Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods Erin Whiteside John

Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods Erin Whiteside John Curley Center for Sports Journalism

What is Qualitative Research? Ø Qualitative Methodology is… l l Exploratory Descriptive Seeks to document and understand meaning Useful for describing social processes and relationships, understanding culture or a lived experience

Two Research Traditions Ø Qualitative l l Study of everyday life Acknowledges intersubjectivity of research Interpretivist Methods: • • Observation Interviews Visual analysis Focus Groups Ø Quantitative l l Study of large scale patterns Assumes research objectivity Positivist Methods: • • • Surveys Scales Databases

Value of Qualitative Research Ø Quantitative approaches are strong for capturing statistical relationships. l l Ø Many aspects of social life can only be illuminated through qualitative methods. l Ø Example: relationship between gender and income Can’t always get at the “lived experience” or “meaning” such as the experience a person has in a specific situation Example: “Five stages of grief” A way to generate new ideas--especially useful in market research l A way to move beyond doing what we’ve always done

When are qualitative methods most useful? Ø When the research objective is: l l l l To interpret, illuminate, illustrate To understand how or why To describe previously unstudied processes or situations To get in-depth, detailed information To understand context To learn about subjects who are few or hard to reach To capture experience http: //www. eotu. uiuc. edu/live/index. html University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana

Research Questions Ø Qualitative methods answer specific types of questions that relate to describing and/or explaining a lived experience or phenomenon l l Qual: What is the experience of watching a Penn State football game from the student section? Quant: What is the relationship between seat location and level of enjoyment at a Penn State football game?

Research Questions Qual: What does the institution of marriage mean to college students? Ø Quant: What is the relationship between age and attitudes toward marriage? Ø Qual: What attracts college students to the ipod? Ø Quant: What is the distribution of ipod users by race, gender, age and major? Ø

Research Questions Ø Research questions that seek to describe lived experience, explain meaning or offer rich, thick description should be answered using qualitative methods.

Sampling Ø Generally always purposive l Ø Different types of purposive sampling: l Ø Definition: A goal of reaching a pre-defined group Snowball, extreme case, stratified and opportunistic No need for random sampling: the goal of qualitative research is not to generalize but to explain l Example: We need people who have attended a Penn State football game in order to study the experiences at a Penn State football game

Sampling Questions to Ask What is your purpose? Ø What is at stake? Ø What will be sufficient? Ø What will be credible to your audience? Ø What resources and time do you have? Ø

Choosing a Method Ø Different questions require different methods (tools): Ø In-depth interviews Ø Focus Groups Ø Field Research

Focus Groups Ø Definition and key characteristics l l “Group” interviews led by a researcher’s “focus”on a topic 2 -? Participants; no magic number; 1 -2 hours • Depends on participant involvement with the subject. l Reliance on interaction within the group • The “hallmark” of qualitative work

Focus Groups Ø When to use? l Best used when assessing attitudes, beliefs or perceived experiences rather than behavior Ø Example l What are the attitudes of Pittsburgh citizens toward the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette?

Focus Groups 4 key criteria for quality groups Ø 1) The group should cover the maximum range of relevant topics (Range) Ø 2) Provide data that are specific as possible (Specificity) Ø 3) Foster interaction that explores the participants’ feeling in some depth (Depth) Ø 4) Take into account the personal context that participants use in generating their responses to the topic (Context) Ø

Focus Groups: Questions Structured: Researcher has a specific set of open-ended questions Unstructured: Researcher provides several main topics or subjects and asks the group to discuss. Example: “We are interested in hearing about how you Ø Example: “Today I’d like to talk about the use your ipod. Why don’t way you access, use we start by walking me through a typical day. ” and enjoy music. ” Ø Ø

Focus Groups Ø Strengths l The creation of shared meaning • Until they interact with others, people may be unaware of their own implicit perspectives l Effective way to collect many descriptive opinions in one sitting • Control l Ø Collects a unique form of data Weaknesses l The creation of shared meaning (again)

In-depth Interviews Definition and key characteristics: Ø A conversation in which a researcher gently guides a conversational partner in an extended conversation. Ø One-on-one: researcher and participant Ø l In person vs. the phone 1 -2 hours at a time, but again, no magic number Ø Best-used when the research focus may be sensitive; provides a sense of comfort for the participant Ø Each interview is unique, unlike a survey Ø

In-depth Interviews: Questions Ø Start broad, then go focused; start easy, then go difficult Ø Non-loaded Ø Open-ended Ø Example: 1) What changes have you noticed at Penn State since you’ve been here? Ø 2) How do you feel about those changes?

In-depth questions and probes Interview questions structure the interview by focusing on your research questions Ø Tour Questions (Generally broad) Ø Hypothetical Questions (Generally broad) Ø Chronology Questions (Generally more focused) Ø Stage Questions (Generally more focused) Ø Confirmatory Questions (Generally more focused) Ø Ø Probes manage the conversation, fill in gaps and keep the conversation on-topic l Continuation, elaboration, clarification, steering, sequence, evidence, slant probes

Questions Ø Tour Questions l l Very general “Could you walk me through this process? “How do you prepare for class? ” “What is a typical day like for you? ” Ø Hypothetical Qs l l Very general “If you were given the option, when would you prefer to have classes? Why is that? ”

Questions Ø Chronology l l l More focused Try and use appropriate vocabulary “What happened after the tailagate? ” Ø Stage Questions l l More focused Used after you discover the stages of a process Focus in on a time and ask the interviewee about that stage “I noticed you said your parents dropped you off at school a day before classes started. How did you go about meeting people? ”

Questions Ø Confirmatory Questions l l l Very specific Used to confirm with interviewees that you are interpreting their answers in a way that resonates with them “What I am hearing you say is…”

Probes Ø Continuation Probes Ø Elaboration Probes l l l “Then what? ” “Mhmmm” “Can you say more about that? l l Virginia: “I grew up on Dodge and Rollers…in that neighborhood. There was always a gang around, but the difference that I noticed, in the same neighborhood today is the gangs--when we were growing up--had a tendency to take care of their turf, or their neighborhood and now the gangs don’t. They have a tendency to just milk it for what it’s worth. Interviewer: What do you mean that the gangs took care of their neighborhood?

Probes Ø Attention Probes l l l Good for cueing the interviewee that you are following what they are saying “Okay, I understand” “Very interesting…” Ø Clarification Probes l l “You said the ‘whole scene is crowded. ’ Did you mean the tailgate or inside during the game? ” “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘winking’ on match. com. Can you explain that? ”

Probes Ø Steering Probes l l Useful for re-directing the conversation. Use carefully “I’m sorry, I distracted you with that question. Let’s get back to…” Ø Sequence Probes l Based on time l l “Could you tell me what happened stepby-step? ” “When did that happen? ”

Probes Ø Evidence Probes l l Used if you are receiving conflicting information “You said you do the majority of the cooking. Can you give me some examples? ” Ø Slant Probes l l l Used to get people to explain or justify their slant or bias. Use very gently “Really? ”

Field Work A type of research method in which the researchers interacts with, observes and sometimes even participates in a social phenomenon. Ø Sometimes only observational, but many times used in conjunction with interviews or focus groups Ø Advantages: Ø l l Ø Observations happen in natural setting Best way to get rich, thick data Disadvantages l Time-consuming and often costly

The “Fridge Pack” Ø Research Question: l l Ø Method l Ø Interviews, field work Findings l Ø Why are soda sales down? How can we improve sales? Storage issues creating difficulties Result of Fridge Pack: l 10% sales increase in three months

American Heart Association Ø Research Question: l Ø Method l Ø Interviews, field work Findings l Ø How can we better educate cardiovascular disease patients on health issues? A problem of motivation Result of New Program: l Implementation of new, more active “coaching” programs that will keep people on track with a healthy lifestyle

Pizza Hut Ø Research Question: l l l Ø Method l Ø How do mothers or others make decisions about various family meals? How can Pizza Hut be a part of those decisions? What are pizza-eaters’ experiences like with Pizza Hut employees? Interviews, participant observation (ordering and eating pizza) Findings l Ongoing Study

Masterbrand Cabinets Ø Research Questions l Ø Method l Ø Field Observations Findings l Ø How do Americans organize their cabinets? Cabinets have a social function as well as a utilitarian function Result of study l New cabinet products with organization features designed for the way people really live

In-class Exercise Phase I: In small groups come up with three research questions per group related to the topic of life as a college student Ø Phase 2: Individually write 5 broad interview questions related to the RQ; discuss as a class Ø Phase 3: Interviews and then class discussion on the process. Ø