Week 3 – Assignment: Justify the Use of Qualitative Designs: Case Study or Phenomenology

 

Instruction

One of the many tasks involved in writing a dissertation or a research article is being able to justify the choice of one methodology over others. Just as critical to the feasibility of a study is the stated rationale for selecting a specific research design. This week, you are introduced to two research designs that have several features in common; there are also stark contrasts that are identifiable.

For this week’s assignment, consider what you have learned about the case study and phenomenological research designs. Using the same research problem developed in Week 1, how could you use these designs to gain insights to fulfill the purpose of your study?

Begin by selecting the approach that best fits the problem. Use the resources provided and at least three other peer-reviewed articles to defend your choice (two pages minimum). Create a one-page critique of the other research design that includes arguments why the design may not suitable for researching your problem. Include a summary of the key arguments for your choice.

Length: 3-4 pages

Your assignment should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Be sure to adhere to Northcentral University’s Academic Integrity Policy

1

Introduction
Phenomenology’s Methodological Invitation

Kalpana Ram and Christopher Houston

What is phenomenology? And why should anthropologists, as well as students
of history, psychology, education, or political economy be interested in it? Within
philosophy, phenomenology is as diverse as its practitioners

.

Indeed, Moran (2000:
3) in an introduction to philosophical traditions of phenomenology finds it impor-
tant to warn readers not to overstate the degree to which phenomenology “coheres
into an agreed method, or accepts one theoretical outlook, or one set of philo-
sophical theses about consciousness, knowledge, and the world.” Some of this di-
versity continues to be a feature of anthropological uses of phenomenology, as we
show here. Yet we also argue for a heuristic narrowing of the range of its mean-
ings. We do so in order to widen its potential applicability, making it more in-
structive to anthropology as well as to aligned disciplines. What might appear to
be a paradox—restricting meaning in order to expand its use—is in fact in keep-
ing with phenomenology’s own teachings, and we argue for this in some detail
in this introduction. For preliminary purposes, we offer a serviceable definition
of phenomenology: phenomenology is an investigation of how humans perceive,
experience, and comprehend the sociable, materially assembled world that they
inherit at infancy and in which they dwell.

Framed in this way, phenomenology in anthropology is a theory of percep-
tion and experience that pertains to every man, woman, and child in every so-
ciety. As such, it is relevant not just to locals in the fieldwork sites that anthropolo-
gists step into and out of, but also to anthropologists and philosophers in their
own regional lives, surrounded like everyone everywhere by significant others,
human and non- human. Phenomenology therefore has a decidedly universalis-
tic dimension. But it is also determinedly particularistic. The phenomenology we
privilege sets out to show how experience and perception are constituted through
social and practical engagements. There is a temporal, cumulative dimension to
phenomenological descriptions of people’s activities and concerns, which comes
through most profoundly in phenomenology’s subtle vocabulary of the orienta-
tions that inhabit our bodies and guide people’s actions and perspectives.

Such a developmental account is necessarily also particular to both time and
place. In this combination of the universal and the particular, phenomenology

Ram, K., & Houston, C. (Eds.). (2015). Phenomenology in anthropology : A sense of perspective. Indiana University Press.
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2 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

contains elements of anthropology’s origi nal charter that sought to maintain a
sense of human generalities while pursuing empirical investigation of the par-
ticular and the concrete. We suggest that phenomenology can renew this older
project, infusing it with freshness, while avoiding many of the pitfalls that have
been located in overlapping and diverse critiques of universalism as a cloak for
particular and powerful subject positions—European, imperialist, masculinist,
white, and so on—there being no necessary limit to such forms of positionality.
Instead, the universalism of phenomenology seeks to locate itself at ever more
basic levels, actively aiming to expose and shed presuppositions. Its method is in
fact predicated on this quest to reveal and discard whatever is revealed to be an
unwarranted presupposition smuggled into one’s work.

The account we provide in this introduction tries to elucidate and clarify a
version of phenomenology that makes it important not simply to contemporary
anthropology with its breadth of concerns, but to other disciplines as well. Many
definitions of phenomenology locate its focus at the level of in di vidual experience.
But perception and experience contains many dimensions—sensorial, corporeal,
cultivated, interactional, distributed, collective, po liti cal, ethical, and individual.
Such dimensions immediately invoke processes of education, socialization, and
po liti cal power. As people’s situations, concerns, or orientations alter, oft en ma-
terialized in a transformation in embodied experience or in educated capacities,
so are their perceptions modified. The phenomenology we seek to foreground in-
vites considerations of politics and political economy, macro- as well as micro-
processes. In the many corners of the world now where war, compulsory migra-
tion, or violence have wrought perceptual and experiential modifications upon
people, phenomenological anthropology will be necessarily involved in describing
the passive apprehension of that which is involuntary or even unspeakable, even
as it discerns and describes the active absorption of traumatic experience amidst
the suffering.

Narrowing the Range of Meanings and Expanding the Range of
Applicability
Our volume vindicates and extends the sense of burgeoning interest in phenome-
nology among anthropologists, attested to in several wide- ranging overviews—
most recently by Desjarlais and Throop (2011) in the Annual Review of Anthro-
pology, and earlier, by Michael Jackson in his extensive introduction to Things as
They Are: New Directions in Phenomenological Anthropology (1996). We build on
the clarity of these excellent essays, which describe the ways in which phenome-
nology and anthropology have already intersected over a period of time. In this
longer history of exchange and critique a number of recurrent themes have already
emerged. Reviewers have noted a clustering of phenomenological anthropology in
certain areas such as sensory perception, illness and healing, bodily- ness, inter-

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Introduction | 3

subjectivity and sociality, and senses of place (Desjarlais and Throop 2011), with
a particularly heavy concentration in the areas of medical anthropology and the
anthropology of religion (Knibbe and Versteeg 2008). Katz and Csordas (2003)
found a typicality of approach as well, with a prominent stream of work seek-
ing to illuminate “native groundings” for subjects’ experiences, “enhancing re-
spect for local cultures by uncovering reasons that outsiders had not appreciated”
(2003: 275). Such interpretations may also show a preference for an ethnographic
accounting of “alien cultural life-world[s]” (Mimica 2010: 204), and in particular
of non- urban societies. Sometimes these societies have also been presented as es-
sentially stateless (despite their partial incorporation within new nation-states),
or at least as relatively self- instituting in relation to the projects of nation states
and the global capitalist economy.

This volume makes a more radical claim for phenomenology in anthropology.
It seeks to show that any anthropologist who engages with the method in a sus-
tained manner over time will find it illuminates aspects of their own work. The
essays demonstrate our claim empirically, showcasing the sheer breadth and va-
riety of social activities and events whose study is enhanced by phenomenology.
While some of the characteristic areas of concentration certainly recur in this vol-
ume as well, the contributions extend much further, ranging from martial arts,
sports, dance, and music to political discourses and history. A sustained closing
segment of the volume explores how phenomenology might both contribute to
and benefit from long-standing anthropological debates and practical attempts
to reshape the poetics of ethnography, and thus to forge more adequate means
of representation in bringing unfamiliar and marginalized modes of perception
into language, image, and sound.

Yet—perhaps paradoxically—this expansion of subject matter, potentially one
that promises to address the entire breadth of concerns of contemporary anthro-
pology, has been won in this volume by what we have already described as narrow-
ing down the range of meanings attached to the term phenomenology. It is char-
acteristic in introductions to indicate and implicitly to embrace the sheer variety
and range of philosophical versions that fall under the label of phenomenology.
The gesture may seem ecumenical, but it presupposes an abstract, detached view
toward phenomenology itself. A lesson we may well apply here, taken from phe-
nomenologists such as Heidegger, is that such a detached perspective is not nec-
essarily the most useful one, because it is also not the most characteristic attitude
taken in human endeavors. The detachment that is upheld as a goal and starting
point by dominant scholarly traditions is, he suggests, a distortion of our far more
ordinary purposive attitudes to the world in which we are oriented by the tasks
and projects we seek to accomplish. In that more characteristic mode, he argues,
we typically select and favor certain aspects of the world around us over others
(Heidegger 1962).

Ram, K., & Houston, C. (Eds.). (2015). Phenomenology in anthropology : A sense of perspective. Indiana University Press.
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4 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

In the case at hand, our purposive orientations are given by the tasks of an-
thropology. We use these to foreground specific features of phenomenology, which
means selecting certain interpretations of phenomenology at the expense of oth-
ers. These different interpretations sometimes occur even in the same text, mak-
ing for a marked instability of meanings that cluster around a term central to phe-
nomenology and many would argue to anthropology itself: experience. We use
this introduction to argue that the most useful version of phenomenology for an-
thropologists is one that recognizes the limits to a knowing consciousness. Expe-
rience is not simply what is illuminated by the light of the mind or by cognitive
attention. It includes also the indistinctness at the edge of audibility, the shadows
that subtend that which appears in the clarity of attentive focus.

The subtitle of this volume—A Sense of Perspective—refers to this mixture
of vision and opacity, of audition and indistinction as both ever- present within
human experience and systematically interrelated in forming our sense of per-
spective. Our perspective encompasses all the senses as they inform one another,
even as they remain distinct modalities of perception. But it is equally important
to emphasize that the version of phenomenological anthropology we elucidate
here does not see opacity and indistinctness only as limitations. They also create
a field of perception and the possibility of sensing and comprehending the world,
not as a chaotic jumble or as the uniformly arrayed objective universe of scien-
tific imagination, but as something that can be understood through our human
endeavors and purposes.

We hope to show that this more stringently defined version of experience we
have picked out from among many unstable and inherently contradictory inter-
pretations accrues a further advantage. It allows us to address one central concern
that anthropologists express when asked to consider utilizing phenomenology:
how does concentrating on experience allow us to account for the many forms
of mediation of experience and perception itself? This too is part of the mean-
ing we hope to signal with our subtitle. Such mediations, many of which play a
salient role in the anthropological analyses collected in this volume, encompass
long histories of power relations that connect as well as divide people. Mediations
thus include traditions of representation; old and new discursive formations that
shape and reshape what we take to be experience; rules, regulations, and prac-
tices of state institutions and corporate entities; class, gender, and property re-
gimes; dominant ideologies; language; assemblages of the built environment; and
new technologies. Just as significantly, mediation includes that dimension of so-
cial variability that has been central to the anthropological endeavor, namely the
diversity of cultures—between but also, crucially, within social formations.

Yet the capacity to visualize an enlarged perspective must always bring in its
train—for phenomenology—a certain new version of selectivity. We hope to show
that this more stringently defined version of experience we have picked out from

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Introduction | 5

among many unstable and inherently contradictory interpretations accrues ad-
vantages. We begin therefore by clarifying the definition of experience that is im-
plied in our preferred version of phenomenology, before moving on to show how
this can help us readdress the question of mediation.

Phenomenological Redefinitions of “Experience”:
Marking the Limits of Consciousness
A number of the selections we wish to make converge on the crucial term “expe-
rience” as well as the term “consciousness,” both of which are regularly invoked
in definitions of phenomenology.

Consider the following quotations:

Phenomenology is “an investigation into the structures of experience which pre-
cede connected expression in language.” (Ricoeur, cited in Jackson 1996: 2)

Phenomenology is the scientific study of experience. It is an attempt to de-
scribe human consciousness in its lived immediacy, before it is subject to theo-
retical elaboration or conceptual systematisation. (Jackson 1996: 2)

Phenomenology is an analytical approach, more a method of inquiry, really,
than a theory, that works to understand and describe in words phenomena as
they appear to the consciousness of certain people. (Desjarlais 1996: 13)

Phenomenology is the description of “the experiences of the conscious self . . .
in particular fields of experience.” (Macquarie 1988: 211)

The term “experience” enjoys an old and obdurate history in the traditions of
West ern philosophy, cohering specifically around the conscious thoughts, inten-
tions, desires, projects, and plans of the human individual. Its dominance may be
gauged by the extent to which such terms occur to many of us as the most spon-
taneous interpretation that suggests itself when the term is mentioned. Unless ex-
plicitly reframed (and the redefinition kept alive by application to fresh contexts
as they arise), statements that proclaim the immediacy of lived experience as their
methodological measure automatically suggest to readers a subject whose experi-
ence is transparent to consciousness. Such a reading of phenomenology has been
further encouraged by the circulation of influential critiques such as that of Bour-
dieu’s, which describes the phenomenological description of experience as one that
simply “excludes the question of the conditions of its own possibility” (1977: 3).
Bourdieu persistently reads phenomenology as a species of “subjectivism,” that is
to say, as an epistemology that begins with the in di vidual human subject as meth-
odological starting point. Sartre fig ures in his account of phenomenology, but not
his contemporary Merleau- Ponty, who dedicated his phenomenology to creating
a break with “subjectivism” as well as with what Bourdieu describes as “objectiv-
ism.” It is also this version of phenomenology that is implicit in the widespread

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6 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

apprehension within anthropology, captured in Desjarlais and Throop’s over-
view, that “phenomenological approaches in anthropology ignore the political
and socioeconomic determinants of life and people’s living conditions” (2011: 95).

Such a reading and its ensuing apprehensions have been further encouraged
by the specific conjunctural circumstances in which many anthropologists turned
to phenomenology: “Starting in the mid-1980s, several anthropologists . . . began
to advocate for ‘an anthropology of experience,’ finding that anthropology had
come to focus unduly on questions of meaning, discourse, structural relations,
and po liti cal economy, to the neglect of the everyday experiences, contingencies,
and dilemmas that weigh so heavily on people’s lives” (Desjarlais and Throop 2011:
92–93).

We take here Jackson’s rich introduction to Things as They Are as an exem-
plary manifestation and crystallization of this conjuncture: a turn to phenome-
nology, as recommended by those “alarmed at the alienating power of their pro-
fessional discourse” (Jackson 1996: 8). Later in this volume Houston explores the
wider dimensions of the crisis as well as Jackson’s creative responses to it, as they
take shape in the diverse corpus of his work. Here we will concentrate instead on
just one aspect of that introduction: namely, an ambiguity in the conceptualiza-
tion of “experience.” Some of this indecisiveness stems from Jackson’s alarm not
only at classical anthropology’s abstractions, but at key conceptual tenets of post-
structuralism: Bourdieu’s “habitus” and Foucault’s discursive formations and prac-
tices, both of which give primacy to what he describes as “impersonal forces of his-
tory, language and upbringing” (1996: 22). Against this onslaught, he defends the
place of “the subject” as the central site where “life is lived, meanings are made,
will is exercised, reflection takes place, consciousness finds expression, determi-
nations take effect, and habits are formed or broken” (1996: 22).

We agree that many a practitioner of Foucault and Derrida has reduced expe-
rience to little more than an essentializing centerpiece of Western metaphysics. A
fundamental incoherence results if such positions are consistently taken as theo-
retical orthodoxy by the social sciences and humanities. This is especially the case
for anthropology, given its own continued methodological orientation toward
long-term involvement with the lives of people as the way to understand wider
social forces. However, in posing the matter as a choice between post- structuralist
theorists and experience, the argument suggests we have to choose between a phe-
nomenology of experience and accounts of power and other forms of determina-
tion. Such a choice is rendered unnecessary if we recognize, instead, the ways in
which phenomenology contains within itself many of the “decentering” moves
we associate with post-structuralism, but without giving up on “experience.” In-
deed, it is this very quality that is particularly attractive about phenomenology,
not only for illuminating various theoretical conundrums, but for a more satis-
factory analy sis of power and politics as well (see Ram 2013).

Ram, K., & Houston, C. (Eds.). (2015). Phenomenology in anthropology : A sense of perspective. Indiana University Press.
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Introduction | 7

Such advantages may not be equally true of all phenomenology, which is why
in the main contributors to this volume concentrate on particular phenomenolo-
gists. While Sartre and Charles Peirce are important phenomenological points
of reference for two contributors in particular (Van Heekeren and Bedford, re-
spectively), Husserl, Heidegger, and Merleau- Ponty are central to the volume. It
is no coincidence that these philosophers also form an integral part of the gene-
alogy of theoretical developments that have included Marxism, psychoanaly sis,
structuralism, and post-structuralism. Together they aimed to deconstruct and
decenter the fig ure of the subject inherited from a tradition they came to retro-
spectively characterize as so many “philosophies of consciousness.” One of our
opening papers in this volume, by Csordas, explores the work of Foucault, Bour-
dieu, and Merleau-Ponty in terms of permutations that occur in the relations be-
tween three key terms—body, world, and subjectivity. Bourdieu may well have
been discomfited by being thus brought into such an intimate relationship with a
phenomenologist, particularly Heidegger, whose politics were anathema to him
(see Bourdieu 1991). But our point here is a Bourdieuian one. Without a com-
mon and shared theoretical “habitus”—successively established by Husserl, Hei-
degger, and Merleau-Ponty—one that had already simultaneously redefined and
brought all three key terms into an integral relationship, it would not be possible
for Csordas to express the work of Foucault and Bourdieu as variations or modu-
lations of the same shared set of terms. Nor would he be able to successfully com-
pare them as complementary methodologies.

A definitive break with earlier traditions is already firmly outlined in the
opening of Heidegger’s opus Being and Time (1962), which begins with a sustained
challenge to all epistemological traditions that rely on starting with a subject who
is defined primarily in terms of an isolated consciousness. He points out the irony
that defines this history: despite the seeming certainty of such a self- evident ver-
sion of experience, this is a tradition racked with doubt as to the foundations of
knowledge. If all that one has sure access to is one’s own thoughts, perceptions,
and consciousness, then what measure remains for assessing their truth and ve-
racity? What necessary correspondence is there between one’s consciousness and
the world outside it? And how can this experiencing subject have access to the
experiences of others? Heidegger does not seek to answer these questions within
the received epistemological framework. Nor does he seek to provide a better ac-
count of empathy, traditionally privileged in anthropological accounts of how we
come to know worlds other than our own. Instead, he sets out to show that the
very premises of such epistemic questions are based on a faulty ontology of the
human subject and proceeds to no less a task than providing a fresh one. The vol-
ume’s first two chapters (by Ram and Csordas) set out some of the basic features
of the reframed ontology of human existence as it emerges from the reworking
provided by Heidegger and Merleau- Ponty. Taking the concept of intentionality

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8 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

from Husserl, who uses it to indicate a fundamentally outward- directed orien-
tation of human existence, Heidegger gives it an active practice-based as well as
existential set of orientations. In Merleau- Ponty, this active orientation of human
existence is further made flesh, finding its basis in the sentient motility of the hu-
man body.

We are not suggesting that many of these key concepts with which these par-
ticular philosophers redefine the classical “subject” of philosophy—subjectivity as
intersubjectivity, embodiment, sociality—have not been well represented in the
literature on phenomenological anthropology. Jackson’s introduction to Things as
They Are, which we are examining for its exposition on “experience,” is eloquent
on each one of these themes. But what remains unclarified in the overall schema
of his introduction, as in many other presentations, is the implication of these
phenomenological concepts for the “subject” who exercises will, reflects, makes
meanings, and expresses consciousness. Jackson’s defense of this subject renews
the instabilities of meaning surrounding what we mean by “experience.”

What we are suggesting, then, is that certain defining features of this “sub-
ject” do have to be given up in order to take in the full import of phenomenology.
They need not be absolute choices. We can retain—as we obviously must—the ex-
ercise of choice, will, reflection, and conscious expression as attributes of subjec-
tivity. But we need to give up the primacy afforded to these domains in the defi-
nition of experience. Concepts such as intersubjectivity and embodiment are not
simply extensions or enrichments of older understandings of experience. They
also, in very important senses, mark the limits of consciousness itself.

Marking these limits also brings with it certain theoretical gains. We can
return afresh to the question of mediation and determination. For as long as we
are asked to concentrate on experience, and experience continues to be the do-
main of conscious understanding, will, choice, and reflection, then anthropolo-
gists will necessarily continue to be perplexed as to how to “bring into the ac-
count,” as if from some foreign land, crucial considerations such as “the po liti cal
and socioeconomic determinants of life and people’s living conditions.” By con-
trast, the version of “experience” that emerges from these philosophers already
contains within it the framework needed for an integrated understanding of all
these elements.

One of the sources for ready misunderstanding stems from the drama of the
opposition between abstract intellectualizing schema and experience, a drama
staged by phenomenology itself. The spectacular nature of this opposition easily
captures the attention of observers, and obscures the quieter but equally signifi-
cant drama that is unfolding in the phenomenological redefinition of experi-
ence itself. The account that emerges from Heidegger and Merleau- Ponty is one
in which pre-intellectualized experience is itself subject to a wide range of influ-

Ram, K., & Houston, C. (Eds.). (2015). Phenomenology in anthropology : A sense of perspective. Indiana University Press.
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Introduction | 9

ences, determinations, and mediations. What is oft en described as “immediate”
experience in fact turns out to be a mediated one, with a secure place carved out
precisely for the impersonal elements that are integral to the personal. The total
field of what constitutes experience is thus made wider than before. But that field
no longer coincides with what is conscious.

We offer as a concrete example the model of perception developed by Merleau-
Ponty in the Phenomenology of Perception (POP). In fact, perception is not simply
an example of experience for Merleau-Ponty but the very site in which the concrete-
ness of experience takes place. Perception is to be described, as we have noted, as
it occurs, before it is “thematized,” subjected to intellectual systematization (POP
1986: xiv.). We are not asked to discard analytic accounts as if they had no place
in our universe, but we are asked to cease assigning them primacy over ordinary
perception. In an example that is easily grasped, Merleau- Ponty points out that
having reflective knowledge does not prevent us from seeing the sun as “rising”
and “setting.” But the account he gives of “unthematized” perception is not the
same as what we consciously perceive or experience. Instead, what emerges is a
complex set of relationships, which is what makes it a field of perception. These
are relationships between what is “foregrounded” by our conscious attention and
what remains in the background. Placing the sensing, perceiving, and moving
body at the center of his account, Merleau-Ponty gives us a dynamic sense of the
way in which purposive attention foregrounds certain aspects of the world and
simultaneously moves others into the shadows to form a “fuzzy” background. In
other parts of the Phenomenology of Perception, this background is also described
as made up of the “horizons” of perception (1986: 67).

In an argument that has particular implications for the use of photography
in ethnography (see Desjarlais’s reflections in this volume), Merleau-Ponty con-
trasts the camera’s close- up with that of ordinary vision. In the close- up of an ob-
ject shown by a camera we have to recall what the object is, but we are unable to
actually identify it because the “screen has no horizons” (1986: 68). By contrast,
ordinary vision does not lose perception or memory of what it saw previously
when it switches attention to a new object. It is this relational field which facili-
tates our distinguishing one object from another, allowing the perceptual field to
present itself as an actual, concrete (as opposed to a theoretical) synthesis of the
world around us. This concrete synthesis also sustains a different interpretation
of subjectivity, one that has a real palpable grasp of the world.

There is still more to the methodological shift proposed. For the entire text in
Phenomenology of Perception is less concerned with describing what is already at
the center of the subject’s attention—the usual framework for “experience”—than
with bringing into description the shadowy background that provides the crucial
supports for what we consciously perceive. In this central concept of the fuzzy,

Ram, K., & Houston, C. (Eds.). (2015). Phenomenology in anthropology : A sense of perspective. Indiana University Press.
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10 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

shadowy background, we have the fissure, the opening, through which pours the
entire range of what we should acknowledge—and welcome—into our account
precisely as “impersonal” determinants. The same sentence in which Merleau-
Ponty questions the primacy of systematized theory is completed by an invoca-
tion of the supportive background that pours into the conscious moment of atten-
tive perception: “Reflection can never make me stop seeing the sun two hundred
yards away on a misty day, or seeing it ‘rise’ and ‘set,’ or thinking with the cul-
tural apparatus which my education, my previous efforts, my personal history,
have provided me with” (1986: 61).

Casey echoes one important element in this complex statement when he uses
a striking phrase to describe the way in which social institutions and cultural
practices permeate our sensing bodies: they “become infusions into the infra-
structure of perception itself” (1996: 19). Such “impersonal” determinants are, in
fact, constitutive elements of “personal” experience, but as background, forming
the horizons of ordinary perception that are not part of the conscious domain.
Thus the crucial conceptual role played by “horizons” or “background” must be
properly integrated into our account of experience. For with it comes the en-
try of other places and times, invisible and in the past, into experience, bring-
ing a quality of porosity to the concept. Not only does the present open up to the
past, but the method is opened up to differences in individuals’ and groups’ vi-
sions, auditions, tastes, and olfaction, each under the influence of place, perspec-
tive, position, interests, movement, and educated embodied competencies in act-
ing and perceiving. Nor does every element of our background make its entry as
a totality or as some inert force bearing down on us. We call up, like a conjurer,
those elements that might support us in our projects. But only some elements of
these impersonal determinants may be supportive—others, if inappropriate, will
be non- supportive, and fall into disuse or simply hold back either the in di vidual
or collective agency of an entire social group. We can therefore speak not only
of the particularity of experiences, and their diverse social constitution, but of
less supportive horizons, backgrounds, or environments that retard individual’s
or classes’ efficacy in accomplishing tasks or projects. Some backgrounds equip
subjects to enjoy far greater agency, authority, and power in the world. In other
words, we have here the ingredients for discussing power in the very constitution
of experience without having to take abstract theoretical schema as our starting
point.

To be of real methodological use to anthropologists, however, it is not enough
to simply indicate the existence of such dense but shadowy backgrounds. There
must be some way of bringing them to light. And indeed, phenomenology does
not propose to leave the fuzzy background of supportive mediations where they
are. It does suggest methods for bringing them into the foreground of attention,

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Introduction | 11

even though they are not immediately available to conscious experience. But let
us make a caveat here, before we explore these methods in the next section as ap-
plied and utilized by our contributors.

The recognition of the limits to a knowing consciousness—which marks phe-
nomenology as the precursor of the “decentered” subject of later initiatives—is ex-
tended by phenomenology to its own desire to bring that which is shadowy into
light. If there are limits to reflection, as Merleau- Ponty argues, he extends this
same consideration rigorously to his own reflections. Impersonal determinations
enter into the phenomenologist’s ability to reflect, enabling some aspects and lim-
iting others: “Reflection never holds, arrayed and objectified before its gaze, the
whole world. . . . Its view is never other than partial and of limited power. . . . I
never actually collect together, or call up simultaneously, all the primary thoughts
which contribute to my perception or to my present conviction” (Merleau- Ponty
1987: 61).

Bourdieu’s charge that phenomenology excludes thought about the condi-
tions of its own production reminds us (as it is meant to) of the standards set by
Marx’s sophisticated precedent. One recalls Marx’s account of the material and
economic prerequisites for the emergence of an abstract notion of the “human
individual,” celebrated in liberalism as the carrier of inalienable rights, but em-
bedded in the unprecedented capacity of the market to buy and sell human labor
itself as a commodity. The quotation we have just had from Merleau- Ponty also
makes room, within the complex field of perceptual experience itself, for the en-
try of material determinants of reflection. Unlike Marxism, however, the method
relinquishes the grand ambition of producing a total account of all the determi-
nants that produce perceptions, ideas, and theories. At this point, phenomenology
also prefigures many later postmodern arguments that invoke the “partial” na-
ture of knowledge and eschew a “totalizing” account of the world. We cannot
hope, argues Merleau-Ponty, to produce an account that makes all the determi-
nants of consciousness entirely available at any one given time. Indeed, he does
not rule out the humbling possibility that there are dimensions of mediation that
may never be available to reflection. We are left with a fundamental indetermi-
nacy in our conscious relation to the very forces that may directly determine our
existence.

Overview of the Volume

Part 1: The Body as Constitutive “Horizon” of Experience
The first six chapters (by Ram, Csordas, Throop, Dalidowicz, Downey, and Bed-
ford) elaborate and demonstrate the utility of one of phenomenology’s key con-
tributions: to bring into systematic awareness the centrality of the body in con-

Ram, K., & Houston, C. (Eds.). (2015). Phenomenology in anthropology : A sense of perspective. Indiana University Press.
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12 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

stituting experience. The body is Merleau- Ponty’s prime example of a “horizon”
or “background”: a necessary support of all that we perceive and experience. As
the three opening chapters make clear, the concept of “intentionality”—the sense
in which we are more “outside ourselves” in the world than locked away in our
consciousness—is grounded in bodily capacities, motility, and perception. But for
that very reason, the body is also typically taken for granted and is therefore in-
visible as a determinant of our existence. It certainly remains absent from much
academic theorizing about matters such as politics, economics, and the envi-
ronment. As horizon the body does not form part of our conscious experience.
It is a central element in the “margin of almost impersonal existence which can
be practically taken for granted, and which I rely on to keep me alive” (Merleau-
Ponty 1987: 84, my emphasis). When things continue in an ordinary fashion, our
body’s contribution to our everyday coping with life may be likened to an indis-
tinct murmur, a steady rhythm, a “medium” of existence in the sense of a conduit
through which existence flows.

But the body is also a prime instance of how that which exists largely as back-
ground support can also become an explicit object of attention and concern for
us. For any crisis in the body, small or large, makes it surge into awareness, its
usual role as support all too painfully made evident in our sudden or slow im-
pairment, our deteriorating ability to comport ourselves in our usual way. In ill-
ness, in disability, in the awareness of death, in pain, we find that “bodily events
become the events of the day” (Merleau-Ponty 1986: 85). But as Csordas’s explora-
tion of illness in this volume shows, even in our new state of preoccupation with
our own illness or the illness of a loved one we are closely intertwined with, it
is never simply “the body” that is altered in its relation to our existence. For ill-
ness, and even each specific form taken by illness, brings with it an altered exis-
tential way of experiencing being in the world. Examining three distinct kinds
of illness—the “phantom limb,” chronic fatigue, and “environmental illness” or
“multiple- chemical sensitivity”—Csordas traces in each case a different location
of impairment in what he describes as “the structures of agency”: the relationship
between body, bodily schema, world and social practice.

For Throop, these impairments can also be the source of transcendence in or-
dinary bodily illness and suffering. These conditions may not meet the usual re-
quirements of “the sacred” outlined by Durkheim, something set apart from the
quotidian and the profane, or based on a conviction in “unseen realities.” Yet ill-
ness and suffering can, without ceasing to be part of the everyday, “suggest pal-
pable possibilities of an elsewhere breaking through its pale” (Throop, in this
volume). This transcendence need not be confined to the suffering individual. In
Micronesia, for the Yap communities, it allows a mobilization of care, concern
by others—the solicitude and involvement described by Heidegger as Sorge (see
also Ram and Desjarlais, in this volume).

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Introduction | 13

Several contributors (Ram, Van Heekeren, and Wynn) take from phenome-
nology a reinforcement of their quest to give renewed significance to the per-
vasive presence of emotions in social life, and to find a parallel significance for
them in social theory and ethnography. Ram takes from Heidegger and Merleau-
Ponty a method that can help extend our awareness of emotions by attending to
their unobtrusive and background mode of presence even when we are not nec-
essarily conscious of them. Using Heidegger’s concept of mood and his account
of anxiety, Ram argues for the emotions as fundamental to our capacity to have
access to the world, and to interpret it even at a pre- reflective level. Such access is
clearly very different from a retrospective intellectual deciphering. She describes
the an xiety of the anthropologist in situations of acute displacement, as well as
the anxiety of the women she writes about, who are experiencing such a rapid rate
of change that they are unable to experience maternity without an accompany-
ing “mood” of anxiety. But where Heidegger uses his account to disclose the in-
dividual’s capacity to take existential responsibility for their own life, Ram takes
it in a more anthropological direction, as revelatory of something about the shifts
in the social nature of the world we live in. What is revealed, she argues, might
be described as the human limits of coping with too radical and too total a rate
of change.

For Van Heekeren, sorcery among the Vula of southeast Papua New Guinea is
present as a pervasive mood of fear best described as part of the perceptual “field”
itself. Harking back to the earlier work of Stoller (1989), she is able to show how
something as universal and fundamental as breathing is also simultaneously cul-
turally saturated: “The smell of wood smoke is part of the non-reflective experi-
ence of breathing for people” (Van Heekeren, in this volume). But with the smoke
is also inhaled the smell of coconut husks burning, and with the smell of coconut
husk and oil being burned is kept alive a subliminal awareness of the presence of
volatile spirits in need of propitiation.

We breathe, like we dream, unconsciously, unnoticed. And as we breathe, we
imbibe particular worlds and all they contain, without full cognizance of what
we take in. The crisis that jolts our attention could be physiological—shortness
of breath, relentless asthmatic wheezing and coughing—but it could equally be a
crisis assailing us from the very environment we breathe in, manifesting itself as
a full blown sorcery attack.

Wynn addresses the tendency of social theory to treat certain emotions—
love in particular—as unimportant or embarrassing. How would it alter social
theorizing about “kinship,” she asks, if we were to integrate it with recognition
of love, in all its complex admixture of fears, jealousies, and sexual desire? What
would happen to structural accounts of gender and the “exchange” of women if
such powerful emotions were no longer treated as epiphenomena? We may be able
to tentatively broach the emotional difficulties of anthropologists, in clud ing their

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14 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

anxieties, but what about their experiences of love? Wynn’s treatment of the ques-
tions she poses are addressed, not at the level of theory but at the level of writing
ethnography, and will be further introduced in that context.

Accounts of breakdown are not to be confused with what is typical of hu-
man existence. In fact, such breakdown stands out only against the background
of a more characteristic synthesis and resynthesis that is ongoing in the way hu-
man beings perceive experience and thus understand worlds in which they dwell.
Merleau-Ponty and Heidegger both develop intermediary concepts that convey
such synthesizing capacities: Merleau- Ponty in his concept of bodily schema that
mediates between physiology, existence, and world; Heidegger in his notion of
“dwelling” as a way of being in place. Such “dwelling” brings with it a world that
is, in important senses, pre-given—pre-synthesized for us by sustained interaction
between previous generations and the environments they have lived in and par-
tially shaped. The concept of “place” itself, as the phenomenologist Casey has elo-
quently elaborated (1996, 1997), is another such intermediary or mediatory concept,
being neither the objective space of geometry, nor an attribute of pure conscious-
ness, but rather the result of an ongoing synthesis across generations and across
life cycles. Places habituate our bodies as much as we inhabit them. All of these
features of human existence involve constant interaction and relationships with
others—with people, animals, and things. “Every living being,” says Ingold, “is a
particular nexus of growth and development within a field of relations” (2011: 314).

But where such synthesis is smoothly functioning, it is difficult to achieve
a suspension of our taken- for- granted perspective, described by Husserl as our
“natural attitude.” Husserl’s solution, to consciously “bracket” such an attitude and
practice the phenomenological epoche, is referenced by several contributors (see
Throop, Fisher, Desjarlais, and Houston in this volume). There are other prece-
dents for such a method. Houston explores the possibilities set by poetic tech-
niques of cultivating awareness. Exploring the work of the poet Wallace Stevens,
Houston finds there a means for utilizing the active poetic imagination as a tech-
nique for noticing the very act of noticing: “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black-
bird,” as one of his well- known poems is titled. In a similar vein, Desjarlais de-
scribes photographs as a mode for cultivating ethnographic modes of attention.

But the obduracy of the natural attitude means that more drastic methods of
disruption are required to supplement such conscious techniques. The anthropo-
logical method traditionally favored, where the discipline subjects the investigator
herself to forms of displacement that may be more or less radical, is given fresh
reinforcement by such considerations. Heidegger’s examples of methodological
“limit situations” typically involve a collapse of some aspect of familiar environ-
ments. This occurs when our environment withdraws its capacity to offer itself as
“equipment,” as useable, apparently anticipating our likely range of purposes, pre-
fitted to our bodily capacities (which in turn have been fashioned by interaction

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Introduction | 15

with that environment), and therefore experienced as “ready- to- hand.” The car-
penter’s tool kit is Heidegger’s favored example of such equipping. But in break-
downs large and small, things that we expect to find in place are no longer avail-
able or ready for use. The environment no longer, to use the phrase provided by
Gibson (1979) and embraced by many of our contributors, provides “affordances”
for our practical endeavors. Such fractures crack open the social fabric for poten-
tial reflexivity for individuals, social groups, and for the social analyst seeking to
explore the impersonal determinations of power, politics, and inequality in the
environment. Bourdieu’s “habitus,” oft en regarded as a mechanically available
form of “affordance,” is in fact oft en investigated by him in Heideggerian modes
of breakdown or misfit. In explorations of class and in his long term association
with Sayad’s path-breaking work on Algerian migration to France (Sayad 2004),
Bourdieu follows phenomenological precedence by privileging situations when
social background no longer equips the individual or even entire social groups
with requisite capacities.

In anthropology we not only study social environments where there are forms
of breakdown; we combine it with our method that positively encourages large
or small levels of breakdown in the relationship between the anthropologist and
her taken- for- granted environment. While Ram alerts us to the mood of anxiety
such breakdown may trigger—with its associated strengths as well as dangers for
the anthropologist—Dalidowicz’s paper richly demonstrates some of the positive
gains from such a method. Here the strain in the body of habit is brought about by
subjecting herself, along with others who live in North America, to the demands
of mastering a dance that originates in a complex wider habitus among the elites
of pre- colonial India. Evolved over time, the habitus was able to synthesize ele-
ments of both Hindu and Islamic codes of gendered comportment and emotional
expressivity, exploring them in a rich aesthetics of love and emotions situated
at the borderland of the human and the divine. For the guru, situated in North
America, and therefore for his students, this background to the dance becomes
an explicit object of concern as dancers gain mastery over the physical kinesthetic
aspects of the dance, but not the emotional and gendered dispositions that give it
significance, at least for Indian audiences. A habitus that was taken for granted by
the teacher with his students in India now comes to the foreground, and with it
the anthropologist gains a point of entry into considering the broader forces that
constitute competencies in what appears to outsiders simply as a “dance” form.
Equally, it is the fact that the anthropologist subjects herself to these demands
along with those around her that allows entry into a form of knowledge that emi-
nently resists reduction to intellectual knowledge.

We have here the perfect illustration of that which is simultaneously grasp-
able only by the “body” but not by a body in isolation—it can only be learned by
the body in an ongoing relationship with the right kind of environment, and that

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16 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

environment cannot be provided by an isolated guru, however charismatic he may
be. This is in many ways a study in the limits of anthropological and pedagogical
translation. It also alerts us to the necessary limits of ethnography as an open-
ended “inter-subjective” exchange between anthropologist and respondents in
the field. Our respondents are no more constituted entirely in the exchange with
us as anthropologists than we are, and therefore those exchanges are only par-
tially revealing. At the same time it affirms the value of widening what we mean
by learning in the field, by diversifying our fieldwork modes of engagement, and
making ethnographic intersubjectivity as much a matter of bodily engagement
in daily practices (an attempt to cultivate a new, necessarily imperfect, “body of
habit”) as of other more specialized methods.

But if Dalidowicz draws our attention to the ultimate limits of consciously at-
tempted resocialization through undertaking specialized forms of bodily retrain-
ing, the following chapter by Downey draws attention to the surprising degree
of plasticity shown by the one element of the body we usually take to be a pre-
determined given, namely biology. Merleau-Ponty himself gave due importance
to biology in the continual resynthesis being performed in vari ous modalities of
bodily activity, using case studies of individuals who had suffered damage to the
brain to highlight this role. But he nevertheless took biology to be a determinant,
not as something that was, in turn, determined. Downey takes up Merleau-Ponty’s
emphasis on motility as primary to our understanding of the world—but instead
of using impaired bodily functioning as a limit situation, he examines the culti-
vation of “hyper- capacity” in athletes who set themselves rigorous and prolonged
specialized training in martial arts and other sports. He shows that the resynthe-
sis that takes place increases a sense of personal agency—particularly striking in
accounts by women, who find in training the wherewithal to overcome some of
the restrictive aspects of ordinary everyday forms of gender socialization of the
body. His reference here is Iris Marion Young’s classic piece “Throwing Like a
Girl” (1990) in which she makes powerful use of phenomenological insights for
feminist purposes.

But Downey’s account of the resynthesizing process does not simply single out
the relationship between bodily remodeling and cultural remodeling. He wishes
to emphasize the accompanying shifts that must occur in the “organic body,” in
the anatomy itself. Methodologically, this allows us to give far greater attention
to biology as anthropologists, and more generally for all those wishing to empha-
size experience. Yet what we have here is yet another dimension of experience that
is not coterminous with consciousness. The modifications that occur at the level
of the muscle, skeleton, and neurological levels of the athlete are part of the re-
synthesis that constitutes their ongoing experience of greater (or lesser) levels of
agency. These may well be experienced consciously as bodily agency, but this can
occur, indeed, typically will occur, without the athlete being aware of ongoing

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Introduction | 17

modifications in the brain or skeletal systems. Yet such modifications can be and
need to be made part of the conscious methodological awareness both of anthro-
pologists and phenomenologists.

Bedford’s paper on music takes us deeper into appreciating the refinements
that phenomenology can bring to bear on anthropological method, particularly
in its core project of inquiring into the malleability of human perception and the
ensuing task of translation. He reflexively utilizes his early experiences of defa-
miliarization as a Western anthropologist in the radically new soundscape of Pak-
istan, hearing Qu’ranic cantillation on the pub lic address systems, to open a rich
and sustained exploration of what constitutes music. He singles out two aspects
that stood out as initially unfamiliar and a provocation to reflection: the “unmea-
sured” quality of the cantillation or absence of a regular pulse or rhythm, and
the existence of silences, which in West ern music discourse have been reduced to
the function of measure, “conceived as rests, and counted with the beats in the
bar” (Bedford, in this volume). In a wide ranging exploration that takes in several
music genres of both South and West Asia, Bedford uses the phenomenology of
Peirce to pose a series of questions that bring together phenomenology and an-
thropology: How is music perceived? What makes it music? How is time perceived
both in and out of music? How does sound create shape and spatiality? While the
anthropologist is attuned to the deep play of culture, phenomenology takes us
even deeper, thanks to its attention to the elements that make up a background.
Thus “silence” becomes the unobtrusive element that Bedford focuses on in order
to ask how we come to recognize something as “music.” Such a framework also al-
lows him to extend his discussion into illuminating the proximity between music
and aspects of language. What now comes to the fore is precisely those aspects
of language itself which usually escape what is included in discussions of “mean-
ing”: the sensory aspects of rhyme, alliteration, and—silences. Yet all of these, as
well as posture and gesture, are essential to an occasion when “something is spo-
ken, and spoken well, with an ear to how it is spoken.”

Part 2: History and Temporality
The chapters by Fisher and Timmer crystallize and extend some crucial issues for
anthropology that flow from our account thus far, focusing our attention on tem-
poral shifts that are conventionally thematized within the disciplinary framework
of “history.” In the wake of postcolonial critiques of Orientalism in West ern aca-
demic disciplines, the notion of the “ethnographic present” has been a marked
category, emblematic of a wider predilection for representing non- West ern socie-
ties as if they stood outside time itself. In a formative contribution, Fabian (1983)
described this as a denial of the “coeval” and shared temporality between the an-
thropologist and the people they come to write about. One response to this par-
ticular charge, in which the contribution of phenomenological anthropologists

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18 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

has been notable, is to restore the sense in which fieldwork knowledge is not a rela-
tionship between anthropologist as subject and the rest as object, but an “intersub-
jectively” generated knowledge (see Desjarlais and Throop 2011 for an overview).

But phenomenology also suggests richer possibilities in relation to this on-
going debate. Heidegger argued in Being and Time (1962) that “temporality” was
a broader and more fundamental dimension of human existence, of which “his-
tory” is only one very specific cultural manifestation, just as “biology” is only one
very specific way of regarding and exploring our bodily physiognomy. Such a dis-
tinction offers fresh ways of contributing to the debate over the place of history
in anthropological knowledge. For even if we were to concede that fieldwork does
not generally entail taking the past as a theoretical object of systematic regard, as
in the attitude one has to take up in history, it is nevertheless the case that field-
work is constituted by much more than the conscious version of the present. If
experience of all kinds has a temporal as well as a spatial horizon, then the “eth-
nographic present” is necessarily more porous than it appears. What flows into
the intersubjective exchanges between anthropologist and others in the “field” is
much more than can be consciously co- constructed or reflectively reconstructed
by either side. There are impersonal recurrent patterns of typicality that enable as
well as constrain the present. In this sense, the impersonality and typicality that
clings to the concept of “habitus” is not a defect. The habitus is not simply a syn-
chronic concept but fundamentally temporal in its orientation since such typi-
calities only evolve over time. What remains the case, however, is that unlike his-
toriography, both ethnography and phenomenology emphasize the way the past
is taken up and lived in the present, in response to fresh contexts. Accordingly,
the habitus is not a self- sufficient concept for either phenomenologist or for an-
thropologist—it must, as in Bourdieu, always be related to “the current situation”
(see Ram 2013: 180ff.).

For Fisher (in this volume), an ethnography of the situation of young Aborigi-
nal people who are trainees in a community radio station in Australia must at-
tempt to describe not only their conscious experience and ambitions—of sound, of
working in radio programming, of music, of projecting Aborigi nal identity—but
also capture a range of impersonal mediations that shape their situation. Fisher
gives the impersonality of mediation a deeper meaning in the case of Aborigi-
nal people. They have been addressed as “abstract Aboriginal subjects” not only
by “governmental interpellation and colonial history,” but also more agentially,
through their engagement with “forms of media [and] activism” (Fisher, in this
volume). Trying to fill the shoes of such an abstract identity has meant eliding
individual differences as well as the sheer heterogeneity of Aboriginal Austra-
lian pasts and presents. Such tensions reach into their experience of working at
the studio itself. Young trainees who wish to project presence and intimacy in a
“live” show find themselves dealing with digital preprogramming, as well as the

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Introduction | 19

requirement that they themselves adopt the public- health voice of the state and
various government departments that sponsor the show.

The chapter by Timmer foregrounds another set of questions about “his-
tory.” Potentially, these questions extend to all the systematized disciplines that
phenomenology described as “abstract intellectualisms.” But they work as much
more than just so many forms of theoretical abstraction. Here Foucault’s contri-
bution to the debate becomes fundamental. His characteristic preoccupation with
power was able to direct our attention to the way in which academic disciplines
and other seemingly abstract theoretical discourses were also alive and prolifer-
ating in various disciplinary projects of modern institutions. Such considerations
have in turn enabled two decades of postcolonial scholarship to explore the ways
in which disciplines such as history and economics, as well as numerous forms
of data collection and mapping (in clud ing anthropological and ethnological en-
terprises), have played a key role in equipping colonial states and missions with
their sense of destiny and rational superiority. Similarly, linear narratives of de-
velopmental temporality continue to assign unequal cultural capital to discourses
emanating from different parts of the world. In all of this, those subject to such
new forms of power and knowledge necessarily have had to take up and renego-
tiate their identities, putting them to new uses, and selectively reinterpreting the
dominant discourses.

Of necessity, then, disciplines such as history have to be considered part of
the “ethnographic present” of the situations we seek to describe. Timmer de-
scribes the efforts of people in the Solomon Islands, not so much to rewrite for
themselves a new place in “history” but “rather to limit the scope of orthodox
‘his tori cal science’ (colonial contact, development and civilization processes) by
bringing the Christian scripture to life by putting it in relation to present exis-
tence and its problems” (Timmer, in this volume). What results is a radically al-
tered appropriation of the Bible. It is altered in content and narrative, with a turn
to the prophetic texts of the Old Testament. More fundamentally, what changes
is that it becomes an existentially heightened project. Bambach’s analysis of Hei-
degger’s own turn to Lutheran Christianity, a departure from his earlier training
as a Catholic theologian (Bambach 1995), provides Timmer with a model for such
a reappropriation of religion. What makes it even closer as a parallel is the wider
context of an entire people being assigned an invidious identity by the narratives
of historicism. Here Timmer draws a broad parallel between what development
and earlier colonial processes have implied for the people of the Solomon Islands,
and the crisis of identity in a Germany defeated in the First World War.

Part 3: The Poetics and Politics of Phenomenological Ethnography
The final four essays of the volume continue to focus on phenomenology’s key
terms of experience and perception, but shift the emphasis to explore how an-

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20 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

thropologists can and do represent them in writing or image. The authors’ con-
cern is phenomenological anthropology not as epistemological method or critique
but as style, understood by contributors as akin to (and sometimes as even better
composed in) fiction, art, photography, and poetry. The issue concerns both the
genre(s) and politics of phenomenological anthropology.

Questions of representation have been an ever-present and, for some, an al-
most distracting aspect of anthropological debates over the last three decades.
Said’s condemnation of nineteenth- and twentieth-century history, literature, and
po liti cal science for the construction of its own object of study—the inferiorized
Orient—helped make anthropologists, especially those working in the Middle
East, wary writers. Closer to the bone, and as already mentioned, Fabian’s (1983)
critical diagnosis of primitivism in the discipline meant that for anthropologists
working in postcolonial contexts, links between knowledge and power became
habitual concerns.

In his grappling with both the poetics and nature of anthropological knowl-
edge, Jackson’s decades-long oeuvre (in ethnography, fiction, and poetry) can be
seen as an exemplary response to these and similar critiques. Houston’s essay ex-
plores Jackson’s turn to phenomenology in the 1980s, connecting it to his emerg-
ing disillusionment with theoretical models of kinship, social structure, or magic
devised by intellectuals to explain the social worlds of people. Paradoxically, for
a discipline that values the knowledge gained from personal relations with oth-
ers, an enduring intellectual temptation for anthropologists is to write as if theo-
retical schemata constitute the generative principles of social action. For Jackson,
abstract models displace social relationships more than they emplace them. By
contrast, a better anthropology involves apprehending others’ existential concerns
and ordinary/extraordinary experiences through fieldwork and shared practical
activity, evoking in writing what one has learned. This is no modest task. Even
while our faltering descriptions of violence, illness, ecstasy, subordination, suffer-
ing, and other existential events do not correspond with our own and others’ em-
bodied experiences, in rendering emotions and perception sensible our accounts
also give them shape, form, and meaning, at least for readers.

Referencing William Carlos Williams’s poem “The Red Wheelbarrow,” Jack-
son argues that anthropology inspired by phenomenology should generate “styles
of writing which resist the idea that knowledge may be won by a progressive in-
terrogation of the object” (1996: 42–43). In the process, other questions and possi-
bilities emerge concerning how phenomenological anthropology might translate
as ethnographic production. Should its bias toward experience privilege writing
in the first person (I-writing), or the insertion of the director or filmmaker into
the film’s frames? Does it demand from the part of the anthropologist an imagi-
native imitation or ventriloquism of the tone, talk, and bearing of others, of what
they “cain’t hep but notice”? (Stewart 1996: 150). As artistic and reflexive enterprise,
must it involve repeating people’s accounts in their own words? How do anthro-

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Introduction | 21

pologists write or film intersubjectivity, in clud ing their own experiences of inter-
action, cross-social encounter, and self-transformation in fieldwork? What types
of genre experiments or styles best facilitate the recounting of truths mutually
arrived at, evolving relationships, and shared memories and activities? How are
“detailed descriptions of lived reality” (Jackson 1996: 2) selected, textually or visu-
ally organized, and composed so as to serve the intentions of the ethnographer?
And which lived realities should we choose, or not choose, to describe, and why?

Wynn’s paper tackles a number of these questions, asking first why it is that in
anthropology sexual love and desire have been so little written about, and noting
secondly that when it is, many accounts are “experience-distant,” as if ethnogra-
phers were ashamed of their own sexual being. She concludes that the combined
force of disciplinary and cultural taboos makes public discussion of the experi-
ence of intimate bodily love appear vulgar and polluting. In response, Wynn en-
gages in a kind of literary and phenomenological experiment, first retelling an
evening of flirtatious talk between friends about relationships between men and
women from her fieldwork in Cairo, then presenting in quick order excerpts about
sex from Merleau- Ponty (Phenomenology of Perception), Malinowski (The Sexual
Life of Savages), and a popular romance novel (Devil in Winter). Judging the ro-
mance fiction to be doing “far more than either Merleau- Ponty or Malinowski to
convey the embodied sensations of arousal and desire,” she argues that borrowing
from the techniques of fiction writers would help phenomenological anthropolo-
gists better represent the embodied, passionate dimensions of love and desire. In-
terestingly, if Wynn commends fiction to anthropology, Houston, Desjarlais, and
Van Heekeren show how poetry, photography, and creative language, respectively,
enable anthropologists to more fully attend to the multiple appearances, genera-
tive fashioning, and constant minor changes of ours and others’ lived existence,
in the process helping the anthropologist to “bracket” the “natural attitude.”

Desjarlais’s beautifully written essay on his own photography among Tibet-
ans in Nepal reflects on this “bracketing,” exploring the mutuality and disjunc-
ture between different times of knowing/perceiving, and different modes of rep-
resentation. He describes how his recent photographs of people and things help
him heed aspects of Yolmo sociality that sharpened up or even ran counter to his
earlier memories and forms of understanding. In studying the photographs, Des-
jarlais senses how half-forgotten horizons gained by fieldwork in Nepal a decade
and a half ago reappear to consciousness, only to be altered and revised by new
perceptions. “I notice the ripped clothes, the poverty,” he says. At the same time,
Desjarlais confronts the problem that viewers of the images who are unfamiliar
with Nepal are unable to draw on the backgrounds that for him make them so
rich and suggestive. Seeking to disarm viewers’ perception of the photos in terms
of more readily available representational regimes such as tourism and aestheti-
cizing exoticism, Desjarlais is led to argue for the important role played by de-
scriptive language, narration, and commentary in relation to the images.

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22 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

Yet despite—almost to spite—this narrative exegesis, for Desjarlais the images
still seem “seared with reality.” Looking at them he feels confronted by the “sheer
existence” of things, by “rank growth” in the corner of a photograph, by a real-
ness that, citing the writer Maurice Blanchot, he calls “existence without being”
and that we may equally well describe as senseless presence. This is presence—
light, sound, matter, living beings—at the fringes of consciousness, insignificant
until sensed.

In her discussion of senses of magic in southeastern Papua New Guinea, Van
Heekeren begins with Husserl’s notion of the lifeworld, conceived in phenomeno-
logical anthropology as an original way of being in the world of a group of people.
She demonstrates how describing a radically different lifeworld, in clud ing Vula’a
people’s sometimes fearful living in the presence of “those things (phenomena)
that we call ‘magic,’ ‘Christianity,’ and ‘sorcery,’ ” requires a new or different type
of language. Her description is simultaneously both art and translation, the crea-
tive and affective uncovering of “experience remote from our own into such terms
of our consciousness as may best enable the nature of that which is so translated
to appear for what it is in itself” (Merret, in Macquarie 1988: 212). Citing Hei-
degger, Van Heekeren shows how the artistic act of translation involves her in a
twofold process of “coming to awareness.” First, a new perception of another’s re-
ality dawns through her being moved by what she calls the intensified moods and
emotional states of the Vula’a lifeworld. Second, in her efforts at creatively repre-
senting that reality in ethnographic writing, in crafting it in terms comprehen-
sible and immediate to others, there is “an uncovering of what- is.” In describing
this creative art as a return to Husserl’s early goal of doing “better science,” van
Heekeren echoes Ram’s call to reclaim the commitment to greater objectivity in
phenomenology’s charter.

Each task effects a neutralization of the anthropologist’s natural attitude, or
what Husserl calls a phenomenological reduction. Indeed, all four papers in this
section demonstrate how fiction, art, photography, and poetry enable this reduc-
tion. In doing so they also reveal the intimate relationship between perception,
power/knowledge, and poetics. Although couched in much less politicized lan-
guage, phenomenology’s investigation of experience and reality prefigures many
of the issues canvassed in both postcolonial theory and in books such as Writ-
ing Culture (1986), without their narrower focus on representations of the “eth-
nographic other.” Phenomenology began with the discovery and critique of the
“natural attitude.” More specifically, for Casey the natural attitude involves “what
is taken for granted in a culture that has been influenced by modern science” (1996:
13). Husserl’s critique of early twentieth-century science involved an exposé of its
naivete in assuming that the natural or everyday world existed independently of
the subject’s—in the former case the scientist’s—apprehension of it.1 We have here,
as suggested earlier in the introduction, an influential precursor for epistemolog-
ical positions later advocated and politicized by post-structuralist social theory.

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Introduction | 23

Nevertheless, in thinking through the complex relations between the sheer
existence of things and our experience of them, Throop’s, Desjarlais’s, and Hous-
ton’s essays each show how anthropologists do not have to make a choice between
“pre-given objects of experience” and “processes of subjective and intersubjective
constitution that underlie them” (Throop, in this volume). On the contrary, phe-
nomenology’s “politicization” of perception problematizes the autonomy of each,
of the work of consciousness in constituting the everyday world, and of the world
itself in existing independently from us. Being in the natural attitude—our ac-
cepting of objects and of our everyday life as given, in our straightforward deal-
ing with them—can be seen as co-determined by what Castoriadis (1997a) calls
social imaginary significations: forms, ideas, and images through which any par-
ticular society institutes itself. (Van Heekeren, following others phenomenolo-
gists, terms this the “cosmo- ontological” background.) The language here pro-
vides us with another vocabulary to get at the “cultural-political” dimensions of
what we have identified as the shadowy background or impersonal horizons in-
forming experience and perception, as well as at certain of their “conditions of
possibility” (Bourdieu 1977). Perceiving and experiencing, then, is as much fabri-
cated by society through socialization and pedagogy (including training regimes
aimed at physiology- modification) as it is a product of people’s engagements in
their everyday worlds or their idiosyncratic creation.

In other words, neither the natural environment nor practical social worlds
simply exist, neutrally arrayed for consciousness’s contemplation nor awaiting
human expropriation. The very affordances of the environment offered to our
bodies and projects already have embedded in them the subjective and politi-
cal intentions of others, engineered (techne) in interior design, architecture, and
urban planning, artefacts, tools, machines, and in the city itself. As Bachelard re-
marks, “The house that we were born into is an inhabited house” (1994: 14). Phe-
nomenological investigation reveals how imagining the physical world as “mute
and blank space” (Casey 1996: 15) is already the perspective of someone dwelling
in the natural attitude, an attitude patterned not only by science but for those of
us inhabiting this globalized modern world by a core instituting signification of
capitalism as well, “unlimited expansion of ‘rational mastery’” over both social
life and nature (Castoriadis 1997b: 37). Far from revealing an origi nal detachment
from the environment, this perception depends upon the fact that we are already
in it, being there (Casey 1996).

In sum, the essays in this volume show that phenomenology conducts an ex-
ploration of a certain elementary stance through which we live our lives, involving
literally the moving grounds of our changing bodies in perceiving, experiencing,
and acting in the world; the centrality of intentionality or purposeful interest in
our focus and consciousness; the primacy of the practical dimensions of our so-
cial activities (captured in the trope of the “lifeworld”); and the significance of
the vast sedimentation of socialized knowledge and skills that undergirds and fa-

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24 | Phenomenology in Anthropology

cilitates our switching between modes of attentiveness (and attention) to differ-
ent meaningful objects or things in the places we live. This elementary stance is
shown in the essays to be co- constituted or mediated by the imaginary signifi-
cations, cultural practices, social institutions, and fields of power of different so-
cieties.

Yet phenomenology offers anthropologists more than this. In identifying the
natural attitude, phenomenology inaugurates the possibility of a new reflexivity
toward it, a methodology for gaining a sense of perspective on our perceptions.
This new “stance” toward our elementary orientations produces a difference in
our modes of sensing, feeling, knowing, and acting in the world. This would be
the case with any methodology that takes ordinary perception itself as the object
of systematic attention—as is the case, for example, with techniques of medita-
tion. Equally importantly, certain sources of reflexivity can also occur “naturally”
to everyone while living in the natural attitude, through everyday processes. In
this volume, such processes of everyday living are highlighted, showing how they
can create the dawn of a new perspective. They include reflections occasioned by
a lack of “fit” between experience and the dominant discourses of history, bodily
enskillment, suffering, illness, migration, art, and social activism. Yet we have in-
sisted that phenomenology also takes us a step further than these ordinary ave-
nues of reflexivity. The core elements of the natural attitude—embodiment, con-
sciousness, intentionality, practicality, intersubjectivity—are all necessarily related
to the political-economic or social structures that accompany them, acting to re-
tard some forms of organization and to energize others. These, too, form part of
the proper ground of phenomenological investigation.

Notes

1. For example, a mining geologist may appreciate a rock for its mineral and chemical
composition, its permeability or porosity, and for the size of its particles. By contrast, Myers
(1991) tells us that for many Pintupi in central Australia, a rock may be experienced through
its connection to Dreaming events, one small feature in a region of known and sacred places.
These imaginative and learned perceptions govern actors’ ways of dealing with rocks. Nothing,
of course, stops an Aboriginal geologist from shifting between such perspectives.

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———. 1991. The Political Ontology of Martin Heidegger. Oxford: Polity Press.

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Introduction | 25

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CORRESPONDENCE Open Access

Developing longitudinal qualitative designs:
lessons learned and recommendations for health
services research
Lynn Calman1, Lisa Brunton1 and Alex Molassiotis1,2*

Abstract

Background: Longitudinal qualitative methods are becoming increasingly used in the health service research, but
the method and challenges particular to health care settings are not well described in the literature.We reflect on
the strategies used in a longitudinal qualitative study to explore the experience of symptoms in cancer patients and
their carers, following participants from diagnosis for twelve months; we highlight ethical, practical, theoretical and
methodological issues that need to be considered and addressed from the outset of a longitudinal qualitative
study.

Results: Key considerations in undertaking longitudinal qualitative projects in health research, include the use of
theory, utilizing multiple methods of analysis and giving consideration to the practical and ethical issues at an early
stage. These can include issues of time and timing; data collection processes; changing the topic guide over time;
recruitment considerations; retention of staff; issues around confidentiality; effects of project on staff and patients,
and analyzing data within and across time.

Conclusions: As longitudinal qualitative methods are becoming increasingly used in health services research, the
methodological and practical challenges particular to health care settings need more robust approaches and
conceptual improvement. We provide recommendations for the use of such designs. We have a particular focus on
cancer patients, so this paper will have particular relevance for researchers interested in chronic and life limiting
conditions.

Keywords: Cancer, Health care, Users’ experiences, Interviews, Longitudinal studies, Research, Qualitative, Research
design, Serial interview

Longitudinal qualitative research (LQR) has been an emer-
ging methodology over the last decade with methodo-
logical discussion and debate taking place within social
research [1]. Longitudinal qualitative research is distin-
guished from other qualitative approaches by the way in
which time is designed into the research process, making
change a key focus for analysis [1]. LQR answers qualitative
questions about the lived experience of change, or some-
times stability, over time. Findings can establish the pro-
cesses by which this experience is created and illuminates
the causes and consequences of change. Qualitative re-
search is about why and how health care is experienced

and LQR focuses on how and why these experiences
change over time. In contrast to longitudinal quantitative
methodologies LQR focuses on individual narratives and
trajectories and can capture critical moments and pro-
cesses involved in change. LQR is also particularly helpful
in capturing “transitions” in care; for example, while
researchers are beginning to more clearly map the cancer
journey or pathway [2] we less clearly understand the pro-
cesses involved in the experience of transition along this
pathway whether that be to long term survivor or living
with active or advanced disease. Saldana [3] identifies the
principles that underpin LQR as duration, time and change
and emphasizes that time and change are contextual and
may transform during the course of a study.
Holland [4] identifies four methodological models of

LQR.

* Correspondence: alex.molassiotis@manchester.ac.uk
1University of Manchester, Jean McFarlane Building, Oxford Road, Manchester
M13 9PL, UK
2Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

© 2013 Calman et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Calman et al. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2013, 13:14
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/13/14

mailto:alex.molassiotis@manchester.ac.uk

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

� Mixed methods approaches. LQR may be imbedded
within case studies, ethnographies and within
quantitative longitudinal studies such as cohort
studies and randomized controlled trials. Mixed
methods studies are the context of most LQR
studies in healthcare [5].

� Planned prospective longitudinal studies. Where the
analysis can be the individual or the family or an
organization.

� Follow-up studies, where an original study of
participants are followed up after a period of time.

� Evaluation studies, for policy evaluation.

LQR methodologies can be particularly useful in asses-
sing interventions. LQR studies embedded within ran-
domized controlled trials or evaluation studies, of often
complex interventions, are used as part of process evalu-
ation. This can help us to understand not just whether
an intervention may work but the mechanisms through
which it works and if it is feasible and acceptable to the
population under study [6].
LQR is becoming more frequently used in health re-

search. LQR has been used, for example, to explore the
prospect of dying [7], journeys to the diagnosis of cancer
[8] and living with haemodialysis [9]. Published papers
report mainly interview based studies, sometimes called
serial interviews [10,11] to explore change over time, al-
though other data collection methods are used. Different
approaches have been taken to collection and analysis of
data, for example, the use of longitudinal data to fully de-
velop theoretical saturation of a category in a grounded
theory study [12,13]. Data is not presented as a longitu-
dinal narrative but as contributing to the properties of a
category.
There are limitations in the published literature. Ana-

lysis is complex and multidimensional and can be tackled
both cross-sectionally at each time point to allow analysis
between individuals at the same time as well as longitu-
dinally capturing each individual’s narrative. Thematic
analysis is widely used [13-15] but can lead to cross-
sectional descriptive accounts (what is happening at this
time point) rather than focusing on causes and conse-
quences of change. Research founded on explicit theoret-
ical perspectives can move beyond descriptive analysis to
further explore the complexities of experience over time
[16]. LQR generates a rich source of data which has been
used successfully for secondary analysis of data [11,17].
How analysis with this multidimensional data can be

integrated is a particular challenge and is not well described
or reported in the literature [4]. Papers tend to focus on ei-
ther the cross-sectional or longitudinal (narrative) data.
This means that the longitudinal aspects of the study,
time and change, are often poorly captured. In particu-
lar the reporting of cross-sectional data alone can lead

to descriptions of each time point rather than focusing on
the changes between time points. Studies may have the
explicit aim to focus on one or other aspect of analysis
and this will achieve different analysis and reporting. The
addition of a theoretical framework can help to guide
researchers during analysis to move beyond description.
The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the strategies

used in an LQR programme and highlight ethical, prac-
tical, theoretical and methodological issues that need to
be considered and addressed from the outset of a study,
giving researchers in the field some direction and raising
the debate and discussion among researchers on ways to
develop and carry out LQR projects.

Methods
We have carried out over the past six years a large LQR
programme of research about experiences of symptoms
in cancer patients [18-25]. This included interviews with
patients from eight cancer diagnostic groups (and their
caregivers) from diagnosis to three, six and 12 months
later. As researchers working for the first time with lon-
gitudinal qualitative data we developed our research de-
sign and analysis strategy iteratively throughout the
project. We have a particular focus on cancer patients,
so this paper will have particular relevance for research-
ers interested in chronic and life limiting conditions.
As we were completing the analysis and dissemination

of this large programme of research we wished to reflect
on our experience of a health services research LQR pro-
ject. As members of the core research team we felt that
we had developed a great deal of experience in the devel-
opment and management of such a project. We felt that if
we pooled our knowledge we could suggest some import-
ant lessons learned from our experience. The authors met
at regular intervals to identify the key aspects of the
researchers’ experience of conducting this LQR project
that we considered were not well addressed within the
current literature. Issues were identified through brain-
storming sessions among the investigators and consider-
ation of past formal discussions (recorded or not) during
the project duration. A final complete list was presented
and discussed in an open meeting with a group of qualita-
tive researchers from a supportive care research team and
further discussions took place. Common issues that are
relevant to any qualitative research and for which there is
significant literature where left out, and only issues that
were closely linked with LQR remained in the list for fur-
ther discussion. Alongide our experience and consultation
with experienced qualitative researchers, we have also
searched the literature to find out if there is any clear in-
formation on each issues/topic. Recommendations, thus,
were both experience-based and literature based, although
due to lack of or limited literature around some of the
issues discussed, experience-based recommendations were

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more common. This paper was developed to give exam-
ples of how specific ethical and practical issues in the pro-
ject were tackled so they might stimulate debate and
discussion amongst LQR researchers.

Findings
We present the results of our discussions and suggested
solutions below and these are summarized in Table 1.

Ethical issues: participant related
Patients with cancer may be vulnerable, with a high symp-
tom burden and poor prognosis, but patients still value
being able to contribute their views [10,26]. Longitudinal
research with this patient group is important but some eth-
ical issues are amplified by collecting in-depth data from
the same participants over time. Particular issues have been
identified as intrusion (into people’s lives), distortion (of ex-
perience due to repeated contact, personal involvement
and closure of relationships) and dependency [4].
We wished to interview patients shortly after diagnosis,

which is a critical point in the patient pathway. Sensitive
recruitment of participants soon after a life changing diag-
nosis, such as cancer, is important in building relationships
and establishing a long term commitment to a study. Al-
though building relationships and developing trust is es-
sential this adds complexity to the role of the researcher
involved in longitudinal research. Both the researcher and
the researched can be affected by their involvement over
time [27]. We found that on occasion patients did contact
the research team for advice or information relating to
their diagnosis. It is important that a research team have
plans in place to manage this sort of situation without det-
riment to the relationship with the participant. There was
a clear written distress policy for interviews and partici-
pants were given information about local support in case
they wanted this after the interview.
There was a significant risk in our research that patients

would become too unwell to participate or die between
interviews. We sought consent from participants to access
medical records and were able to check the health status
of participants prior to contacting the participants to
make arrangements for the next interview to ensure this
was done sensitively. Consent was an ongoing process and
was given in writing prior to the first interview and con-
sent was checked verbally prior to each subsequent inter-
view and also during the interview if a participant became
upset or was talking about a particularly sensitive issue.
The participant would be reminded that the tape recorder
could be switched off at any time and the interview could
be terminated at any time. If upset the participant would
be given time to recover before the researcher asked if it
was acceptable to continue with the interview. These pro-
cedures were built into the study protocol and the applica-
tion for ethical approval.

Ethical issues: researcher related
Researchers too can be affected by their role [27]. Despite
good training and support protocols for researchers quali-
tative research can be emotionally challenging [27]. Build-
ing a relationship over time, hearing about distressing
situations and the impact that diagnosis can have on every-
day life and relationships is hard. Information may be dis-
closed to the researcher that has not been discussed with
anyone else; this builds a bond between those involved.
Researchers may see participants deteriorate and die. The
research team needs to build a supportive network and
procedures to ensure that researchers are well supported
in their role. In our study we used debriefing for very
stressful events and researchers had regular supervision
with the study team. Peer support within the research
team also proved important on a day to day basis. It has
been suggested that professional counseling is made avail-
able for researchers for whom debriefing is not sufficient
support [27].
Staff retention may be an issue over time. There is a ten-

sion between the need to build relationships with partici-
pants in difficult circumstances and researcher burn out. It
is ideal that one researcher builds a relationship with a par-
ticipant over time but due to staff turnover or sickness this
may not always be possible. Changes in staffing on LQR
projects need to be well managed; the participant should
be made aware that a different researcher will interview
them and the researcher should read through previous
transcripts so that participants feel there is some continuity
and they do not have to repeat their story.
“Escaping the field” [4] or closure of relationships that

have been built over time requires thought. Participants
in our studies were prepared for the longitudinal elem-
ent and the closure of the relationships. Study informa-
tion was clear so participants knew that they were going
to be interviewed 4 times over the year, and researchers
prepared participants for the last interview: when ringing
to arrange last interview participants were reminded that
it was the final visit. At the end of the last interview we
asked participants how they had found the process of
being involved in research and had an informal “debrief-
ing” session with them. If patients died whilst on the
study a card would be sent on behalf of the research
team to offer condolences.
It is important to ensure the confidentiality is main-

tained throughout the project as personal details, such
as addresses, may be kept for longer than in studies with
a single data collection point. Any ad hoc correspond-
ence, phone messages or emails, for example, from parti-
cipants to update researchers on their condition, should
be handled in line with ethical approval requirements.
As data is collected over time and experiences may be
bound in particular circumstances and contexts ensur-
ing that participants are not identifiable becomes more

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Table 1 Summary of themes and suggested solutions

Key theme Issues arising Approach used/suggested solutions

Ethical issues:
participant

Recruitment shortly after significant diagnosis Treating doctor assessed participant prior to approach by researcher.

Approached participants sensitively in order to build trust and develop
relationships over long term

Blurring of boundaries as relationships develop Agreed plans to manage participant initiated contact about e.g. their
treatment or health status (researchers did not give advice but referred
participant to relevant health professional)

Potential for patients to become unwell or die
during study

Written distress policy for participants and the research team in place

Ongoing consent recorded over the life of the project

Ethical issues:
researcher

Developing relationships over time Prepared researchers to manage difficult topics and emotions during
the interview, and how management might change as relationships
deepenClosure of relationships

Developed a supportive network for researchers (e.g. debriefing sessions
post interview)

Confidentiality – and sharing data over large
research teams

Written procedures for managing ad-hoc or informal contacts with
participants.

Developed clear data transfer and management plans

Management of participant fatigue in interviews Ensure as the interview schedule changes due to new emerging topics
that it is not over burdensome. Find new ways to ask questions to
avoid repetition (do not merely add more questions)

Involvement of service users in study design

Recruitment and
retention of
participants

Some groups of patients had high levels of
attrition due to natural history of disease

Checked health status of participants before contacting them prior to
next interview to ensure this was done sensitively

Careful thought should be given to heterogeneity of the sample.
The time points at which data is collected may have to be managed
differently for sub-groups

Time At what time points should data be collected? We made a pragmatic decision about this and time points were the
same for all participants.

It may be more relevant to identify time points by key transitions in the
patient’s journey or by consideration of previous literature or informed
by theory

Time should be explicitly included in the interview
– to include changing illness perceptions

Looking forwards and backwards in interviews moves away from linear
notions of time

Encourage reflexivity in the participant as well as the researcher

Asking participants to reflect on their experience from the previous
interview

Data collection and
management of
resources

Management of time and resources – when
working with a large data set

Ensure adequate time is included in project plans for project
management and communication with participants

Funding for LQR Work with the funding bodies to consider LQR

Research focus and topic guide evolves over time Flexibility, openness and responsiveness to the data and emerging
analysis and interpretation is a key skill for the LQR researcher

Ask for advice about how to manage this from an ethics committee

Analyzing data LQR data sets are large and complex and can be
analyzed in multiple ways from different
perspectives

Ensure adequate time to analyze data between interviews – even if
analysis is preliminary

Consider analysis of data within each case and as comparison between
cases

Consider if and how subgroups should be analysed – is there a strong
theoretical or practical reason why some groups should be analysed
separately?

Consider the contribution of a number of different analysis strategies to
the data and their strengths and weaknesses

Consider analysing data in a number of different ways, to add
alternative understandings of longitudinal data

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pertinent. The “blurred boundaries” for example taking
your “emotional work” home with you [27] may also need
special attention in LQR. Wray et al. [27] report, in their
study, taking telephone calls from participants at home
and ensuring women got evidence based care. These are
complex, grey areas in LQR and it may become harder to
separate, or manage ethically, empathy as a human being
and a wish to help people who are suffering, with the role
of a researcher when relationships deepen over time.
These issues may have implications for the confidentiality
of participants’ identities and data.
Data may have to be shared across large teams; this

may mean that the core research team loses control of
the data set and it is important to ensure that all team
members are working to the ethical principles agreed
with the relevant ethics committee. Large volumes of
data may be generated from LQR and consideration
should be given to how this data is archived and stored
for the required length of time stipulated by the univer-
sity, hospital or other regulatory body. LQR data is a
valuable resource for archiving, data sharing and second-
ary data analysis, and may be a requirement of some
funding bodies. To date this has been more common for
large qualitative population data sets and is a specialist
service offered by some Universities. The correct ethical
approval, and participant consent to this, should be
sought at the outset.
It is important to consider how researchers will deal

with participant fatigue; within quantitative studies much
thought is given to the burden of lengthy repeated ques-
tionnaires, the same consideration should be made for
LQR, particularly as new topics of interest may emerge
during the course of the study and it is tempting just to
add a few more questions to the interview. Focusing on
the purpose of the research, finding different ways to ask
questions can avoid repetition and participants anticipat-
ing questions and giving the “right” response [28]. It is
also wise to involve patients or service users in the design
of the research and ongoing management to get the parti-
cipants’ perspective of burden and balance research inter-
est with participants’ well being.

Recruitment and retention of participants
We were successful in the recruitment of participants to
the study. Patients were identified by the clinical team at
the research site and then approached by a member of the
research team to give information about the study. Once
participants were recruited to the study retention was sat-
isfactory. Recruitment and retention are important in all
longitudinal studies. In qualitative studies sufficient parti-
cipants are required at the last time point to ensure data
saturation particularly if any new themes become evident
at this point. We also wished to interview carers and this
created a significant number of interviews at follow-up.

We eventually made the decision not to interview some
carers at follow-up as data was saturated. This created
some difficulty with carer participants who valued this on-
going opportunity to ventilate feelings. The oversampling
at the beginning (in order to have an adequate number of
subjects at the last interview) was not a successful tech-
nique and overstretched the researchers and the data col-
lection process unnecessarily.
There were two groups of patients where attrition was

particularly poor: lung cancer patients (where 18 were
recruited and four finished the study) and brain cancer
patients (where 11 started and only one patient com-
pleted the fourth interview). For both of these groups
there was a significant drop off after the third time point
at six months. These attrition rates were not unexpected
and almost all of these participants withdrew because
they were too unwell or had died; this type of attrition
may be unavoidable in some patient groups. All breast
and gynecology patients completed all four interviews.
Hence, a more selective approach to over-recruitment at
the beginning of a LQR project is advocated, basing such
decision on the outlook of participants over the timeline
of the project. In some LQR studies it might be appro-
priate to develop newsletters or a web site with news of
the study for participants to sustain interest. Good re-
searcher communication skills are required to develop
trust and convey the importance of the project to parti-
cipants in the initial stages of the project. We have field
notes that suggest that participants found participation
in the study beneficial and this may also have contribu-
ted to our successful retention rates in populations with
better health and survival.
The attrition in the sample highlights the complexity of

having a heterogeneous sample in longitudinal research.
We were well aware at the outset of the different disease
trajectories of the tumor groups but for the purposes of
analysis we designed the data collection points to be the
same for all patients. In retrospect this was not entirely
appropriate as there were different disease and treatment
trajectories within each diagnostic group. In future re-
search we would think differently about timing of inter-
views and link it to, for example, critical incidents rather
than having set time points. Careful thought should be
given to heterogeneity of the sample; by sampling over a
number of cancer diagnostic groups we complicated our
analysis making it difficult to draw together the experi-
ences of patients with different disease trajectories. It may
have been a better strategy to sample for heterogeneity
within, for example, patients with advanced cancer. While
heterogeneity in qualitative research is a desirable sam-
pling feature, in LQR it is the “change” in events that is of
more importance, and depicting change in very heteroge-
neous populations may not be so meaningful. Hence, de-
fining clearly what an appropriate sample is for a given

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LQR study and understanding the trajectory of this sam-
ple over time are highly important considerations.

Time
Issues of time and timing are of importance. Longitu-
dinal research often focuses on change: how does coping
or experience change? or how do participants manage
change over time? [1]. Quantitative longitudinal re-
search, such as cohort studies, assumes linearity of
experiences and that people may experience time in the
same way. However, the notion of time in a disease tra-
jectory is complex. The difference between clock time
and embodied time (or the experience of time) of the
cancer patient has been recently illustrated in lung can-
cer, and this research highlights the lack of relationship
between these two conceptualizations of time [29]. The
differences between research time and biographical time
have been explored elsewhere too [1]. Thus, consider-
ation needs to be given to how time is defined in the
study by the participants and by the research team.
One of the central issues we faced in this study was

about the nature of time. As discussed above we identi-
fied set time points for data collection at the outset.
However, we discovered that it is important to balance
the pragmatics of a research design with flexible notions
of time. We had significant attrition after the data col-
lection point at six months and in retrospect we had not
factored in the short disease trajectories of some patients
or that some patients may have different notions of time.
It may have been more useful to identify potential turn-
ing points or defining moments, from initial interviews,
previously published research or clinical understanding
of disease and focus on those rather than identifying set
time points. For example, we know that the end of treat-
ment, be that palliative or curative, is a significant time
for patients [30,31] but treatment duration may not fall
neatly into the first three months after diagnosis. That
said, the focus of interviews should not be about “concrete
events, practices, relationships and transitions which can
be measured in precise ways, but with the agency of indi-
viduals in crafting these processes [32], p 192.” However,
defining moments do often lead to change, in experience,
coping or relationships and are useful points to tap into
participants’ experiences. However, on a practical level, it
would have been very difficult with our large data set to
keep track of these critical incidents for every participant
and to be able to organize researcher appointments to
conduct interviews.
Issues of time need to be explicitly placed within the

interview, an aspect we could have strengthened in our
study. Looking both forwards and backwards in time
moves away from linear notions of time as discussed
above, asking participants to reflect on the content of
their previous interviews. One way of doing this may be

to encourage participants to approach the interview with
reflexivity [33], a concept we are familiar with as research-
ers but in longitudinal research may be as important for
the participant. For example, an issue that seems import-
ant for participants in the short term may not prove to be
as important in the long term with the benefit of hindsight
or increased understanding of the context [34]. This tenta-
tive or provisional, often contradictory, understanding
makes analysis complex. As researchers we must endeav-
our to understand these complexities and make sense of
them.
McLeod [33] suggests that reflexivity within the inter-

view did not work for all of her research participants (in a
study of school children) and is a point worth pursuing as
we further develop our understanding of this methodology
with patients. Reflexivity on a health state is complex for
patients and it has been suggested that interviewing the ill
may pose particular difficulties for the researcher [35,36],
[a]s sick people, participants are unfamiliar with their
everyday worlds, and they are often incapable of describing
their condition and perceptions, so that researchers have
difficulty in obtaining data to comprehend, interpret and
generally conduct their research. . . . When researching
participants who are sick, these methodological problems
result in decisions about the timing of data collection, chal-
lenges to validity and reliability, and debates about who
should be conducting the research [35], p 538.
Longitudinal qualitative research may in some way

solve some of these issues as researchers will have the
chance to incorporate changing illness perceptions into
data collection and analysis. Patients whose illness has a
long term impact will develop vocabulary and a way of
expressing their illness experience in a way that patients
with an acute episode will not. These changing percep-
tions, often moving from a lay perspective to one of the
patients managing and controlling their illness [37],
needs to be factored into analysis.

Data collection and management of resources
One of the main difficulties with LQR is the time and
resources that are required to undertake a study. Dealing
with a large data set can bring logistical challenges and
there is a significant amount of time spent on project
management, keeping up to date with participants, send-
ing reminders and checking on a patient’s status. Analysis
between interviews, across the participants and longitu-
dinally within the individual narrative, can be a significant
challenge in LQR.
There are no guidelines about how long a longitudinal

study should be (although at least 2 points are necessary
to examine change [3]) or how often data needs to be
collected; this should be determined by the processes
and population under investigation and the research
question. Many health/patient related studies are short

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in duration, one to two years, in comparison to LQR in
the social sciences where issues, such as transitions in
identity from child to adult, are investigated over dec-
ades. This may of course be because of differences in the
issues/processes under investigation but may also reflect
research funding in health care which is often limited to a
fixed duration. This poses problems for a research team
who wish to follow a population for a number of years
and requires ongoing generation of funds to complete the
research.
The topic guide and the focus of the interview may

change over time, this may prove challenging when seek-
ing ethical approval for a study. Ethics committees usu-
ally ask for all documentation including topic guides
prior to giving an opinion. Our interview schedule had
broad questions both to comply with ethical approval
procedures and to allow participants to talk about what
is important for them at the time of each interview. Ex-
ample opening questions include “How have you been
feeling physically this past month” or “How have you
been feeling emotionally this past month”. Developing a
relationship with an ethics committee and seeking guid-
ance about how to approach this with the committee is
advisable.
LQR is a prospective approach and therefore can give

a different perspective on processes. Issues that seem
very important at one time point may change with the
perspective of time and processes may change the way
experiences are viewed. One off qualitative interviews
rely on recall, for example, asking about symptom ex-
perience at diagnosis when a patient is several months
away from that point. There will always be some element
of retrospective discussion in an LQR interview but with
a focus on change over time, this can be aided by sum-
marizing or reflecting on the previous interview. As data
is collected prospectively, causation, the temporality of
cause and effect, and the processes or conditions by
which this happens can also be explored in the data [4].
As we describe below, the richness of the interview con-

tent and overwhelming amount of data made it difficult to
analyze in-depth each interview before the next one, an
issue also been reported in other studies [27]. When this
is the case we would propose that a preliminary analysis
and summary of the interview is made so that the next
interview can commence with a recap of what was previ-
ously discussed. Subsequent interviews could start by the
interviewer providing a short summary of themes they
have identified from the last interview and asking the par-
ticipant to reflect on this summary of experiences before
moving on to ask how the participant is feeling now and
what has changed for them since the last interview. This
more selective interview approach in subsequent inter-
views may also decrease the amount of data collected, eas-
ing the analysis and making the data collected more

focused and less overwhelming for the researcher. Indeed
we have noticed that often subsequent interviews tended
to be shorter than the initial one. This helps the researcher
and participant to keep the focus on longitudinal ele-
ments, what has changed since last time, why has this
happened? Preliminary analysis will also highlight emer-
ging themes to be further pursued in later interviews.
Using LQR researchers can respond to a change in

focus and interviews can be adapted to the individual
narratives. This is particularly useful as at the outset it is
often not clear what the important processes are over
time. Thus much data collected in the initial stages may
not be relevant in the emerging processes over time, and
data collection necessarily will become more focused at
later time points. Flexibility and responsiveness to the
data and emerging analysis and interpretation is a key
skill for the LQR researcher.

Analyzing data
Longitudinal qualitative data analysis is complex and
time consuming. A longitudinal analysis occurs within
each case and as comparison between cases. The focus
is not on snapshots across time (a cross-sectional design
will achieve this) but “to ground the interviews in an
exploration of processes and changes which look both
backwards and forwards in time [32], p194.”
Holland [4] synthesizes two approaches to analyzing

data and suggests some questions to guide analysis. Firstly,
framing questions focus on the contexts and conditions
that influence changes over time, she gives the example,
“what contextual and intervening conditions appear to
influence and affect participant changes over time? [4].”
Descriptive questions generate descriptive information
about what kinds of changes occur, for example, “what
increases or emerges through time? [4].” These two types
of questions move the researcher forward to develop dee-
per levels of analysis and interpretation.
Data collection and analysis should be informed by the

research question, data collection methods and theoret-
ical perspective, if one is being used from the outset. It
may be possible to anticipate whether cross-sectional or
longitudinal analysis would be the most helpful method
of answering the research question. Considering these
issues at the outset may allow the researcher to be alert
to themes in the data during analysis whilst keeping an
open mind to emerging issues.
As described above we planned to analyze each inter-

view before moving onto the next interview with each
participant to allow reflexivity of the researcher and par-
ticipant and to focus on “processes and changes” rather
than snapshots. Due to the volume of data it was not al-
ways possible to do this and this is certainly a limitation
of our work and may reflect the predominance of cross-
sectional data in our reporting of the studies.

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We decided to analyze each tumor group separately
rather than across the whole sample as it was clear that
there were significant differences in these populations
due to different disease trajectories and symptom experi-
ence. There was a different analysis and theoretical per-
spective taken in each analysis reflecting that data from
each tumor group. McLeod [33] suggests that the nature
of longitudinal data means that multiple theoretical frame-
works may be useful to analyses and interpretation and
the use of different paradigms may lead to new insights
and interpretations.
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used in

lung cancer analysis [21], Interpretative Description with
lymphoma data [20], content or thematic analysis using
Leventhal’s self-regulation theory, the theoretical frame-
work for the study, was used for gynecological, brain,
and head and neck cancer data analysis [18,22,23], and
thematic narrative analysis for breast cancer patients,
The above approach took into consideration the data
analysis experience of the researchers involved or the
type of information collected through the interviews. For
example, the analysis of breast cancer patients’ accounts
[25] lead itself to narrative analysis because the women
expressed their feelings much more than other groups
and we analysed the data through patient stories about
their cancer journey; this fitted well with the approach
to data generation and Frank’s [38] concept of the can-
cer journey was used as the theoretical lens though
which data were analyzed. In data from other diagnostic
groups the unit of analysis was often the whole inter-
view, as in the case of patients with head and neck
cancer, where coding units in the first interview were
assessed for presence and information in subsequent
interviews. This captured well some experiences over
time, such as the continuous nature of fatigue and tired-
ness over time, or the attempts for maintaining normal-
ity which were evident only after T2, increasing in
complexity at T3 and T4 [22]. Detailed practical exam-
ples are presented in the respective papers [18-25] and a
summary of the themes alongside other qualitative re-
search related to symptom experience of cancer patients
is presented in a meta-synthesis of these data [39].
Our analyses have highlighted new insights into the

symptom experiences of patients with cancer. Utilizing
multiple analysis strategies and theoretical perspectives
has its strengths and allows comparison and gives direc-
tion for reanalysis and further interpretation of this im-
portant research resource.

Recommendations
Through reflecting on and describing our experiences
we have identified broad recommendations for undertak-
ing LQR projects in health research which we hope will
stimulate debate amongst qualitative researchers.

� We would recommend incorporating a theoretical
perspective (if appropriate to the methodology), that
encompasses concepts such as time or the
experience of change. This may help researchers
keep the analysis “alive” to longitudinal aspects of
analysis and move beyond descriptions of experience
at each time point to explore change between time
points.

� Qualitative researchers are familiar with complex
ethical issues involved in being in the field. However,
there are some ethical issues that are amplified
whilst undertaking LQR, and require careful
consideration and planning, such as how
relationships are built and sustained over time whilst
adhering to ethical practices, how relationships are
ended, maintaining confidentiality over time and
managing distress in participant and researchers.

� Good project management is essential when
working with large data sets. Ensure adequate time
is included in project plans for project management
and communication with participants.

� Developing good team working is important; there are
advantages to working with large teams which may be
an unfamiliar way of working for qualitative
researchers. Different perspectives can be brought to
bear on the analysis making it richer and generating
new insights. Communication is particularly
important when analysis is undertaken by researchers
who have not been involved in collecting data.

� We would encourage researchers to consider
multiple methods of analysis and secondary analysis
within the same data set to explore the rich data
that is generated.

� We have clearly identified that longitudinal research
with patients with a poor prognosis and
experiencing long term challenges is worthwhile.
However, thought needs to be given to the timing of
data collection and the heterogeneity of the sample.
Support for participants and researchers, and any
additional ethical considerations, should be built
into protocols as there is an increased burden for all
involved in LQR.

� We recommend that from the outset the research
team should consider how the volume of data can
be managed and consider practical issues such as
timing of interviews so data can be transcribed and
analyzed in time for the next round of interviews.
This early analysis may help keep the focus on
change and transitions rather than description of
events.

� Funders of research may be unfamiliar to funding
longitudinal qualitative research and recommend
that a strong case for the added value of this
method should be made.

Calman et al. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2013, 13:14 Page 8 of 10
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/13/14

Discussion
This paper has explored our experience of LQR and
highlighted areas where we have learned a great deal
about the methodology. During this longitudinal project
we developed expertise in managing practical and ethical
issues, tried different analysis strategies to look for alter-
native ways of examining data and understanding the ex-
perience of participants. There have been successes in the
strategies we have used and areas in retrospect that we
could have worked differently. For example, ensuring sen-
sitivity during initial recruitment and subsequent contacts,
putting procedures in place from the outset of the study
to manage issues such as patient distress during interviews
and patient initiated contact regarding health issues dur-
ing data collection all helped the researchers to build
trusting relationships with participants. These factors, to-
gether with researcher continuity, were important in help-
ing to maintain good recruitment rates for participants
with better health and survival rates throughout the study.
It is important to note that findings were generated

from one particular study and issues highlighted here
reflect the conduct of this study. There are other meth-
odological issues that may be illustrated better through
other examples of LQR research and we would encour-
age researchers to publish methodological issues high-
lighted by their studies to strengthen debate in this area.
Although we consider that there are general lessons to
be learned from our experience, which can be usefully
considered by other researchers, we acknowledge that
there may be aspects of the study, particularly the heath
status of the participants that will not necessarily be
broadly relevant. For this reason we do consider that this
paper will have particular relevance for researchers inter-
ested in chronic and life limiting conditions.
We found that when seeking guidance for the project

published literature was limited in highlighting debates
about LQR focusing on the reporting of findings rather
than developing debate about this emerging method-
ology. Much of the methodological literature cited in
this paper comes from the social science literature where
there is a long standing tradition of LQR and where
debates about LQR with schoolchildren or other healthy
populations in society are well rehearsed. There is little
literature that examines the methodology in the context
of health services research and whether there are par-
ticular issues about following participants through the
trajectory of their illness to recovery, living with impair-
ments or death. This paper has started to highlight some
of the areas where further methodological exploration
would be valuable.
One of the ongoing debates in qualitative methodology

is how quality and credibility are evaluated [40,41].
There is little debate about whether LQR poses add-
itional questions about quality. We have highlighted

where, for example, there may be heightened concerns
about ethical conduct, and using multiple methods of
analysis. Longitudinal analysis is complex and is often
reported a-theoretically and descriptively [13-15] and
this also has implications for the quality and credibility
of LQR. It may be that established guidance for the
evaluation of qualitative research can be utilised with
LQR but little exploration of this can be found in the
published literature. Summaries of the researcher’s inter-
pretation of a data collected in a previous interview
when discussed with participants at a subsequent inter-
view can enhance the credibility of the data. We have
highlighted some ways in which these aspects of LQR
can be enhanced, and by providing a record of our
experiences it can help to start standardising a process
by which QLR can be conducted which can enhance the
credibility of research and quality of data collected.
LQR is an increasingly utilised methodology in

health services research, for example in the develop-
ment and evaluation of complex health interventions
or to study transitions in recovery or long term illness.
The findings presented in this paper are important as
they begin to identify areas of LQR where there is po-
tential for debate and multiple perspectives on these
would be valuable.
Additional research and inquiry is also essential to

further develop the methodology. There is little pub-
lished work about rigour in LQR, and it would be
worth investigating whether additional elements should
be added to accepted conceptualizations of the quality
of qualitative research so judgments can be made
about the rigour of research. Research to explore parti-
cipants’ perspectives of being in a longitudinal study
would be valuable as there may be additional burden
to the participant, emotional and practical, of being
involved in LQR. Eliciting participants’ insights into
their experiences of participation may give us greater
insight into the method itself.

Conclusions
This paper has highlighted specific methodological, prac-
tical and ethical issues identified in an LQR programme
of research about experiences of symptoms in cancer
patients in the first year after diagnosis. The study itself
has highlighted useful insights into these experiences and
allowed examination of data from multiple perspectives,
but importantly has been an important learning opportun-
ity of the research team. Next steps may include agree-
ment among the qualitative research community about
standardization of the process, identification of LQR re-
search questions that would be distinct from what can be
achieved from cross-sectional work, and influencing fun-
ders for the value and uniqueness of this methodological
approach.

Calman et al. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2013, 13:14 Page 9 of 10
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/13/14

Competing interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship
and/or publication of this article.

Authors’ contributions
Conception of paper: AM, LC. Acquisition of original data: AM, LB.
Interpretation of data: All authors. Drafting paper: LC. Critical revisions: AM,
LB. Final approval: all authors.

Received: 25 September 2012 Accepted: 22 November 2012
Published: 6 February 2013

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doi:10.1186/1471-2288-13-14
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designs: lessons learned and recommendations for health services
research. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2013 13:14.

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SAGE Research Methods Video

Researching Diffusion of Innovations Using a Mixed

Methods Design

Contributors: W. T. Foster

Pub. Date: 2016

Product: SAGE Research Methods Video

DOI:

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473975736

Methods: Mixed methods, Sampling, Ethical approval

Keywords: access to computers, anxiety, behavior change, change management, computer literacy,

computer-assisted instruction, diffusion of innovation, education, funding of schools, microcomputers,

motivation, perception (psychology), practices, strategies, and tools, professional behavior, public schools,

School administration, School boards, School district size, Supporters, teacher attitudes, teacher leadership,

technology in the classroom

Disciplines: Business and Management, Education, Psychology, Sociology

Access Date: January 11, 2023

Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Ltd.

Online ISBN: 9781473975736

© 2016 SAGE Publications, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473975736

Hi, my name is Tad Foster. I’m a Professor at Indiana State University in the Department of Human

Resource Development. I’m going to talk to you today about a research project that I did several

years ago– in fact, one of my earlier research projects– in which I used mixed methods. The deci-

sion to use that technique was based on the kinds of information

that I was looking for. We’ll get into that in just a moment. For today, for this presentation, I’m going

to give you a little bit of the background– a little bit of the context of this study– but we’re going to

focus our attention on the design, the procedures that were used, the data collection, data analysis,

and then wrap up on the findings and conclusions. We’ll end with the lessons that I learned,

and there were several lessons in this project. In practically every project you do there will be multiple

lessons, some of which you intended to get because you were asking certain questions of your sub-

jects and of your design, but others that you’re going to learn because you have those oh, dang mo-

ments– or some other– that have taught you

something that you weren’t expecting to learn. In this particular case, we’re looking at the microcom-

puter. Back in the day when I did this, this would have been the way we would have talked. I did a

study on the use of the microcomputer

by public schools teachers in the high schools of Illinois. I basically was able to scan the entire state

by using a specific selection process of the school districts that were going to be employed. What I

was looking at was based on the work of E. M. Rogers. I was trying to find out what was going on

at the psychological level with teachers as they were thinking about this innovation. Rogers wrote

several books on the issue of diffusion of innovations. How do innovations start from, they’re out

there in the world and we become aware of them to the point at which it’s actually being employed

and used in the social unit?

He’s been studying that for a long, long time. He’s now passed away, but his books are still used in

a lot of research contexts. It takes a look at what I always argued as an aerial view, or a sociological

view, of the issue– of looking at it, say, from above and looking at the various nuances of the system.

What I wanted to do was to get down inside because one of the things that I did have concern about

with regard to Rogers’ work is the issue of people’s personality types. He went through great lengths

to talk about innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. As you read his

book you get the impression

that these are psychological constructs. In other words, an individual who is an innovator is an inno-

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Researching Diffusion of Innovations Using a Mixed Methods Design

vator in all aspects of his or her life. I couldn’t buy that proposition without additional data and went

into it to do that. One of my concerns was that I was unsure that I would be able to get enough data

to answer all

the questions that I needed to know by just simply asking questions in a survey– handing out a ques-

tionnaire and having people give it back to me. And we’re going to basically talk about putting togeth-

er two designs that some would argue shouldn’t be put together, and others will argue, yes,

they work together quite well. If we think about mixed methods in general, first of all quantitative de-

signs are such that we want to state in advance, prior to doing anything– in fact, we call it a priori

designs– because we are designing everything.

We are choosing all of our variables, we are choosing how we’re going to relate those variables,

we’re going to choose how we collect the data, from whom, and then– once we have the data– what

we’re going to do with that data. We have all those decisions made before we collect one bit of data.

On the qualitative side, we tend to take the argument

that we want the situation to speak to us. We’re not wanting to say what we’re going to find, we want

to go in there and find it. Again, we’re going at it from, perhaps, a completely different philosophical

position. Whereas in the first case, we seem to be arguing, we know what’s important, we know what

we need to collect,

and we know what we need to do with it once we collect it. We are more concerned about specifying

the effect of something on something else, or the relationship of something on something else when

we do this in a constructivist point of view. But when you’re doing it from more of an existential point

of view you’re trying to let the situation speak to you.

What’s important to them? What’s going on there? And the variables– the themes– will emerge out

of that qualitative data collection and analysis. Recently, the mixed methods approach has gained a

great deal of popularity. We now have a professional organization

that is holding conferences. Books are being written. SAGE Publications has several books on mixed

methods now, as do other publishers. We are recognizing that there are reasons why we would start

out by wanting to mix the two together. Now, in this case, Creswell, in his most recent book, talked

about three primary reasons.

They’re not exclusive reasons– they may not have even come up when I was thinking about them–

but they do make a nice qualification system. Let me just run through them real quickly. First of all, he

calls some studies convergent studies, where we’re trying to compare data from the multiple sources

and collect it holistically– collecting it and bringing

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it to bear on the questions that we’re trying to answer. The second category was explanatory sequen-

tial. Essentially what we’re using is the qualitative data set to help us explain the quantitative data. I

would say that the study I’m going to talk to you about was that kind of study.

I needed multiple bits of data. The quantitative data was going to tell me what the teachers were

willing to do at that time– what they were willing to say to me. I have great reservations, personally,

when it comes to the survey design. I don’t want to go so far as to suggest that all people are

liars, but all people tend to put themselves in the best context, so I needed to be able to analyze the

data in ways I felt deeper than I could get if I were just going to compare variable A against variable

B, or the number of independent variables that I collected

and comparing them to the dependent variables. I’m going to learn a lot– it’s unequivocal– and I’m

very comfortable and confident that I will learn what I need to know by that, but then it becomes the

business of, how do I interpret it? I don’t know the context that these people live in, and so I’ve al-

ways argued through my years of working

with graduate students that we should not only collect the data that we absolutely need, but we

should know the context. And there are many situations– in fact, much of graduate education, where

people are trying to get graduated in a reasonable length of time– requires them to use methods that

are quick

and, consequently, they tend to be dirty. That is helped if we can find ways to provide context– so

using the qualitative data to help us explain the quantitative data that we have received. The final

category is exploratory sequential. Here you’re basically arguing that we don’t know enough

about the situation, and that if we’d collected some data in advance, qualitatively, from a group of

subjects, we could then start to narrow in on the variables that were important. Then we can build

the measures necessary to do the quantitative analysis of that same phenomenon

that we’re taking a look at. We’re not sure what our independent and dependent variables are. We’re

not sure what’s really important in this context, and so before we start looking at cause and effect or

correlational relationships, we are simply going to try to narrow down the variables

that we’re going to need to be looking at. This could be likened to when you build a survey instrument.

It’s not uncommon to go out with a survey instrument and say to a group of people, just write in your

answers, I’m going to just ask you a big question like why don’t you vote? Put down whatever comes

to your mind

and then from that you can extract the important issues that people are bringing up. Then you can

build the variables that you would be looking for that you would go out and survey a much broader

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population or sample of people. In this case, again, we are going to be taking a look at why public

school teachers were

or were not using the microcomputer. As I said earlier, I’m trying to provide a psychological dimension

to the diffusion of innovations research. Since then, I have branched that out into multiple directions,

but at this point I was relatively new to the concepts– to the ideas– and trying to understand this

whole business of,

it is possible to change? Everything that I had read up to that point said, most people don’t want to

change. OK, but I still couldn’t answer why, at least definitively. There were lots of good studies that

had been done, there was a lot of research available at that time, but I was

unsure on a number of occasions, a number of issues, such as, for example, I tend to be an early

adopter, but am I an early adopter always, under every circumstance? I don’t know this. And why are

people early adopters? Rogers had some ideas, but there was not enough research

out there to adequately answer these questions, so I decided as a part of– in fact, it was my disser-

tation research– to take a look at a group of people being asked to change. It just so happened that

I was an educator at that time, and, therefore, focusing my attention on teachers. It could have been

any group. It could have been truck drivers.

It could have been nurses at hospitals. It could have been a variety, but I had a good working rela-

tionship in the public schools, and I knew that I could get the data that I needed, and so therefore I

chose that as my population. In order to do this study– as you will with any study–

you’ve got to ask yourself questions such as, what data do I need? The literature is speaking about

what is important, but the literature also has holes in it, and those holes are important because they

identify the reason why you’re going to do the study in the first place. So I’ve got a reason for doing

the study, and I’ve defined a population that I’m

going to use for this study. But I realized that I couldn’t make the argument that any school district

or any set of teachers in the state would be reasonable. I wanted to be able to generalize to a much

broader group than just, say, going to the local high school where I was a former teacher,

for example, or going to a variety of high schools near the university where I was going to school. So

I created a much more complex randomization system. We refer to it typically as a strategic random

sampling, or a categorical random sample is sometimes used.

So what I’m going to do is I’m going to stratify my sample on two important variables. I felt that there

would obviously have to be a difference in the size of the schools that the teachers were teaching in.

That a school district that had 14 teachers in it– like my first high school that I taught in– I

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was one of 14 teachers in the school district that taught high school. Then I moved to another district

that had 120 teachers in it. I knew of districts in the state of Illinois that had only high schools– they

were actually an entire district, and that community had an elementary district, a middle school dis-

trict,

and a high school district. Just in terms of how much money teachers in those districts had a chance

to spend was enough of an indication that I needed to include some from each of those. So using a

definition that the state put out, I said, I’m going to have some small schools, I’m going to have some

middle-sized schools,

and I’m going to have some large schools. In addition to that, in the state of Illinois– as it is in many

states around the country– you have a city and a lot of other much smaller cities. We had the Chica-

go School Corporation school district, and we had Springfield, we had Champaign, but as soon as

you leave Chicago and leave

the suburbs and the city proper, you go down in size precipitously. These are much smaller school

districts, so I also employed on the second level– in the second arm of the stratification– the urban,

suburban, or rural. I wanted to make sure that I got differences

in ways of living in addition to the size of the budget, and went with both sides of those. Now I took

the state’s list of schools and I basically put every school district in the state into one of these six

categories. Then I selected at least two from each of those categories

and went out and started collecting data. This was a way for me to be able to argue that I have ad-

equately polled the state. In other words, every school district in the state had a chance to be in the

subject pool. I wasn’t leaving anyone else out. The ones that were in there were in there because of

chance.

They were randomly selected, so therefore when I got done I could at least argue that every district

in the state of Illinois ought to pay attention to my findings. Now I actually thought that it would gener-

alize much broader than that because I don’t think that there is really that much difference, but, tech-

nically, according to research methodology, I would have to argue that my population is high school

teachers in the state of Illinois, and I had randomly selected an appropriate grouping so that I could

argue back to that group when I got done my work. Let’s take a look at procedure. How do you go

about– now that you’ve got the study arranged– you know what you want to do.

I’ll get into the exact questions that I was looking for in just a moment, but let’s take a look at pro-

cedure and I’ll build those two together. Procedure and design, we’ll build them together as we go

on here. The first thing that I knew was important was getting support. Today, we have the issue of

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IRBs– Institutional Review

Boards– which make it much more demanding to ensure that you have done a great deal of work in

advance so that you have the right to go into that environment and work with human subjects– that

you have taken the necessary precautions. In the day that I did this study it was not required.

This was before IRB requirements and so I needed to put together all of the procedures. And keep

in mind– and at that time the most important thing was, am I going to be successful in getting the job

done? I’m concerned about such things as, am I going to be allowed in the door?

Now, as I said, I was a high school teacher myself for many years, and I had lots of colleagues

around the state. I was a president of a state organization, I knew a lot of people throughout the state

of Illinois at that time, and I knew I could get my foot in the door. But now, remember, I have randomly

selected a group of school districts that I’m going to be working with

and I don’t know all of those people. And I do know that superintendents and principals tend to get

a little bit concerned when strangers start walking the halls. In fact, you are not allowed– even back

then– you were not allowed to do that. You had to check in at the office. Without permission I knew

that I couldn’t get this study done. So that was the first step.

I also thought that getting this permission and support would help me in getting returns from the

teachers themselves. I didn’t want to have to take the time– it turned out that there were going to be

604 teachers that I was going to be surveying. Talking to 604 people and getting their permission is

rather impossible, so the permission

was going to be at the front. If you complete this instrument you are giving permission to participate

in the study. But, again, before I could go in the door I needed to lay this out, so I took my proposal in

a very tidy, little abstract, to school boards and superintendents, got their permission to do the study.

Here’s how I’m going to protect people’s confidentiality. I’m not going to get into anyone’s way. I am

going to do this in innocuously so that the teachers aren’t bothered, the students aren’t bothered,

your educational process is not going to be affected by me being there. In addition, I wanted to show

them what

I thought I could do for them. As a result of my work, you will get a copy of the data, you will get some

assessment information about your school district and about what’s going on in your high school with

regard to computers, and I think you’ll find this information valuable. So I laid out the study in front of

them and got their permission.

Then from the superintendents and boards I went to the individual building principals and got their

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support. At this level I thought that it would be very helpful if, together, the principal and I told the

teachers what was going on and why we were doing it.

What’s the study all about? Why are you being asked to participate? And, oh, by the way, it is now

being sponsored by the school district. They are on my team, if you will, and I felt that that would in

fact improve my return rate when I gave the teachers the questionnaire that I was going to give them.

It turned out that I was right.

I received 67% of the instruments back completed in a way that I could use them, and a 67% is a

reasonable return rate– in fact, today it’s a rather sizable return rate. My students are often struggling

with 25% and 30% return rates and having to do Herculean efforts to get their return

rate up high enough to be able to report their findings. So getting a 67% return rate and having all

the other qualitative data that I collected, I really felt like I had something that I could argue with and

work with as I went forward with my data analysis and writing up my final report.

Now we’re going to go in and survey the teachers– all the teachers– and we’re going to case study

the school. Again, this is a modified case study because I’m not able to let the system talk to me. I’m

not going in to spend six months or a year.

I’m not going to allow all of this to just come to me. I’m going in with a very specific purpose. Let’s

take a look at that purpose and you’ll see what I mean. I have to modify the case study methodology

in order to fit my need, and that’s why we’re not going to refer to this as a case study, per se, but

more

as a mixed methods research design. We’re basically going to look at a number of independent vari-

ables and compare them to an important dependent variable, and that is, to what extent are teachers

using the microcomputer? I’m going to look at such things as age, gender,

educational level, years of teaching experience, the kind of subject that they’re teaching, their per-

ceptions with regard to a computer, their use of AV equipment– for example, I thought, well if people

don’t use overhead projectors and they don’t use slide projectors and other things that we currently

have available, why would the microcomputer be treated any different?

I wanted to get their own perceptions of self-efficacy based on Bandura’s work and others. There

was this topic at that time talked about regarding computer anxiety, and a great deal of attention was

being paid on how anxious does this machine make people feel? I also wanted to know their percep-

tion–

their personal perception– of innovativeness. How innovative did they consider themselves to be?

And finally I wanted to see how engaged they were beyond simply teaching and doing a job. Were

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they, in fact, engaged in professional organizations? Did they stay in the literature? Were they in-

volved in any kinds of other things outside it

that improved their professionalism? So those were my independent variables that were going to be

compared to the dependent variable degree of computer use. Now, again, this is

the quantitative side

of the study. I’m simply going to be looking at, how can I compare these variables? If I find a serious

variance in the amount of use

of the computer, which of these independent variables give me a good explanation as to what is

going on? But I think you can already see that, yes, that’s all fine and well, but you still don’t know

enough. You’re not going to be able– when someone answers all my questions and I’ve thought up

what I thought was important with regard to computer anxiety, do I really understand what’s going on

in that person’s mind? And the answer is no. And I know, as a counseling psychologist, that I’m not

going to be able to get inside until I start talking with people. So this is one instrument that allows me

a shortcut, but it’s a snapshot in time– in their frame of mind

at that point in time– and I felt that I needed more data. So this was the other side of the coin, and

that is the research questions that guided the case study. The modified case study side of the study

was, what is the history of computer use in this district and by this individual? And how is the com-

puter being introduced– or how was

it introduced– into the environment? How did they learn of this innovation? And how do they even

define this innovation, which you’ll find is different for whomever you talk to. You’ll see that as we look

at some of the data that came out of the study. And then the history of innovation–

is this an institution that you would say is traditional or is this an institution that you would say is cut-

ting-edge? Again, see how subjective this is. I’m allowing the system to talk to me and making some

understandings based on what I’ve learned in collecting this qualitative data. Finally I wanted to know

where all the computers were,

who was using them, how were they being used, what courses were being taught, and all of those

kinds of things. Again, remember this study was done– what we would say– early in the diffusion of

the microcomputer process. This was well in advance of inexpensive microcomputers. It was well in

advance– years, in fact,

it was more than a decade in advance– of the internet, so we’re talking about a very early stage in

this particular innovation. That’s another issue that would come out of this study– that, as the age of

the innovation changes and it gets older and older and more and more developed, things change as

to people’s reactions

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to it. That’s why Rogers’ model goes in this direction. It talks about innovation over a period of time.

All right, so on the first day of this study I would show up at the school district, I would sign in, I would

get my name badge, and be ready to go about the halls. I would have a cardboard box with me,

and I would have one instrument for every teacher in that school. I would turn to their mailboxes, and

I would put a survey in each person’s mailbox. Again, this was back before internet, this was back

before e-mail– none of the SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics or any of those kinds of things. This was pen-

cil and paper.

It was a seven page instrument. I was very concerned about that, but nonetheless, 67% return rate,

seven pages wasn’t too much and they were willing to do it. Put them all in their mailboxes with in-

structions that, throughout the day, when they finish it, just put it in the box which was on the counter.

The principal’s secretary kept an eye on the box,

and people would put their surveys back in there. Then I would get my notebook out and I would start

walking the halls of the school. So for the rest of day one, after I’d done that, I’d introduce myself, I’d

start walking around, explain why I’m there, and just started interviewing everybody on my list. I felt

that it was important to interview the principal,

to interview the guidance counselors, and to interview anyone who was in any way connected to a

computer. So I went around the building, I found where the computers were, I scheduled appoint-

ments with the teachers, I even watched some classes as they were going on, but I made sure that I

had an interview guide sheet in advance. If I were going to talk to teachers,

what do I need to know from them? If I were going to talk to an administrator, what do I need to know

from that individual? If I talk with students, what would I need to know from them? What would I think

that I need to know? Because, again, with the qualitative methods, what we’re going to do is we’re

going to listen, and listen carefully. And this leads to a data collection and data analysis

issue. One of the things that I don’t like doing is to spend my time making notes. I also don’t like to

use a recording device primarily because a recording device changes the situation with the individ-

ual. Individuals being recorded tend to get nervous

and, consequently, I want it to be a natural setting. I want to sit down and I want to talk with the per-

son. I want to help them to recognize I’m one of them. I understand their daily routine. I understand

how important their free time is. I understand and I wanted to have this to be an open conversation

between two colleagues

and I used all of my interviewing skills to do that. I’m a counseling psychologist, I’ve been practicing

years and years on how to ask the appropriate questions, how to get feedback, but I don’t know what

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they’re going to say. So I may have a set of questions in front of me and I’m ready to ask these ques-

tions, but before that interview is over

they may turn a light bulb on for me and, suddenly, I’m making a little note to the side that I need to

ask more questions about this because if this is true then I’ve really got something here that I need to

pay attention to. As I went on, the interview guide sheet is going to be adjusted– and I want to make

sure that I do this for everyone–

but I’m learning things. I’m going to start with my basic questions, but I will end up with an ultimate

list before I’m done. So I’m listening to you, I’m interviewing you, and I’m getting answers to my ques-

tions. I’m making notes, but I make minimal notes basically focused on facts– facts that I am likely to

forget.

So I’ve got a pad here, I’ve got my questions, and I’m going to write down– without, perhaps, even

stop looking at you– I’m going to keep looking at you and write without looking at my notes, and

make those brief little comments there. Then the important thing happens– and I’ve got my nickname

for it– called the brain dump. I’m going to leave this interview

and I’m going to find a way for me to get to my computer or to my notebook and sit down and write

the answers to the questions fresh in my mind. I’ve got the interview guide sheet and I can go back–

all right, what did the person say about this? And start writing. Now I recognize that some things drop

out,

but I have found that I don’t lose that much. If I can get to a machine quickly or to my notebook

quickly after the interview, I can then write out my notes, get the answers to the questions, even get

the quotes that I’m going to need to make this real when people read it later on from that interview

without having

to spoil the interview by writing notes all the time. Again, I don’t like to interfere with a recording de-

vice. I don’t like to interfere by not looking the person in the eye. I want to get a dialogue going with

the individual and get them sharing honestly and openly.

Here’s what I found. First of all, I found that there was limited access. We were talking about an in-

novation that had struck. We were talking about an innovation that was clearly relevant to teachers,

clearly relevant to basically everyone at that point in time. Today we can’t live without it– most people

agree–

there was no question about it whatsoever, but in this day there was a huge question as to why this

was needed. In fact, one of the important things that I learned was the definition of the innovation

change depending on who I was talking to. If I talked to a math teacher, the computer

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was needed because that person was teaching students how to think logically, and programming was

essential. They were going to program. They were going to use mathematical algorithms to develop

software. If I talk to business teachers, I heard about management information systems,

and I heard about databases, and I heard about word processing– making what they used in busi-

ness. If I talked with superintendents and principals, I heard, we need computers because our stu-

dents need to be computer literate. When I talked with teachers, I virtually never heard about what

benefit it was to their students.

I only heard what benefit it was about to them. So here we were talking about an innovation and one

of the first things that I learned was, but whose perception of the innovation are we talking about? A

single innovation is not a single innovation. Even your telephone is not just a telephone– and today,

with our smartphones. We clearly understand that innovation is multiple things to multiple people. So

it was very important when I went into a district and learned that the superintendent and the board

of education’s goal was to have computer-aided instruction so that they could eliminate a number of

teaching positions

and reduce their budget. Wow, that was an incredibly important finding because what I was hearing

from the teachers was, there is no way that a machine can do my job better than I can do my job,

and immediately could see that, well why would someone want to use something to eliminate their

jobs so that they would have to do something else?

It was an important revelation and had to be factored into the theoretical underpinnings that I was

dealing with as I was thinking about the study. So I found that there was limited access to the com-

puter, I found that there was differences in the opinion as to why the computer was needed, but I did

find that approximately 60%

of the teachers were in fact using the computer. They were using the computer primarily as a word

processor. They had no need for computer-aided instruction, they had no need for databases, they

had no need for spreadsheets– at least they didn’t think they had any need for those things. But they

did have need for handouts. They had a need for tests.

They had need for quizzes. They had need so that they didn’t have to type it over and over and over

again, which is what I was used to. We were in a day of typewriters and ditto masters, where you

mass-produced with spirit duplicating machines. And here was a device that had a memory, and I

could record my test and put it on a disk

and I could replicate my work and become more effective. Personally, my job got easier and a little

more fun. I didn’t have to worry about all of this, am I ready for class? No, I can just bring it off the

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computer and go in. So I’m learning this as we went along here. On the other side, when we got to

the quantitative side

of things, I learned a great deal there as well. First of all, the old adage that you can’t teach an old

dog new tricks is not true. There is no relationship between age and an individual’s willingness to use

innovations. As a matter of fact, even in that day you could go to community-based training programs

for this new innovation called the microcomputer

and you would find as many older people as you would younger people. Age in many studies has

dropped out to the point where, from this study on, I did not use age as a variable again. We can

argue that we’ve settled this issue. When it comes to doing things differently, a young person is no

more likely to do something

than an older person is. The same thing can be said true for gender. It is no more likely that a man is

going to do something differently than a woman. The same thing went for education level. Interesting-

ly, this variable– educational level– was 100% different from what Rogers argued that his innovators

and early adopters

tended to be high early educated and more affluent individuals to be able to afford and have the

wherewithal to participate in new innovations. That doesn’t seem to hold in this particular context and

had to be factored into our theoretical thinking. Everything else, however, was strongly related.

Your perception of the value of the innovation obviously is going to impact whether or not you want to

use the innovation– your anxiety levels, your abilities, your confidence levels in yourself. The issue

of innovativeness did show up to be statistically significant and strongly related to the willingness to

use the microcomputer,

but I immediately recognized that this variable is contrary to what’s really going on. Let me put it this

way– it goes back to the issue about using a survey to ask people what they think. The people tell

me on the survey that they’re highly innovative. Their behavior tells me that no, they’re not.

In fact, you can read study after study after study that will say to you, a human’s reaction to doing

things differently is to resist or to reject it. To find ways to say no. Since then I’ve come up with a

model that argues that. I think what’s going on is that, in most cases,

when you first start looking at an innovation, the costs of implementation– of buying it, of learning it–

to your sense of self– I’m a really good typer, I know how to do it until I get on this computer and now

I’m incompetent. All of those things weigh in on the costs side.

So the costs are extremely high, especially early in the innovative process. And that has to be

weighed against the benefits side. What are the benefits? It can do this a little bit better. Yes, a little

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bit better. And people are talking about what it can do for others. And, oh, by the way, the employer

in most cases

is going to get a lot more out of this than I’m going to get out of this. I’m just going to be doing more

with less. All of these are really good– costs with minimal benefits. It’s like saying, are you willing to

spend $50 to get $5 worth of merchandise? And the answer is, of course not. That would be silly. I’m

looking for a sale.

It is usually the case that when people are presented with the opportunity to change– to do some-

thing different– to employ an innovation that has been out there for quite some time, that they’re

going to say no. Those reasons are based on previous experience. Those reasons are based on

their perception of the cost-benefit analysis and whether or not that innovation has any personal rel-

evance.

That’s exactly what I learned when I did this study. It’s led me to further studies and developing of a

theoretical adjustment to what Rogers and others have done at that time. In this study, we had the

opportunity to collect data from multiple sources

and use the qualitative data to analyze and interpret the quantitative data. We learned a great deal

from this, collected a lot of the data in a short period of time, and were able to add to the understand-

ing of what goes on when innovations are being diffused through a social unit.

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473975736

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https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473975736

SAGE Research Methods Video

Researching Diffusion of Innovations Using a Mixed Methods Design

SAGE Research Methods Video

Researching Diffusion of Innovations Using a Mixed

Methods Design

Contributors: W. T. Foster

Pub. Date: 2016

Product: SAGE Research Methods Video

DOI:

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473975736

Methods: Mixed methods, Sampling, Ethical approval

Keywords: access to computers, anxiety, behavior change, change management, computer literacy,

computer-assisted instruction, diffusion of innovation, education, funding of schools, microcomputers,

motivation, perception (psychology), practices, strategies, and tools, professional behavior, public schools,

School administration, School boards, School district size, Supporters, teacher attitudes, teacher leadership,

technology in the classroom

Disciplines: Business and Management, Education, Psychology, Sociology

Access Date: January 11, 2023

Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Ltd.

Online ISBN: 9781473975736

© 2016 SAGE Publications, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473975736

Hi, my name is Tad Foster. I’m a Professor at Indiana State University in the Department of Human

Resource Development. I’m going to talk to you today about a research project that I did several

years ago– in fact, one of my earlier research projects– in which I used mixed methods. The deci-

sion to use that technique was based on the kinds of information

that I was looking for. We’ll get into that in just a moment. For today, for this presentation, I’m going

to give you a little bit of the background– a little bit of the context of this study– but we’re going to

focus our attention on the design, the procedures that were used, the data collection, data analysis,

and then wrap up on the findings and conclusions. We’ll end with the lessons that I learned,

and there were several lessons in this project. In practically every project you do there will be multiple

lessons, some of which you intended to get because you were asking certain questions of your sub-

jects and of your design, but others that you’re going to learn because you have those oh, dang mo-

ments– or some other– that have taught you

something that you weren’t expecting to learn. In this particular case, we’re looking at the microcom-

puter. Back in the day when I did this, this would have been the way we would have talked. I did a

study on the use of the microcomputer

by public schools teachers in the high schools of Illinois. I basically was able to scan the entire state

by using a specific selection process of the school districts that were going to be employed. What I

was looking at was based on the work of E. M. Rogers. I was trying to find out what was going on

at the psychological level with teachers as they were thinking about this innovation. Rogers wrote

several books on the issue of diffusion of innovations. How do innovations start from, they’re out

there in the world and we become aware of them to the point at which it’s actually being employed

and used in the social unit?

He’s been studying that for a long, long time. He’s now passed away, but his books are still used in

a lot of research contexts. It takes a look at what I always argued as an aerial view, or a sociological

view, of the issue– of looking at it, say, from above and looking at the various nuances of the system.

What I wanted to do was to get down inside because one of the things that I did have concern about

with regard to Rogers’ work is the issue of people’s personality types. He went through great lengths

to talk about innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. As you read his

book you get the impression

that these are psychological constructs. In other words, an individual who is an innovator is an inno-

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Researching Diffusion of Innovations Using a Mixed Methods Design

vator in all aspects of his or her life. I couldn’t buy that proposition without additional data and went

into it to do that. One of my concerns was that I was unsure that I would be able to get enough data

to answer all

the questions that I needed to know by just simply asking questions in a survey– handing out a ques-

tionnaire and having people give it back to me. And we’re going to basically talk about putting togeth-

er two designs that some would argue shouldn’t be put together, and others will argue, yes,

they work together quite well. If we think about mixed methods in general, first of all quantitative de-

signs are such that we want to state in advance, prior to doing anything– in fact, we call it a priori

designs– because we are designing everything.

We are choosing all of our variables, we are choosing how we’re going to relate those variables,

we’re going to choose how we collect the data, from whom, and then– once we have the data– what

we’re going to do with that data. We have all those decisions made before we collect one bit of data.

On the qualitative side, we tend to take the argument

that we want the situation to speak to us. We’re not wanting to say what we’re going to find, we want

to go in there and find it. Again, we’re going at it from, perhaps, a completely different philosophical

position. Whereas in the first case, we seem to be arguing, we know what’s important, we know what

we need to collect,

and we know what we need to do with it once we collect it. We are more concerned about specifying

the effect of something on something else, or the relationship of something on something else when

we do this in a constructivist point of view. But when you’re doing it from more of an existential point

of view you’re trying to let the situation speak to you.

What’s important to them? What’s going on there? And the variables– the themes– will emerge out

of that qualitative data collection and analysis. Recently, the mixed methods approach has gained a

great deal of popularity. We now have a professional organization

that is holding conferences. Books are being written. SAGE Publications has several books on mixed

methods now, as do other publishers. We are recognizing that there are reasons why we would start

out by wanting to mix the two together. Now, in this case, Creswell, in his most recent book, talked

about three primary reasons.

They’re not exclusive reasons– they may not have even come up when I was thinking about them–

but they do make a nice qualification system. Let me just run through them real quickly. First of all, he

calls some studies convergent studies, where we’re trying to compare data from the multiple sources

and collect it holistically– collecting it and bringing

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it to bear on the questions that we’re trying to answer. The second category was explanatory sequen-

tial. Essentially what we’re using is the qualitative data set to help us explain the quantitative data. I

would say that the study I’m going to talk to you about was that kind of study.

I needed multiple bits of data. The quantitative data was going to tell me what the teachers were

willing to do at that time– what they were willing to say to me. I have great reservations, personally,

when it comes to the survey design. I don’t want to go so far as to suggest that all people are

liars, but all people tend to put themselves in the best context, so I needed to be able to analyze the

data in ways I felt deeper than I could get if I were just going to compare variable A against variable

B, or the number of independent variables that I collected

and comparing them to the dependent variables. I’m going to learn a lot– it’s unequivocal– and I’m

very comfortable and confident that I will learn what I need to know by that, but then it becomes the

business of, how do I interpret it? I don’t know the context that these people live in, and so I’ve al-

ways argued through my years of working

with graduate students that we should not only collect the data that we absolutely need, but we

should know the context. And there are many situations– in fact, much of graduate education, where

people are trying to get graduated in a reasonable length of time– requires them to use methods that

are quick

and, consequently, they tend to be dirty. That is helped if we can find ways to provide context– so

using the qualitative data to help us explain the quantitative data that we have received. The final

category is exploratory sequential. Here you’re basically arguing that we don’t know enough

about the situation, and that if we’d collected some data in advance, qualitatively, from a group of

subjects, we could then start to narrow in on the variables that were important. Then we can build

the measures necessary to do the quantitative analysis of that same phenomenon

that we’re taking a look at. We’re not sure what our independent and dependent variables are. We’re

not sure what’s really important in this context, and so before we start looking at cause and effect or

correlational relationships, we are simply going to try to narrow down the variables

that we’re going to need to be looking at. This could be likened to when you build a survey instrument.

It’s not uncommon to go out with a survey instrument and say to a group of people, just write in your

answers, I’m going to just ask you a big question like why don’t you vote? Put down whatever comes

to your mind

and then from that you can extract the important issues that people are bringing up. Then you can

build the variables that you would be looking for that you would go out and survey a much broader

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population or sample of people. In this case, again, we are going to be taking a look at why public

school teachers were

or were not using the microcomputer. As I said earlier, I’m trying to provide a psychological dimension

to the diffusion of innovations research. Since then, I have branched that out into multiple directions,

but at this point I was relatively new to the concepts– to the ideas– and trying to understand this

whole business of,

it is possible to change? Everything that I had read up to that point said, most people don’t want to

change. OK, but I still couldn’t answer why, at least definitively. There were lots of good studies that

had been done, there was a lot of research available at that time, but I was

unsure on a number of occasions, a number of issues, such as, for example, I tend to be an early

adopter, but am I an early adopter always, under every circumstance? I don’t know this. And why are

people early adopters? Rogers had some ideas, but there was not enough research

out there to adequately answer these questions, so I decided as a part of– in fact, it was my disser-

tation research– to take a look at a group of people being asked to change. It just so happened that

I was an educator at that time, and, therefore, focusing my attention on teachers. It could have been

any group. It could have been truck drivers.

It could have been nurses at hospitals. It could have been a variety, but I had a good working rela-

tionship in the public schools, and I knew that I could get the data that I needed, and so therefore I

chose that as my population. In order to do this study– as you will with any study–

you’ve got to ask yourself questions such as, what data do I need? The literature is speaking about

what is important, but the literature also has holes in it, and those holes are important because they

identify the reason why you’re going to do the study in the first place. So I’ve got a reason for doing

the study, and I’ve defined a population that I’m

going to use for this study. But I realized that I couldn’t make the argument that any school district

or any set of teachers in the state would be reasonable. I wanted to be able to generalize to a much

broader group than just, say, going to the local high school where I was a former teacher,

for example, or going to a variety of high schools near the university where I was going to school. So

I created a much more complex randomization system. We refer to it typically as a strategic random

sampling, or a categorical random sample is sometimes used.

So what I’m going to do is I’m going to stratify my sample on two important variables. I felt that there

would obviously have to be a difference in the size of the schools that the teachers were teaching in.

That a school district that had 14 teachers in it– like my first high school that I taught in– I

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was one of 14 teachers in the school district that taught high school. Then I moved to another district

that had 120 teachers in it. I knew of districts in the state of Illinois that had only high schools– they

were actually an entire district, and that community had an elementary district, a middle school dis-

trict,

and a high school district. Just in terms of how much money teachers in those districts had a chance

to spend was enough of an indication that I needed to include some from each of those. So using a

definition that the state put out, I said, I’m going to have some small schools, I’m going to have some

middle-sized schools,

and I’m going to have some large schools. In addition to that, in the state of Illinois– as it is in many

states around the country– you have a city and a lot of other much smaller cities. We had the Chica-

go School Corporation school district, and we had Springfield, we had Champaign, but as soon as

you leave Chicago and leave

the suburbs and the city proper, you go down in size precipitously. These are much smaller school

districts, so I also employed on the second level– in the second arm of the stratification– the urban,

suburban, or rural. I wanted to make sure that I got differences

in ways of living in addition to the size of the budget, and went with both sides of those. Now I took

the state’s list of schools and I basically put every school district in the state into one of these six

categories. Then I selected at least two from each of those categories

and went out and started collecting data. This was a way for me to be able to argue that I have ad-

equately polled the state. In other words, every school district in the state had a chance to be in the

subject pool. I wasn’t leaving anyone else out. The ones that were in there were in there because of

chance.

They were randomly selected, so therefore when I got done I could at least argue that every district

in the state of Illinois ought to pay attention to my findings. Now I actually thought that it would gener-

alize much broader than that because I don’t think that there is really that much difference, but, tech-

nically, according to research methodology, I would have to argue that my population is high school

teachers in the state of Illinois, and I had randomly selected an appropriate grouping so that I could

argue back to that group when I got done my work. Let’s take a look at procedure. How do you go

about– now that you’ve got the study arranged– you know what you want to do.

I’ll get into the exact questions that I was looking for in just a moment, but let’s take a look at pro-

cedure and I’ll build those two together. Procedure and design, we’ll build them together as we go

on here. The first thing that I knew was important was getting support. Today, we have the issue of

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IRBs– Institutional Review

Boards– which make it much more demanding to ensure that you have done a great deal of work in

advance so that you have the right to go into that environment and work with human subjects– that

you have taken the necessary precautions. In the day that I did this study it was not required.

This was before IRB requirements and so I needed to put together all of the procedures. And keep

in mind– and at that time the most important thing was, am I going to be successful in getting the job

done? I’m concerned about such things as, am I going to be allowed in the door?

Now, as I said, I was a high school teacher myself for many years, and I had lots of colleagues

around the state. I was a president of a state organization, I knew a lot of people throughout the state

of Illinois at that time, and I knew I could get my foot in the door. But now, remember, I have randomly

selected a group of school districts that I’m going to be working with

and I don’t know all of those people. And I do know that superintendents and principals tend to get

a little bit concerned when strangers start walking the halls. In fact, you are not allowed– even back

then– you were not allowed to do that. You had to check in at the office. Without permission I knew

that I couldn’t get this study done. So that was the first step.

I also thought that getting this permission and support would help me in getting returns from the

teachers themselves. I didn’t want to have to take the time– it turned out that there were going to be

604 teachers that I was going to be surveying. Talking to 604 people and getting their permission is

rather impossible, so the permission

was going to be at the front. If you complete this instrument you are giving permission to participate

in the study. But, again, before I could go in the door I needed to lay this out, so I took my proposal in

a very tidy, little abstract, to school boards and superintendents, got their permission to do the study.

Here’s how I’m going to protect people’s confidentiality. I’m not going to get into anyone’s way. I am

going to do this in innocuously so that the teachers aren’t bothered, the students aren’t bothered,

your educational process is not going to be affected by me being there. In addition, I wanted to show

them what

I thought I could do for them. As a result of my work, you will get a copy of the data, you will get some

assessment information about your school district and about what’s going on in your high school with

regard to computers, and I think you’ll find this information valuable. So I laid out the study in front of

them and got their permission.

Then from the superintendents and boards I went to the individual building principals and got their

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support. At this level I thought that it would be very helpful if, together, the principal and I told the

teachers what was going on and why we were doing it.

What’s the study all about? Why are you being asked to participate? And, oh, by the way, it is now

being sponsored by the school district. They are on my team, if you will, and I felt that that would in

fact improve my return rate when I gave the teachers the questionnaire that I was going to give them.

It turned out that I was right.

I received 67% of the instruments back completed in a way that I could use them, and a 67% is a

reasonable return rate– in fact, today it’s a rather sizable return rate. My students are often struggling

with 25% and 30% return rates and having to do Herculean efforts to get their return

rate up high enough to be able to report their findings. So getting a 67% return rate and having all

the other qualitative data that I collected, I really felt like I had something that I could argue with and

work with as I went forward with my data analysis and writing up my final report.

Now we’re going to go in and survey the teachers– all the teachers– and we’re going to case study

the school. Again, this is a modified case study because I’m not able to let the system talk to me. I’m

not going in to spend six months or a year.

I’m not going to allow all of this to just come to me. I’m going in with a very specific purpose. Let’s

take a look at that purpose and you’ll see what I mean. I have to modify the case study methodology

in order to fit my need, and that’s why we’re not going to refer to this as a case study, per se, but

more

as a mixed methods research design. We’re basically going to look at a number of independent vari-

ables and compare them to an important dependent variable, and that is, to what extent are teachers

using the microcomputer? I’m going to look at such things as age, gender,

educational level, years of teaching experience, the kind of subject that they’re teaching, their per-

ceptions with regard to a computer, their use of AV equipment– for example, I thought, well if people

don’t use overhead projectors and they don’t use slide projectors and other things that we currently

have available, why would the microcomputer be treated any different?

I wanted to get their own perceptions of self-efficacy based on Bandura’s work and others. There

was this topic at that time talked about regarding computer anxiety, and a great deal of attention was

being paid on how anxious does this machine make people feel? I also wanted to know their percep-

tion–

their personal perception– of innovativeness. How innovative did they consider themselves to be?

And finally I wanted to see how engaged they were beyond simply teaching and doing a job. Were

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they, in fact, engaged in professional organizations? Did they stay in the literature? Were they in-

volved in any kinds of other things outside it

that improved their professionalism? So those were my independent variables that were going to be

compared to the dependent variable degree of computer use. Now, again, this is

the quantitative side

of the study. I’m simply going to be looking at, how can I compare these variables? If I find a serious

variance in the amount of use

of the computer, which of these independent variables give me a good explanation as to what is

going on? But I think you can already see that, yes, that’s all fine and well, but you still don’t know

enough. You’re not going to be able– when someone answers all my questions and I’ve thought up

what I thought was important with regard to computer anxiety, do I really understand what’s going on

in that person’s mind? And the answer is no. And I know, as a counseling psychologist, that I’m not

going to be able to get inside until I start talking with people. So this is one instrument that allows me

a shortcut, but it’s a snapshot in time– in their frame of mind

at that point in time– and I felt that I needed more data. So this was the other side of the coin, and

that is the research questions that guided the case study. The modified case study side of the study

was, what is the history of computer use in this district and by this individual? And how is the com-

puter being introduced– or how was

it introduced– into the environment? How did they learn of this innovation? And how do they even

define this innovation, which you’ll find is different for whomever you talk to. You’ll see that as we look

at some of the data that came out of the study. And then the history of innovation–

is this an institution that you would say is traditional or is this an institution that you would say is cut-

ting-edge? Again, see how subjective this is. I’m allowing the system to talk to me and making some

understandings based on what I’ve learned in collecting this qualitative data. Finally I wanted to know

where all the computers were,

who was using them, how were they being used, what courses were being taught, and all of those

kinds of things. Again, remember this study was done– what we would say– early in the diffusion of

the microcomputer process. This was well in advance of inexpensive microcomputers. It was well in

advance– years, in fact,

it was more than a decade in advance– of the internet, so we’re talking about a very early stage in

this particular innovation. That’s another issue that would come out of this study– that, as the age of

the innovation changes and it gets older and older and more and more developed, things change as

to people’s reactions

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to it. That’s why Rogers’ model goes in this direction. It talks about innovation over a period of time.

All right, so on the first day of this study I would show up at the school district, I would sign in, I would

get my name badge, and be ready to go about the halls. I would have a cardboard box with me,

and I would have one instrument for every teacher in that school. I would turn to their mailboxes, and

I would put a survey in each person’s mailbox. Again, this was back before internet, this was back

before e-mail– none of the SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics or any of those kinds of things. This was pen-

cil and paper.

It was a seven page instrument. I was very concerned about that, but nonetheless, 67% return rate,

seven pages wasn’t too much and they were willing to do it. Put them all in their mailboxes with in-

structions that, throughout the day, when they finish it, just put it in the box which was on the counter.

The principal’s secretary kept an eye on the box,

and people would put their surveys back in there. Then I would get my notebook out and I would start

walking the halls of the school. So for the rest of day one, after I’d done that, I’d introduce myself, I’d

start walking around, explain why I’m there, and just started interviewing everybody on my list. I felt

that it was important to interview the principal,

to interview the guidance counselors, and to interview anyone who was in any way connected to a

computer. So I went around the building, I found where the computers were, I scheduled appoint-

ments with the teachers, I even watched some classes as they were going on, but I made sure that I

had an interview guide sheet in advance. If I were going to talk to teachers,

what do I need to know from them? If I were going to talk to an administrator, what do I need to know

from that individual? If I talk with students, what would I need to know from them? What would I think

that I need to know? Because, again, with the qualitative methods, what we’re going to do is we’re

going to listen, and listen carefully. And this leads to a data collection and data analysis

issue. One of the things that I don’t like doing is to spend my time making notes. I also don’t like to

use a recording device primarily because a recording device changes the situation with the individ-

ual. Individuals being recorded tend to get nervous

and, consequently, I want it to be a natural setting. I want to sit down and I want to talk with the per-

son. I want to help them to recognize I’m one of them. I understand their daily routine. I understand

how important their free time is. I understand and I wanted to have this to be an open conversation

between two colleagues

and I used all of my interviewing skills to do that. I’m a counseling psychologist, I’ve been practicing

years and years on how to ask the appropriate questions, how to get feedback, but I don’t know what

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they’re going to say. So I may have a set of questions in front of me and I’m ready to ask these ques-

tions, but before that interview is over

they may turn a light bulb on for me and, suddenly, I’m making a little note to the side that I need to

ask more questions about this because if this is true then I’ve really got something here that I need to

pay attention to. As I went on, the interview guide sheet is going to be adjusted– and I want to make

sure that I do this for everyone–

but I’m learning things. I’m going to start with my basic questions, but I will end up with an ultimate

list before I’m done. So I’m listening to you, I’m interviewing you, and I’m getting answers to my ques-

tions. I’m making notes, but I make minimal notes basically focused on facts– facts that I am likely to

forget.

So I’ve got a pad here, I’ve got my questions, and I’m going to write down– without, perhaps, even

stop looking at you– I’m going to keep looking at you and write without looking at my notes, and

make those brief little comments there. Then the important thing happens– and I’ve got my nickname

for it– called the brain dump. I’m going to leave this interview

and I’m going to find a way for me to get to my computer or to my notebook and sit down and write

the answers to the questions fresh in my mind. I’ve got the interview guide sheet and I can go back–

all right, what did the person say about this? And start writing. Now I recognize that some things drop

out,

but I have found that I don’t lose that much. If I can get to a machine quickly or to my notebook

quickly after the interview, I can then write out my notes, get the answers to the questions, even get

the quotes that I’m going to need to make this real when people read it later on from that interview

without having

to spoil the interview by writing notes all the time. Again, I don’t like to interfere with a recording de-

vice. I don’t like to interfere by not looking the person in the eye. I want to get a dialogue going with

the individual and get them sharing honestly and openly.

Here’s what I found. First of all, I found that there was limited access. We were talking about an in-

novation that had struck. We were talking about an innovation that was clearly relevant to teachers,

clearly relevant to basically everyone at that point in time. Today we can’t live without it– most people

agree–

there was no question about it whatsoever, but in this day there was a huge question as to why this

was needed. In fact, one of the important things that I learned was the definition of the innovation

change depending on who I was talking to. If I talked to a math teacher, the computer

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was needed because that person was teaching students how to think logically, and programming was

essential. They were going to program. They were going to use mathematical algorithms to develop

software. If I talk to business teachers, I heard about management information systems,

and I heard about databases, and I heard about word processing– making what they used in busi-

ness. If I talked with superintendents and principals, I heard, we need computers because our stu-

dents need to be computer literate. When I talked with teachers, I virtually never heard about what

benefit it was to their students.

I only heard what benefit it was about to them. So here we were talking about an innovation and one

of the first things that I learned was, but whose perception of the innovation are we talking about? A

single innovation is not a single innovation. Even your telephone is not just a telephone– and today,

with our smartphones. We clearly understand that innovation is multiple things to multiple people. So

it was very important when I went into a district and learned that the superintendent and the board

of education’s goal was to have computer-aided instruction so that they could eliminate a number of

teaching positions

and reduce their budget. Wow, that was an incredibly important finding because what I was hearing

from the teachers was, there is no way that a machine can do my job better than I can do my job,

and immediately could see that, well why would someone want to use something to eliminate their

jobs so that they would have to do something else?

It was an important revelation and had to be factored into the theoretical underpinnings that I was

dealing with as I was thinking about the study. So I found that there was limited access to the com-

puter, I found that there was differences in the opinion as to why the computer was needed, but I did

find that approximately 60%

of the teachers were in fact using the computer. They were using the computer primarily as a word

processor. They had no need for computer-aided instruction, they had no need for databases, they

had no need for spreadsheets– at least they didn’t think they had any need for those things. But they

did have need for handouts. They had a need for tests.

They had need for quizzes. They had need so that they didn’t have to type it over and over and over

again, which is what I was used to. We were in a day of typewriters and ditto masters, where you

mass-produced with spirit duplicating machines. And here was a device that had a memory, and I

could record my test and put it on a disk

and I could replicate my work and become more effective. Personally, my job got easier and a little

more fun. I didn’t have to worry about all of this, am I ready for class? No, I can just bring it off the

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computer and go in. So I’m learning this as we went along here. On the other side, when we got to

the quantitative side

of things, I learned a great deal there as well. First of all, the old adage that you can’t teach an old

dog new tricks is not true. There is no relationship between age and an individual’s willingness to use

innovations. As a matter of fact, even in that day you could go to community-based training programs

for this new innovation called the microcomputer

and you would find as many older people as you would younger people. Age in many studies has

dropped out to the point where, from this study on, I did not use age as a variable again. We can

argue that we’ve settled this issue. When it comes to doing things differently, a young person is no

more likely to do something

than an older person is. The same thing can be said true for gender. It is no more likely that a man is

going to do something differently than a woman. The same thing went for education level. Interesting-

ly, this variable– educational level– was 100% different from what Rogers argued that his innovators

and early adopters

tended to be high early educated and more affluent individuals to be able to afford and have the

wherewithal to participate in new innovations. That doesn’t seem to hold in this particular context and

had to be factored into our theoretical thinking. Everything else, however, was strongly related.

Your perception of the value of the innovation obviously is going to impact whether or not you want to

use the innovation– your anxiety levels, your abilities, your confidence levels in yourself. The issue

of innovativeness did show up to be statistically significant and strongly related to the willingness to

use the microcomputer,

but I immediately recognized that this variable is contrary to what’s really going on. Let me put it this

way– it goes back to the issue about using a survey to ask people what they think. The people tell

me on the survey that they’re highly innovative. Their behavior tells me that no, they’re not.

In fact, you can read study after study after study that will say to you, a human’s reaction to doing

things differently is to resist or to reject it. To find ways to say no. Since then I’ve come up with a

model that argues that. I think what’s going on is that, in most cases,

when you first start looking at an innovation, the costs of implementation– of buying it, of learning it–

to your sense of self– I’m a really good typer, I know how to do it until I get on this computer and now

I’m incompetent. All of those things weigh in on the costs side.

So the costs are extremely high, especially early in the innovative process. And that has to be

weighed against the benefits side. What are the benefits? It can do this a little bit better. Yes, a little

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bit better. And people are talking about what it can do for others. And, oh, by the way, the employer

in most cases

is going to get a lot more out of this than I’m going to get out of this. I’m just going to be doing more

with less. All of these are really good– costs with minimal benefits. It’s like saying, are you willing to

spend $50 to get $5 worth of merchandise? And the answer is, of course not. That would be silly. I’m

looking for a sale.

It is usually the case that when people are presented with the opportunity to change– to do some-

thing different– to employ an innovation that has been out there for quite some time, that they’re

going to say no. Those reasons are based on previous experience. Those reasons are based on

their perception of the cost-benefit analysis and whether or not that innovation has any personal rel-

evance.

That’s exactly what I learned when I did this study. It’s led me to further studies and developing of a

theoretical adjustment to what Rogers and others have done at that time. In this study, we had the

opportunity to collect data from multiple sources

and use the qualitative data to analyze and interpret the quantitative data. We learned a great deal

from this, collected a lot of the data in a short period of time, and were able to add to the understand-

ing of what goes on when innovations are being diffused through a social unit.

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473975736

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https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473975736

SAGE Research Methods Video

Researching Diffusion of Innovations Using a Mixed Methods Design

Editorial

Aconversation withMax vanManen on phenomenology in its
original sense

In this special issue, Nursing and Health Sciences shares a
range of qualitative research studies undertaken by new
and experienced researchers in the field of nursing and
health sciences. This editorial is presented as an interview
with Max van Manen, Emeritus Professor in Research
Methods, Pedagogy, and Curriculum Studies at the Department
of Secondary Education at the University of Alberta and
Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria, Canada. Max
van Manen is renowned internationally for his extensive works:
books, papers, presentations, workshops, and courses on phe-
nomenology, theory, methodology, and practice. As noted by
Janice Morse, in the Developing Qualitative Inquiry series, he
is the world’s champion of phenomenological theory and meth-
odology in education and the human sciences.

Max has been involved in phenomenology since he was an
adolescent in the Netherlands where, at school, he read works
by Sartre, Camus, Bollnow, and other related philosophical,
phenomenological, and literary authors fashionable at that
time. He says, “as a youngman I had quite an interest in philos-
ophy and phenomenological texts that influenced my later
working life in teaching and curriculum studies and research
methods.”As a university professor he soon offered a graduate
course in qualitative phenomenological research methods with
an emphasis on phenomenological writing, and aimed to help
students to understand phenomenology in its inceptual
(originary) philosophical sense.Max’s clear, articulate, and pas-
sionate expositions of phenomenological methodology and the
phenomenalities of lived experiences are memorable to those
who have heard him speak or have read any of his texts.

In this interview, Isabel Higgins and Pamela van der Riet
invited Max to consider the advice he might give to graduate
students practicing phenomenology. We asked this of Max with
concerns about what is currently being reported as phenomeno-
logical research and how to increase the depth of understanding
and engagement that is required by researchers to practice phe-
nomenology in its original sense and to differentiate it from
other forms of qualitative research.

In the introductory pages of his 2014 book, Phenomenology
of Practice, Max says:

This text is an invitation to openness, and an invitation of
openness to phenomenologies of lived meaning, the
meaning of meaning, and the originary sources of meaning.
The phrase, “phenomenology of practice” refers to the
kinds of inquires that address and serve the practices of
professional practitioners as well as the quotidian practices
of everyday life. For example, a thoughtful understanding of
the meaningful aspects of “having a conversation” may be
of value to professional practitioners as well as anyone
involved in the conversational relations of everyday living.

My personal inspiration for the name “phenomenology of
practice” lies in the work of scholars such as Martinus
Langeveld, Jan Hendrik van den Berg, Frederik
Buytendijk, Henricus Rümke, and Hans Linchoten who
were academics as well as clinicians and practitioners in the
fields of pedagogy, education, psychology, psychiatry, and
health science… This phenomenology of practice is meant
to refer to the practice of phenomenological research and
writing that reflects on and in practice, and prepares for
practice… A phenomenology of practice does not aim for
technicalities and instrumentalities―rather, it serves to
foster and strengthen an embodied ontology, epistemology,
and axiology of thoughtful and tactful action. (p. 15)

WITH THE ABOVE IN MIND, AND AN
EMPHASIS ON A PHENOMENOLOGY OF
PRACTICE, WE ASKED: WHAT
CONVERSATION WOULD YOU HAVE WITH
NEW STUDENTS/RESEARCHERS WHO MIGHT
CONSIDER ENGAGING IN QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH?

Well, to begin, phenomenology is of course one type of inquiry
and then there are many others within the qualitative domain.
Because phenomenology has been my life interest, my point
of view is that phenomenology is quite different from most
other inquiries. Nearly every day I receive emails from people
from literally all over the world. They ask questions about their
projects or about methodological issues because they are writ-
ing a dissertation or they are involved in some research project.

ON SATURATION

For example, yesterday I received an inquiry regarding the im-
portance and role of “data saturation” for a phenomenological
dissertation study. Data saturation is a well-known issue in
qualitative research: how long do you go with your data explo-
ration in order to get to the point of saturation, when no more
newmeaning is discoverable? The method of data saturation is
based on the idea that once the responses (interview or written
texts) to a research question are saturated and no longer yield
anything new then you do not have to pursue the qualitative
meaning any further. So, this person said in her email: “I have
a feeling that data saturation does not go well with phenome-
nology, but I am not quite sure.”
Of course, questions with regard to issues such as data satu-

ration are related to validity [or trustworthiness in qualitative
research]; and, indeed, this practice of saturating the data does
not make sense when doing phenomenology. It may be helpful

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

doi: 10.1111/nhs.12274

Nursing and Health Sciences (2016) 18, 4–7

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in other types of qualitative inquiries, but phenomenological
understanding is not a matter of filling up some kind of qualita-
tive container until it is full or of excavating a data site of mean-
ing until there is nothing left to excavate. The idea that you
keep looking until you have saturated your material, until your
data are saturated, does not make sense because there is no
saturation point with respect to phenomenological meaning.
In phenomenological inquiry, you open up a question, which
becomes bottomless –so it does not make sense to say that
you caught all the meaning or meaningfulness of a human
phenomenon. Every phenomenological topic can always
be taken up again and explored for dimensions of originary
meaning and aspects of meaningfulness (see van Manen,
2014, pp. 39-41, 52-54). The whole idea of looking for the
same kind of content, like in content analysis – looking,
looking, looking for certain words etc., until nothing new
comes – this does not make sense to phenomenology.
But interestingly, the contemporary phenomenological

philosopher Jean-Luc Marion (2002) also uses the notion
of “saturation” in the phrase of “saturated phenomena;”
however, in quite a different sense. In fact, Marion’s
approach to the idea of saturated phenomena has nothing
whatsoever to do with the qualitative technique of data
saturation. His idea is much more profound ontologically.
Marion argues that some human phenomena are so satu-
rated with excess meaning and intuition that an eidetic or
originary phenomenological analysis of the meaning of this
phenomenon is not really possible (by means of the reduc-
tion). Marion gives the example of phenomena such as the
lived experience of an “event,” an “icon,” and the sacred
experience of “revelation” when there is such depth or com-
plexity of excess meaning that you will never be able to
describe the essence or meaning of this phenomenon. For
example, some saturated phenomena may be invisible, such
as the latent meaning of an “event” that only will show itself
much later in life.
In my book Pedagogical Tact, Knowing What to Do When

You Don’t Know What To Do (van Manen, 2015), I tell [of]
such [an] event: At a pleasant social evening some friends are sit-
ting around talking about a symphony orchestra that is playing in
town. Edward, a retired businessman, expresses his admiration
for the concertmaster. Some other people join in and talk about
the challenges of being a successful musician. Then Edward
takes the floor again: You know, this is a memory that has
obsessed me my entire life. Until recently I have not been able
to talk about it with anyone because it is so hurtful. Even as an
adult, sharing it would have brought me to tears. When I was
sixteen years old, after studying violin for a number of years,
I realized that I could never really be good enough. I just
lacked something. I could not really excel. So I decided to give
it up. My father was very unhappy about my decision. He tried
to change my mind. But I refused. I told him that I knew that I
would never be able to play the instrument properly. Angrily,
my father took the violin frommy hands. He hung it on thewall
of the living room and said, “From now on, whenever you look
at this violin, youwill knowwhat a failure you are inmy eyes.” I
felt horrible. After several weeks my mother took the violin
down from the wall. She felt sorry for me. But the empty spot
could not be taken down. It haunted me: I was a failure in my

father’s eyes. The memory of that moment has troubled me
all my life. Therefore, I have always told my own kids that they
should do whatever they feel is right for them and not what
they may feel I expect from them. My father never took his
words back about me being a failure, even though eventually
I became the successful head of a large company. But now, at
the age of eighty-two, I finally feel that I have dealt with my
secret pain or, at least, that I can share it here with you.

Edward’s story shows how the latency of this event (a peda-
gogical moment) can affect us for the rest of our lives, whether
we are consciously aware of it or not. But obviously the
eventiality of the event is relationally, emotionally, and tempo-
rally saturated with meaning that may only gradually unfold
(see van Manen, 2014, pp. 191- 193). In some sense the satu-
ratedmeaning of this event was still not describable by Edward
after some 60years. Thus, the phenomenality of some event in
our childhoodmay still not be graspable [intelligible] until later
in life, when we are beginning to discern its ontological signifi-
cance. Other saturated phenomena such as an experience of an
“icon” or a spiritual “revelation”may be too enigmatically and
excessively charged with meaning that simply seems inexpress-
ible or resist[s] description. In his 2002 book, In Excess: Studies
of Saturated Phenomena, Marion describes this phenomenal
dimension of the self-givenness of a phenomenon. Other phe-
nomenologists have subsequently argued that, actually, all
human phenomena are in a sense saturated with meaning, and
therefore inexhaustible to a final and determinable analysis.

ON A DESCRIPTION OF LIVED EXPERIENCE

For new students to phenomenology, my main aim is always to
try to show first what is unique about phenomenological in-
quiry, the quest for meaningfulness and originary meaning of
human existence and lived or living experience.What phenom-
enology tries to understand is this or that lived experience or
event. Pre-reflective or lived experience is the moment or
instant of the “Now” – we are always in the “Now,” and yet
when we reflectively try to capture the “moment of the Now”
we are always too late. So, in a sense, we are always in the
Now (how couldwe not be?), but in another sense we are never
in the Now. The presence of the Now is always absent to our
grasp. This realization is initially rather off-putting and confus-
ing for students. But they gradually begin to realize that this
elusiveness regarding the lived meaning of human existence is
exactly what makes phenomenological inquiry so wondrous.

So, in the early part of my teachings, in my course on phe-
nomenology, I try to explore the basic idea of phenomenology
and the lived experience description – like something that has
happened to you: like meeting someone and forgetting their
name; feeling sick when getting up in the morning; writing an
email message; staying in a hotel room; riding a wave while
surfing; having a[n] eye-to-eye conversationwith a friend; read-
ing a story digitally versus reading it in print, and so forth. Any
experience we have in our everyday lives can be a phenomeno-
logical topic and so, in the research course, we do various
writing exercises to produce an experiential description: writing
a description as a moment of the now – not a generalization,
but a description of a specific and unique moment of our
experience. We try to be very particular and very concrete so

Editorial 5

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

that [in] the “moment” is what you try to describe. But, of
course, a moment can have the duration of a second, a minute,
an hour, or even months or years.

ON THE NEED FORA SENSE OFWONDERAND
THE SEARCH FOR MEANING

In the introduction to thePhenomenology of Practice, I confess
why I have always been fascinated with phenomenology: a
preoccupation with meaning and things we may wonder about
– common and exotic, small and immense. Many of us are
impressed with the beauty of the things, the wonder of the uni-
verse, the enigma of the big bang and what was before, the
mystery of dark matter, and such wondrous and amazing phe-
nomena. For me, phenomenology is like that. It is the opposite
of religion, which tries to come to a final answer of the divine
meaning of things. Phenomenology does the exact opposite.
It also deals with questions of meaning and meaningfulness
but the questions becomemore andmore troublesome, deeper,
and more fascinating and yet in some sense, for me, they have
the function of something deeply human. Phenomenology
always orients to meaning, livedmeaning, and I can never have
enough of this quest as exemplified in the great writings of
authors such as Hannah Arendt, Jean-Luc Marion, Michel
Serres, Alphonso Lingis, Bernard Stiegler, Jean-Luc Nancy,
andmany others. To come to grasp the sense of what friendship
means, a real conversation, or what love is, or profound emo-
tions of affect – this lies almost in the realm of the spiritual,
the enigma of the human spirit.

FUNDAMENTALTO ALL QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH IS THE NEED TO UNDERSTAND
THE PHILOSOPHICAL AND ORTHEORETICAL
UNDERPINNINGS OF THE RESEARCH
APPROACH. SHOULD RESEARCHERS PAY
MORE ATTENTION TO THIS, TO READING
PRIMARY SOURCES?

The importance of writing in an experiential way

Yes, it is important, for example, to understandmethodologically
what “reflection” means. You have to select your sources care-
fully. I am currently reading a book on reflection by the out-
standing phenomenologist Friedrich-Wilhelm von Herrmann
who was a friend of Eugen Fink and a personal assistant of
Heidegger. According to von Herrmann it is not the cognitive
(in a conceptual or theoretic sense) that you need to get at but
phenomenology concerns the a-theoretic, it concerns the living
dimensions of our existence.And sowhen you try to get at things
cognitively or theoretically (and for von Herrmann (2013) reflec-
tion is already theoretic) you make this living sensibility into an
object, you objectify. He argues that here is where Heidegger de-
parted from Husserl. For Husserl, reflection on consciousness
was his big thing becauseHusserl’s phenomenology aims tomake
a phenomenon (lived experience or element of consciousness)
transparent. And, thus, you describe the whatness, eidos, or es-
sence of something. But for Heidegger, what something “is” ulti-
mately eludes and hides itself. What “appears” is a revealing and
a concealing in terms of meaning and so this author is trying to

show that with Heidegger; you have to begin to see that it is
not reflection that is Heidegger’s method. Instead, Heidegger
tries to come to “understanding” of the moment – this is the
hermeneutic: not to make experience into a thing or an object,
but understanding something as a livingmoment in its livingness.
So not objectifying, theoretical reflection but reflection

that ponders, muses, contemplates on the meaning of
things and on the how of meaning is the hermeneutic of
descriptive-interpretive phenomenology. It is hard to explicate
this reflective method (Besinnung in German language)
because we are so used to making things into objects and to
objectifying things. It is philosophically impossible not to do
this: as soon as we think, reflect, we name the phenomenon
and it becomes a “thing.”
For example, forgetting someone’s name; everyone knows

this experience. There is so much meaning in this: the idea
of the name (what does it name?), recognizing someone
(what dowe recognize in the other?), remembering or forgetting
someone’s name. What happens in moments like this? But still
we make a concept out of the experience: “name forgetting.” It
is a concept now, instead of an event or a happening. But what
phenomenology tries to do is to understand whilst it is happen-
ing as a moment, and this makes phenomenology different from
any other form of qualitative inquiry. Phenomenology tries to
understand something as an event, and this makes it different
frommost forms of inquiry. Phenomenology tries not to objectify
while aiming to describe the livingness of experience or the living
moment of the experience. Indeed, you try to avoid objectifying
and yet this is what we constantly do. This is the challenge of
writing in an experiential way, an evocative analytical way, and
not a theoretical reflective analytical way. When doing phenom-
enology, it is the lived meanings that we want to get at.

IS IT PHENOMENOLOGY OR NOT?

On the one hand I don’t care how you name your research
method, as long as it is a good study – as long as I am fascinated
by it. On the other hand, it does matter what you call it because
researchers confuse things so terribly, they intermesh ideas that
should not be put side by side because the ideas are based on
very different domains of inquiry and on very different assump-
tions. Then they thematize – one of the most used and abused
words in qualitative inquiry is “thematic analysis.” And unfor-
tunately for many graduate students, their research themes
tend to become terribly superficial, simply re-phrasing what
someone has already told them.
If a study claims to be phenomenological, then it should

not be something else, like interpretive psychological anal-
ysis, ethnography, grounded theory, narrative inquiry, or
general qualitative description; however worthwhile these
other methodologies may indeed be. Phenomenology does
not aim to explicate meanings that are relevant to under-
standing cultures or social groups. Phenomenology does
not aim to develop theory. So methods texts, that offer
procedural interpretive phenomenological analysis – with
step one, step two, step three, and so on – do not make
sense for original phenomenology. Procedural methods
may be acceptable for general qualitative and psychologi-
cal methodologies in a wider sense, but not for a of

6 Editorial

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

phenomenology of practice as it is exemplified by authors
such as van den Berg, Linschoten, Buytendijk, Langeveld,
and many others.
Reading only secondary or poorly conceived tertiary sources

may be very misleading, leading to the practice of misquoting
primary texts, so that original ideas are watered down, distorted,
and sometimes represented rather ludicrous. Phenomenology is
rooted in philosophy. The phenomenological researcher does
not have to become a professional philosopher, but he or she
needs to develop an understanding of the philosophical sources
of phenomenology and, therefore, one needs also and impor-
tantly to read those primary texts that relate to one’s research
focus and interest.

CONCLUSION

This conversation with Max van Manen was largely driven by
the advice hemight give to new students and researchers about
qualitative research and the practice of phenomenology. In this
conversation he provides several lessons. He shows us how
phenomenology is a type of qualitative research and calls upon
new students and researchers to understand, in an original
sense, the methodological distinctions and their differences;
their unique epistemologies and ontologies. On the notion of
“data saturation,” he highlights the issue as important in all
other forms of qualitative research; however, it is inappropriate
in phenomenology. On a description of lived experience – the
search for meaning and writing experientially – he invites us
to consider phenomenology’s uniqueness: as wonder, as the
search for meaning of “lived experience;” the exploration of
human existence directly, as primal pre-reflective experience,
as life as we live through it, in the moment, in the now. It is
the search and explication of “living meanings.” To practice
phenomenology, one needs to be guided by an understanding
of the philosophical methodology of phenomenology, to return
to primary sources, not secondary or tertiary sources, in order
to ensure the assumptions that underpin the inquiry are con-
gruent. To do otherwise is not phenomenology, and thematic
analysis is not a simple rephrasing from another source.
This special edition of Nursing and Health Sciences offers

a range of qualitative descriptive papers. A number of the
articles attend to the vulnerability of human experience in
a variety of situations and contexts: maternal age-specific

risks, hypertension, children with cancer, transient ischaemic
attack, gastric cancer, and the lived experience of delirium.
As researchers in nursing and health care we have a need
and desire to understand human experiences, to seek out
new knowledge, in order to be able to make a difference to
the patients in our care.

Max van Manen provides readers with insights that will not
only be valuable to novice researchers practicing phenomenol-
ogy, but also to researchers concerned with methodology and
qualitative research. Ultimately, his advice, to ensure a deep
understanding of the roots or primary sources of the methodol-
ogy being used, needs to be heeded by all qualitative re-
searchers as it impacts the quality and trustworthiness of
qualitative research.

We wish you well and a bright year ahead for 2016.
Max van Manen, Isabel Higgins, and Pamela van der Riet

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank Max van Manen for generously giving
his time. His passion for phenomenology and the wonders of
the lived world are truly inspiring.

Max van Manen, PhD, EdD Honoris Causa
Isabel Higgins, PhD, MN, AssDipNursED, RN

Pamela van der Riet, PhD, MEd, DipED(Nursing), BA, RN
International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, University

of Alberta, Alberta, Canada
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health and

Medicine, University of Newcastle, Australia

REFERENCES
Marion J–L. In excess: Studies of Saturated Phenomena. Bronx, NY:
Fordham University Press, 2002.

van Manen, M. Phenomenology of Practice: Giving Meaning Methods
in Phenomenological Research andWriting.Walnut Creek, CA: Left
Coast Press, 2014.

van Manen, M. Pedagogical Tact: Knowing What To Do When You
Don’t KnowWhat ToDo.Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2015.

von Herrmann, F-W. Hermeneutics and Reflection: Heidegger and
Husserl on the Concept of Phenomenology. Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 2013.

Editorial 7

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

SAGE Research Methods

An Applied Guide to Research Designs: Quantitative,

Qualitative, and

Mixed Methods

Author: W. Alex Edmonds, Thomas D. Kennedy

Pub. Date: 2019

Product: SAGE Research Methods

DOI:

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781071802779

Methods: Research questions, Experimental design, Mixed methods

Disciplines: Anthropology, Education, Geography, Health, Political Science and International Relations,

Psychology, Social Policy and Public Policy, Social Work, Sociology

Access Date: January 11, 2023

Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc

City: Thousand Oaks

Online ISBN: 9781071802779

© 2019 SAGE Publications, Inc All Rights Reserved.

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781071802779

Quantitative Methods for Experimental and Quasi-

Experimental Research

Part I includes four popular approaches to the quantitative method (experimental and quasi-experimental on-

ly), followed by some of the associated basic designs (accompanied by brief descriptions of published studies

that used the design). Visit the companion website at study.sagepub.com/edmonds2e to access valuable

instructor and student resources. These resources include PowerPoint slides, discussion questions, class ac-

tivities, SAGE journal articles, web resources, and online data sets.

Figure I.1 Quantitative Method Flowchart

Note: Quantitative methods for experimental and quasi-experimental research are shown here, followed by

the approach and then the design.

Research in quantitative methods essentially refers to the application of the systematic steps of the scientific

method, while using quantitative properties (i.e., numerical systems) to research the relationships or effects

of specific variables. Measurement is the critical component of the quantitative method. Measurement reveals

and illustrates the relationship between quantitatively derived variables. Variables within quantitative methods

must be, first, conceptually defined (i.e., the scientific definition), then operationalized (i.e., determine the ap-

propriate measurement tool based on the conceptual definition). Research in quantitative methods is typically

referred to as a deductive process and iterative in nature. That is, based on the findings, a theory is supported

(or not), expanded, or refined and further tested.

Researchers must employ the following steps when determining the appropriate quantitative research design.

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http://study.sagepub.com/edmonds2e

1.

2.

3.

First, a measurable or testable research question (or hypothesis) must be formulated. The question must

maintain the following qualities: (a) precision, (b) viability, and (c) relevance. The question must be precise

and well formulated. The more precise, the easier it is to appropriately operationalize the variables of interest.

The question must be viable in that it is logistically feasible or plausible to collect data on the variable(s) of

interest. The question must also be relevant so that the result of the findings will maintain an appropriate level

of practical and scientific meaning. The second step includes choosing the appropriate design based on the

primary research question, the variables of interest, and logistical considerations. The researcher must also

determine if randomization to conditions is possible or plausible. In addition, decisions must be made about

how and where the data will be collected. The design will assist in determining when the data will be collected.

The unit of analysis (i.e., individual, group, or program level), population, sample, and sampling procedures

should be identified in this step. Third, the variables must be operationalized. And last, the data are collected

following the format of the framework provided by the research design of choice.

Experimental Research

Experimental research (sometimes referred to as randomized experiments) is considered to be the most pow-

erful type of research in determining causation among variables. Cook and Campbell (1979) presented three

conditions that must be met in order to establish cause and effect:

Covariation (the change in the cause must be related to the effect)

Temporal precedence (the cause must precede the effect)

No plausible alternative explanations (the cause must be the only explanation for the effect)

The essential features of experimental research are the sound application of the elements of control: (a) ma-

nipulation, (b) elimination, (c) inclusion, (d) group or condition assignment, or (e) statistical procedures. Ran-

dom assignment (not to be confused with random selection) of participants to conditions (or random assign-

ment of conditions to participants [counterbalancing] as seen in repeated-measures approaches) is a critical

step, which allows for increased control (improved internal validity) and limits the impact of the confounding

effects of variables that are not being studied.

The random assignment to each group (condition) theoretically ensures that the groups are “probabilistically”

equivalent (controlling for selection bias), and any differences observed in the pretests (if collected) are con-

sidered due to chance. Therefore, if all threats to internal, external, construct, and statistical conclusion va-

lidity were secured at “adequate” levels (i.e., all plausible alternative explanations are accounted for), the dif-

ferences observed in the posttest measures can be attributed fully to the experimental treatment (i.e., cause

and effect can be established). Conceptually, a causal effect is defined as a comparison of outcomes derived

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Mixed Methods

from treatment and control conditions on a common set of units (e.g., school, person).

The strength of experimental research rests in the reduction of threats to internal validity. Many threats are

controlled for through the application of random assignment of participants to conditions. Random selection,

on the other hand, is related to sampling procedures and is a major factor in establishing external validity

(i.e., generalizability of results). Randomly selecting a sample from a population would be conducted so that

the sample would better represent the population. However, Lee and Rubin (2015) presented a statistical ap-

proach that allows researchers to draw data from existing data sets from experimental research and examine

subgroups (post hoc subgroup analysis). Nonetheless, random assignment is related to design, and random

selection is related to sampling procedures. Shadish, Cook, and Campbell (2002) introduced the term gener-

alized causal inference. They posit that if a researcher follows the appropriate tenets of experimental design

logic (e.g., includes the appropriate number of subjects, uses random selection and random assignment) and

controls for threats of all types of validity (including test validity), then valid causal inferences can be deter-

mined along with the ability to generalize the causal link. This is truly realized once multiple replications of the

experiment are conducted and comparable results can be observed over time (replication being the operative

word). Though, recently there have been concerns related to the reproducibility of experimental studies pub-

lished in the field of psychology, for example (see Baker, 2015; Bohannon, 2015).

Reproducibility could be enhanced if the proper tenets of the scientific method are followed and the relevant

aspects of validity are addressed (i.e., internal and construct). Researchers tend to gloss over these con-

structs and rarely report how they ensured the data to be valid, often assuming that a statistical analysis could

be used to “fix” or overshadow the inherent problems of the data. Bad data is clearly the issue, which lends

to a great computer science saying “Garbage in, garbage out.” To be more specific, taking the appropriate

measures to ensure design and test validity, the data will be more “clean,” which results in fewer reporting

errors in the statistical results. Although probability sampling (e.g., random selection) adds another logistical

obstacle to experimental research, it should also be an emphasis along with the proper random assignment

techniques.

Although this book is more dedicated to the application of research designs in the social and behavioral sci-

ences, it is important to note the distinction between research designs in the health sciences to that of the

social sciences. Experimental research in the health or medical sciences shares the same designs, although

the terminology slightly differs, and the guidelines for reporting the data can be more stringent (e.g., see

Schultz, Altman, & Moher, 2010, and Appendix H for guidelines and checklist). These guidelines are designed

to enhance the quality of the application of the design, which in turn leads to enhanced reproducibility. The

most common term used to express experimental research in the field of medicine is randomized control tri-

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als (RCT). RCT simply infers that subjects are randomly assigned to conditions. The most common of the

RCT designs is the parallel-group approach, which is another term for the between-subject approach and is

discussed in more detail in the following sections. RCTs can also be crossover and factorial designs and are

designated under the within-subjects approach (repeated measures).

Quasi-Experimental Research

The nonrandom assignment of participants to each condition allows for convenience when it is logistically

not possible to use random assignment. Quasi-experimental research designs are also referred to as field

research (i.e., research is conducted with an intact group in the field as opposed to the lab), and they are also

known as nonequivalent designs (i.e., participants are not randomly assigned to each condition; therefore,

the groups are assumed nonequivalent). Hence, the major difference between experimental and quasi-exper-

imental research designs is the level of control and assignment to conditions. The actual designs are struc-

turally the same, but the analyses of the data are not. However, some of the basic pretest and posttest de-

signs can be modified (e.g., addition of multiple observations or inclusion of comparison groups) in an attempt

to compensate for lack of group equivalency. In the design structure, a dashed line (- – -) between groups

indicates the participants were not randomly assigned to conditions. Review Appendix A for more examples

of “quasi-experimental” research designs (see also the example of a diagram in Figure 1.2).

Because there is no random assignment in quasi-experimental research, there may be confounding variables

influencing the outcome not fully attributed to the treatment (i.e., causal inferences drawn from quasi-experi-

ments must be made with extreme caution). The pretest measure in quasi-experimental research allows the

researcher to evaluate the lack of group equivalency and selection bias, thus altering the statistical analysis

between experimental and quasi-experimental research for the exact same design (see Cribbie, Arpin-Crib-

bie, & Gruman, 2010, for a discussion on tests of equivalence for independent group designs with more than

two groups).

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Figure I.2 Double Pretest Design for Quasi-Experimental Research

Note: This is an example of a between-subjects approach with a double pretest design. The double pretest

allows the researcher to compare the “treatment effects” between O1 to O2, and then from O2 to O3. A major

threat to internal validity with this design is testing, but it controls for selection bias and maturation. The two

pretests are not necessary if random assignment is used.

It is not recommended to use posttest-only designs for quasi-experimental research. However, if theoretically

or logistically it does not make sense to use a pretest measure, then additional controls should be imple-

mented, such as using historical control groups, proxy pretest variables (see Appendix A), or the matching

technique to assign participants to conditions.

The reader is referred to Shadish, Clark, and Steiner (2008) for an in-depth discussion of how to use linear

regression and propensity scores to approximate the findings of quasi-experimental research to experimental

research. They discuss this in the greater context of the potential weaknesses and strengths of quasi-experi-

mental research in determining causation.

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781071802779

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SAGE Research Methods
• An Applied Guide to Research Designs: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods

Figure I.1 Quantitative Method Flowchart

Figure I.2 Double Pretest Design for Quasi-Experimental Research

The Qualitative Report 2012 Volume 17, Article 26, 1-21
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR17/snyder

A Case Study of a Case Study:
Analysis of a Robust Qualitative Research

Methodology

Catherine Snyder
Union Graduate College, Schenectady, NY, USA

A unique multi-part qualitative study methodology is presented from a
study which tracked the transformative journeys of four career-changing
women from STEM fields into secondary education. The article analyzes
the study’s use of archived writing, journaling, participant-generated
photography, interviews, member-checking, and reflexive analytical
memos. An exploration into the interconnectedness of the methodologies
used reveals a robust framework from which the first stages of grounded
theory emerged. A detailed explanation of the methodological aspects of
conducting the study is discussed with the purpose of making this
combination of qualitative methods replicable. Key Words: Qualitative
Methods, Visual Research, Reflexive Analytic Memos,

Participant

Generated Photography.

The purpose of this qualitative (Creswell, 1998; Merriam, 1998) case study
research was to understand the transformative journey of four women career-changers
moving from business, engineering, and science into secondary education. The study was
built within an authentic setting with varied and in-depth data collection. The focus of
this research was the exploration of the transformative process (Mezirow, 1978)
experienced by the participants as they transitioned from their previous careers into
graduate school and then into teaching.

The primary reason for the research was to gain an understanding of how adults
learn and how their relationship to learning is different from children or adolescents. It
has been my experience that adults approach new learning with a more intense need and
amplified emotional state compared to other age groups. The research questions targeted
the identification of transformation in the participants and the durability of those
transformations as they moved from their teacher education program into their careers as
secondary teachers.

The study moved with the participants from their decision to enter a Master of
Arts in Teaching (MAT) program to two years after the program. The questions, method,
design, and setting were brought together to serve one another so that the most in-depth
understanding of the participants’ transformative journey could be achieved.
Transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 2000) framed this study because of its
derivation from and focuses on adult learners (Kegan, 1998).

The purpose of this article is to describe a uniquely robust multi-part qualitative
methodology. The qualitative methods used include archived writing, journaling,
participant-generated photography, interviews, member-checking, and reflexive
analytical memos. An exploration into the interconnectedness of the methodologies used
reveals a robust framework from which initial stages of grounded theory were produced.
A detailed explanation of the methodological aspects of conducting the study
demonstrates the ability to replicate this combination of qualitative methods. An analysis

2 The Qualitative Report 2012

of the multi-part qualitative method employed supports the academy’s assertion that
multiple methodologies in qualitative research provide the opportunity for richer and
more robust findings (Brown, 2010; Keats, 2009; Taber, 2010; Clair, Wasserman &
Wilson, 2009). My experience was similar to Keats when she stated, “the practice of
interpreting different types of texts…increases the capacity of researchers to understand
the complexity of intertextual connections…” (Keats, 2009, p. 193).

A brief overview of the framework and outcomes of the study are presented for
the purpose of lending context to the methodological understandings presented in the
article. The article then proceeds with a detailed retelling of how each aspect of the
qualitative methods used supported the research goals.

Study Findings

The study revealed many findings, including several themes for further research.
First, the study participants showed strong evidence of divergent moral reasoning
compared to what might be typically observed from more traditionally-aged first and
second year teachers. The participants often went off script, so to speak, choosing to deal
with disciplinary issues or student evaluation issues in ways they saw as most
appropriate, rather than following the clearly established rules of their school’s
administration. A more thorough understanding of this phenomenon could better inform
schools and school leaders as they train and leverage the skills of career-changers.

Second, the study revealed that the degree of mental and emotional strain
exhibited by the participants could be unique to older and/or career-changers making this
kind of professional transition. The participants anticipated encountering challenging
professional demands, but at the outset, they did not anticipate thinking they would not be
able to meet those demands. That perspective changed quickly as they entered the
classroom and began to recognize the dynamic nature of secondary teaching. The skills
they acquired professionally were helpful to them, but did not constitute the full
repertoire of skills they needed to be successful teachers. The depth and breadth of their
emotional strain and identity transformation were dramatic and unexpected. A greater
understanding of this transformation would benefit teacher education programs working
with career-changers.

Finally, the participants’ words clearly pointed toward a set of characteristics in
their learning experiences which they attributed to their successful transition into
secondary teaching. Those characteristics, briefly stated, are: collegial relationships with
classmates and faculty; authentic learning; a spiraled curriculum; reflective writing and
discourse; and student centered learning. The rich and varied results from this study are a
result of the heavily triangulated, recursive, and in-depth research design. It is that design
that is the focus of this article. The design is presented in detail so that it may be
replicated by others who find it relevant to their research agendas.

Research Design Framework

Qualitative research is based on:

Catherine Snyder 3

…the view that reality is constructed by individuals interacting with their
social worlds. Qualitative researchers are interested in understanding the
meaning people have constructed, that is, how they make sense of their
world and the experiences they have in the world. (Merriam, 1998, p. 6)
(Merriam’s italics)

LeCompte (2000) further explains the nature of qualitative research in her Theory into
Practice article, Analyzing Qualitative Data:

Because [qualitative] data have no initial intrinsic organizational structure
or meaning by which to explain the events under study, researchers…must
then create a structure and impose it on the data. The structure is created in
stages, and forms the basis for assembling data into an explanation or
solution. Creating the structure is analogous to the strategies used to
assemble puzzle pieces; the pieces are like units of analysis in the data.
(pp. 147–148)

This research study was both interpretive and inductive. In defining interpretive
case studies, Merriam (1998) echoes Geertz’ (1973) famous phrase stating that they
“contain rich, thick description” (p. 38). In this spirit, I attempted to “instantiate and
develop” (Gee, 1999, p. 136) the themes derived from my participants in order to
understand the phenomenon researched: the professional transformation of four women
career-changers leaving STEM fields to become secondary teachers. It is inductive
because the study relies on the “study of a range of individual cases and extrapolates
patterns from them to form a conceptual category” (Charmaz, 2006, p. 188).

Mezirow’s theory focuses on the journey taken by adult learners when
encountering new learning (2000). In essence, Mezirow states that when new learning
takes place, that learning changes not just what is known, but also how the adult thinks
about the world around her; thus, the learning becomes transformational. Mezirow makes
the point that because adults have a wealth of experience and prior learning upon which
to rely, they filter new learning through elaborate frames of reference (2000) which
increase in reliability as they are tested and honed over consecutive experiences. The
more elaborate and reliable a person’s frame of reference, the more work it might take to
integrate new ways of knowing and interpreting the world around them. Hence, the
career-changer who enters the field of teaching with a pre-existing frame of reference
about who she is intellectually and professionally might have a more difficult time
making the transition to teaching compared to a traditional, twenty-two-year-old graduate
student entering her first profession.

I was able to thoroughly investigate and relate to the transformative process as it
is a career path that I was on many years ago. I changed careers, moving from
international banking to secondary teaching. I am also a graduate, many years previous,
of the same MAT program. This level of familiarity caused me to carefully approach the
research design, choosing an interpretive and feminist interview methodology which
encourages familiarity between the interviewer and participant; and in so doing elicits
more deeply meaningful interviews (Rubin & Rubin, 1995). In feminist interviewing
methodology,

4 The Qualitative Report 2012

…the interviewer participates and shares. An interviewer is not justified in
keeping all uncomfortable things to herself while asking others to reveal
what is personal and private. Feminist researchers argue that being open
about themselves to their research collaborators, the interviewees, is both
fair and practical. (Rubin & Rubin, 1995, p. 37)

At the same time, “feminist researchers emphasize the need for interviewers to avoid
dominating the interview” (Rubin & Rubin, 1995, p. 37). I was able to achieve a
simultaneous high level of comfort and minimal intrusion in the interview precisely
because the participants knew me as a professor and colleague and knew that I had also
been a career-changer. Evidence of minimal intrusion on my part is represented by the
fact that in all of the interviews conducted in the study, my own words averaged less than
15% of the overall dialogue. Also, because of my familiarity, I carefully monitored my
assumptions about the participants’ journeys. The interview protocol consisted of twelve
questions. All of the interviews included those questions plus more than fifty follow-up
or probing questions. The high number of follow-up and probing questions was a way to
separate my experiences from the unique experiences of my participants.

In addition to addressing the credibility of my position as researcher, thorough
triangulation of the data would enhance the validity of the findings. Creswell (1998)
points out the need for triangulation in qualitative research. Defined as the “use of
multiple and different sources, methods, investigators, and theories to provide
corroborating evidence” (Creswell, 1998, p. 202), triangulation requires the use of several
different types of data. In order to fulfill this requirement, this study analyzed several
archived documents as well as photographic evidence and transcripts from face-to-face
interviews with all participants. Data interpretation was also verified through a rigorous
use of member checking (Carlson, 2010) with all participants.

Sharon Merriam (1998) outlines the use of constant comparative method as a
trusted means of analysis of qualitative data. Constant comparative method, which is
returning to the participants for clarification and further explication of the research topic,
is used when a researcher is striving toward grounded theory. This study uses existing
theory to pursue a particular phenomenon (transformative learning) and pending further
study, might produce grounded theory. My research design employs the key
characteristic of constant comparative method. As explained by Merriam, “…the right
way to analyze data in a qualitative study is to do it simultaneously with data
collection…Data that have been analyzed while being collected are both parsimonious
and illuminating” (Merriam, 1998, p. 162) (Merriam’s italics). I call the method I am
using cumulative analysis.

Methodology

My research contains three steps: analysis of archived data, participant generated
photography (Galman, 2009; Keats, 2009; Ketelle, 2010; Mannay, 2010; Perka,
Matherly, Fishman & Ridge, 1992; Taylor, 2002), and face-to-face interviews. In
addition to those three formal steps, I employed member checking, cumulative analysis,
and refinement of case study narratives throughout the research timeline. The participants

Catherine Snyder 5

also kept reflexive analytical notebooks (Charmaz, 2006; Gerstl-Pepin & Patrizio, 2009;
Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Maxwell, 1996; Tuleja, 2002), which allowed me to explicate
my thinking and trace ideas from one step to the next.

The research design evolved over the course of the study. Initially I envisioned an
analysis of the participants’ archived data with a follow-up interview to verify the
emergent themes in the data. As I progressed with my analysis, however, it became clear
that I would need intermediary steps that would achieve two goals: first, provide me with
a road map of my own thinking as themes emerged from the data and second, give the
participants a more independent voice. After some consideration and reading, I decided
on analytical notebooks and participant-generated photography. I have used analytical
notebooks in the past and found them to be extraordinarily useful in tracing my thinking
and learning during a study. I also tend to be very visual, as illustrated below. So the
opportunity to “draw” my thoughts as they emerged helped to clarify the direction my
participants’ voices were taking me. The participant-generated photography became a
medium through which my participants could show their evolution in thinking about
themselves as secondary teachers without the risk of my voice being inserted into the
analysis. What follows is a detailed explanation of each phase of research.

Step I: Archived Data

In step one, I first received consent from the participants to use their archived
data. This was done through an invitation email which the participants responded to in
the affirmative. Participants were purposefully selected based on the definition of career-
changer and the discipline to be studied. A career-changer is anyone entering the MAT
program that spent more than three years in another career. There were fourteen people
fitting that requirement in the graduating class of students used for the study. Of that
cohort, anyone in a science, mathematics or engineering field became a potential
participant. There were eight students in these fields. All eight of these individuals
received an email inviting them to participate in the study. The potential participants
receieved this email while they were in their first year of teaching, the year following
graduation from the MAT program. Six teachers replied with interest to participate. One
withdrew almost immediately, acknowledging that the time commitment was too great.
Another stopped responding to my emails. After two non-responses to follow-up emails, I
withdrew this person from the participant list. The four who remained became part of the
study.

In order to gather their archived data, I requested that I be allowed to access their
work that was already on file in the college’s education department. Permission from
participants and the college were included in the internal review process prior to the
initiation of the study. A few documents were missing from school files. In most cases, I
was able to secure copies of those documents directly from the participants.

Once I gathered the archived data from the four participants I analyzed it for
evidence of transformative learning. Several pieces of writing were available due to the
MAT program’s focus on reflection and journaling. See Table 1 for a summary of archive
data collected.

The following pieces of writing were collected and analyzed:

6 The Qualitative Report 2012

1. Application Essays: The essay articulates a philosophical tipping point for most
candidates as they struggle to explain why they want to become teachers in their
chosen disciplines. This narrative is the first public document written by the
candidates announcing their desire to become and reasons for becoming a teacher.
This essay is typically one to two typed pages. See Figure 1 for sample coding of a
participant’s application essay.

Figure 1. Excerpt from Application Essay Showing Coding

2. Field Work Journals: Prior to being accepted into the program, all candidates must
complete two weeks of field observations. Accompanying this experience is a
manual outlining what students should observe and questions they should answer
regarding their observations. It is the program’s attempt to start shaping their
professional mindset. It is the first time candidates are asked to look at the
classroom environment from the point of view of the teacher as well as the student.
This journal is typically between twenty and fifty pages in length. See Figure 2 for
sample coding of a participant’s field experience journal.

3. Summer Journals: During the intensive summer program, students are asked to
write and to reflect on their learning after every class. While they may comment on
the learning that takes place in the teaching lab class or methods class, they are
asked to focus their reflection on the learning that takes place in the introductory
course, Psychology of Teaching. This course is co-taught to the entire cohort, so
all students receive the same instruction. Six times during the eight-week summer
program, students submit their journals for evaluation. Students are asked to keep
each entry to fewer than ten pages; thus, by the end of the summer, most journals
near sixty pages in length.

4. Trimester Evaluations: (November, March, and June) At the end of each trimester,
students formally meet with their supervisor and mentor to discuss their progress.
The conversation focuses on what the intern has accomplished and what she
should work on in the coming trimester. Following the meeting, the intern is asked
to write a one page reflection stating what she learned in the meeting.

5. Philosophy of Teaching: (February) During the winter term, each teacher candidate
completes a professional portfolio. As part of this portfolio, she is asked to write a
philosophy of teaching (one to two pages in length). This document is carefully
reviewed by the winter term seminar instructor and discussed in the class.

Catherine Snyder 7

Figure 2. Excerpt from Participant Field Experience Journal Showing Coding

6. The Teacher I Have Become: (May) Near the end of the program, the candidates
come together for a full day discussion of their experiences in the program.
Students are given the opportunity to talk about what they have learned, and to talk
about the strengths and the weaknesses of the program. For one hour of that day,
students are asked to find a quiet place to write. They are asked to reflect on the
following statement: Reflect back on your year in the program and capture in
writing the teacher you have become. This hand-written document represents the
last formal request for reflection in the program prior to graduation and typically
varies from one to four pages in length.

Table 1. Summary of Archived Data

Time Line Document Average Length

Prior to entering the program Application Essay 1–2 pages

Prior to entering the program Field Work Journal 20–50 pages

June – August Summer Journal 60 pages

November, March, June Trimester Evaluations 1–2 pages each

February Philosophy of Education 1–2 pages

May The teacher I have become 1-4 pages

This data was collected by first asking participants’ permission. Once I received
consent from the participants, most of the data was gathered from the education school’s
files. Documents not on file were requested from the participants. See Table 2 for a
summary of the archived data collected from participants.

8 The Qualitative Report 2012

Since all but the last document were word processed, I was able to gather almost
every piece of data for each of the four participants electronically. Original copies of all
documents, if not already in digital form, were scanned and stored digitally for reference
and safe keeping during data analysis. Per the college’s internal review board request, all
documents were kept on an external, password protected hard drive.

Table 2. Summary of Archived Data Collected from Participants

Document Elizabeth* Mary* Rebecca* Tosha*

Application Essay

Field Work Journal NA

Summer Journal

Trimester Evaluation (Nov.)

Trimester Evaluation (March)

Trimester Evaluation (June) NA

Philosophy of

Education

The teacher I have become

*Pseudonyms

The data were organized into binders for analysis: first, binders were created for
each participant and labeled with their pseudonym and the title Archived Data. Each
piece of archived data was collected, labeled with pseudonyms, scanned for electronic
safe-keeping and placed in a binder. Once all of the collected documents were in a
binder, I hand-numbered all the pages. The four binders averaged approximately 100
pages each. As all the data came in, I began to read and code it for categories related to
my research questions. “Coding is the process of grouping interviewees’ responses into
categories that bring together the similar ideas, concepts, or themes you have
discovered…” (Rubin & Rubin, 1995, p. 238). I did this coding one participant at a time,
attempting to view each person without the assumption of categories I found in the
previous participant. Admittedly, as I continued to analyze, this became more and more
of an intellectual challenge because clear categories emerged in all four participants’
writing. I worked toward achieving a level of quality in my analysis discussed by
Maxwell (1996) when he stated:

In qualitative research…the goal of coding is not to produce counts of
things, but to “fracture” (Strauss, 1987, p. 29) the data and rearrange it

Catherine Snyder 9

into categories that facilitate the comparison of data within and between
the categories and that aid in the development of theoretical concepts.
(Maxwell, 1996, p. 78–79)

As I read, I wrote notes in the margins of the participants’ binder pages, gradually
labeling similarly themed statements with category names such as “previous career
comments” or “motherhood”. I also uncovered categories unique to one or another
participant, such as “commenting on what is not there”. I underlined the coded statements
and labeled them with the participants’ pseudonym, an abbreviation of the document and
the page number. Finally, I kept a running analytic memo (Carlson, 2010; Charmaz,
2006; Gerstl-Pepin & Patrizio, 2009; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Maxwell, 1996; Tuleja,
2002) of my thinking in a notebook as I read the archived data. See Illustration 1 for a
sample reflexive analytical memo page. The memos became a running reflexive history
of my understanding of themes as they emerged in the research. They were filled with
insights I needed to remember, preliminary thoughts about how the data were fitting
together, connections to the literature, and graphics of my growing understanding of the
data. Referencing VanMaanen (1998), Herz (1997), and Bott (2010) provide a succinct
argument for the usefulness of this type of reflexive thinking in qualitative research:
“Reflexivity should mean that research involves the active construction of interpretations
of experiences in the field and a questioning of how these interpretations arise” (Bott,
2010, p. 160). As time went on, the memos became particularly important as I needed to
connect threads of data together. Had I not kept the memos (which totaled five notebooks
by the end of the research) I would not have been able to present as comprehensive a
view of the data as I did. Below is an excerpt from one memo which explores my
growing understanding of the journey taken by the participants through the lense of the
theories being used to analyze their words.

After reading the archived data several times for emergent themes, I reread each
binder looking strictly for evidence of Mezirow’s (1978) phases of transformative
learning. When I found statements that supported a phase of learning, I indexed the
statement as such. Once I read through all four coded and labeled binders,, I made two
photocopies of each binder. The identified passages in the photocopied pages were then
physically cut apart and sorted. First, coded categories for individual participants were
sorted and put into a second binder for that participant labeled with their pseudonym and
the title Coded Data. Then, the coded passages were sorted again, this time combining all
four participants’ work together where coding overlapped. For instance, all four
participants made comments that I labeled “relationship with colleagues”. All four
participants’ coded statements relating to “relationship with colleagues” went into the
same section in the Coded Categories binder. While I experimented during this time with
various electronic coding methods (Nvivo, NUDIST), I ultimately felt most comfortable,
and most connected to my data, byphysically cutting, sorting, and reanalyzing the data
myself.

Illustration 1. Sample Page from Reflexive Analytical Memo

10 The Qualitative Report 2012

My final step in analyzing the coded data was to create a grid of the coded data by
participant, keying the codes to Mezirow’s (1978) phases of transformative learning and
my four research questions. See Table 3 for an excerpt of the coding grid of archived data
as it is linked to the research questions and phases of transformative learning.

This grid was continually revised as I folded in new pieces of data. Below is an
excerpt from one draft of the coding grid.

Table 3. Excerpt from Coding Grid of Archived Data Linked to Research Questions and
Phases of Transformative Learning

Participant

Pseudonym Tosha Rebecca Mary Elizabeth

Connection to

Research

Questions

Connection to

Phases of

Transformativ

e Learning

4/4 participants Collegiality Collegiality Collegiality Collegiality 2, 3 1, 3, 4, 6, 9

Perspective

Transformation

Perspective

Transformation

Perspective

Transformation

Perspective

Transformation 2 9, 10

Planning Ahead Planning Ahead Planning Ahead Planning Ahead 3 5, 6, 7,

8, 9

Previous Career Previous Career Previous Career Previous Career 1 1, 8, 9

Catherine Snyder 11

Metacognition Metacognition Metacognition Metacognition 3 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Philosophy of

Education

Philosophy of

Education

Philosophy of

Education

Philosophy of

Education 1, 3

1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7,

8, 9

3/4 participants Gender Gender Gender

1 and 2 for Mary

only

Rapport with

students

Rapport with

students

Rapport with

students 2

2/4 participants Motherhood Motherhood 1, 2 2, 8

Where to teach Where to teach 2 2, 5, 6, 8

1/4 participant Physical Space

Clinical

perspective 5

Things that aren’t

there

Step II: Participant-generated Photography

After completing the analysis of the archived data, I used the themes gathered
from the coding to inform my next step, participant-generated photography (Keats, 2009;
Ketelle, 2010; Mannay, 2010; Pink, 2004). Participant-generated photography is defined
as photography in which “…the participant is responsible for taking photographs instead
of the researcher…” (Taylor, 2002, p. 124). This step in the research design was added
after I had decided to use archived data and face-to-face interviews. As I planned my
study, it became clear that I needed an additional step to connect what I was interpreting
in the archived data to the interviews. I was concerned that if I built my interview
questions around my interpretation of the archived data, the questions would be too
leading and narrow. I ran the risk of missing important elements of the participants’
journeys by not hearing their current voices (as opposed to their two-year-old voices from
the archived data) prior to the interview. Perka, Matherly, Fishman and Ridge (1992)
found that “respondent-generated photographs provide a unique method for collecting
rich information” (Perka et al., 1992, p. 7) from participants. Perka et al. also point out
that taking photographs is a natural act for most people, so it offers the participants a way
to communicate in a “non-threatening way” (Perka et al., 1992, p. 8) with the researcher.
Edward Taylor (2002) conducted a literature review of the use of photography in
education research and found that

There are often things that are consciously and unconsciously captured in
a photograph that provide points for greater clarification that the
participant may not adequately describe or the researcher may overlook
when listening during an interview. (Taylor, 2002, p. 125)

12 The Qualitative Report 2012

Taylor also points out that because the photographs are taken by the participants
in their particular context, the data “provides contextual integrity” to the study (Taylor,
2002, p. 124). Finally, echoing transformative learning theory, Taylor (2002) states that
“images provid[e] further opportunities to reflect and possibly differentiate, reinforce, or
elaborate on existing meaning perspectives” (Taylor, 2002, p. 125).

Echoing Taylor’s literature review is the work of several current researchers who
confirm the impact of visual methods in qualitative research. Mannay (2010) discusses
how the use of participant-generated photography refocuses conversations with
participants away from formalized questions and on to the participants’ actual thoughts
and experiences. Mannay summarizes her points by highlighting that the use of visual
media in qualitative research “[limits] the intrusive presences of the researcher”, thereby
allowing for the collection of more authentic data (p. 98).

Keats (2009), whose participants also used disposable cameras (among other
techniques), described that visual methods, when added to a set of methodologies,
deepened understanding. Keats (2009) states that the photo elicitation and other methods
“[expand] both the participants’ and researcher’s opportunity to understand the complex
narratives of living through specific life experiences” (p. 193).

Limitations to this method where highlighted by Taylor’s (2002) literature review.
Some studies reported that participants were self-conscious about being photographed.
Others felt that the camera limited their interpretation of context: freezing it in time, so to
speak, rather than allowing it to be fluid. Photographs needed to be made immediately
available to participants in order to optimize the interpretive meaning of them. And
finally, some participants expressed frustration that the camera did not allow them to
capture the more metaphorical ways they view their teaching. Ketelle (2010) also
discussed the difficulties in using visual methods while seeking Institutional Review
Board approval and recruiting participants in studies. Photography adds a layer of
intimacy that requires the researcher take care with data collection, analysis, and storage.

Despite these limitations, and after a small pilot study, I decided to insert
participant-generated photography into my design between the analysis of archived data
and the face-to-face interviews. The pilot study consisted of two colleagues who agreed
to follow the procedures as I envisioned them taking place in my study. Several problems
emerged that were dealt with in the actual study. First, in both cases, the pilot study
participants’ took pictures that were irrelevant to the study. This was determined through
conversations with the pilot study participants who explained that in some cases the
directions weren’t clear. So, for example, they took pictures of their students engaged in a
particular type of learning they thought might be considered relevant to the study, rather
than pictures which represented themselves or their teaching. These conversations helped
to better hone the directions sent to the study participants. Second, one pilot study
participant took the camera home (for safe keeping) and, believe it or not, it was
destroyed by her beagle puppy. She had to be mailed a new camera. Third, in both cases,
well-meaning colleagues took the cameras and took pictures they thought were relevant
to the task. To minimize the likelihood of these problems happening in the study, I sent
an email to the participants ahead of mailing the cameras, alerting them to the cameras’
arrival. I also asked that they keep the camera with them at all times, only giving it to
students or colleagues if they wished a picture to be taken that they could not take (a

Catherine Snyder 13

picture of themselves, for example). I also asked that the camera be kept in a safe place at
all times.

Finally, my initial idea was to send the participants the pictures digitally, in
PowerPoint frames. I did this with my pilot study participants, inviting them to make
their comments in the notes section of each PowerPoint frame. One colleague was
technologically adept enough to do this without problem, but the size of the file required
that we break the 27 pictures up into several smaller files, causing confusion and
frustration. The second pilot study participant was not able to navigate the software and
asked a colleague for assistance. This assistance played into her interpretation of the
photos, as the colleague lending assistance also commented on the photos. Because of
this, I decided to print the photos on paper with lines below each photo and mail the
package to the participants. In the end, this low-tech method worked without a problem
for the participants.

Approximately one month before the face-to-face interview, participants were
mailed their disposable camera and asked to take pictures of “the teacher they had
become”. I gave the directions for the photography phase of the study a good deal of
thought. See Figure 3 for an excerpt from the participant generated photography
invitation letter. I strove to balance my need for capturing the essence of the
transformation in how they think about teaching and themselves as teachers with the need
not to lead them to what I wanted. After several iterations and conversations with my
pilot study colleagues, the directions for the photography phase were hammered out.
Below are the exact photography directions that I mailed to the participants with the
cameras.

Figure 3. Excerpt from Participant Generated Photography Invitation Letter

As the letter indicates, each participant was mailed a disposable 27-shot camera
and a prepaid, addressed envelope to use to return the camera to me when finished. Three

Enclosed please find a 27 shot disposable camera. Use the camera over the next
week to take pictures of the teacher you have become.

This might include images that represent

what encourages you as a teacher
what discourages you as a teacher
how you see yourself at this stage in your career
something that is a metaphor for you or your teaching.

Once you are done, mail the camera back to me in the enclosed envelope. After I
develop the photos, I will mail you snapshots and ask for a brief comment
explaining how the pictures represent the teacher you have become. I will ask you
to be as specific as you can be both in terms of what is in the picture and how it
connects to the teacher you have become….

14 The Qualitative Report 2012

of the participants returned the camera within two weeks of receiving it. The fourth
participant kept the camera for a month. As soon as I received each camera, I had the
photos developed digitally, then pasted them into a word document with space under each
picture for comments by the participant. The picture pages were numbered and labeled
with the participants’ pseudonyms. In each case, I was able to mail the printed photos to
the participants within three days of receiving the used camera. They all mailed the
pictures back with their written comments within a week of receiving them. The
comments varied from paragraphs under each photo to single sentences to no comments
under some pictures for two participants. See Figure 4 for a sample participant generated
photograph with comments and coding. While I had viewed the pictures prior to mailing
them to the participants, I tried not to analyze them until I received the participants’
comments. I did not want to look at the photographs through my own research lens;
rather, I wanted the participants to tell me what they saw in the pictures.

Once I received their comments back, I used a coding scheme similar to the one I
followed with the archived data. The pictures were labeled, categorized and added to the
participants’ individual coding binders and the larger coding binders where overlapping
themes appeared.

Those coding categories derived from the photos were used to support or
challenge the coding completed in the first step and to support the interview protocol in
the third step. The analysis of the photographs proved helpful in reinforcing some of the
common themes I discovered in their archived data. For example, all four teachers had
pictures of colleagues in their photographs, reinforcing the “Relationship with
Colleagues” code seen in the archived data. None of the participants chose to take
pictures of their families or lives outside of school, causing me to revisit the significance
of the “Motherhood” category seen in the archived data. In all cases, the coding that
resulted from the photographs informed my semi-structured interview protocol. I selected
a few photographs from each participant’s set to discuss specifically during the interview.
I also invited the participants to talk about any photographs they wanted to during the
interview.

Step III: Face-to-Face Interviews

The third step consisted of a face-to-face interview with participants using a semi-
structured (Merriam, 1998) interview protocol and the participant-generated photographs.
All of the questions were asked of all the participants, but the order was sometimes
changed to accommodate a more natural conversational flow. Some questions were
answered by the participants in the course of answering other questions as well. The
questions were purposely redundant to give the participants multiple opportunities to
articulate how they had grown as a teacher and in their teaching as a result of graduating
from the program and their two years of experience.

Catherine Snyder 15

Figure 4. Participant Generated Photograph with Comments and Coding

My approach to the interview was feminist in that I attempted to “establish a
collaborative and nonexploitative” environment, interview my participants in a place and
time of their choosing, and “conduct research that [was] transformative” (Creswell, 1998,
p. 83). It is my hope that during the process of reflecting on the previous three years of
their lives through the lens of change, my participants have not only become more
cognizant of the journeys they have taken, but of the changes in the way they think about
teaching and themselves. I attempted to uphold the principle set forth in Rubin and Rubin
(1995), Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data; that is, to “respect both
parties in the conversation” (Rubin & Rubin, 1995, p. 32). Gluck and Patai, in their 1991

16 The Qualitative Report 2012

book Women’s Words: The Feminist Practice of Oral History, caution researchers to
listen carefully to participants’ voices, and to suspend, as much as possible, the research
agenda for the time that the interview is conducted (Gluck & Patai, 1991, p. 11). I
attempted to do this, treating the interviews as looked-forward-to conversations with
colleagues where we planned to converse about their professional history.

The interviews were recorded with both a traditional tape recorder and a digital
recorder. The plan was to back up the digital recordings onto my computer. During the
first interview, the digital recording was successful and later backed up onto my
computer. The digital recorder did not record properly (due to user fallibility) in the
second interview. The digital recorder was used properly during the third interview, but
the recording was accidentally erased while being transferred to the computer. The fourth
interview was conducted with the traditional tape recorder only. While I had conducted
previous studies with both technologies, I had never encountered as many problems with
the digital technology as I did in this study. I was thankful for the advice of more
experienced researchers and the lessons I learned in previous projects, like always having
two forms of recording devices. In the end, the traditional tape recorder was the medium
by which I was able to retrieve my interview data.

The interviews were transcribed word for word using Microsoft Word, typed and
double-spaced. The documents were titled with the participants’ pseudonyms. I was
identified as interviewer and the participants were identified as interviewee in the left
margin of each document. I transcribed the first interview myself, but was able to have
the other three interviews professionally transcribed. Each interview document was line-
numbered for ease of coding. Interview documents, ranging between 40 and 70 pages,
were saved on my computer and printed out for coding purposes. The interviews lasted
between one hour and ten minutes and two hours. As calculated by word count, I did very
little talking in the interviews. My speech totaled about 15% of the words spoken in each
interview.

Figure 5. Face-to-Face Interview Excerpt with Coding notes

I emailed the interview questions to the participants the day before the scheduled
interview. This was done to remind the participant of our upcoming interview and to give
them a sense of familiarity with the questions. I purposely did not give them more than

Catherine Snyder 17

one day to think about the questions. I wanted to strike a balance between relieving
anxiety about the interview by knowing the questions, giving the participants the
opportunity to think over their answers, and keeping my promise to my participants that
my study would not consume large amounts of their time. Three of the four participants
read the interview questions before the interview. The last question (Tell me about the
teacher you have become since graduating from the MAT program.) purposely mimics
the phrase used in the photography directions given to the participants. Almost all of the
questions prompted follow-up questions or probes. It was not unusual for a participant to
talk for five to ten minutes to answer one question. See Figure 5 for a face-to-face
interview transcript excerpt with comments and coding.

Member checking and final analysis. As the phases of transformative learning
emerged in the research, I summarized my conclusions in light of the journeys taken by
each participant. Ultimately, the content analysis was a “reduction and sense-making
effort that [took] a volume of qualitative material and [attempted] to identify core
consistencies and meanings” (Patton, 2002, p. 453). I wrote narratives for each
participant, averaging 24 pages each, and sent them to the participants for review.
Participants responded with feedback, clarification, and elaboration. All emails were
saved as Word documents, then printed, labeled, and added to each participant’s binder.
The email feedback was then used to further hone my findings and the research
conclusions. Ultimately, the conclusions of the research were mailed to the four
participants and their feedback was folded into the research findings.

Simultaneous with the member checking (Carlson, 2010), a colleague checked the
coding done in the data. She reviewed randomly selected samples of data and compared
them to Mezirow’s (1978) phases of transformative learning as well as the themes I
encountered. Conversations and refinement of the coding took place using email and
face-to-face conversations.

Reporting of study conclusions. After reconciling the feedback from the
participants and the results of the member checking, a final refinement of the
participants’ narrative was conducted. The study findings, indicated in the introduction of
this article, were based on the data, my reflexive analytic memos, and a re-connection
with the research on transformative learning.

Conclusion

The combination of analysis and coding of multiple pieces of archived data,
combined with participant-generated photography, face-to-face interviews, member
checking, and reflexive analytical memos proved to be a highly integrative and robust
mixture of methods. In particular, I found the insertion of participant-generated
photography in between the analysis of archived data and the face-to-face interview to be
particularly helpful. The photographic data allowed me to check the progress of my
coding to either confirm or challenge interpretations. It also allowed me to reconnect with
my participants in a way that I had not done since gathering the archived data. And most
obviously, the photographs became a comfortable focal point for the interview, drawing
out different aspects of their professional work and journeys as teachers. It was easy to

18 The Qualitative Report 2012

create an atmosphere where the participants were not only comfortable but anxious to tell
me stories about particular students, colleagues, lessons, or other experiences as novice
teachers. Because few of my colleagues have used this technique, I did receive
questioning looks upon implementation. But after gathering the results from the
photography phase of the study, there was no doubt that this methodological element
gave me what I needed to tie together the other pieces of my study.

Also, my use of reflexive analytical memos deepened my insight, kept me
organized, and allowed me to check facts and timelines. The notebooks became a
companion in my research much like the “pensieve” as described by Gerstl-Pepin and
Patrizio (2009, p. 299). I knew that my thoughts, inspirations, ideas for further research,
and to-do lists for my research would not be lost. In fact, I am convinced that an analysis
of my memos alone might prove fruitful to a researcher interested in understanding how
thoughts develop over time.

The design did come with some limitations. First, it was an extraordinarily time-
consuming study to complete. Close to a year of my research time (roughly 20 – 30% of
my professional day) was spent analyzing the data and bringing it to publication. Second,
it required a long term commitment on the part of my participants. I am indebted to them
for their perseverance and willingness to continue to engage with me in a conversation
about their journey toward becoming secondary school teachers. I count myself lucky to
have worked with four women dedicated to their new profession and the telling of their
stories.

Third, while participants were unaware of the exact nature of the theory I was
applying to their journey, they did become aware of the general theme of my research:
their professional journey toward becoming secondary teachers. As the study progressed,
three of the four participants became more active in sharing with me information they
thought might be relevant to what they thought I was studying. This concerned me
because I had to ensure that the participants were not providing information they thought
I wanted, but rather sharing their experiences openly. I tried to ensure this by asking
questions in multiple ways and more than once. I followed up with participants if a
discrepancy in the data emerged. This impacted the analysis of the study because it
required more attention. This dilemma seems to be a consequence of the long-term
timeline of the study, one that might not be avoidable if using qualitative methods which
require getting to know how the participants are thinking and changing over time.

Finally, the study would have benefited from a group of researchers analyzing the
data. While a colleague at a separate institution verified my coding scheme, the process
was fundamentally a conversation with the participants for three years. Had more
researchers been involved, I believe the process would have become simultaneously
much more complicated and much richer. If I have the opportunity to design a long-term
study like this again, I will endeavor to bring aboard colleagues willing to pursue the
same line of research across the length of the study.

The combination of techniques produced a rich narrative that enhanced my
understanding of this important cohort of professionals moving into the field of
secondary teaching. The study also makes a strong statement regarding qualitative
research methods. This particular combination of methods proved eminently revealing to
me as a researcher. I believe it could also work under other circumstances where a
researcher is working overtime with a small, specifically chosen set of participants.

Catherine Snyder 19

Perhaps the more important point, however, is that a thoughtfully chosen collection of
methods can combine to provide insight not previously attainable.

Also, throughout the study I remained flexible in my choice of methods. My
research questions remained the focus throughout the study. I allowed those questions to
drive my decision-making in terms of which methods might offer the most clarity in the
interpretation of my participants’ words. This organic flexibility allowed me to identify
and implement methods that I would not have otherwise used in combination. Qualitative
data rely heavily on the focus a researcher is able to maintain in pursuit of a research
question. This triangulated, redundant, and multi-method design proved to be highly
effective in allowing me to answer my qualitative research questions and move forward
in my research.

This combination of qualitative tools proved effective in launching a research
agenda that will continue for some time and perhaps lead to the development of a
grounded theory of career-changer teacher education effectiveness. A research study is
now underway to test for generalizability as well as pursue the next logical step in the
formation of grounded theory: defining the key terms related to what might emerge as a
framework to improve the quality of teacher education for career-changers. This article
focused on the qualitative design and its effectiveness in bringing research to this stage.
The combination of methods was chosen to match the research questions and organically
assembled to maximize understanding of the transformative journey of the participants.
Approaching the research with flexibility, willingness to modify the research design as it
unfolded, and continual interaction with participants in the analysis of the data produced
a robust case study that portends future contributory research.

References

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data in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 10(2), 159-173.

Brown, A. P. (2010). Qualitative method and compromise in applied social research.
Qualitative Research, 10(2), 229-248.

Carlson, J. (2010). Avoiding traps in member checking. The Qualitative Report, 15(5),
1102-1113. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR15-5/carlson

Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through
qualitative analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five
traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Clair, J. M., Wasserman, J. A., & Wilson, K. L. (2009). Problematics of grounded theory:
Innovations for developing an increasingly rigorous qualitative method.
Qualitative Research, 9(3), 355-381.

Galman, S. A. C. (2009). The truthful messenger: visual methods and representation in
qualitative research in education. Qualitative Research, 9, 197-217

Gee, J. P. (1999). Discourse analysis: Theory and method. New York, NY: Routledge.
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretations of cultures. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Gerstl-Pepin, C. & Patrizio, K. (2009). Learning from Dumbledore’s pensieve: Metaphor

as an aid in teaching reflexivity in qualitative research. Qualitative Research,
9(3), 299-308.

20 The Qualitative Report 2012

Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for
qualitative research. New York, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.

Gluck, S. B., & Patai, D. (Eds). (1991). Women’s words: The feminist practice of oral
history. New York, NY: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc.

Herz, R. (1997). Introduction: Reflexivity and voice. In R. Hertz (Ed.), Reflexivity and
voice (pp. vii-xviii). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Keats, P. (2009). Multiple text analysis in narrative research: Visual, written, and spoken
stories of experience. Qualitative Research, 9(2), 181-195.

Kegan, R. (1998). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.

Ketelle, D. (2010). The ground they walk on: Photography and narrative inquiry. The
Qualitative Report, 15(3), 547-568.

LeCompte, M. D. (2000). Analyzing qualitative data. Theory into Practice, 39(3), 146-
154.

Mannay, D. (2010). Making the familiar strange: Can visual research methods render the
familiar setting more perceptible? Qualitative Research, 10(1), 91-111.

Maxwell, J. A. (1996). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Merriam, S. B., & Simpson, E. L. (2000). A guide to research for educators and trainers
of adults. Pennsylvania State University, PA: Krieger Publishing.

Mezirow, J. (1978). Education for perspective transformation: Women’s re-entry
programs in community colleges. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Mezirow, J., & Associates (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a
theory in progress. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.

Perka, P. L., Matherly, C. A., Fishman, D. E., & Ridge, R. H. (1992). Using photographs
to examine environmental perceptions of African-American and White Greek
members: A qualitative study. College Student Affairs Journal, 12, 7-12.

Pink, S. (2004). Applied visual anthropology social intervention, visual methodologies
and anthropology theory. Visual Anthropology Review, 20(1), 3-16.

Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (1995). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Strauss, A. L. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press.

Taber, N. (2010). Institutional ethnography, autoethnography, and narrative: An
argument for incorporating multiple methodologies. Qualitative Research, 10(1),
5-25.

Taylor, E. W. (2002). Using still photography in making meaning of adult educators’
teaching beliefs. Studies in the Education of Adults, 34 (2), 123-139.

Tuleja, E. A. (2002). A qualitative research study of oral communication performance.
Performance Improvement Quarterly, 15(3), 130-148.

Van Maanen, J. (1998). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press.

Catherine Snyder 21

Author Note

Dr. Snyder is Associate Dean of the School of Education of Union Graduate
College. She received her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University at
Albany, State University of New York. Her areas of interest are adult learning, National
Board Certification and women in education. Dr. Snyder taught secondary social studies
for ten years before transitioning into higher education where she now teaches both pre-
service graduate students and practicing teachers. Correspondence regarding this article
can be addressed to: Catherine Snyder, PhD Associate Dean & Assistant Professor,
School of Education, Union Graduate College, 80 Nott Terrace, Schenectady, NY 12308
Office: (518) 631-9870, and E-mail: snyderc@uniongraduatecollege.edu

Copyright 2012: Catherine Snyder and Nova Southeastern University

Article Citation

Snyder, C. (2012). A case study of a case study: Analysis of a robust qualiative research
methodology. The Qualitative Report, 17(Art. 26), 1-21. Retrieved from
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR17/snyder

1

Research Methods

for Social Workers

A Practice- Based Approach

T H I R D E D I T I O N

Samuel S. Faulkner

Cynthia A. Faulkner

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AN: 1854272 ; Samuel S. Faulkner, Cynthia A. Faulkner.; Research Methods for Social Workers : A Practice-Based Approach
Account: s1229530.main.eds

1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education

by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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© Oxford University Press 2019

First Edition published in 2009
Second Edition published in 2016
Third Edition published in 2019

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address above.

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and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Faulkner, Cynthia A., author. | Faulkner, Samuel S., author.

Title: Research methods for social workers : a practice- based approach /
Samuel S. Faulkner, Cynthia A. Faulkner.

Description: Third edition. | New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2019. |
Cynthia A. Faulkner appears as the first named author on earlier editions.|

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018015252 (print) | LCCN 2018016001 (ebook) | 

ISBN 9780190858957 (updf) | ISBN 9780190858964 (epub) |
ISBN 9780190858940 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Social service— Research— Methodology.
Classification: LCC HV11 (ebook) | LCC HV11 .F37 2019 (print) | 

DDC 361.0072/ 1— dc23
LC record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/ 2018015252

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CONTE NTS

Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
About the Authors xiii

1. What Is Research? 1
Importance of Social Work Research 1
Defining Research 2
Ways of Knowing 3
Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed- Method Research 4
Developing Your Research Questions 6
What Is a Hypothesis? 7
Research Designs 8
Strengths and Limitations of Research 10
Case Scenario 10
Critical Thinking Questions 11
Key Points 11
Practice Exam 12

2. Ethical Considerations 13
Historical Overview 13
Respect for Individuals 14
Beneficence 20
Justice 22
Other Ethical Considerations 23
Case Scenario 25
Critical Thinking Questions 26
Key Points 26
Practice Exam 26

3. Qualitative Research Designs 28
How Is Qualitative Research Used? 28
Descriptive Inquiry 29
Speculative Inquiry 30
Qualitative Research Methods 30
Data Collection 35
An Example of a Qualitative Study 39

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vi C O N T E N T S

Case Scenario 47
Critical Thinking Questions 48
Key Points 48
Practice Exam 50

4. Literature Review 52
What Is a Literature Review? 52
Step 1: Conducting Your Search for Research Articles 54
Step 2: Choosing Your Articles 55
Step 3: Reviewing Your Articles 56
Step 4: Organizing Your Search Results 60
Step 5: Developing a Problem Statement or Hypothesis 64
Step 6: Compiling Your Reference Page 65
Case Scenario 67
Critical Thinking Questions 67
Key Points 67
Practice Exam 68

5. Quantitative Research Designs 69
Getting Started 69
Developing a Testable Hypothesis 70
What Is Descriptive Research? 70
Correlation Versus Causation 71
Data Collection 72
Cross- Sectional and Longitudinal Designs 72
Group Research Designs 74
Case Scenario 80
Critical Thinking Questions 80
Key Points 81
Practice Exam 81

6. Variables and Measures 83
Variables in Research Design 83
Viewing and Using Variables 84
Types of Variables 84
What Is a Measure? 87
Defining and Operationalizing Measures 87
Levels of Measurement 88
Reliability and Validity in Measurement 92
Case Scenario 96
Critical Thinking Questions 97
Key Points 97
Practice Exam 98

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C O N T E N T S vii

7. Sampling 99
What Is Sampling? 99
Random Selection and Random Assignment 100
Sample Size: How Many Is Enough? 100
External and Internal Validity 101
Probability Sampling 103
Probability Sampling Techniques 103
Sampling Error 106
Nonprobability Sampling 106
Limitations of Nonprobability Sampling 107
Case Scenario 108
Critical Thinking Questions 108
Key Points 108
Practice Exam 109

8. Survey Research 111
Defining Survey Research 111
Appropriate Survey Topics 112
Developing a Survey 112
Administering Surveys and Expected Rates of Returns 121
Advantages and Disadvantages of Survey Research 124
Case Scenario 125
Critical Thinking Questions 125
Key Points 125
Practice Exam 126

9. Evaluative Research Designs 127
Program Evaluation 128
Process Evaluation 128
Outcome Evaluation 132
Strengths and Weaknesses of Program Evaluation 135
Practical Considerations and Common Problems 136
Case Scenario 137
Critical Thinking Questions 138
Key Points 138
Practice Exam 138

10. Single- Subject Design 140
What Is a Single- Subject Design? 140
Elements of Single- Subject Design Research 141
Types of Single- Subject Designs 144
Strengths and Limitations of Single- Subject Designs 147
Case Scenario 147
Critical Thinking Questions 148

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viii C O N T E N T S

Key Points 148
Practice Exam 148

11. Introduction to Descriptive Statistics 150
What Is Data Analysis? 150
The First Step of Data Analysis 150
Descriptive Analysis 152
Strengths and Limitations of Descriptive Statistics 160
Case Scenario 161
Critical Thinking Questions 161
Key Points 161
Practice Exam 162

12. Introduction to Inferential Statistics 164
What Are Inferential Statistics? 164
Four Types of Correlation 165
Determining the Strength of the Correlation 166
Probability Values and Confidence Intervals 167
Parametric Statistics 167
Nonparametric Statistics 174
Strengths and Limitations of Inferential Statistics 176
Which Statistical Program Is Right for Me? 176
Case Scenario 177
Critical Thinking Questions 177
Key Points 177
Practice Exam 178

13. Practicing Your Research Skills 180
Example of a Research Proposal 180
Example of a Research Report 190

Answers to Practice Exam 205
Glossary 217
References 227
Index 229

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PR E FACE

Welcome to the third edition of Research Methods for Social Workers: A Practice-
Based Approach. When we set out to write the first edition (now almost fifteen
years ago) we had two major goals in mind: to create a research text that students
would be able to understand and a book that they would actually read. Now,
after the first edition in 2009 and the second edition in 2014, we have attempted,
with each new edition to make the book even more user friendly and helpful, to
you, the reader. The feedback from students has been gratifying and rewarding.
Students tell us over and over that they appreciate this text because it makes re-
search accessible to them— they actually read it and understand it.

At the same time, after having used the book (and garnering candid and
appreciated feedback from other faculty who use the text), we have made some
important additions and changes to the original text (while staying true to the
readable and understandable style of the first edition). The order of the chapters
is rearranged (not for the sake of having a new edition but because we feel this
better fits the flow of introducing and developing the concepts of the research
process). Also, in this edition, we have included some much- needed information
to meet the changing and evolving standards of social work education.

As we continue to teach from this book, it continues to evolve and grow based
on comments from students and other faculty members. We appreciate the
thoughtful comments from our students and colleagues. A  special thank you
goes out to Daniel Weisman, Professor of Social Work at Rhode Island College
of Social Work, for his thoughtful comments and feedback— much of which we
incorporated into this edition.

In short, we feel this new edition will be even more valuable in helping you
to teach research methods to your students. As you use this book, we invite
comments, feedback, suggestions, and other responses to help us know how
we might improve future editions (and what you like or don’t like about this
current edition). As fellow educators, we want to be as responsive and helpful
as possible.

Thanks,
Sam and Cindy Faulkner

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ACK NOW L E DGM E NTS

As with most writings, there are many people who contributed their time and
expertise to this text. A special thank you goes to our colleagues and friends,
Lisa Shannon and Lynn Geurin, associate professors of social work at Morehead
State University, Kentucky, who have given valuable feedback and support. Our
gratitude goes to David Follmer, consultant to Oxford University Press, for his
encouragement and patience in the rewrite of the third edition of this book.
We want to thank Daniel Weisman, Professor of Social Work at Rhode Island
College of Social Work, for his thoughtful comments and feedback— much of
which we incorporated into this edition. And special thanks go to our children
(Wayne, Shay, Christina, Alisa, McKennzie, and Ezra) for inspiring us to be life-
long learners and our fourteen grandchildren (so far), and our great- grandson for
helping us stay young. “I can do everything through God who gives me strength”
(Phil. 4:13).

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A BOUT TH E AUTHOR S

Cynthia A. Faulkner has served as full- time social work faculty since 2001. She
recently retired as Professor from Morehead State University after sixteen years
of service to relocate to Corpus Christi, Texas, where she is near family. She is
now serving as Professor and Program Director of the new online MSW pro-
gram at Indiana Wesleyan University. Her previous titles include eight years
as Field Education Coordinator and three years as BSW Program Coordinator.
Dr. Faulkner has developed multiple online social work, courses including those
used for a Chemical Dependency minor, and she is a Certified Quality Matters
Reviewer. Dr.  Faulkner has also taught many study- abroad classes, taking
students to England, Scotland, and Ireland to study child maltreatment with a
specialty in abuse by priests. She is the co- author of a textbook under contract
titled Addictions Counseling: A Competency- Based Approach (Oxford University
Press).

Samuel S. Faulkner has been full- time faculty in social work since 2001 and re-
tired as Professor from Morehead State University in June 2017. Now relocated
in Corpus Christi, Texas, he is employed as Associate Professor at Texas A&M—
Kingsville teaching in their new MSW Program. Previously, he has served as BSW
Program Coordinator, Director of International Education, and thirteen years as
Chair of the IRB. Dr. Faulkner served as Campus Representative to the Board of
Directors for the Cooperative Center for Study Abroad from 2006 to 2014, and he
was the onsite administrator for multiple programs including London Summer,
London Winter, Ireland Summer, and Australia Summer. Dr. Faulkner created
the first Chemical Dependency Minor in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He
has taught research courses, and he is co- author of a textbook under contact ti-
tled Addictions Counseling: A Competency- Based Approach (Oxford University
Press).

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Research Methods for Social Workers

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1

What Is Research?

R esearch has become an increasingly valuable tool for social work
practitioners and scholars. Research is a systematic and methodolog-
ical approach to creating knowledge. In social work, research is instru-

mental in the development of effective practice outcomes, or the outcomes of
professional activities that are designed to improve or change the well- being of
an individual, agency, or other system. For instance, we can research an issue
concerning practice accountability, such as whether an intervention is effective,
or we can measure an issue related to the characteristics of an agency population,
such as changes in the ages of substance abuse admissions over time. Measuring
practice accountability and monitoring agency populations both provide in-
formation that can be used to create evidence- based practices. Evidence- based
practices are practices whose efficacy is supported by evidence. In this chapter,
we will discuss why research is important in social work practice and what re-
search entails, critically examine ways of knowing, define the two fields of re-
search, and provide an overview of four methods of research.

IMPORTA NCE OF SOCIA L WORK RESEA RCH

Perhaps you are asking yourself something along the lines of “Why should I have
to take a class in research? After all, I  am interested in working with people.
I could care less about research methods.” The reality is that research is gaining
an increasingly important place in the practice of social work. For instance,
managed care companies, insurance companies, and consumers themselves
are demanding that social workers be able to demonstrate not only that the
techniques, methods, and practices that they employ are useful and effective,
but also that these practices can be used effectively in other settings and with
other populations. Gone are the days when a social worker could rely on per-
sonal intuition and undocumented outcomes as proof that his or her practices
were effective. In fact, the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social
Workers has an entire section on evaluation and research. Section 5.02 stresses

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2 R E S E A R C H M E T H O D S F O R S O C I A L W O R K E R S

that “Social workers should monitor and evaluate policies, the implementation
of programs, and practice interventions.” In addition, “Social workers should
promote and facilitate evaluation and research to contribute to the development
of knowledge” (National Association of Social Workers, 1999).

There are other reasons why researchers are compelled to adopt more rigorous
ways of measuring the effectiveness of social work practice. In difficult eco-
nomic times, as programs are experiencing a decrease in funding, it is becoming
increasingly important to utilize evidence- based practices to demonstrate
accountability. An increasing number of both government and private grant-
funding sources are requiring evaluation components to be incorporated into
grant proposals. In this age of shrinking dollars, foundations and governmental
funding agencies want assurances that money is spent in the most effective way
possible. Program evaluation can help agencies obtain or retain grants and other
such funding by demonstrating program success. When writing proposals and
developing new programs, social workers need to have at least a basic under-
standing of how to carry out a program evaluation.

Additionally, by researching specific social problems, social workers can be-
come agents of macro change. Social workers can devise social policies and
large- scale interventions to alter inequality and injustice in their agencies and
communities. For instance, a social service agency identifies a significant amount
of no- shows for job- skills training appointments. The agency conducts a tele-
phone survey to identify barriers that prevent clients from keeping appointments
and discovers that lack of access to transportation is the most significant barrier
and lack of child care the second most significant barrier. In response to these
findings, an agency policy is developed to provide taxi tokens and child care
vouchers to consumers with financial need.

DEFINING RESEA RCH

With that in mind, we turn to the question “What is research?” Chances are,
you are already a researcher and do not know it. We often use research methods
without actually labeling what we are doing as research. For example, think back
to the last time you were going to see a movie. If you have ever solicited a review
from a friend or read a review in a paper or magazine and then based your deci-
sion to see the film on the reviewer’s opinion, you were utilizing research meth-
odology. Similarly, if you have ever consulted a newspaper or a local television
station for information about the weather so that you could decide how to dress
for the day, you are utilizing research methods.

Research is, in its simplest form, the assimilation of knowledge and the gath-
ering of data in a logical manner in order to become informed about something.
We often consult with others whose opinions we value (friends, experts, etc.)
and then make a decision based on our informed judgment. The process of
conducting research is essentially the same, but much more thorough.

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What Is Research? 3

WAYS OF K NOWING

The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (1999) states
that “Social workers should promote and facilitate evaluation and research to
contribute to the development of knowledge” (section 5.02b). Have you ever
wondered how we gain knowledge (how we know what we know)? Here, we will
discuss four ways in which knowledge can be gained.

First, we can use our own experiences to gain knowledge. Simply by trial
and error we can gradually make decisions about a problem and eventually de-
velop enough knowledge to solve a problem. For instance, you require a cer-
tain amount of sleep at night to feel rested the next day. A  pattern of sleep
experiences over time provides you with enough information to determine the
specific amount of sleep you require. However, in social work practice, personal
experiences can be misleading because our experiences and the experiences of
our consumers may be different, just as others may need more or less sleep than
you do.

Second, we can rely on the knowledge of others. Agency supervisors and other
coworkers who have years of practice experience can be important sources of
knowledge. Many have developed tried- and- true practices that have over time
become evidence- based practices. For instance, a supervisor explains that a par-
ticular judge prefers for documentation on a case to be presented in a certain way
and that this practice increases the possibility of a positive outcome in court. In
addition, consulting an expert or some authority in a field outside our own ex-
pertise can help us make better practice decisions.

However, if we rely on faulty information, we may be taking misperceptions
as truth. For instance, many self- help books are available on how to intervene
with an active alcoholic. While many are reliable resources, authors without
evidence- based practice experiences may be offering advice that is based on just
one person’s experience. Therefore, you must look at the qualifications of the
person who is offering advice and ensure it has been shown to be reliable and
valid through repeated positive outcomes.

Third, we can rely on traditions. Tradition provides us with knowledge passed
down over time. Many new social work practitioners are indoctrinated into agency
practice through the established practices of those who have worked there over
time. For instance, agency traditions may include weekly team meetings to staff
cases, debriefing with a supervisor after a difficult assessment, and identifying
caseload counts to ensure equitable distribution. These practices have proved
to increase accountability, reduce turnover rates, and monitor workloads, all of
which are beneficial. However, there are traditions that are not best practices.
For instance, taking consumer files home to work on, giving consumers our
home or cell phone numbers, and standardized group notes are practices that
can bring up issues of confidentiality, boundaries, and lack of individualized
documentation. We have to be careful when relying on tradition, however. Just
because a practice or tradition is “how it has always been done” does not make

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4 R E S E A R C H M E T H O D S F O R S O C I A L W O R K E R S

it a best practice. In some ways, tradition is the least reliable source for gaining
knowledge.

The fourth way to gather knowledge is by using scientific methods to answer
our questions. By researching our questions, we can increase our knowledge
about a particular issue or population. It should be noted that one misconception
about research is that studies are large experiments that are able to solve whole
problems. The truth is that the research process involves small incremental steps.
Each study adds a small piece of information to the whole. The process is much
like painting a picture. Each brushstroke, each dab of paint, adds a small amount
of detail until eventually a coherent picture emerges. Each stroke or dab of paint,
standing alone, may not represent much, but when all the dabs of paint are viewed
together as a whole, we see a picture. Research studies, by themselves, may only
explain a small part of the whole, but, when linked together with other studies,
they begin to help us see a larger picture or describe an occurrence. For example,
there is a plethora of child maltreatment research. Some studies may examine
characteristics of the abusers, others the abused children, and still others the
family dynamics of families in which child abuse is occurring. Each study is a
small part that contributes to our understanding of child maltreatment.

Therefore, one study is not sufficient to apply to everyone. Different studies
may have different— and sometimes opposite— findings because of the specific
characteristics of the populations being researched. For instance, a child protec-
tion agency in a large urban city may report a high percentage of parents using
street drugs, whereas a small rural community may report a high percentage
of parents using prescription drugs. As you can see, the findings of the larger
urban study do not apply to the rural study because the characteristics of the
populations are different.

In summary, it is important to explore all possible ways of knowing about
social work practice. The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social
Workers (1999) emphasizes that “Social workers should critically examine
and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work” (section
5.01c). Critical examination of personal experiences, the experiences of others,
traditions, and research methods can contribute to evidence- based practices in
social work. The ability to use critical thinking to determine how reliable the
information is an important skill for all social work practitioners. Incompatible
findings are the result of different decisions made by researchers, and this book
will teach you to determine which studies are relatively better.

QUA LITATIVE, QUA NTITATIVE,
A ND MIXED- METHOD RESEA RCH

There are two overarching ways of gathering data, or fields of research. These
are qualitative research methods and quantitative research methods. Qualitative
research is concerned with developing knowledge where little or none exists
and uses words, observations, and descriptions to develop this knowledge.

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What Is Research? 5

Quantitative research is concerned with expanding knowledge that already
exists and using numerical data to report the findings from the research. But
perhaps you want to use both qualitative and quantitative methods, or a mixed-
method design, in your research. Mixed- method designs allow researchers to
design a study using both qualitative and quantitative methods by using numer-
ical and textual data.

Qualitative Research

Social work is a profession that owes a large debt of gratitude to many other
disciplines. Anthropology, psychology, sociology, and medicine have all
contributed to the development of our profession. One of the areas in which
this becomes exceedingly clear is the field of qualitative research. Qualitative
research has deep roots in the fields of anthropology and sociology, where
the development of rigorous and exact methods for fieldwork has long been
fostered.

The use of qualitative research methods is debated among social work
practitioners, faculty, researchers, and other professionals. It is generally agreed
that qualitative research is employed when little or nothing is known about a
subject or when the researcher wants to gain an in- depth understanding of a
person’s experience. Some may argue that qualitative methods are better suited
to studies on complicated topics such as a person’s comfort level with death, how
it feels to be unemployed, or how a child views the drinking habits of an al-
coholic parent. Qualitative research primarily relies on information generated
from observations of the researcher and discussions and interviews with study
participants. However, researchers engaged in qualitative research might also
gather some descriptive information such as the demographics of participants
and their settings in order to place their experiences within a context. In their
simplest form, qualitative research methods are used to help us understand the
characteristics of a phenomenon. Often this type of research uncovers these
characteristics by focusing on the ideas of the people involved.

As an example, let us imagine for a moment that you are a case manager in
a community health agency and the year is 1982. You have noticed that a large
number of your consumers who report being intravenous drug users are also
suffering from a strange new illness that seems to impair their immune system.
You may be aware that acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was a rel-
atively unknown disease in 1982 and that scientists were just beginning to un-
derstand the causes of the transmission of this disease. As a case manager, you
may want to design a qualitative study that will help you explore the experiences
of those who are suffering from this disease by interviewing people living with
AIDS (recording their own words). You may also want to collect some demo-
graphic information such as sex, age, race, and length of illness to describe their
experiences within the context of the research population.

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6 R E S E A R C H M E T H O D S F O R S O C I A L W O R K E R S

Quantitative Research

Advocates of quantitative research argue that it is only through the use of
methods that report numerical representation that the social sciences can be-
come truly valid. Quantitative research seeks to explain relationships between
two or more factors. The aim of quantitative research is to determine how one
thing (a variable) affects another in a population. A variable is any attribute or
characteristic that changes or assumes different values. Variables can represent
subject characteristics (e.g., age, race, sex) or the things you are really interested
in (e.g., agency performance; rate of relapse in addiction treatment; physiolog-
ical, psychological, or sociological causes of child maltreatment). Variables can
also represent the effect of any intervention that subjects receive, such as a cul-
tural sensitivity training.

Mixed- Method Research

Mixed- method research uses both qualitative and quantitative research designs.
Using more than one research method while collecting and analyzing data in a
study is called concurrent mixed- method research. When data collected through
the use of one type of research design provide a basis for the collection of data
using the other type, this is called sequential mixed- method research. There are
several reasons to use a mixed- method design. Among these are that it can test
the consistency of findings obtained through different forms of data collection.
This is referred to as triangulation; this means that the findings from the
methods used are consistent and support each other. Or a researcher might use
a mixed- method design because it allows him or her to use qualitative methods
to add richness and detail to the results obtained from the use of quantitative
methods. Researchers may also choose a mixed- method design so they can use
results from one method to shape subsequent methods or steps in the research
process. This is frequently seen when a qualitative study is used to shape a quan-
titative study. In addition, mixed- method research can be used as a means to de-
velop new research questions or to use one method to challenge results obtained
through another method.

DEVELOPING YOUR RESEA RCH QUESTIONS

You may be asking yourself at this point, “Where do research questions orig-
inate?” Research questions may arise from your personal experience. Thus,
a person who was adopted may feel compelled to study the factors that make
adoptions work well for children. Research questions may develop out of re-
search articles or theories you are studying. A  theory is a statement or set of
statements designed to explain a phenomenon based upon observations and

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What Is Research? 7

experiments and often agreed upon by most experts in a particular field. For
example, you may want to test the credibility of the claims put forth by a devel-
opmental theory on aging that you learned about in one of your human behav-
ior classes. Research questions may arise out of your own practice experience.
Regardless of the source, most questions are born out of the researcher’s personal
interest in a subject.

To illustrate this process, we may begin with an observation (“This person
smiles at me and goes out of her way to help me”), then we have an idea (“This
person would make a good friend”), and then we develop a question (“Does
this person like me?”). We can examine this question by drawing from our past
experiences, by consulting others, or by asking the person directly.

When you are developing research questions, there are some issues to keep
in mind. The first thing to consider is whether the question is empirical. This
means the researcher must decide whether it can be quantified. For example, a
question such as “What is the best religion?” is both value laden and subjective
(“the best”). As a researcher, you need to be careful to remember that we can
study values in order to understand what others think, but we cannot conduct
research on values in order to evaluate them. Therefore, we can approach value-
laden issues through qualitative methods that are meant to deal with the sub-
jective questions we would have— this would eliminate any objectivity from the
research. “How many people cheat on their partner?” or “Has having an abortion
prevented further unwanted pregnancies?” are both examples of questions that
attempt to quantify issues of moral worth and can be measured through quan-
titative methods.

WHAT IS A HYPOTHESIS?

A hypothesis is a research statement about relationships between variables that
is testable and that can be accepted or rejected based on the evidence. Therefore,
you can only develop hypotheses that are quantifiable. To design a study to test
your hypothesis, you use quantitative research methods. Hypotheses are divided
into two categories:  research hypotheses and null hypotheses. The research hy-
pothesis asserts that there is a relationship between the variables, and the null
hypothesis claims that the relationship between the variables can be rejected.
In other words, the null hypothesis is what the researcher is attempting to re-
ject. For example, we may have a null hypothesis that no difference exists be-
tween a treatment group and a nontreatment group after intervention. If this is
rejected, then the research hypothesis that the treatment group will be different
from the nontreatment group after intervention (e.g., less sick or more educated)
is supported. Hypotheses are typically abbreviated as Ho (null hypothesis), Ha
(research hypothesis), and H1, H2, H3 (a number is used when there is more than
one research hypothesis).

Imagine that you are working at an emergency shelter with a consumer named
Joe.Joe is in need of permanent housing (he has been living on the streets for

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8 R E S E A R C H M E T H O D S F O R S O C I A L W O R K E R S

the past two years). While you are collecting assessment history with Joe, he
discloses that he has a long history of drug abuse. One initial hypothesis may
be “A history of substance abuse is related to not having stable housing.” In fur-
ther discussions with Joe, you explore this hypothesis with him, and he confirms
that his substance abuse has interfered with his ability to seek and keep a job— a
strong factor in his being homeless. You then decide to design a research study to
determine if this relationship between substance abuse and homelessness exists
beyond your client. You can also test a second hypothesis that looks at the rela-
tionship between substance abuse and unemployment.

RESEA RCH DESIGNS

There are different designs that researchers can choose from to collect data in
conducting qualitative, quantitative, and mixed- method research. Exploratory
designs are exclusively grounded in qualitative research, and explanatory designs
are exclusively grounded in quantitative research. Descriptive designs, evaluative
designs, and single- subject designs can draw from either or both types of research.

Exploratory Designs

An exploratory design is a type of research design that allows us to use our
powers of observation, inquiry, and assessment to form tentative theories about
what we are seeing and experiencing. It is generally used to explore understudied
topics. In essence, we need to find out about a phenomenon. By asking an open-
ended question (that is, a question that is worded in a way that allows the re-
spondent to answer in his or her own words as opposed to merely soliciting a
yes- or- no response) and observing the environment, we can begin to identify
common themes from the information we gather. For instance, imagine you are
a crisis call worker shortly after the 9/ 11 terrorist attacks. You are receiving a
high volume of calls from rescue workers involved in the recovery of human
remains. You have little or no knowledge about this experience; therefore, you
explore the callers’ experiences with them by asking questions such as “What is
it like for you?” After listening to several workers, you might discover evidence
of a common theme, for example, that the callers have been experiencing periods
of tearfulness. Based on this evidence, you can then tell other callers that this
experience appears to be common among rescue workers.

Explanatory Designs

An explanatory design is a type of research design that focuses on examining
the relationships between two or more factors and attempting to determine if

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What Is Research? 9

they are related, and, if so, in what ways and how strongly they are related. For
example, you may believe there is a relationship between the amount of time
students spend studying for their research methods class and their final course
grade in that class. Your hypothesis might be “The more students study research
methods, the better their grades in that course will be.” In fact, you would be able
to find studies that have provided evidence that a relationship exists. If you were
so inclined, it would be possible to design a study to examine just how strong the
relationship is between hours spent studying and final course grades.

Descriptive Designs

In a sense, all research is descriptive by nature because it describes how and/ or
why a phenomenon occurs. Qualitative research methods do this using words
and quantitative research methods using numbers. A  descriptive design is a
method that can be used to seek information that uses numeric language (how
many, how much, etc.) to describe a population or phenomenon. This can be
used in both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. For example, if
you are conducting a quantitative study of victims of domestic violence, you may
want to collect information on certain characteristics, such as their average age,
what percentage of them have children, and the type of abuse and how frequently
is occurs. You might also ask them to interpret the severity of the last abuse epi-
sode using a scale from 1 to 5. It is important to note here that although this type
of research looks at patterns such as how often an event occurs or ways these
answers develop in relation to each other, it does not try to address why these
patterns exist.

Descriptive information is also collected during qualitative studies to help put
the experiences into context with the population reporting them. For example,
while conducting interviews with 9/ 11 rescue workers, you might also collect in-
formation on how many of these individuals are firefighters, police officers, health
professionals, volunteer civilians, and so forth. By using this mixed- method
design, you may also be reporting how frequently the rescue workers reported
similar textual information— for example, “Six out of ten volunteers stated they
would volunteer again, regardless of the difficulties they are experiencing now.”

Evaluative Designs

Evaluative designs can also draw from both fields of research. An evalua-
tive design draws from qualitative research methods when statements made
in interviews and focus groups and written comments are used to describe
outcomes. For instance, positive comments from a survey may be included in
a program evaluation to demonstrate consumer satisfaction. Evaluative designs
can also draw from the quantitative field of research. For instance, an evaluative

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10 R E S E A R C H M E T H O D S F O R S O C I A L W O R K E R S

design might examine how many and what type of residents were serviced at an
agency over the past month.

Single- Subject Designs

Finally, a single- subject design uses systematic methodology to measure an
individual’s progress over time and measures whether a relationship exists be-
tween an intervention and a specific outcome. These designs can also draw from
either or both methods of research. In a study using qualitative methods, the
consumer’s own statement that he or she is suicidal might be used to justify an
extension for mental health treatment from an insurance company.

STRENGTHS A ND LIMITATIONS OF RESEA RCH

A major strength of research is that it can help us gain an understanding of
many social problems. Through research, we can gain knowledge of issues
such as child maltreatment, domestic violence, and substance abuse. Another
benefit is that research has led to the development of new agency policies,
greater practice accountability, evidence- based treatment strategies, and new
knowledge.

Research also has inherent limitations. First, research is conducted in small
steps that are often repeated to build evidence. Each new study adds to the
overall body of knowledge, which is considered a strength. However, knowledge
is built slowly over time— not in quantum leaps. A second limitation of research
is that the knowledge that it yields is confined to the questions that are asked.
Only by asking enough relevant questions can we obtain useful answers. Finally,
research is subject to bias. Bias is the unknown or unacknowledged error created
during the design of the research method, in the choice of problem to be studied,
over the course of the study itself, or during the interpretation of findings. This
is not to say that the research is necessarily flawed— only limited. For example,
if your study examines parents’ use of corporal punishment with their children
but all your research participants are white, your findings are racially biased.
Therefore, bias can be unintentional and sometimes unavoidable but must al-
ways be identified as a limitation.

CASE SCENA RIO

You are a case manager working in a homeless shelter in a large metropolitan
city. Assigned to your caseload is a family of four— the father, Art; the mother,
Janice; and twin boys (aged seven), Matt and Justin. The mother and father are
both hearing impaired. The twin sons do not have a hearing impairment, but they
use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with their parents. Art and

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What Is Research? 11

Janice communicate with each other using ASL and communicate with you (and
other hearing people) using a combination of lip reading and written notes. Both
the parents were employed at a local manufacturing plant until about six months
ago when they were laid off. They moved in with relatives until the relatives were
no longer able to afford having an additional four people living with them. They
are now homeless and living on the street. As a case manager, you wish to learn
more about them, their challenges in living with a disability (hearing impair-
ment), and the customs and culture of the deaf community.

CRITICA L THINKING QUESTIONS

Based on the information in this chapter, answer the following questions:

1. Which research method qualitative (exploratory) or quantitative
(explanatory) would be most appropriate with your clients? Give reasons
for choosing this method.

2. What are three questions that you might ask your clients that would
help you to better understand them, their world, and their culture?

3. What would be at least one limitation of your findings?

KEY POINTS

• Research is the process of systematically gaining information.
• Research is becoming increasingly important as governing agencies

demand evidence that programs and practices are effective.
• Knowledge is gained through our own experiences, through others,

through tradition, and through the use of scientific methods.
• There are two types of research methods: qualitative research methods

and quantitative research methods. When both research methods are
used, this is called a mixed- method design.

• Research questions may arise from personal experience, out of research
articles or theories under study, or out of practice experience and are
born out of the researcher’s personal interest in a subject.

• Hypotheses are research statements about relationships between
variables that are testable and that can be accepted or rejected based on
the findings from a study.

• Exploratory research designs allow the researcher to use his or her
powers of observation, inquiry, and assessment to form tentative
theories about what is being seen and experienced.

• Descriptive research designs use descriptive language to provide
information about a phenomenon.

• Explanatory research designs attempt to explain the relationship
between two or more factors.

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12 R E S E A R C H M E T H O D S F O R S O C I A L W O R K E R S

• Evaluative research designs attempt to examine the effectiveness of
programs and services.

• Single- subject designs are used to measure a person’s progress
over time.

PR ACTICE EX AM

True or False

1. There are four types of research. These are qualitative, inferential,
descriptive, and informative.

2. Quantitative research is usually characterized by the fact that results are
reported in numerical terms (in numbers and figures).

3. The Social Work Code of Ethics promotes social workers conducting
research.

Multiple Choice

4. Knowledge is transferred in four ways. These four ways are:
a. tradition, others’ experiences, our experience, our best guess.
b. others’ experiences, our experience, scientific inquiry, expert opinion.
c. our experience, others’ experiences or knowledge, tradition, and the

scientific method.
d. others’ experiences, our knowledge, tradition, and the Internet.

5. Quantitative research is most often associated with what?
a. explanatory research
b. research that determines why a phenomenon exists
c. research that is generalizable to a large population
d. exploratory research
e. none of the above

6. The NASW _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ recommends
that social workers conduct research.

7. Hypotheses are divided into two categories: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ hypotheses
and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ hypotheses.

8. Single- subject designs measure an _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ progress over time.

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2

Ethical Considerations

Just as ethics is an important part of our interactions with consumers and
colleagues and in carrying out social work practice on a daily basis, ethics is
also important when we are conducting research. Research, like all parts of

the social work profession, has ethics at its core. This chapter introduces you
to some ethical principles and applications used in research, including the pro-
tection of the rights of research participants.

HISTORICA L OVERVIEW

Today, most countries have laws in effect that require human subjects to be
treated with dignity and respect in the conduct of research. The United States has
regulations in place providing guidance and structure for the researcher. What
is the history behind these regulations? It may surprise you to know that the im-
petus for these regulations and the implementation of oversight committees was
research done during World War II.

In 1946, an American military tribunal opened a criminal trial in Nuremberg,
Germany, against twenty- three Nazi physicians. These physicians were accused
of conducting horrific medical experiments on prisoners at various concentra-
tion camps. After 140 days of proceedings during which eighty- five witnesses
testified and 1,500 documents were entered as evidence, sixteen doctors were
found guilty, and seven were sentenced to death. From this trial came the
Nuremberg Code, ten principles for permissible medical experiments:

1. The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.
2. The experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good

of society, unprocurable by other methods or means of study, and not
random or unnecessary in nature.

3. The experiment should be so designed and based on the results of
animal experimentation and knowledge of the natural history of the

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14 R E S E A R C H M E T H O D S F O R S O C I A L W O R K E R S

disease or other problem under study that the anticipated results will
justify the performance of the experiment.

4. The experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary
physical and mental suffering and injury.

5. No experiment should be conducted where there is an a priori reason
to believe that death or disabling injury will occur, except, perhaps,
in those experiments where the experimental physicians also serve as
subjects.

6. The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined
by the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved by the
experiment.

7. Proper preparations should be made and adequate facilities provided
to protect the experimental subjects against even remote possibilities of
injury, disability, or death.

8. The experiment should be conducted only by scientifically qualified
persons. The highest degree of skill and care should be required through
all stages of the experiment of those who conduct or engage in the
experiment.

9. During the course of the experiment, the human subject should be at
liberty to bring the experiment to an end if he has reached the physical
or mental state where continuation of the experiment seemed to him to
be impossible.

10. During the course of the experiment, the scientist in charge must be
prepared to terminate the experiment at any stage if he has probable
cause to believe, in the exercise of the good faith, superior skill, and
careful judgment required of him, that a continuation of the experiment
is likely to result in injury, disability, or death to the experimental
subject.

At this point you may be thinking, “How does this apply to me?” In this chapter,
we will examine three ethical principles that social workers can use to protect
human subjects in research.

Public Law 93- 348, called the National Research Act, was signed into law on
July 12, 1974, and addresses the protection of human subjects in research. It
recognizes that research and practice may occur together and that any element
of research should undergo review for the protection of human subjects. The
Belmont Report, published in 1979, summarizes the law as proposing three basic
ethical principles: respect for individuals, beneficence, and justice.

RESPECT FOR INDIVIDUA LS

Respect for individuals involves acknowledging the autonomy of individuals
and protecting those with diminished autonomy. Section 5.02(l) of the Code of
Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (1999) states that “Social

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Ethical Considerations 15

workers engaged in evaluation or research should ensure the anonymity or con-
fidentiality of participants and of the data obtained from them. Social workers
should inform participants of any limits of confidentiality.” With this in mind,
we will first discuss the concepts of anonymity, confidentiality, and informed
consent. We will then discuss how to protect those whose capacity to make au-
tonomous decisions is limited.

(Note that we are using the current Code of Ethics from the National
Association of Social Workers [1999 edition], but these are due to be updated
and will change in 2018.)

Anonymity

Anonymity is often confused with confidentiality. In research, anonymity
means that the researcher will not collect any identifying information on the
subjects participating in the research study. For instance, you design an explor-
atory study in which you will collect information on how consumers feel about
the services in your agency. One way to do this is to have a comment box in
the lobby or waiting room; consumers can write comments on a blank piece of
paper and put them the box. This allows the individual to remain anonymous.
However, you notice that only consumers with complaints are making use of the
comment box. You then decide to do a descriptive study for which you develop
a form that allows consumers to rate their satisfaction with various services on
a scale from one to four. To maintain the anonymity of the participants, you do
not ask for any information that can be used to identify them, such as name,
age, or occupation. Everyone checking into your agency is handed the form and
asked to complete it before they leave and place it in the comment box. These are
examples of a study using both qualitative and quantitative methods that protect
the anonymity of the participants.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is the assurance that a researcher provides to subjects that all
information about them and all answers they provide will remain in the hands
of the investigator and that no person outside the research process will have
access to this information. Subjects have a basic right to know that their infor-
mation is kept confidential; this also ensures that they feel protected from poten-
tial repercussions for answering honestly. The researcher, however, may have the
ability to identify the responses of a particular individual. You may be asking,
“How, then, do researchers publish their findings if all information remains con-
fidential?” The answer is that all information is reported in the aggregate (i.e., the
findings are combined). The researcher compiles the data and presents them in
such a way that no individual can be identified.

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16 R E S E A R C H M E T H O D S F O R S O C I A L W O R K E R S

Let’s say that you are conducting a six- week smoking cessation workshop. You
want to follow up with your participants in six months to see how many remain
free of cigarettes, how many times they relapsed, and how many returned to
smoking on a regular basis. In addition to this descriptive (quantitative) data,
you will ask them for written comments (qualitative data) on what worked for
them, what did not work for them, what was helpful about the workshop, and
what was not helpful. The quantitative and qualitative data you collect will be in-
cluded in a grant proposal to fund additional workshops. In your summary, you
would not state that John Smith relapsed twice and found that cinnamon gum
helped curb cravings. But you might say, “One participant relapsed twice and
found that cinnamon gum helped curb cravings.”

Confidentiality can also become an issue in more subtle ways, especially in
small communities where the disclosure of too much information can result in
the identification of an individual. For instance, you are reporting treatment
outcomes of sex offenders to city council members. During your presentation
you describe an offender by stating that “A recently released male sex offender
with a history of child molestation has recently reoffended. He has only been
in treatment for three months, and our statistics show that those in treatment
over six months have a better chance of not reoffending.” The audience may be
able to identify this individual through news articles and even common knowl-
edge about his recent release or arrest. One way you could have reported your
research findings anonymously would have been to report the data in aggregate.
In this example, you could report percentages, such as “One hundred percent
of participants in treatment less than six months have reoffended, while only
54% of participants in treatment over six months have reoffended.” The Code of
Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (1999) states that “Social
workers who report evaluation and research results should protect participants’
confidentiality by omitting identifying information unless proper consent has
been obtained authorizing disclosure” (section 5.01m).

Informed Consent

Informed consent is the process of educating potential research participants about
the basic purpose of the study, informing them that their participation is volun-
tary, and obtaining their written consent to participate in the study. Informed con-
sent involves the researcher helping potential participants to understand exactly
what is being asked of them and what their participation will entail. Ingelfinger
(1972) argues that informed consent can never be entirely complete. On the other
hand, Gorovitz (1985) believes that the individual has dominion over his or her
own body and is responsible for what happens to him or her. In some ways, both
are correct. As a researcher, it is your responsibility to provide as much informa-
tion as possible to potential participants so that they can decide whether they wish
to participate. The ethical researcher will take care to sit down with the participant
and explain in detail what will be required and what will happen during the study.

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Second Edition.
Published by the Center for Teaching and Learning, Northcentral University, 202

1

Contributors:
Marie Bakari, Jennifer Biddle, Linda Bloomberg, John Frame, Namhee Kim, Sharon
Kimmel, Jaime Klein, Paul Markham, Craig Martin, Stephanie Menefee, Eva Philpot,
Wes Rangel, Randee Sanders, Abigail Scheg, Kimberly Scott, Patricia Steiner, Robert

Thompson, Marsha Tongel, Steven Ziemba

In addition to the collaborative process that engendered this guide, it was also informed
by the qualitative methods course in the School of Business, BUS-7380 Qualitative

Business Research Design and Methodology.

For comments or suggestions for the next edition, please contact the
School of Business: sb@ncu.edu

mailto:sb%40ncu.edu?subject=

Foreword (P1)

Introduction (P2)

Student-Chair Engagement (P2)

Qualitative Research Design (P3)

Research Questions (P3)

Case Study (P5)

Multiple Case Studies/Comparative
Case Study (P6)

Participant Selection (P7)

Interviews (P7)

Interviews: Minimum Number
Recommended (P9)

Focus Groups (P10)

Observation (P11)

Document Analysis (P12)

Hermeneutics (P12)

Phenomenological Design (P13)

Constructive Research (P15)

Ethnography (P16)

Grounded Theory (P18)

Narrative Design (P19)

Delphi Method (P20)

Mixed-Methods Research (P21)

Online Questionnaires and Unsuitable
Data Collection Practices (P21)

Interview Guides and Other
Instruments (P22)

Audio Recording and Transcribing
Interviews (P24)

Sampling in Qualitative Research (P25)

Data Saturation (P26)

Triangulation (P27)

Trustworthiness (P28)

Member Checking (P30)

Coding and Thematic Analysis (P30)

Including Data in the Findings (Chapter
4) of the Dissertation (P32)

1

Dear School of Business Community,

Welcome to the Best Practice Guide for Qualitative Research Design and Methods in
Dissertations!

With well over 600 doctoral students in the School of Business working on their dis-
sertation this year, this guide serves as an important resource in helping us shape and
implement quality doctoral-level research. Its primary purpose is to offer direction on
qualitative research in School of Business dissertations, serving students as they craft and
implement their research plans, and serving faculty as they mentor students and evaluate
research design and methods in dissertations.

We encourage you to explore this guide. It is filled with details on important topics that
will help ensure quality and consistency in qualitative research in the School of Business.
Offering support for both faculty and students, this resource covers many topics, from
those related to early stages of qualitative research design, to guidance on how to in-
clude qualitative data in a dissertation.

Thank you to the faculty and staff of the School of Business and wider NCU community
that worked to create this guide. It is a great contribution to our School, and each of
these individuals played an important role in its development.

We wish you the best on your dissertation journey!

SB Leadership Team

2

Introduction
As an accredited university, NCU aims to have ro-

bust expectations and standards for dissertations

produced by its students. This guide, developed

collaboratively by NCU School of Business (SB)

faculty in 2019, and updated in 2021, aims to

provide guidance on best practice in qualitative

research design and methods for SB disserta

tions.

While this guide can serve as a refresher to those

less familiar with qualitative methods, it will also

help ensure consistency in how faculty advise

students on qualitative methods. It is meant to help

ensure good practice vand rigor across commit-

tees and students.

To that end, this document is a guide to help

students when designing their research, as well as

faculty, when judging the merits of student disser-

tation prospectuses, proposals, and manuscripts.

Students should be familiar with the best practices

in this guide and apply them to their dissertation.

References and suggested reading:

Yin, R.K. (2015). Qualitative research from
start to finish. New York, NY: Guilford
Publications.

Student-Chair Engagement
Close engagement between students and facul-

ty is expected through the dissertation process.

Faculty should ensure that students are knowl-

edgeable about expectations, and students should

ensure they obtain necessary mentoring from their

Chair throughout the process. Key areas in the

dissertation sequence where closer than normal

engagement include:

• Developing chapter 1 and ensuring the re-

search questions align with the purpose statement,

problem statement, and methods.

• The IRB process.

• DIS-9902, which requires the completion of

several milestones (Chapters 2 and 3, and the

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3

Developing a qualitative design requires system-

atic planning and the ability to remain flexible.

According to Maxwell (2012: 215), “The activi-

ties of collecting and analyzing data, developing

and modifying theory, elaborating or refocusing

the research questions, and identifying and deal-

ing with validity threats are usually going on more

or less simultaneously, each influencing all of the

others.” In order to develop an effective design,

qualitative research procedures must be based on

the problem, purpose, and re

search questions.

Specifically, the research questions must reflect

the nature of the design. In addition, the purpose

must illustrate how the study is a logical, explicit

research response to the stated problem and the

research questions. Importantly, whereas in a

quantitative study, researchers measure or test

something, in a qualitative study one explores

and understands something. The language used

to describe this exploration should not include the

word ‘prove,’ but, rather, ‘explore’ (or another

similar word).

References and suggested reading:
Maxwell, J.A. (2012). Qualitative research
design: An interactive approach. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Research Questions
Rigorous research questions help ensure a student

deeply probes and examines the issue under

investigation in the dissertation. Crafting rigorous

research questions takes time and great effort.

Typically, a student will want to have more than

one research question; but if having only one is

the best way to explore the topic, then the ques-

Dissertation Proposal). Progression data in the SB

indicates that students often need supplemental

courses (e.g. DIS-9902B) in order to complete

these milestones.

• Data collection: student and Chair should work

closely before and during data collection so that

the Chair is frequently apprised of the student’s

progress. Chairs should coach students to ensure

they are comfortable with data collection (e.g.

how to conduct interviews, with whom, and how

many).

• Writing up the findings. Chairs should ensure

students are knowledgeable about how to an-

alyze data and report their findings. See the

“Including Data in the Findings (Chapter 4) of

the Dissertation” section in this guide for further

information.

Qualitative Research Design
A research design is the ‘map’ that will guide the

study. Sufficient time and consideration should be

given to ensure that the design of a study is the

best ‘route’ for the student to take to complete the

dissertation journey. In other words, the research

design should clearly lead to answering the re-

search questions.

Regardless of the method or design that is uti-

lized, all research must be clear, concise, and

focused. Qualitative studies must demonstrate

validity within the context of the specific qualita-
tive design (e.g., credibility, dependability, trans-
ferability, trustworthiness). All research decisions
should be justified with high-quality scholarly

sources.

4

tion needs to be a rigorous question, ensuring the
topic is explored in a wholistic way.

Research questions need to be narrow and
focused, and related to the student’s degree
program and specialization. They need to be
connected to the problem statement in the disser-
tation, rooted in the literature, and reflect re-
search gaps. Having too many research questions
is not wise, as the scope of the dissertation needs
to be clear and focused. Research questions are
not yes/no questions, because if the questions
could be answered this easily, there would be no
need to conduct a study. Furthermore, research
questions should be more than ‘what’ questions
(though a ‘what’ question can be asked). Em-
phasis should be on examining the topic, not just
reporting on the topic (a dissertation is not a list
or answer to a ‘what’ question). Adding rigor
to research questions can be done by including
more complexity, such as by asking: ‘Why?,’
‘How?,’ ‘In what ways?,’ ‘To what extent?,’ or
‘What difference does X make?,’ for example.

Research questions can be considered the heart
of the dissertation–the engine that drives the
thinking behind the dissertation. As a dissertation
is a deep exploration and analysis of something,
the research questions need to relate to the past

or present (not something that may occur in the
future, as that cannot be examined presently).
Thus, great care needs to be taken with questions
that include the word ‘Can’ (as this likely might
indicate that the questions relate to a future event
that may not be adequately researchable in the
present).

An example of an inadequate research question is:

This question is inadequate because it is a yes/no
question, and it is too broad and not specific.

An example of a good research question is:

5

This question is strong because it is focused,

clearly connected to a specific topic, and rigor-

ous.

Finally, research questions are different than the

interview questions asked of the participants in

a study. Whereas research questions drive the

entire study, interview questions are a means of

data collection, and are the specific questions

asked to get data to answer the research ques-

tions. There will thus be a clear link between

research questions and interview questions.

Case Study
A case study is a study that looks, for example, at

one issue in one or more businesses or organiza-

tions. It involves in-depth exploration, guided by

the dissertation research questions. As Bloomberg

(2018: 237) states, “Case study research is typ-

ically extensive; it draws on multiple methods of

data collection and involves multiple data sourc-

es. This method culminates in the production of

a detailed description of a setting and its partic-

ipants, accompanied by an analysis of the data

for themes, patterns, and issues.”

Case studies should create rich and complex

understanding of the topic under exploration.

Bloomberg (2018) states that a case study needs

to have clear boundaries (thus, students need to

be able to articulate what the case study does

and does not include). In addition, the student

needs to provide rationale for why a particular

case is being selected (Bloomberg, 2018).

Students need to collect data from more than one

source in order to ensure deep understanding of

the case. As further described in the Triangulation

section of this guide, having two or more data

sources is required in dissertations. For example,

a student could conduct interviews and analyze

documents from the organization(s) or busi-

ness(es) examined in the study.

Students may choose to design their case study

to include interviews, document analysis (e.g.

reports or specific content on relevant websites,

though this is not a literature review of peer-re-

viewed publications, etc.), direct observations,

participant observation, and/or analyzing physi-

cal artifacts (e.g. audiovisual materials). The goal

is to ensure thick narrative description, including

6

context and important details that allow read-

ers to gain a deep understanding of the case

(Bloomberg, 2018). Importantly, the data collec-

tion methods should be closely aligned with the

research questions (Bloomberg, 2018). In other

words, data collected should directly result in

answering the dissertation research questions.

References and suggested reading:
Yin, R.K. (2017). Case study research and
applications: Design and methods. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Bloomberg, L.D. (2018). Case study method.
In B.B. Frey (Ed.), The Sage encyclopedia
of educational research, measurement, and
evaluation (pp. 237-239). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.

Yin, R. K. (2012). Case study methods. In APA
handbook of research methods in psychology,
Vol 2: Research designs: Quantitative,
qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological
(pp. 141–155). Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.

Multiple Case Studies/Comparative
Case Study
Multiple case studies (or a comparative case
study) analyze similarities, differences, patterns,
and themes across two or more cases (e.g. or-
ganizations, companies). Yin (1993: 34) states,
“The development of consistent findings, over
multiple cases and even multiple studies, can then
be considered a very robust finding.”

Goggin and Orth (2002: 49) state that cases in
a comparative study are purposely selected “on
the basis of similarity and comparability,” so that
they “vary on the dimensions that are theoretically

relevant” (e.g. organisation type), and yet are
“similar in as many other respects as possible.”

Comparative case studies should be carefully
designed, with justification given as to why the
research includes the cases planned for inclusion.
There should also be care in how the study is
described, as a study with multiple sites may be a
multi-site (single) case study, rather than one that
includes multiple case studies. Thus, a student

should consider if his or her design is actually a
multiple case study or a multi-site (single) case
study. This should be discussed in the dissertation.
In any case, whether it is a multiple case study,
or a multi-site (single) case study, a student needs
to clearly articulate why the cases or sites were
selected for inclusion in the study. In other words,
the student should elaborate and defend what
criteria were used to select them, and why that is
important.

References and suggested reading:
Goggin, Malcolm L., & Orth, D.A. (2002).
How faith-based and secular organizations

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7

tackle housing for the homeless. Roundtable on
Religion and Social Welfare Policy.

Yin, R.K. (1993). Applications of case
study research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications.

Yin, R. K. (2012). Case study methods. In APA
handbook of research methods in psychology,
Vol 2: Research designs: Quantitative,
qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological
(pp. 141–155). Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.

Yin, R.K. (2009). Case study research: Design
and methods, 4th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.

Participant Selection
Participants are people recruited to participate

in a study. Often, participants are those who are

interviewed. In selecting participants for a qual-

itative study, it is essential for a student to first

identify who will be included in the sample based

on the information that needs to be obtained to

answer the research questions. The student needs

to ensure that participants have experience or

knowledge about the topic being explored and

are the most appropriate choices to include in the

study. Also, students need to ensure that they will

be able to obtain access to the participants (e.g.

interviewing U.S Senators would not be a feasible

research design because it would be very unlikely

that a student could interview enough U.S. Sena-

tors to complete a dissertation). Importantly, once

participants are selected, students need to outline

how and why the participants were selected.

Interviews

Interviews are a method in which there is a con-

versation focused around interview questions or

topics that are discussed with the purpose of gath-

ering information to answer the research ques-

tions guiding the dissertation. Interviews allow the

researcher to get in-depth data from participants

in a one-to-one setting.

Structured interviews include pre-determined

open-ended questions that are asked in a prede-

termined order. For data analysis, the researcher

is able to compare and contrast the answers to

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8

the specific questions. In unstructured interviews,

the questions are not predetermined. Data anal-

ysis can be more challenging given variation in

the questions that were asked. Semi-structured

interviews contain the components of both struc-

tured and unstructured interviews. Interviewers

ask pre-determined questions to be answered by

all respondents but allow for clarification and

additional questions to be asked. Typically, stu-

dents will conduct structured, or semi-structured

interviews.

Interviews may be conducted in-person or through

an online medium, such as Skype, or by phone

(not email). With the participant’s permission,

interviews should be audio recorded (see “Audio

Recording and Transcribing Interviews” elsewhere

in this guide); if interviews are conducted by

phone, the student will need to consider how to

audio record the call. Students will also need to

consider—and discuss in their dissertation—the

limitations of conducting an interview virtually, or

on the phone (rather than in person), including

what ways communication and data may have

been hindered or limited because the interview

was not conducted in person.

According to Boyce & Neale (2006), conduct-

ing interviews should follow the same general

principles of the research plan: plan, develop

instruments, collect data, analyze data, and

disseminate findings. The plan identifies who will

be interviewed and what information will be ob-

tained. Developing the instruments will guide the

implementation of the interviews. When the data

is being collected, consent should be obtained

along with an explanation of the purpose of the

interview. To analyze the data, the researcher

will transcribe all data and review the findings.

The final step is to disseminate the findings to the

stakeholders and community.

References and suggested reading:
Boyce, C., & Neale, P. (2006). Conducting
in-depth interviews: A guide for designing
and conducting in-depth interviews. Pathfinder
International Tool Series.

Easwaramoorthy, M., & Zarinpoush, F. (2006).
Interviewing for research: Tip sheet #6.
Toronto: Canada Volunteerism Institute

Yin, R.K. (2015). Qualitative research from
start to finish. New York, NY: Guilford
Publications.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiSjLT24vPkAhUsxqYKHbGaBHEQFjAAegQIABAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsectorsource.ca%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fresources%2Ffiles%2Ftipsheet6_interviewing_for_research_en_0 &usg=AOvVaw2qyOG3IP7T_cH9iN8ln1qm

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9

Interviews: Minimum Number
Recommended
Several factors should be considered when de-
termining the number of interviews a researcher
should conduct in a qualitative study. Bryman
(2012) recognizes the variety of recommenda-
tions in the literature about the number of inter-
views in qualitative studies, highlighting ranges
from 20-30 and 60-150 interviews. A further

range was offered by Marshall, Cardon, Poddar,
and Fontenot (2013: 20), who argued that, in
research related to their own discipline (Informa-
tion Systems), “Single case studies should gener-
ally contain 15 to 30 interviews.” Furthermore,
in a study of 179 doctoral theses from British and
Irish universities that used the case study method,
Mason (2010) found that the average number of
interviews conducted was 36 (the mode was 40,
and the median was 33).

While the target number of interviews for which a
researcher should aim is usually not delineated in
the literature, a minimum number of interviews is
sometimes explicated. For example, the Archives of
Sexual Behavior articulated policy for the minimum
sample size for grounded theory studies published
in their journal (Dworkin, 2012). They did this so
that authors would have clarity on sample size
expectations for a grounded theory design. Thus, it
can be valuable for researchers—especially those
rather new to the field—to have some guidance on
what is expected in their discipline.

While constraints such as time and funds must be
considered, Charmaz’s (2012: 22) advice should
be given important consideration: “…learn what
constitutes excellence rather than adequacy in
your field—and beyond, if your project portends
of having larger import—and conduct as many
interviews as needed to achieve it.”

To ensure appropriate rigor and consistency with-
in NCU SB dissertations, it is recommended that
students conduct a minimum of 15-20 interviews.
A maximum number is not stated. An accurate
assessment of saturation should guide the number
of interviews conducted (see “Data Saturation” in
this guide).

The design of a qualitative study should be of an
appropriate design and nature that allows for this
recommended minimum number of interviews.
This should be considered when designing the
study, including the research questions and po-
tential site(s) where the study will take place. In
some research designs, such as phenomenolog-
ical studies (see “Phenomenological Design” in
this guide), students may wish to interview par-
ticipants more than once (with different questions
and at different times) in order to get thick and
rich data. If this is part of the research design, a
fewer number of participants may be selected, if
appropriate (because they will be interviewed at
least twice).

In all cases, saturation should be ensured (see
“Data Saturation” in this guide), and the student

should provide a clear explanation and defense

of why saturation was believed to have been

10

obtained. In addition, when possible, students are

encouraged to follow the best practice, stated by

Marshall, Cardon, Poddar, and Fontenot (2013),

of citing any previous studies that were conducted

with a similar design.

References and suggested reading:
Bryman, A. (2012). Untitled contribution,
in S.E. Baker, & R. Edwards, How many
qualitative interviews is enough? Expert voices
and early career reflections on sampling
and cases in qualitative research (pp.18-20).
National Centre for Research Methods Review
Paper.

Charmaz, K. (2012). Untitled contribution,
in S.E. Baker, & R. Edwards, How many
qualitative interviews is enough? Expert voices
and early career reflections on sampling and
cases in qualitative research (pp. 21-22).
National Centre for Research Methods Review
Paper.

Dworkin, S.L. (2012). Sample size policy for
qualitative studies using in-depth interviews.
Archives of sexual behavior, 41(6), 1319-1320.

Marshall, B., Cardon, P., Poddar, A., &
Fontenot, R. (2013). Does sample size matter
in qualitative research?: A review of qualitative
interviews in IS research. Journal of computer
information systems, 54(1), 11-22.

Mason, M. (2010). Sample size and saturation
in PhD studies using qualitative interviews.
Forum qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum:
Qualitative social research 11(3.8).

Focus Groups
A focus group, as described by Hair, Celsi, Ortin-

eau and Bush (2013), is a face-to-face experience

with a small group of individuals that are assem-

bled to have an interactive discussion concerning

a research topic of interest. In their dissertation,

students need to articulate why they have gath-

ered particular people into focus groups, justify-

ing the design and numbers of participants includ-

ed in their study. Students should keep in mind the

challenge entailed in attempting to gather busy

people together in the same room at the same

time. This is a challenge that needs to be consid-

ered carefully, as a student does not want to real-

ize when it is too late that gathering focus groups

is not feasible for his or her study (because partic-

ipants do not attend). Students should understand

that deciding to change the research methods

during the data collection period requires modifi-

cations to the IRB application, and IRB approval

needs to be sought again. This takes time away

from the time allotted to data collection.

Students need to justify why focus groups are the

best method for their data collection. Students

should keep in mind that multiple focus groups

will be needed in order to collect sufficient data.

Students should design their study so that the

amount of data they obtain is comparable to the

data that would be acquired in the section in this

guide discussing the minimum number of inter-

views in case study research (see the section on

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11

this topic in this guide). If a study includes focus

groups as one method used (for example, in addi-

tion to interviews), fewer number of focus groups

would be acceptable.

A focus group is comprised of three steps or

phases: planning the focus group study; imple-

menting the focus group; and evaluating, analyz-

ing and communicating the results. When plan-

ning a focus group, several important elements

need to be considered: Should the focus group be

conducted online (for example, in a group Skype

call) or in a face-to-face environment? How large

should the focus group be? Who should be con-

sidered to be part of the focus group, and why?

How should qualified participants be recruited?

Should incentives be used to improve the likeli-

hood of attracting committed participants? Where

should the focus groups be conducted?

Creswell (2013) noted that successful focus
groups are interactive and, therefore, group
dynamics play a significant role. Creswell (2013)
also noted that effective focus groups are heavily
dependent on the facilitator keeping the discus-
sion focused on the primary objective of the re-
search. A student thus needs practice and training
in order to prepare for successfully conducting
focus groups. Chairs need to ensure students are
comfortable and prepared with conducting focus
groups before they begin data collection.

References and suggested reading:
Creswell, J.W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry
& research design: Choosing among five
approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.

Hair, J.F., Celsi, M.W., Ortineau, D.J., & Bush,

R.P. (2013). Essentials of marketing research
(3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Observation
Marshall and Rossman (1989: 79) define obser-

vation as “the systematic description of events, be-

haviors, and artifacts in the social setting chosen

for study.” Observation enables one to describe a

situation using all of one’s senses, thus creating a

‘written photograph’ of the situation being studied

(Erlandson, Harris, Skipper, & Allen, 1993). Stu-

dents who use observation as a method need to

be cautious of the influence their presence might

bring.

It is imperative that observers take detailed and

accurate notes, to be coded and analyzed at

what could be a potentially much later date. The

notes taken will be the only record of what was

observed. So, without accurate and detailed

notes, the observation could be rendered useless.

As mentioned above, the observer should use all

five senses during the process. The environment

and setting is just as important as the situation

being observed. Finally, as is always the case,

research questions and the method to answer

the research questions must be closely linked.

If observation is a method used in a study, the

12

student should clearly delineate in the dissertation

how and why observation is the best method to

answer the research questions.

References and suggested reading:
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G.B. (1995).
Designing qualitative research. Newbury Park,
CA: Sage Publications.

Erlandson, D.A., Harris, E.L., Skipper, B.L., &
Allen, S.D. (1993). Doing naturalistic inquiry:
A guide to methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications.

Yin, R.K. (2015). Qualitative research from start
to finish. New York, NY: Guilford Publications.

Document Analysis
Often used as a means of triangulation, document

analysis involves examining documents (which

can include those in print or online, including

websites) to extrapolate meaning, understanding,

and knowledge surrounding the topic or phenom-

enon in question. Importantly, document analysis

is not a literature review (which students complete

in Chapter 2 of the dissertation). Instead, docu-

ment analysis is a method to collect and analyze

data that will help to answer the research ques-

tions.

Because document analysis is typically used to

triangulate data, it is thus used in support of

other methods (e.g. in-depth interviews). So, for

example, if a student is doing a case study to

explore organizational decline, a student may

interview employees and also gather operational

documents to analyze. One thing to keep in mind

about this method is the ability (or inability) to ac-

cess documents. Students need to consider if they

will have permission from companies or organiza-

tions to review documents not publicly available

on the internet.

When embarking on document analysis, students

need to carefully consider, and articulate in their

dissertation, which documents (or types of doc-

uments) will be analyzed, and why. The process

for document analysis should be thought out well,

including how the documents chosen relate to the

research questions, the types of data expected

to be found within the documents, and how this

data collection method fits with the other form(s)

of data collection (e.g. interviews) planned for the

study. The process should be systematic and clear.

As Bowen (2009: 38) states, “the researcher

should make the process of analysis as rigorous

and as transparent as possible. Qualitative inqui-

ry demands no less.”

References and suggested reading:
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as
a qualitative research method. Qualitative
research journal, 9(2), 27-40.

Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics refers to the interpretation of text.

Through a hermeneutical study, a researcher

interprets ‘sacred’ text in a manner that captures

the essence of the human experience. Since the

inception of hermeneutics, it has been used effec-

tively by more than one academic discipline to

interpret religious scriptures, laws, music, poetry,

and more. For a student interested in interpreting

text for deeper meaning, the references below

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13

are a valuable starting point. For the newcomer

to hermeneutics, Schmidt’s Understanding Herme-

neutics is the best place to begin. If hermeneutics

is a critical element of a dissertation, a student

should include a discussion of hermeneutics in the

dissertation, including how he/she will follow best

practices in the literature.

References and suggested reading:
Davey, N. (2012). Unquiet understanding:
Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics.
Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Schmidt, L.K. (2016). Understanding
hermeneutics. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Thiselton, A.C. (2009). Hermeneutics: an
introduction. Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Phenomenological Design
The phenomenological research design (or phe-
nomenological study) is focused on examining a
phenomenon, or specific experience, and how
it affects people, such as people who have been
affected by an event. This phenomenon must have
a business or administration-related context, de-
pending on the student’s specialization.

Understanding the effect of an event (the
phenomenon) requires the researcher to
identify individuals who had a specific type of
experience that was directly related to the event.
If a student chooses a phenomenological design,
the design should be clearly defended in the
dissertation, with clear reason as to why the
design was selected, and what phenomenon will

be explored.

All participants a student interviews must have

lived experiences related to the central phenom-

enon under study. Research questions guiding

a phenomenological design should allow for all

aspects of the experience under study to emerge

from the participants’ experience.

In a phenomenological study, a student is likely to

visit with participants individually (over multiple

interviews of at least one hour each). Students

should collect rich narrative and observational

data (i.e. field notes), and ensure immersion in

each participant’s world. The focus should be

on thorough description, and homing in on the

phenomenon under examination (Bevan, 2014).

Bevan (2014: 142-143) states that the focus of

14

this design “is one of accurately describing and

thematizing experience in a systematic way. It

uses themes of contextualizing experience, appre-

hending the phenomenon, and clarification of the

phenomenon.”

At the end of each interview, it is recommended

that the student complete an entry in a research

journal, where reflections on the interview are

entered. In order for this to be done well, detailed

content and reflections should be added to the

journal (which can be a Microsoft Word file, etc.)

as soon as possible after each interview is complet-

ed. This journal will be especially beneficial when

developing themes for meanings behind the words

of the participants (when analyzing data). The

following research journal template can be used:

15

In describing the interview process, Bevan (2014)

summarized another scholar’s approach (Seid-

man, 2006), which included interviewing the

same person 3 times. The first interview focused

on the interviewee’s life history, which provided

context. The second interview focused on recon-

structing the experience, including the relation-

ships and structures relating to the experience.

The final interview focused on how the interview-

ee reflected on the meaning of the experience.

A student should evaluate if phenomenology is the

correct method to be used for his or her disserta-

tion, and should clearly outline the projected inter-

views planned to explore the phenomenon under

examination. As stated earlier in this guide (see

“Interviews: Minimum Number Recommended”), it

is recommended that students conduct a minimum

number of 15-20 interviews in a qualitative study.

The reason is to ensure thick and rich data is col-

lected about the phenomenon explored. If inter-

viewing a fewer number of participants better fits

the research design (or this number is not practi-

cal because few participants have experienced

the phenomenon), then it is recommended that

students interview a minimum of 8-10 participants

twice (or, potentially, interview a fewer number of

participants 3 times each, if the phenomenon is

experienced by a very small number of people).

Students should ensure that the sample size and

number of interviews conducted is determined

from saturation (see “Data Saturation” in this

guide), continuing data collection until saturation

is reached. If multiple rounds of interviews are

planned, different questions should be asked

in each round. The interview questions should

be derived from the central research question(s)

about participants’ lived experiences relative to

the phenomenon

under study.

This design should only be used for deeply ex-

ploring experiences and phenomena. It involves

a different approach than the typical act of sitting

down and talking with interviewees about a par-

ticular topic or issue.

Phenomenology is deeply rooted in a philosoph-

ical base, as well as being a research method-

ology. The intent of a phenomenological study is

to uncover, describe and interpret the essence of

experience and to provide greater insight and

understanding to the essence of the experience

under study.

Data analysis in a phenomenological study

should follow a thematic analysis process. This

process allows students to analyze the data via

coding (see “Coding and Thematic Analysis” in

this guide).

References and suggested reading:
Bevan, M.T. (2014). A method of
phenomenological interviewing. Qualitative
health research, 24(1) 136–144.

Constructive Research
Constructive research refers to research that has,

at its focus, a problem-solving mission. It is aimed

at producing solutions to both practical and theo-

retical problems (Oyegoke, 2011). As Oyegoke,

(2011: 576) states, “The identified research prob-

lems are used to propose research questions that

address the problem. The questions are solved by

16

developing or constructing a solution which will

be operationalised to determine its workability

and appropriateness.”

It is recommended that a constructive research dis-
sertation be understood and designed as a case
study (see “Case Study” in this guide). Guidance
on case study, including triangulation, should thus
be followed in constructive research. Oyegoke
(2011) identifies six phases of a constructive
research project: 1) problem identification; 2)
in-depth understanding of the topic; 3) construc-
tion of a solution; 4) justification of the construct;
5) highlighting both the theoretical and practical
contributions; and 6) examining the scope of

applicability.

While those who may actually use the solution

constructed in a project are ideally involved in its

design, as well as the strategy for how it will be

applied (Oyegoke, 2011), given that a disserta-

tion is a single-person project, a student should

consider ways to feasibly include and integrate

input from these individuals throughout the study.

References and suggested reading:
Oyegoke, A. (2011). The constructive research
approach in project management research.
International journal of managing projects in
business, 4(4), 573-595.

Ethnography
The objective of the ethnographic researcher

is to gain an in-depth understanding about the

activities of a group under study and how their

activities are influenced by the culture within the

group. This is done by becoming immersed as a

participant in their daily activities. The researcher

must be immersed in the culture or the situation to

observe the culture in its natural environment. In

the field of business, this could be a business’s or

organization’s culture. The researcher seeks to

document the culture, practices and perspectives

of the group or community studied while partici-

pating within and observing the group or commu-

17

nity in its regular setting (Draper, 2015). Data col-

lection methods include unstructured observations

and informal inquiries while the researcher serves

as a participant. Data collection often includes

formal interviews, direct observations, document

reviews and focus groups when the researcher

acts as an outside observer (Draper, 2015). The

ethnographer normally will develop an extensive

set of field notes during the time serving as a

participant within the group, and as an observer

of the group setting.

Ethnography, as a qualitative research design,

has the intent to advance understanding about

how a group or community views the world in the

context of the beliefs, traditions and customs of

that group or community (Reeves, Kuper & Hodg-

es, 2008). Ethnography has its origins in an-

thropology and sociological research; however,

ethnography in 2019 involves a variety of con-

texts and settings, including healthcare, educa-

tion, businesses, and other organizations (Reeves,

Kuper & Hodges, 2008).

To facilitate the inductive analysis employed

in ethnography, the collected data often is fac-

tored into some combination of the following

8 dimensions: space, or physical layout, of the

setting; a description of the group or community

participants; the set of activities occurring in the

setting; tangible objects present; specific actions

of individuals present in the setting; time and/

or sequencing of actions; goals or objectives

people establish in the context of the setting; and

specific emotions expressed by participants while

in the setting (Reeves, Kuper & Hodges, 2008).

The researcher uses interpretive and descriptive,

systematic structures demonstrated as credible to

conduct the analyses of qualitative data (Patton,

2015). The objective of the analysis is to devel-

op interpretations of the meanings of activities

observed in the group or community setting in

the context of the beliefs, traditions and customs

established by the group or community. Explana-

tions about how or why participants within the set-

ting behave as they do contribute to a rich, com-

prehensive report (Humphreys & Watson, 2009).

Because the researcher often serves as a par-

ticipant, as well as an observer, ethnography

18

research has several additional challenges when

compared to other qualitative designs (Draper,

2015). To blend into the setting requires that the

researcher build rapport with other participants

within the group or community. The researcher

should consciously bracket out any prejudgments

or biases and seek to maintain an objective view-

point throughout the time of data gathering, so as

not to skew the interpretation of the data.

Ethnography studies enable the researcher to im-

merse oneself deeply within the group or commu-

nity to obtain an in-depth and rich understanding

about social interactions and behaviors observed.

As a participant, ethnographers might acquire

data hidden from public view which explains fur-

ther the behavior within the group or community

studied (Draper, 2015).

Importantly, because ethnography requires immer-

sion for a significant period of time, this research

design is likely not suitable for most NCU stu-

dents.

References and suggested reading:
Draper, J. (2015). Ethnography: Principles,
practice and potential. Nursing standard,
29(36), 219-225.

Humphreys, M., & Watson, T. (2009).
Ethnographic practices: From ‘writing-
up ethnographic research’ to ‘writing
ethnography’. Organizational ethnography:
Studying the complexities of everyday life, 40-
55.

Patton, M.Q. (2015). Qualitative research &
evaluation methods: Integrating theory and

practice (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc.

Reeves, S., Kuper, A., & Hodges, B.D.
(2008). Qualitative research methodologies:
Ethnography. British medical journal,
337(7668), 512-514.

Grounded Theory
Grounded theory (GT) is an inductive process

whereby analysis of collected data allows the

researcher to produce theory explaining the

phenomenon in question. In 1967, Glaser and

Strauss discovered this approach while research-

ing terminal illness. According to Charmaz and

Mitchell (2001), the process is characterized

by five general characteristics: (1) Simultaneous

data collection and analysis; (2) Searching for

emerging themes via early analysis; (3) Discov-

ering basic social processes within the data; (4)

Explaining those processes via inductive construc-

tion of abstract categories; and (5) Integrating all

of the above into a theoretical framework specify-

ing causes, conditions, and consequences of the

process(es).

There is a hidden challenge in grounded theory

research that makes this design less ideal for dis-

sertation-type research: to fully develop a theory,

the researcher must repeatedly test the emergent

theory to establish its true existence. Grounded

theory studies are time-consuming because repeat-

ed measures are required to confirm the existence

of the theory. It is a very rigorous method, but

once it is conducted well, it can contribute to the

foundations of theory building. Because of the

time it takes to conduct this type of study, it is not

19

recommended for an NCU dissertation.

For an in-depth review of GT, please refer to the

article listed below by O’Connor, Carpenter &

Coughlan (2018). In this article, the authors re-

view both the classic and constructivist viewpoint

surrounding GT, and the main tenets of properly

executing a GT study.

References and suggested reading:
Charmaz, K., & Mitchell, R.G. (2001).
Grounded theory in ethnography. In P.
Atkinson, A. Coffey, S. Delamount, & J. Lofland
(Eds.), Handbook of ethnography (pp. 160-
174). London, UK: Sage Publications.

O’Connor, A., Carpenter, B., & Coughlan,
B. (2018). An exploration of key issues in
the debate between classic and constructivist
grounded theory. Grounded theory review
7(1), 90-103.

Narrative Design
The narrative design is used when the researcher

is trying to describe the lives of subjects or partic-

ipants, told by the subjects or participants them-

selves. The use of narrative design allows for the

emergence of voices that may otherwise not be

heard. It provides a means to understand and pres-

ent real-life experiences as told through the stories

of those who lived those experiences. The story-tell-

ing approach of narrative design allows for deep,

rich descriptions of experience and the meanings

of the experience to emerge and be shared. Exe-

cuting this type of research can be time-consuming

because of the number of hours that must be spent

with the participants to gather data.

This design uses stories told in the autobiograph-

ical words of the participant. The narrative

approach allows participants to share their ex-

periences and for the researcher to further exam-

ine multiple experiences in an effort to shape a

common true story through a collaborative effort

of participants and researcher. It focuses on the

participant creating a story based on the internal

processing of their own self-awareness, the deep

learning that resulted from reflection, and external

consequences as well as internal development as

a result of change (Connelly, & Clandinin, 1986;

Creswell, 2008; Mahler, 2008).

The researcher actively participates in the study

by interacting with the participants, thereby

becoming immersed in the study as they partic-

ipate in the telling of the stories of their partici-

pants. Semi-structured interviews are conducted

with each participant, transcribed, and coded to

capture significant insights into their behavior. A

descriptive vignette on each participant is devel-

oped from the coded transcriptions and review of

the audio recordings. Participants are invited to

reflect on their profile and provide any follow-up

comments.

20

In many ways, narrative design can appear sim-

ilar to phenomenological studies (See “Phenome-

nological Design” in this guide). In phenomenol-

ogy, the focus is on the essence of a particular

experience, while in narrative design the focus is

on a chain of experiences and the connection of

the events within the experiences.

If a student chooses a narrative design, the choice

should be clearly defended in the dissertation,

with clear reason as to why the design was select-

ed. Furthermore, the student will need to clearly

articulate a plan for how to gather rich data that

is comparable to the data that would be obtained

in a case study (see “Interviews: Minimum Num-

ber in a Case Study Design” in this guide). This

may be done by conducting multiple interviews

with the same person, for example.

References and suggested reading:
Connelly, F.M., & Clandinin, D.J. (1986).
On narrative method, personal philosophy,
and narrative unities in the story of teaching.
Journal of research in science teaching, 23(4),
293-310.

Creswell, J.W. (2008). Educational research:
Planning, conducting and evaluating qualitative
& quantitative research (4th Ed.). New Jersey,
NJ: Pearson Education.

Mahler, E.B. (2008). Defining career success
in the 21st century: A narrative study of
intentional work role transitions. ProQuest.

McAlpine, L. (2016). Why might you use
narrative methodology? A story about
narrative. Eesti Haridusteaduste Ajakiri.
Estonian Journal of Education, 4(1), 32-57.

Delphi method
When students wish to employ a research method

that is untraditional for a qualitative study, they

need to ensure the data they collect will be rich

and rigorous; in addition, a similar level of work

as a more traditional qualitative study needs to be

involved.

For students wishing to do a Delphi Method study,

it is recommended that 15-20 panelists be inter-

viewed in a face-to-face meeting (or via zoom or

the telephone, etc.) in the first round, after which

another type of data collection method (after the

participants are interviewed) could gather addi-

tional data from these same participants.

21

While a Delphi study focuses on forecasting and

the unknowable future, a doctoral dissertation

focuses on a problem or issue—in the past or

present (examined empirically). Therefore, at least

one research question that aligns with a tradition-

al dissertation focus (related to empirical explora-

tion of something in the past or present) should be

included in the dissertation.

Using this approach, the Delphi Method can be

adapted to be a design appropriate for a qualita-

tive doctoral dissertation. Students should ensure

they conduct adequate research on the Delphi

Method before choosing this method.

Mixed-Methods Research
Mixed-methods research relates to a study that

involves both qualitative and quantitative data. It

uses the combination of qualitative and quantita-

tive methods to better understand the given re-

search problem (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011).

Ivankova, Creswell & Stick (2006) advocated the

need for mixed-method research design in cases

where the research problem could not be ade-

quately addressed with either method in isolation.

Mixed-methods research is not a recommended

research method approach at Northcentral Uni-

versity. The use of this method bestows undue

complexity and time burden on the doctoral can-

didate. However, because of its rigor, it should be

understood for future reference.

References and suggested reading:
Creswell, J.W., & Plano Clark, V.L. (2011).
Designing and conducting mixed methods
research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.

Ivankova, N.V., Creswell, J.W., & Stick, S.L.
(2006). Using mixed-methods sequential
explanatory design: From theory to practice.
Field methods, 18, 3-20.

Sale, J.E. M., Lohfeld, L.H., & Brazil, K. (2002).
Revisiting the quantitative-qualitative debate:
Implications for mixed-methods research.
Quality and quantity, 36(1), 43-53.

Online Questionnaires and Unsuitable
Data Collection Practices
Qualitative research methods need to be rigorous

and in line with good practices of the wider aca-

demic community. One unsuitable data collection

practice for a dissertation with a qualitative re-

search design is sending out online questionnaires

to participants, including a questionnaire with

open-ended questions for participants to write or

type their answers, as these methods do not allow

for students to obtain thick and rich data (nor

nuances in responses) needed for doctoral-level

qualitative research. Instead of a questionnaire

for participants to write their answers, students

should develop an interview guide for use in in-

terviews or focus groups that are audio recorded

and transcribed (see “Interview Guides and Other

Instruments” in this guide).

Demographic questions, etc. can be asked during

an interview through a questionnaire (e.g. at the

beginning or the end of an interview), or before

an interview is scheduled (for example to help in

selecting interview participants), but a question-

naire should not replace an interview (because

22

this type of instrument does not result in gener-

ating thick and rich data, which is needed for

thorough inquiry in qualitative research, allowing

the student to acquire enough data to answer the

dissertation’s research questions).

Chairs and SMEs should guide students in select-

ing an appropriate qualitative data collection

method. Remember that the value of a qualitative

design includes the rich data obtained through

data collection. Therefore, methods, such as in-

depth interviews, should be used to obtain rich

qualitative data.

Another unsuitable practice for a doctoral dis-

sertation is designing the study to be a literature

review. The literature review should be one chap-

ter of the dissertation. The literature is not the data

in a dissertation. Thus, data that may be included

in a journal article is not an acceptable form of

data for a student’s dissertation. The literature is

an important part of the dissertation, as it informs

theory, and helps in the interpretation and anal-

ysis of the findings. But it is not the data itself.

It should not be confused with the data that is

collected or used in a dissertation. It is valuable

to note that the method of Document Analysis (see

“Document Analysis” in this guide) is different

than a literature review.

Interview Guides and Other Instruments
Instruments created and used in qualitative re-

search are distinctly different from what are used

in quantitative studies. Qualitative instruments

include open-ended questions and must be struc-

tured so that the researcher is collecting deep

and broad data to fully understand the research

questions. In most cases, an instrument should be

designed to extract specific experiential informa-

tion from participants.

Data collection questions (the questions created

for the interview guide) are different than the

research questions in the dissertation. The pur-

pose of data collection questions is to provide

data to answer the research questions. Thus, there

is a clear link.

23

Data collected should be relevant and compre-

hensive enough to answer the research questions.

To gather enough data to answer the research

questions, the data collection questions need to

encourage respondents to provide accurate, in-

depth information.

It is a good idea to develop a crosswalk to show

the relationship between the research questions

and data collection questions. This could be in the

form of a table, or a figure, and should include

key concepts and terms.

A student should polish data collection questions

by ensuring they are open-ended and evoke flow-

ing information, carefully reviewing them to en-

sure they are not answerable with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’

response. Furthermore, questions should address

only one topic at a time. They should also not be

biased, or in any way influence the participant.

Questions should be conversational.

Interviews are social experiences. It is important

to establish and maintain a positive, respectful

social experience. A warm-up question should

be included. If the first question is easy to un-

derstand and answer, and non-threatening, then

the respondent will be encouraged to continue.

However, if the first question is too difficult, em-

barrassing, or threatening, then the respondent

will become distrustful and draw away from the

experience. Probing questions should also be

included as a means to solicit additional infor-

mation or to further explore an unclear response.

A probing question might be as simple as, “Can

you tell me more about that?” This is one reason

why online questionnaires are unsuitable for qual-

itative research (see “Unsuitable Data Collection

Practices” in this guide).

Students should ensure that the order of the

questions on the interview guide is logical. If a

break in topic is necessary, then a break for the

respondent could be introduced. Any reflective or

uncomfortable questions can be included about

two-thirds through the interview.

A student should consider asking four or more

persons to review data collection questions before

they are finalized and before interviews begin.

Three or more of these persons should represent

the target population, and one or more should

have experience in developing data collection

24

questions. These reviewers can be asked: Are the

questions clear? Is wording used in the questions

understandable to the target population? Does the

terminology have a shared meaning for the target

population? Are questions respectful of the target

population? Are questions free of bias and with-

out influence? Are there extraneous questions that

do not address the research topic and purpose?

Note: Persons acting as reviewers of the questions

should not be participants in the actual study.

A pilot study is a ‘test run’ or mock activity that

includes actual participant responses to the data

collection questions. Pilot studies require IRB ap-

proval before the study is performed. Pilot studies

are beneficial and might be considered to prac-

tice implementation, become comfortable with the

interview process, and to ensure the questions are

phrased well. The first three interviews may be

treated as a pilot study, adjusting the questions,

as necessary, after these first interviews.

Audio Recording and Transcribing
Interviews
Audio recording interviews is an important part

of the interview process, and is expected. This

should be done with permission. Recording inter-

views can be done in several ways, such as with

a voice recorder app on a cell phone. Students

should ensure beforehand that the chosen record-

ing device or app is compatible with the chosen

transcription method.

The microphone should not be obstructed, and
recording should be done in a quiet place, if pos

sible. Background noise can make transcribing

difficult, if not impossible, in some cases.

There are several methods available for transcrib-

ing interviews. The best way to better understand

the data is to transcribe it personally. There is

software available online that can replay an

interview at a slower speed, thus allowing it to be

typed more easily. If self-transcription is not possi-

ble, some companies offer transcription services

by a human, but these can be very costly. Alter-

natively, there are automated programs, mostly

web-based, promising anywhere from 90 – 95%

accuracy on transcript return. See below for links

to a few resources. (Note: the contributors of this

guide are in no way affiliated with any of the

below linked resources. Additionally, there are

more resources available than the ones listed

later in this section.) It is important to do a quality

check with transcripts to ensure they are accurate,

by carefully reviewing them while listening to the

audio again, and making corrections, before

beginning data analysis.

Something to think about when deciding how

audio files should be transcribed is the level of

confidentiality surrounding the interviews conduct-

ed for analysis, and this should be considered

when drafting the interview consent form.

25

Self-Transcription

Express Scribe: Transcription software for PC and
Mac. There is a free version and a paid version
of this software. As with most transcription soft-
ware, all controls can be set via keyboard, but a
foot pedal can also be used. https://www.nch.
com.au/scribe

OTranscribe: Much like both of the above-men-
tioned programs, OTranscribe is a simple tool for
self-transcribing audio and video. Hosted on the
web, this is a free service, and it enables one to
upload a file to the website. https://otranscribe.
com

Jotengine: A free website that allows the research-
er to upload an audio file and transcribe the
words. It is very simple and has easy shortcuts.
For example, it allows one to go back 5 seconds
or play the recording slowly. https://jotengine.
com/diy

Transcription Services

Rev.com: This website allows one to upload audio
files and receive a transcript in one day. The tran-
script is done by a person, not speech recognition
software. The current fee is $1.25 per minute.
https://www.rev.com

Automated Transcription

NVivo: Now the coding software, NVivo, offers

researchers an automated transcription service

that works seamlessly with their software. The

cost structure is pay-as-you-go, and starts at 50

cents per minute. NVivo is now available to NCU

students through the Student Technology Resource

Center. You can access the software through the

University Services module in NCUOne. https://
www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo/nvivo-prod-
ucts/transcription

Trint: Audio and video files can be uploaded into

Trint for immediate transcription, through the use

of artificial intelligence. From there one can edit

and distribute the transcript. Additionally, with an

iPhone, one can download a recording app that

will send the audio files to Trint. Trint is a paid

service, costing approximately $15 for one hour

of audio. https://trint.com

Otter.ai: Files can be uploaded and are automat-

ically transcribed. A (limited) free option is avail-

able. https://otter.ai/

Sampling in Qualitative Research
Researchers should recognize that each qual-

itative study is unique. Therefore, qualitative

researchers must investigate the totality of the

circumstances related to their problem, research

site, participants, legal implications, and ethics to

determine the best approach for recruitment, data

collection, and analysis. One sampling technique

does not fit all studies.

Sampling in Phenomenological Studies: consider-

ing the challenge of ensuring quality in qualitative

research, Tracy (2010) identified eight conven-

tional criteria for producing excellence. Four of

the criteria defined by Tracy related to the depth

of inquiry, specifically; the criteria are: rich rigor,

credibility, resonance, and significance of the

contribution. Meeting these criteria require a suf-

ficient number of participants so that the resulting

https://www.nch.com.au/scribe

https://www.nch.com.au/scribe

https://otranscribe.com

https://otranscribe.com

https://jotengine.com/diy

https://jotengine.com/diy

https://www.rev.com

https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo/nvivo-products/transcription

https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo/nvivo-products/transcription

https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo/nvivo-products/transcription

https://trint.com

https://otter.ai/

26

descriptions, discussions, and conclusions provide

rich, deep, and detailed information that is reli-

able and valid (Bernard, 2013).

Sampling in Case Studies: the sampling tech-

niques used in case studies vary and are de-

pendent on several considerations (Saunders &

Townsend, 2018). Irrespective of the technique

chosen, the researcher must justify (rationalize for

the reader) their use.

Furthermore, gaining access to a population or

subgroup for inclusion in a case study relates to

feasibility; will the researcher have physical or

virtual access to the participants?

Another consideration for case studies is the

issue of sample sufficiency. How and when does

the researcher know if the sample is enough?

Saturation is viewed as the gold standard to

determine when data are collected from enough

participants (see “Data Saturation” in this guide).

Triangulation of interview data with other identi-

fiable sources (i.e., government data, the body

of literature, reliable and related internet sources,

etc.) can lead to saturation (see “Triangulation” in

this guide). Member-checking (selective re-inter-

viewing of participants) or transcript review (each

participant reviews a transcript of their interview

to verify or correct the data) are supportive mea-

sures a researcher can use to develop a level of

thoroughness in the collection process.

References and suggested reading:
Bernard, H.R. (2013). Social research methods:
Qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Cassell, Catherine, Cunliffe, A.L. & Grandy,
G. (2018). The Sage handbook of qualitative
business and management research methods:
History and traditions. Sage Publications, Ltd.

Saunders, M. & Townsend, K. (2018).
Choosing participants. In The Sage handbook
of qualitative business and management
research methods (pp. 480-492). Sage
Publications, Ltd., https://www-doi-org.proxy1.
ncu.edu/10.4135/9781526430212 https://
methods-sagepub-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/
base/download/bookchapter/handbook-of-
qualitative-business-management-research-
methods-v1/i3035.xml

Tracy, S.J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight
“big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative
research. Qualitative inquiry, 16, 837-851.
Doi:10.1177/1077800410383121

Data Saturation
Data saturation is attained when there is sufficient

information to replicate the study, when the ability

to obtain additional new information has been

achieved, and when further coding is no longer

possible (Fusch and Ness, 2015). According to

Fusch and Ness, 2015: 1411), “There is a direct

link between data triangulation and data satura-

tion; the one (data triangulation) ensures the other

https://methods-sagepub-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/base/download/bookchapter/handbook-of-qualitative-business-management-research-methods-v1/i3035.xml

https://methods-sagepub-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/base/download/bookchapter/handbook-of-qualitative-business-management-research-methods-v1/i3035.xml

https://methods-sagepub-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/base/download/bookchapter/handbook-of-qualitative-business-management-research-methods-v1/i3035.xml

https://methods-sagepub-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/base/download/bookchapter/handbook-of-qualitative-business-management-research-methods-v1/i3035.xml

https://methods-sagepub-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/base/download/bookchapter/handbook-of-qualitative-business-management-research-methods-v1/i3035.xml

https://methods-sagepub-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/base/download/bookchapter/handbook-of-qualitative-business-management-research-methods-v1/i3035.xml

27

(data saturation).”

During data collection, students should consider

if and when they have reached saturation. Stu-

dents should aim for data saturation in their data

generation. Furthermore, they should state in their

dissertation how they know that they did, in fact,

reach saturation. It is not sufficient to simply claim

saturation was reached. Instead, students need to

articulate and defend how they reached it.

References and suggested reading:
Fusch, P.I., & Ness, L.R. (2015). Are we there
yet? Data saturation in qualitative research. The
qualitative report 2015 20(9), 1408-1416.

Saunders, B., Sim, J., Kingstone, T., Baker, S.,
Waterfield, J., Bartlam, B., … Jinks, C. (2017).
Saturation in qualitative research: Exploring
its conceptualization and operationalization.
Quality and quantity, 52(4), 1893–1907.

Weller, S.C., Vickers, B., Bernard, H.R.,
Blackburn, A.M., Borgatti, S., Gravlee, C.C.,
& Johnson, J.C. (2018). Open-ended interview
questions and saturation. Plos one, 13(6), 1-18.

Triangulation
Triangulation refers to multiple approaches to

collecting data, with the goal of enhancing the

credibility – and ultimately the trustworthiness – of

a qualitative study. Triangulation leads to a more

comprehensive and rigorous understanding of the

phenomenon under study (Salkind, 2010), and is

a required part of case study research at NCU.

Furthermore, triangulation relates directly to data

saturation (see “Data Saturation” in this guide for

further discussion on this topic).

Dixon, Singleton, and Straits (2016: 329) state

that triangulation “refers to the use of two or more

dissimilar methods to address the same research

question,” where “the strengths of one method

offset the weaknesses of the other.”According

to Denzin (1978), there are four main types of
triangulation: a) data source triangulation, b)
method triangulation, c) theory triangulation, and
d) investigator triangulation. The first two types
are the most common in NCU doctoral research
studies that employ a qualitative method. Theo-
ry triangulation is used less frequently, whereas
investigator triangulation is never used (because
doctoral candidates must complete their own
dissertation research, without the assistance of
others). Data source triangulation means that the

28

student is collecting data from different categories

of people, documents, or sources. For example, a

student may interview both leaders and followers

in an organizational case study, in addition to

analyzing relevant company records about lead-

ership development programs. Method triangula-

tion involves “the use of multiple methods of data

collection about the same phenomenon” (Cope,

2014: 545) (See “Mixed-Methods Research” in

this guide). Theory triangulation means that the

student is analyzing and interpreting data from

the perspective of multiple theories. For example,

a student may explore a research question about

employee motivation by analyzing data from

interviews through the different lenses of Expec-

tancy Theory, Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, and

the Theory of Attribution.

It is possible for students to combine data source,

method and theory triangulation strategies. Stu-

dents should explain which types of triangulation

methods are used, justify the rationale, and ad-

dress the expected quality enhancements to the

overall credibility of study results.

References and suggested reading:
Cope, D.G. (2013). The use of triangulation
in qualitative research. Oncology nursing
research, 41(5), 545-547.

Denzin, N.K. (1978). The research act:
A theoretical introduction to sociological
methods. New York, NY: Praeger.

Dixon, J.C., Singleton, Jr., R.A. & Straits, B.C.
(2016) The process of social research. New
York: Oxford University Press.

Salkind, N.J. (2010). Triangulation. In
Encyclopedia of research design (pp. 1538-
1540). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,
Ltd.

Vasileiou, K., Barnett, J., Thorpe, S., & Young,
T. (2018). Characterising and justifying sample
size sufficiency in interview-based studies:
Systematic analysis of qualitative health
research over a 15-year period. BMC medical
research methodology, 18.

Yin, R. K. (2012). Case study methods. In APA
handbook of research methods in psychology,
Vol 2: Research designs: Quantitative,
qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological
(pp. 141–155). Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.

Trustworthiness
The focus of qualitative research is to develop rich

and complex explorations of phenomena based

on a relatively small number of participants, rath-

er than obtaining large, statistically representative

samples. This focus has led qualitative researchers

to substitute the traditional quantitative quality

measures of validity and reliability, in favor of

the trustworthiness quality criterion. Trustworthi-

ness, in a qualitative research study, indicates the

degree to which “the inquiry’s findings are worth

paying attention to” (Lincoln & Guba, 1985:

290).

In practical terms, this means students who use

a qualitative research method should describe

how they will address the following four aspects

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29

of the trustworthiness quality criterion: credibility,

transferability, dependability, and confirmability.

Credibility of findings indicate the “confidence in

the truth of findings” (Cohen & Crabtree, 2006,

para 1). To enhance the credibility of findings, a

study may involve member checking, triangulating

collected data through use of various sources,

considering negative evidence, and integrat-

ing existing research into the analysis of study

findings to reach conclusions. Transferability of

findings indicates the degree to which findings

“have applicability in other contexts” (Cohen &

Crabtree, 2006, para 1). Dependability refers to

the degree to which research findings “are consis-

tent and could be repeated” (Cohen & Crabtree,

2006, para 1). Confirmability is a “degree of

neutrality, or the extent to which the findings of

a study are shaped by the respondents and not

researcher bias, motivation, or interest” (Cohen &

Crabtree, 2006, para 1).

Dependability and confirmability are often deter-

mined through a formal external research audit,

which may not be feasible or necessary for NCU

dissertation students. Instead, dependability can

be enhanced by consistent application of proper

qualitative data analysis techniques and through

the researcher’s awareness of personal bias.

Confirmability can be enhanced through careful

records management of all collected data; and by

maintaining a research journal to: a) document

coding rules and decisions made during data

collection and analysis; b) allow the researcher to

reflect on the research process and his or her role

during data collection and analysis; and c) articu-

late any observations and insights that may affect

the outcome of the study (Lamb, 2013).

References and suggested reading:
Cohen, D., & Crabtree, B. (2006). Lincoln
and Guba’s evaluative criteria. Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, ‘Qualitative Research
Guidelines Project’. Retrieved from: http://
www.qualres.org/HomeLinc-3684.html

Lamb, D. (2013). Research in the first person:

http://www.qualres.org/HomeLinc-3684.html

http://www.qualres.org/HomeLinc-3684.html

30

Reflection on the research experience using a
research journal. Market & social research,
21(2), 32-29.

Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic
inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

Member Checking
One of the data validation techniques qualitative

researchers can use to help eliminate bias from

their data collection and analysis is “member

checking.” According to Creswell and Miller

(2000), member checking is the most crucial step

for ensuring credibility in a study, and consists of

taking data and interpretations back to partici-

pants. Member checking can take place in multi-

ple formats. Researchers can ask participants to

review an interview transcript to ensure that the

transcript includes what the participant said (Birt,

Scott, & Cavers, 2016). It could include the re-

searcher interpreting the responses received from

the participant and then allowing the participant

to review those interpretations to ensure that the

researcher interpreted the participant’s responses

correctly (Birt, Scott, & Cavers, 2016). In the case

of a focus group, it could mean interpreting and

synthesizing the responses of the collective group

and then asking the members of the group to re-

view those interpretations to ensure the researcher

interpreted the collective responses correctly (Birt,

Scott, & Cavers, 2016).

It is important to allow the respondents to have the
ability to check researcher interpretations of their
responses to ensure that the researcher has not
interjected his or her own opinions, experiences,
or biases into their responses in a way that will
skew the results of the study. Validation of quali-
tative research is extremely important, as it helps
to eliminate a potential weakness of qualitative
research. Students should build in time in their
research plan to ensure member checking takes
place.

References and suggested reading:
Birt, L., Scott, S., & Cavers, D. (2016). Member
checking: A tool to enhance trustworthiness or
merely a nod to validation? Qualitative health
research 26, 1802-1811.

Creswell, J.W., & Miller, D.L. (2000).
Determining validity in qualitative inquiry.
Theory into practice, 39(3), 124–130.

Coding and thematic analysis
Coding is a critical part of analyzing qualitative
data, including thematic analysis. Coding is not
rocket science, but it seems to confound the qual-
itative researcher. Coding data is the disassem-
bling or deciphering step used to determine what
the data means (Castleberry & Nolen, 2018).
Saldaña explained coding as a “word or short
phrase” that represents or captures the essence of
a small section of narrative or visual data (Sal-
daña, as cited in Rogers, 2018: 4).

There are two common starting points for gener-

31

ating codes for data analysis: starting with the

framework or beginning with the data itself. Con-

sider that every research problem is framed by a

theory or a set of concepts; this is an established

research norm. This theoretical or conceptual

framework can be the starting point for gener-

ating codes for data analysis (Gläser & Laudel,

2013). The researcher who deeply understands

the framework can develop a list, or nodal map,

of elements of the theory or concepts. The next

step would be to search the data for these ele-

ments to make annotations. Pierre and Jackson

(2014) used an earlier researcher’s terminology,

‘thinking in theory,’ to describe the results of cod-

ing. Applying codes based on the framework is

how the researcher disassembles the raw data.

Alternatively, the researcher can develop codes

from the data itself, and reverse engineer the data

into a logical interpretation of the phenomenon

under study. Essentially, the researcher uses a heu-

ristic approach to determine what the data means

(Rogers, 2018). Regardless of the approach cho-

sen by the researcher, the goal is to deconstruct

the data in preparation for the next phase of data

analysis.

Caulfield (2019) identifies coding as step #2

(after becoming familiar with the data) of the pro-

cess of thematic analysis. He states that coding

is creating short labels for parts of the text in the

data (e.g. interview transcripts) that describe what

it is about. All data is coded, adding new labels

(codes) during the process (Caulfield, 2019). Af-

ter coding is completed, the third step in the the-

matic analysis process is identifying patterns and

themes among the codes. The Caulfield (2019)

resource (see below) can be viewed for an exam-

ple of how to do this. Themes are then reviewed

and further analyzed, including identifying final

themes and what they mean (Caulfield, 2019).

Regardless of whether the process of coding

is aided by a software program (e.g. NVivo),

coding is done by the researcher (the software

does not do the coding). NVivo is now available

at no cost to NCU students through the Student

Technology Resource Center. You can access the

software through the University Services module

in NCUOne. One way of coding data, if done

in Microsoft Word, is to color code text, making

all text about the same code (or topic) the same

32

color. This text can then be later analyzed, using

further colors and codes, as necessary.

References and suggested reading:
Castleberry, A., & Nolen, A. (2018). Thematic
analysis of qualitative research data: Is it
as easy as it sounds? Currents in pharmacy
teaching and learning, 10, 807-815.

Caulfield,J. (2019). How to do thematic
analysis. Available at: https://www.scribbr.
com/methodology/thematic-analysis/.

Evers, J.C. (2016). Elaborating on thick
analysis: About thoroughness and creativity in
qualitative analysis. Forum: Qualitative social
research, 17(1).

Gläser, J., & Laudel, G. (2013). Life with and
without coding: Two methods for early-stage
data analysis in qualitative research aiming at
causal explanations. Forum: Qualitative social
research, 14(2).

Maguire, M., & Delahunt, B. (2017). Doing
a thematic analysis: A Practical, step-by-step
guide for learning and teaching scholars. All
Ireland journal of higher education, 9(3).
https://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/
download/335/553

Rogers, R. (2018). Coding and writing analytic
memos on qualitative data: A review of Johnny
Saldaña’s the coding manual for qualitative
researchers. Qualitative report, 23, 889-892.

St. Pierre, E.A., & Jackson, A.Y. (2014).
Qualitative data analysis after coding.
Qualitative inquiry, 20, 715-719.

Yin, R.K. (2015). Qualitative research from
start to finish. New York, NY: Guilford
Publications.

Including Data in the Findings (Chapter 4)
of the Dissertation
In order to substantiate the claims made in disser-

tations, it is important for students to include data

they have collected within their Findings chapter.

Verbatim quotes from interviews, or content from

documents analyzed, help to substantiate summa-

ries and general conclusions students make from

the data. Including data generously throughout

Chapter 4 of a dissertation helps students better

defend their claims and justify their arguments.

Including sufficient data within the dissertation is

also necessary to demonstrate that the data was

actually collected by the student, and that the stu-

dent is knowledgeable about how to adequately

integrate data into their writing. It also can make

reading a dissertation more enjoyable and en-

gaging, and helps ensure the reader that summa-

ries and the analysis of the data are congruent

with the actual data.

Quotes should not only be used to highlight

unusual or extreme issues (though these can be

included). Instead, they should be selected on the

basis of their appropriateness to the findings, and

https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/thematic-analysis/

https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/thematic-analysis/

https://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/download/335/553

https://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/download/335/553

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33

how they represent major themes of the over-

all study. While specific numbers of how many

quotes to use are not provided here, Chapter 4

(and also, in some cases, Chapter 5) should be

rich with the inclusion of this data, providing evi-

dence for the claims made in the dissertation.

References and suggested reading:
Corden, A., & Sainsbury, R. (2006). Using
verbatim quotations in reporting qualitative
social research: Researchers’ views. York, UK:
University of York.

Yin, R.K. (2015). Qualitative research from
start to finish. New York, NY: Guilford
Publications.

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ncent-ebooks/detail.action?docID=2008479

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ncent-ebooks/detail.action?docID=2008479

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