Introduction to Educational Research 6 th ed Craig

Introduction to Educational Research (6 th ed. ) Craig A. Mertler & C. M. Charles Chapter 10 This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: • Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; • Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; • Any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Qualitative Research Methods 1

What is “Qualitative Research”? • Involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of narrative data • Focus tends to be on the quality, rather than quantity, of an activity • Greater emphasis on holistic description than in quantitative research 2 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

Five Essential Characteristics… • Qualitative research… » Is naturalistic. » Is descriptive. » Is concerned with process as well as product. » Has data that are analyzed inductively. » Has a primary concern with how people make sense and meaning out of their lives. 3 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

The Qualitative Research Process • Steps are fairly consistent with those used in quantitative research, however… » The steps are not quite as distinct » They may overlap or occur out of sequential order 4 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

The Qualitative Research Process (cont’d. ) 1. Identification of phenomenon to be studied 2. Review of related literature 3. Identification and selection of participants 4. Collection of data 5. Analysis of data 6. Generation of research questions 7. Additional collection of data, analysis, and revision of research questions…and more! 8. Final interpretation of analyses and development of conclusions 5 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

Approaches to Qualitative Research • Ethnography — study of the common practices or beliefs of a culture, group, or other community • Historical research — describes events, settings of the past in an attempt to better understand them • Grounded Theory — attempts to discover an existing theory or generate a new theory directly from data • Phenomenology — describes and interprets the experiences or reactions of participants to a particular phenomenon from their individual perspectives • Case study research — in-depth analysis of a single, restricted entity 6 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

The Nature of Ethnographic Research • Research process used in the study of human interactions in social settings • A highly descriptive, holistic approach to research • Topics must involve people in groups • May last from a week to several years • Excellent at constructing a VERY detailed picture of human life and interactions 7 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

A Summary Description of Ethnographic Research • Purpose—to describe/explain segment of group social life as it pertains to education • Hypotheses/questions—begin as broad statements; emerge more specifically as data are collected • Data—qualitative; verbal descriptions of people, interactions, settings, etc. within the specific context • Data sources—people, settings, etc. 8 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

A Summary Description of Ethnographic Research (cont’d. ) • Data collection—done by researcher, through observations and interviews (naturalistic observation) • Data analysis—presentation of verbal descriptions through logical analysis in an attempt to discover themes/ patterns that exist in a particular context 9 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

Strengths and Weaknesses of Ethnographic Research • Strengths: » Its holistic nature (as opposed to a “snapshot study”) • Weaknesses: » A single observer calls into question the reliability of the data (and therefore, the validity of the results) » Must determine if biases exist…if observations are accurate 10 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

Published Examples of Ethnographic Research Frye Myers, H. N. (2005). How elementary school counselors can meet the needs of students with disabilities. Professional School Counseling, 8(5), 442– 450. Additional examples through Research Navigator. TM (www. researchnavigator. com/) 11 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

The Nature of Historical Research • General purpose is to describe events that occurred in the past • Purposes for conducting historical research: » To learn from past failures and successes » To see if how things done in the past might be applicable to present-day problems and concerns » To assist in predicting how present day plans may work » To test hypotheses concerning relationships or trends » To better understand present-day practices and policies by placing them in a historical context 12 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

The Nature of Historical Research (cont’d. ) • Various sources of data can be used in historical research… » » » Participants Informants Settings Records Objects Documents » Informants » Newspaper accounts » Reference book accounts Primary sources Secondary sources 13 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

Published Examples of Historical Research Berlin, D. F. , & Lee, H. (2005). Integrating science and mathematics education: Historical analysis. School Science and Mathematics, 105(1), 15– 24. Additional examples through Research Navigator. TM (www. researchnavigator. com/) 14 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

Applying Technology… Web sites related to qualitative research • An Introduction to Qualitative Research (www. enquirylearning. net/ELU/Issues/Research/Res 1 Cont. html) • Dr. Trochim’s discussion of "Qualitative Measures" (socialresearchmethods. net/kb/qual. htm) • Dr. Trochim’s discussion of "Qualitative Approaches" (socialresearchmethods. net/kb/qualapp. htm) • Dr. Trochim’s discussion of "Qualitative Methods" (socialresearchmethods. net/kb/qualmeth. htm) • Dr. Trochim’s discussion of "Qualitative Validity" (socialresearchmethods. net/kb/qualval. htm) • Qualitative Research Resources on the Internet (www. nova. edu/ssss/QR/qualres. html) 15 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

Applying Technology… More web sites related to qualitative research • QSR (Qualitative Solutions and Research) Home Page (www. qsr. com. au) • Free, downloadable demo version of NVivo 7 qualitative data analysis software (www. qsr. com. au/Demo. Reg 1. asp) • Research Proposal Evaluation Form for Qualitative Methodology (www. gslis. utexas. edu/~marylynn/qreval. html) 16 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008