Question

Qualitative Designs

This discussion has 2 components. In 300 Words, Be sure to address each component fully.

Differentiate among the following qualitative designs for a discussion. Make sure you include citations from/or referring to authors who are specialists in these methods. Use academic resources:

Phenomenology (e.g. Georgi, Moustakas, etc.)

Grounded theory (Glaser, Strauss, etc.)

Ethnography (White, Benedict, Mead, etc.)

Include clear definitions of each in your responses.

Case studies are often included in the discussions of qualitative design options:

Why do you think this is so?

Define case study research (Robert Yin, etc.).

Explain why most case study research involves the collection of qualitative data.

Cite sources as appropriate.

Answer 1

The four main qualitative research designs are discussed below:-

Phenomenology - Phenomeneology focuses on people's subjective experiences and interpretations of a particular phenomena or concept. The phenomena can be a particular human experience such as as insomnia, being left out, anger, grief, or undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery (Moustakas, 1994). In this method, the researcher collects data through interviewing or asking people to write down their experiences of the phenomenon in question, and creates a composite data of their experiences.

The primary methods of data collection is interviewing wherein the researcher uses in depth interviews and multiple interviews from participants who have experienced the phenomenon. Other forms of data collection may also be used such as observations, journals, art, poetry or music. Van Manen (1990) mentions taped conversations, formally written responses, accounts of vicarious experiences of drama, films, poetry, and novels.

However, in order to understand the experience from the subject about the phenomenon, it is important for the researcher to first bracket or intentionally put aside his/her own ideas about the phenomenon.

Grounded Theory - This qualitative research approach was developed by two sociologists, Glaser and Strauss (1967). Under this approach, the researcher generates a general explanation (a theory) of a process, action, or interaction shaped by the views of a large number of participants (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).

The grounded theory method uses both an inductive and a deductive approach to theory development. According to Field and Morse (1985), “constructs and concepts are grounded in the data and hypotheses are tested as they arise from the research”

The methods of data collection primarily consists of participant observation and interviews, and data are recorded through handwritten notes and tape recordings. The data being collected is constantly compared to data that has already been gathered through a process called constant comparison . Pertinent concepts are identified and assigned codes. These codes are constantly reviewed as new interpretations are made of the data.

This method has been widely used in natural field settings such as hospitals for instance to study the emotional comfort of hospitalized patients.

Ethnography - Ethnographic studies involve the collection and analysis of data about cultural groups. According to Harris (1968), “Ethnography is a qualitative design in which the researcher describes and interprets the shared and learned patterns of values, behaviors, beliefs, and language of a culture-sharing group”

Data is generally collected through participant observation wherein researcher frequently lives with the people of the group/culture being studied and becomes a part of their culture thereby actively observing their rituals & customs. The researcher then interviews people who are most knowledgeable about the culture identified as the key informants and accordingly collects the information.

Ethnography has been the principal method used by anthropologists to study people all over the world. Ethnographers study how people live and how they communicate with each other.

Case Studies - Case studies are in-depth analysis of a single person, a groups of people, an organization or an institution. A case study is defined as a strategy of inquiry, a methodology, or a comprehensive research strategy (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005; Merriam, 1998; Yin, 2003). The case method has its roots in sociology and has also been used a great deal in anthropology,

​Methods of data collection consists of observation, interviews, questionnaires, or written accounts by the subjects. Case study research can examine a single case or event or it can evaluate a complex event over a period of time.

Thus case studies provided a detailed analysis of a particular social situation and can thus be used to study complex social psychology phenomena.