qulitative

1. FIVE APPROACHES TO
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
Janet Hightower
The Chicago School of
Professional Psychology
OL621
Discussion 2 – Unit 3

2. FIVE APPROACHES - TABLE 1
Method Study Focus Analytical Focus Background
Ethnography Culture – cultural group
(Seek to understand)
Describe a culture or cultural
group
20th Century anthropologist Boas,
Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, and
Mead Comparative cultural
anthropology, geographic locational
studies (Creswell, 2013)
Grounded Theory Cultural groups
(Discover)
Research theory grounded in
data of social processes
Developed by Glaser and Strauss
1967, sociology, and rooted in
observation (Creswell, 2013).
Phenomenology Individual experience –
People’s subjective
experiences, interpretations of
the world (Describe the
experience)
Research the lived experiences Philosophical perspective-
Psychology, Sociology and Social
work.
Narrative Individual experiences told in
stories and lived experiences
(Report the story)
Exploration of the individual
phenomenon
Originated from literature, history,
anthropology, sociology,
sociolinguistics, and education
(Creswell, 2013)
Case Study One or more issues studied in
a setting (Explore a process)
In-depth analysis of a single or
multiple case
Freud and Piaget – modern social
science, anthropology, and
sociology (Creswell, 2013)

3. FIVE APPROACHES - TABLE 2
Method Data Collection Data Analysis Questions
Ethnography Interview with artifacts for long
periods of time (e.g. 6 months –
year)
• Descriptive
• Analysis
• Interpretation
What is self—efficacy for Muslims and
Christians?
What role does ethics play in
transnational organizations.
Grounded Theory Interview 20 – 30 people detailed
theory
• Open coding
• Conditional Matrix
• Selective Coding
• Axial Coding
What methods do leaders need to
discover learn new communication skills.
What is the process for implementing the
ethical rules for leaders, managers, and
employees?
Phenomenology Interviews up to 10 people • Description of experience
• Meaning themes
• Statements
What does it mean to apply strategic
leadership methods for leaders and
employees? How would leaders and
employees describe spiritual leadership?
Narrative Interviews • Epiphanies
• Stories
• Historical content
What is the experience of employees that
became leaders for the first time?
When leaders change job, what are their
experiences in job motivation?
Case Study Documents, archival records,
interviews, observations, and
physical artifacts.
• Description
• Themes
• Assertions
How do women in leadership positions
decide whether they are able to be
effective leaders with all male employees?

4. FIVE APPROACHES - TABLE 3
Methods Overcoming Challenges
Ethnography
Researches need to be sensitive to the needs of the participants – avoid going native.
Grounded Theory
Discriminant sampling, and recognize the primary outcome of the study is theory with
specific components a central phenomenon: causal conditions, consequences, strategies,
and conditions and context (Creswell, 2013).
Phenomenology
Researchers need structured approach to analyzing data – understand philosophical
assumptions and identify with the assumptions, and suspending in a reflective move
cultivating curiosity (Creswell, 2013).
Narrative
Researcher needs to collect extensive information from the participant, clear
understanding of individual’s life and experiences, and an active collaborative including
their own experiences (Creswell, 2013).

5. FIVE APPROACHES –
COMPARISON
Comparing narrative research compared to ethnography:
 Narrative inquires about the focus of the stories told from the participants
around in chronological order compared to ethnography which focuses on
setting the participants stories within the context of the culture and
culture-sharing groups and compared to In case study a single cases is
selected illustrating an issue, with a detailed description of the setting for
the case.
Narrative compared to ethnography, and case study:
 When comparing narrative to ethnography, and case study there
is similarities when the unit of analysis is a single individual. The
similarities include data collection processes, interviews, observations,
documents and audiovisual materials, however, the types of data collection
would differ.

6. REFERENCE
Creswell, J. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing
among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.