DRENGG 300 Slide 1 Basic Interpretive Qualitative study

DRENGG 300 Slide 1

Basic Interpretive Qualitative study Slide 2

What is Qualitative Research ? Slide 3

Denzin and Lincoln (1994) describe Qualitative research: • Qualitative research is multi-method in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. • Qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Slide 4

• Qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical materials case study, personal experience, introspective, life story interview, observational, historical, interactional, and visual texts-that describe routine and problematic moments and meaning in individuals' lives. Slide 5

Merriam (2002 b), there around eight commonly used approaches or methods in doing qualitative research. 8 approaches or methods • Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study • Phenomenology Slide 6

• Grounded Theory • Case Study • Ethnographic Study • Narrative Analysis • Critical Qualitative Research • Postmodern Research Slide 7

Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study Slide 8

What is Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study? 1. This study illustrate all the characteristics of qualitative research. What are these characteristics? 1. a Researchers strive to understand the meaning people have constructed their world and their experiences ; that is, how do people make sense of their experience? Slide 9

What is Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study? 1. This study illustrate all the characteristics of qualitative research. What are these characteristics? 1. b The researcher is the primary instrument for data collection and data analysis. Slide 10

What is Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study? 1. This study illustrate all the characteristics of qualitative research. What are these characteristics? 1. c The process in performing this research is inductive; that is, researchers gather data to build concepts, hypotheses, or theories. Slide 11

What is Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study? 1. This study illustrate all the characteristics of qualitative research. What are these characteristics? 1. d The result of this research is purely descriptive. Slide 12

What is Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study? 2. This approach or method is use in doing qualitative research when a researcher is interested in understanding how participants make meaning of a situation or phenomenon. Slide 13

What is Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study? 3. In conducting qualitative research by this method , you seek to discover and understand a phenomenon, a process, the perspective, and worldviews of the people involved. Slide 14

What is Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study? 4. Data are collected through interviews, observations, or document analysis. Slide 15

What is Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study? 5. A rich, descriptive account of the findings is presented and discussed, using references to the literature that framed the study in the first place. For example Levinson and Levinson’s (1996) study of women’s development is situated in the literature on Adult Growth and Development. Slide 16

Example of a research using Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study Topic: “University Students’ Perception of Plagiarism” Slide 17

Statement of Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of some of the ways first- and second-year university students understand the phenomenon of plagiarism. Slide 18

Research Design • A basic interpretive qualitative study on students‘ perceptions and understandings of plagiarism was performed. Slide 19

Research Design • The elements of grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) was used in conducting the study which are discovery with description and verification. Slide 20

Research Design • It is also phenomenological in nature because it focuses on the essence of an experience and understanding regarding plagiarism. Slide 21

Sample • First-year or second-year undergraduate students at a certain university. The sample was chosen for the following reasons: 1. All of these students have had some exposure to the concept of writing and plagiarism by their very experience of having completed high school and started on their post-secondary education. Slide 22

2. University students are increasingly less likely to plagiarize as they get closer to graduation. Reasons for this: a. They have had more practice at writing with sources. b. They have been either socialized or educated to believe that academic dishonesty is unacceptable. Slide 23

Data selection a. Confidential 90 -minute group discussion with two focus groups one group consisting of 5 and the other is 15 students. b. Fifteen individual interviews consisting of 60 -90 minute length. Slide 24

What is a focus group? A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Slide 25

Data Management With grounded theory, transcription, coding, data collection, and data analysis all take place simultaneously (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Slide 26

What is transcription? It is a process of transcribing which involves listening to a recorded data and typing out exactly what was said. In other words, it is a word-for-word written equivalent of the recorded interview. . Slide 27

Data Analysis Data analysis was inductive using open coding, axial coding, and constant comparison. Slide 28

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What is coding? Coding is the process of combing the data for themes, ideas and categories and then marking similar passages of text with a code label so that they can easily be retrieved at a later stage for further comparison and analysis. Why make data coding? It lets you make sense of and analyze your data and help you generate a general theory. Slide 30

Example of Data Coding Variables: Categories: Gender male female Do you like ice cream? yes no Slide 31

Example exercise in assigning codes to the passage of text. • Read the passage of text below about Amanda finding out she was pregnant. • Look at the list of codes below and decide which code sums up what is being talked about in each line of the text (you may use a code more than once). Slide 32

List of codes a. Breaking up b. Getting pregnant c. Insecurity d. Lifestyle e. Moving in together f. Not wanting to move g. Proposal h. Settling down i. Uncertainty Slide 33

AMANDA • When I found out I was pregnant, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get married and he wasn’t the settling down kind. • He was old enough to bring up a child but I knew he wasn’t ready to. List of codes a. Breaking up b. Getting pregnant c. Insecurity d. Lifestyle e. Moving in together f. Not wanting to move g. Proposal h. Settling down i. Uncertainty Slide 34

• He was in the Navy he liked the life and preferred going off with his friends and that bothered me. • At first I hoped something would happen so I didn’t have the baby and I wanted him to marry me ’cause he wanted to not because I was pregnant. List of codes a. Breaking up b. Getting pregnant c. Insecurity d. Lifestyle e. Moving in together f. Not wanting to move g. Proposal h. Settling down i. Uncertainty Slide 35

There are 3 levels of coding Open coding – breakdown, compare, and categorize data. Axial coding – make connections between categories after open coding. Selective coding – select the core category, relate it to other categories and confirm and explain those relationships. Slide 36

What is constant comparison? This means is that every time you select a passage of text (or its equivalent in video etc. ) and code it, you should compare it with all those passages you have already coded that way. This ensures that your coding is consistent. Slide 37

Codes can be based on: Themes, Topics Ideas, Concepts Terms, Phrases Keywords Slide 38

The data of this study were coded according to theme. The following themes used in data coding are: Power Intellectual Capital Financial Capital Student Agency Slide 39

Quest for Agency Lack of Agency Externalizing Developmental Motivations for Plagiarizing Motivations for not Plagiarizing Misunderstandings/Gray areas Slide 40

Power This is defined as something the professors controlled. Example data “They scared us into thinking, we are going to jail. “ “They made you feel like you are stealing all the time. ” Slide 41

Intellectual Capital It refers in part to the ownership of material. Example data “But if I were to use your works, use your information, and pass it off as my own, to the audience that I am passing it off to, it is not yours anymore, it is mine now. Unless someone recognizes that you published that, that you said that, no one knows that it is yours. “ Slide 42

Student Agency, Quest for Agency, and Lack of Agency can be defined as a feeling of power or ability to influence a situation. Example data (Student Agency) “But I think that whether or not we plagiarize, it should be based on reasons that we decide for ourselves. “ Slide 43

Example data (Quest for Agency) “I mean, I explained to him that I didn't do it on purpose. But it was completely accidental. I told him that I didn't read that part of the paper. I don't sit down and read the entire article or something. Because even if I did, I wouldn't remember it word for word. For a little bit he gave me some crap for it, but he eventually backed off. I mean it was accidental. It didn't change my behavior because it was an accident. “ Slide 44

Example data (Lack of Agency) “I was always worried it was not that I was doing it. It was just that I was anxious. I was worried that I was not doing it right. And they just, they make such a big deal about the style and format. “ Slide 45

Example data (Externalizing) “The way I have been taught it is, because you are taking somebody else’s words. “ Example data (Developmental) “… so I think it is just because, a lot of it is reasoning, and a lot is just developing that state of mind when you can physically grasp and comprehend what it is. “ Slide 46

Example data (Developmental) “That is tough for me. I like everything black and White. I do not want grays… I just want one way. “ “I’m not sure which one you have to make a reference to the name of the person or the publication that you are citing or you are quoting. It’s kind of hard. I’m not sure. I think of them as interchangeable. “ Slide 47

Example data (Misunderstanding/Gray areas) “If you read a page and summarize it in your own words, I do not feel that is plagiarism. I mean that is not copying word for word. If you know, used a direct quote, you have to … you know, cite it. “ “I’m not sure which one you have to make a reference to the name of the person or the publication that you are citing or you are quoting. It’s kind of hard. I’m not sure. I think of them as interchangeable. “ Slide 48

Example data (Motivation for Plagiarizing and for not Plagiarizing) The following ideas provide a sampling of the reasons students gave for their decision to plagiarize: 1. It is easy to do. 2. They are confident they won’t get caught. 3. They do not like or do not understand the class or topic. The following ideas provide a sampling of the reasons students gave for their decision not to plagiarize: 1. They fear getting caught. 2. They respect the professor. 3. They feel guilty if they plagiarize. Slide 49

Data Analysis Like data collection, coding and analysis were ongoing and continuous (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). At this point some commonalities emerged from the codes, and codes were consolidated into categories and subcategories. In grounded theory, this process is known as axial coding, which is a process of figuring out the relationship between categories and subcategories. Slide 50

The categories created from the data sets of this study are the following: • Power category • Externalizing • Developmental • Motivation Slide 51

Analysis In terms of interpretation, themes were derived inductively from categories, which were themselves derived, again inductively, from codes grounded in the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Slide 52

Analysis Themes, categories, and codes were constantly compared to one another. Data analysis began with open coding. Codes were then reduced to categories, which then were reduced to themes. Finally themes were reduced to core themes. For this study the core themes are: Agency and Externalization Slide 53

Analysis Category: Themes: Power Intellectual capital Agency Slide 54

Analysis Sub-Category: Agency Student Agency Themes: Lack of Agency Quest for Agency Slide 55

Analysis Category: Themes: Motivations for Plagiarizing Motivations for not Plagiarizing Slide 56

Analysis The data sets are coded under 11 themes: Power Intellectual Capital Financial Capital Student Agency Quest for Agency lack of Agency Externalizing Developmental Motivations for Plagiarizing Motivations for Not Plagiarizing Slide 57

Discussion This portion talks about the summary of the data. Examples : 1. The students reported that they take plagiarism less seriously than they think their professors do. 2. Many of them have some profound misunderstandings of what constitute plagiarism, especially when it comes to issues of paraphrasing and original ideas. 3. The students expressed varying degrees of agency. Slide 58

Conclusion Some conclusions of the study: 1. Students who plagiarize cannot be labeled as immoral; such labeling lacks a deeper understanding of what actually motivates them to plagiarize or not to plagiarize. 2. Most of the students interviewed here had not adopted the concept of plagiarism as part of their moral toolkits; it was something external to themselves, imposed on them by their professors. Slide 59

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