Narrative Research
• Phenomenology
• Grounded theory
• Ethnography

11. References
Charmaz, K. & Henwood, K. (2008). Grounded theory. In Willig, C., & Stainton-Rogers, W. The SAGE
handbook of qualitative research in psychology (pp. 240-260). London: SAGE Publications Ltd doi:
10.4135/9781848607927
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design : choosing among five approaches.
SAGE.
Creswell, J. W., Verfasser. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five
approaches Retrieved
from http://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ed
sbvb&AN=edsbvb.BV040458459&site=eds-live
Dai, Y., Rau, P. R., Stouraitis, A., & Tan, W. (2018). An ill wind? Terrorist attacks and CEO
compensation. Journal of Financial Economics. https://doi-
org.proxy1.ncu.edu/10.1016/j.jfineco.2019.06.005
Faulkner, S. S., & Faulkner, C. A. (2019). Research Methods for Social Workers : A Practice-Based
Approach (Vol. Third edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://search-
ebscohost-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1854272&site=eds-live

12. References (cont.)
Goel, S., Cagle, S., & Shawky, H. (n.d.). How vulnerable are international financial markets to
terrorism? An empirical study based on terrorist incidents worldwide. JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL
STABILITY, 33, 120–132. https://doi-org.proxy1.ncu.edu/10.1016/j.jfs.2017.11.001
McCusker, K., & Gunaydin, S. (2015). Research using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods and
choice based on the research. Perfusion, 30(7), 537–542. https://doi-
org.proxy1.ncu.edu/10.1177/0267659114559116
Ram, K., & Houston, C. (2015). Phenomenology in Anthropology : a sense of perspective. Indiana
University Press. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-
com.proxy1.ncu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat01034a&AN=nu.EBC2120281&site=eds-live
van Donge, J. (2006). Ethnography and participant observation. In Desai, V., & Potter, R. B. Doing
development research (pp. 180-188). London: SAGE Publications, Ltd doi: 10.4135/9781849208925
Van Manen, M. (2017). Phenomenology in Its Original Sense. Qualitative Health Research, 27(6),
810–825. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732317699381
Wieteska, G. (2018). The Domino Effect - Disruptions in Supply Chains. LogForum, 14(4), 495–506.
https://doi-org.proxy1.ncu.edu/10.17270/J.LOG.2018.302