Uom Educational Research Research Methods Med

Qualitative Research Methods M.Ed. Course 20062006-8

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi Department of Youth and Community Studies University of Malta

E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: 23402919

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Assignment

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Themes: Session 1: n Development of qualitative research Dr Andrew Azzopardi Session 2: n Methodological and ethical issues in qualitative research Dr Simone Galea Session 3: n Research processes and research methods Part 1: Dr Andrew Azzopardi Part 2: Dr Simone Galea Session 4: n Analyzing and interpreting data. Checking for standards in qualitative research Part 1: Dr Andrew Azzopardi Part 2: Dr Simone Galea and Dr Andrew Azzopardi Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Course Description This course is primarily intended to assist students to build the required competencies for the undertaking of research. The course includes a critical account of the developments of qualitative research with particular reference to the emergence, use and purpose of educational research. The course is grounded in a critical tradition of research that encourages researchers to reflect on their ideological, theoretical and political stances and the way they shape their particular interpretations of the world.

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Thinking Point : 1. 2. 3. 4.

Is research important to you? Is research important to society? In what way/s can we do research? Can research change anything?

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Thinking Point : A young man is found at the bottom of a cliff, dead. Right next to him there is a a box of tranquilizers. How will these ‘people’ react to this situation? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

A psychologist A sociologist The family lawyer The doctor The parents The person in the street The youth and community worker The police officer

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Thinking Point: n n

What is your experience with research? What are the projects you have worked on?

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When social processes are involved, questions and answers multiply Why are there so many different answers?

Social perception: 1. Selection - What stimuli or messages do we take in? 2. Organization – What sense do we make of them? 3. Interpretation – What meaning do we give to them once they reach awareness?

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Thinking Point : n Why research?

n Policy n Academic n Personal

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Main concepts: n Research is the search for truth n Research helps us understand social reality

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Qualitative research approaches began to gain recognition in the 1970s. The phrase 'qualitative research' was until then marginalized as a discipline of anthropology or sociology, and terms like ethnography, fieldwork, participant observer were used instead. During the 1970s and 1980s qualitative research began to be used in other disciplines, and became a dominant - or at least significant - type of research in the fields of women studies, disability studies, education studies, social work studies, information studies, management studies, nursing service studies, human service studies and others. In the late 1980s and 1990s after a spate of criticisms from the quantitative side, new methods of qualitative research have been designed, to address the problems with reliability and and imprecise modes of data analysis. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Defining Qualitative Research Qualitative research is an inquiry process of understanding based on distinct methodological traditions or inquiry that explore a social or human problem. The research builds a complex, holistic picture, analyses words, reports detailed views of informants, and conducts the study in a natural setting (Creswell 1998: 15).

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Quantitative oriented research studies are undoubtedly a pivotal aspect of policy and service development efforts. This study-unit revisits the principal constructs of qualitative methods, and provides a detailed examination of statistical, computer assisted research techniques. We hope that this course will assist prospective service providers and planners in building an informed appreciation of the importance that robust quantitative research strategies play in the process of securing evidence-based planning approaches. The myriad instruments that are used in quantitative research inquires and their applicability to the planning process will thus be duly emphasized. This course also focuses on specific issues related to quantitative studies, including generaalisability and the limitations of official data, representation, and data triangulation. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n Although researchers in anthropology and sociology have used the approach known as qualitative research for a century, the term was not used in the social sciences until the late 1960s. The term qualitative research is used as an umbrella term to refer to several research strategies. n It is unfair to judge qualitative research by a quantitative research paradigm, just as it is unfair to judge quantitative research from the qualitative research paradigm. n "Qualitative researchers seek to make sense of personal stories and the ways in which they intersect" (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992). As one qualitative researcher noted, "I knew that I was not at home in the world of numbers long before I realized that I was at home in the world of words." Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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The Assumptions of Qualitative Designs n Qualitative researchers are concerned primarily with process, rather than outcomes or products. n Qualitative researchers are interested in meaning-how people make sense of their lives, experiences, and their structures of the world. n The qualitative researcher is the primary instrument for data collection and analysis. Data are mediated through this human instrument, rather than through inventories, questionnaires, or machines. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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In the social sciences, qualitative research is a broad term that describes research that focuses on how individuals and groups view and understand the world and construct meaning out of their experiences. Qualitative research methods are sometimes used together with quantities research methods to gain deeper understanding of the causes of social phenomena, or to help generate questions for further research. Unlike quantitative methods, qualitative research methods place little importance on developing statistically valid samples, or on searching for statistical support for hypotheses.

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The data collected in qualitative research has been termed "soft", "that is, rich in description of people, places, and conversations, and not easily handled by statistical procedures." Researchers do not approach their research with specific questions to answer or hypotheses to test. They are concerned with understanding behavior from the subject's own frame of reference. Qualitative researchers believe that "multiple ways of interpreting experiences are available to each of us through interacting with others, and that it is the meaning of our experiences that constitute reality. Reality, consequently, is 'socially constructed'" (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992).

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n Qualitative research involves fieldwork. The researcher physically goes to the people, setting, site, or institution to observe or record behavior in its natural setting. n Qualitative research is descriptive in that the researcher is interested in process, meaning, and understanding gained through words or pictures. n The process of qualitative research is inductive in that the researcher builds abstractions, concepts, hypotheses, and theories from details.

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n Human behavior is significantly influenced by the setting in which it occurs; thus one must study that behavior in situations. n Past researchers have not been able to derive meaning...from experimental research. n The research techniques themselves, in experimental research, [can]...affect the findings. The lab, the questionnaire, and so on, [can]...become artifacts. Informants [can become]...either suspicious and wary, or they [can become]...aware of what the researchers want and try to please them. n Additionally, informants sometimes do not know their feelings, interactions, and behaviors, so they cannot articulate them to respond to a questionnaire. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n One cannot understand human behavior without understanding the framework within which informants interpret their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Researchers need to understand the framework. In fact, the "objective " scientist, by coding and standardizing, may destroy valuable data while imposing her world on the informants. n Field study research can explore the processes and meanings of events. .....Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (1980). Designing qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Positivism is the view that serious scientific inquiry should not search for ultimate causes deriving from some outside source but must confine itself to the study of relations existing between facts which are directly accessible to observation.

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A doctrine which claims that social life should be understood and analysed in the same way that scientists study the 'natural world'. Underpinning this philosophy is the notion that phenomena exist in causal relationships and these can be empirically observed, tested and measured. [Tony Bilton et al., Introductory Sociology, 3rd edition. London, Macmillan, 1996:666] Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Quote: “Whether you plan to conduct your own research projects, read others’ research reports, or just think about and act in the social world, knowing about research methods has many benefits. This knowledge will give you greater confidence in your own opinions; improve your ability to evaluate others’ opinions ; encourage you to refine your questions, answers, and methods of inquiry about the social world” (Russell 1999:18).

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Scientific/Quantitative n 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Positivism is an early influential approach advocated by Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim which suggests that sociology can be scientific. Positivism argues that: Objective social facts Facts can be expressed in statistics You can look for correlations (patterns in which two or more things tend to occur together) Casual relationships may represent causal relationships (one thing causes another) It is possible to discover laws of behavior which are true for all Human behavior is shaped by external stimuli rather than internal stimuli To be scientific you should only study what you can observe. It is therefore unscientific to study people’s emotions, meanings or motives which are internal. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Instead, qualitative research focuses on the understanding of research phenomena in the original position, within their naturally occurring context(s). One aim of the qualitative researcher is to tease out the meaning(s) the phenomena have for the actors or participants. Quantitative studies, however, may also observe phenomena in situ and address issues of meaning, and one criticism of this approach to qualitative research is that the definitions offered of it do not distinguish it adequately from quantitative research (for more on this issue, and about the debate over the merits of qualitative and quantitative approaches Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Because of its emphasis on in-depth knowledge and the elaboration of images and concepts, qualitative methods have been viewed as particularly useful to areas of social research such as "giving voice" to marginalized groups, formulation of new interpretations of historical and cultural significance of various events, and advancing theory, as in-depth, empirical qualitative studies may capture important facts missed by more general, quantitative studies. Such investigations usually focus on a primary case, on the commonalities among separate instances of the same phenomenon identified through analytical deduction or on parallel phenomena identified through theoretical sampling. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Another way to describe these differences is cited by [Pamela Maykut, Richard Morehouse]: n Qualitative approaches use multiple realities which can only be understood by the intersecting sociopsychological constructions. Quantitative approaches have one reality created from dividing and studying parts of an entity. n Qualitative approaches have interdependency between the knower and the known. Quantitative approaches believe true objectivity exists because the knower can be studied outside of the known. n Qualitative approaches have non-numerical values that mediate and shape what is understood. Quantitative approaches believe that non-numerical values can be ignored or otherwise rendered unimportant.

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Differences between qualitative & quantitative research n Qualitative research develops theories whereas quantitative tests theories as well as develops them n Qualitative research describes meaning or discovery whereas quantitative establishes relationship or causation n In qualitative research the researcher is explicitly a part of the data gathering process whereas in quantitative, the researcher is formally an independent entity n Qualitative research uses communication and observation whereas quantitative research uses instruments n Qualitative research uses unstructured data collection whereas quantitative research uses structured data collection Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n Generally (though there are exceptions), qualitative research studies rely on three basic data gathering techniques: 1. Participant observation 2. Interviews 3. Social artifacts (documents)

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Good Qualitative Research (Creswell1998) n Employ rigorous data collection procedures n Frame the study within the assumptions and characteristics of the qualitative approach to research n We use a tradition of inquiry n We begin with a single focus n The study is to include detailed methods, a rigorous approach to data collection, data analysis and report writing n We write persuasively n We analyze data using multiple levels of abstraction n The writing is to be clear, engaging and full of unexpected ideas.

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n Qualitative approaches involves multidirectional relationships where events shape each other. Quantitative approaches claim that a preceding event can be said to cause a following event. n Qualitative approaches have only tentative explanations for one time and one place. Quantitative approaches believe that explanations can be generalized to other times and places. n Qualitative approaches seek to discover or uncover hypotheses. Quantitative approaches generally seeks verification or proof of hypotheses.

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Interpretive/Qualitative n Interpretativists usually advocate the use of qualitative data to interpret social action, with an emphasis on the meanings and motives of actors n From this viewpoint, people do not simply react to external stimuli but interpret the meaning of stimuli before reacting n We need to understand why people behave in particular ways (Weber)

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Strategies of Inquiry n Quantitative (Experimental designs, non-experimental designs e.g. surveys) (Predetermined, instrument based questions, performance data, observational data, census data, statistical analysis) n Qualitative (Narratives, phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, case study) (Emerging methods, open ended questions, interview data, observation data, document data, text and image analysis) n Mixed methods/triangulation (Sequential, concurrent and transformative) (Predetermined and emerging methods, open-ended and close ended questions, multiple forms of data drawing on possibilities, statistical and text analysis) (Clark, 2005) Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Key terminology: Ontological: What is the nature of reality? Reality is subjective and multiple, as seen by participants in the study. Epistemological: What is the relationship between the researcher and that being researched? Researcher attempts to lessen the distance between himself/herself and that being researched. Rhetorical: What is the language of research? Researcher writes in a literary, informal style using the personal voice and uses qualitative terms and limited definitions. Methodological: What is the process of research? Researcher uses inductive logic, studies the topic within its context, and uses an emerging design. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Validity and Reliability (Measurement) n How are we going to measure? n What are the criteria of evaluation? Reliability is concerned with questions of stability and consistency – does the same measurement tool yield stable and consistent results when repeated over time. We want questions that yield consistent responses when asked multiple times . Validity refers to the extent we are measuring what we hope to measure. We want questions that get accurate responses from respondents.

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Traditions n n n n n

Biography Phenomenology Grounded Theory Ethnography Case studies

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Each tradition will be explored by focusing on: n Philosophical and theoretical frameworks n Data collection n Analysis and interpretation n Standards of quality and verification

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nBiography

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Auto/biographical research frequently raises un-answered questions, as well as identifying the paths and journeys that have been left behind because of painful memories and experiences (West 1996) …Auto/biography also implicates the researcher in her own personally reflective truth-seeking and experiential reconstruction. This search takes her to places where multiple regimes of truth reveal themselves and may be highly contested, where the self and the ‘subject’ of the research are challenged, particularly since auto/biographical research challenges the conventional distinctions between self and other. (Chan 2001, p.1).

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Biographical forms of research A n n n n n

biography reports the life of a single individual. Biographical study Autobiography Life history Oral history Classical biography

n Interpretative biography

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n On the other hand we have had criticisms being made on the value of biographies. Various people have spoken about the strange and intricate situation where stories are told but the intention is to create hero worship or a dimension of perception on the person involved that is unreal (Goodley 2003). The first taste of qualitative research came about through the notorious University of Chicago when a number of benefactors decided to fund a project which was later to become known as The Polish Peasant In Europe And America – A Classical Work Of Emigration History co-authored by William I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki (1918-1920). This is a classic in the area of sociological outcomes and analysis. The value of such a text lies in the fact that this is probably the first qualitative research text to have an impact on the social sciences. Thomas and Znaniecki were amongst the first to propose this new methodology. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

nGrounded

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Theory

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Grounded Theory n To generate or discover a theory n The investigator needs to set aside as much as possible, theoretical ideas or notions so that the analytic, substantive theory can emerge. n The researcher must still keep in mind that this form of inquiry is laden with specific steps in data analysis n The researcher faces the difficulty of determining when the theory is sufficiently detailed n The researcher needs to recognize that the primary outcome of this study is a theory with specific components; a central phenomenon, casual foundations, strategies, conditions and context, and consequences. n Developing theory grounded in data from the field. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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nNarrative

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n A new discipline, narratology (the term coined by Todorov in 1969) has slowly emerged which takes as its central task the analysis of stories and narratives (Plummer 2001, p.186).

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n Two questions can be posed to explore the position of narrator and writer in collaborative narrative inquiry. First, how does the writer construct the life story of the narrator? Second, to what extent do narrators become involved in the writing of their own life story? (Goodley 1998, p.119). Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n I believe that the core of narrative lies in the fact that narrative and story-telling remain bound to a partiality of perspective and thus may reject any form of abstract universalism. Narrative can take different forms of narrative; historiography, oral life story, myth, novel or film as their point of departure. Within social action, there are issues of social, cultural and political belonging. I believe that the core of narrative and its social and political importance lies in the fact that narrative and storytelling remain bound to a particularity of perspective, and thus must reject any form of abstract universalism. At first, this seems to contrast ‘theory’, ‘concept’ and ‘narrative’, but we also insist on exploring the possibilities of narrative theorizing. The argument always seems to bring it all down to a key notion; can we feature storytelling as a weak form of universalism? Can we find commonality in this method to the world of “inclusion”, exclusion (Slee 2000; Stirling 1992) and diversity.

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n We need to keep in perspective that as Goodley (2003) says, people’s stories expose their innermost cultural and social accounts. People seem to understand better and describe events better when they are assisted by the narrative. We are all encapsulated in stories and this research will aim at injecting some understanding on the many matters correlated to “inclusion”. (Azzopardi 2006). Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n In fact maybe stories… let’s take one of them that we lived a good part of it, you don’t see it so bad as when you read about it again. When you read it again you start to realise how serious it is. Sometimes you get so used to being in these circumstances that you let them go by. But when faced with the stories you tend to stop and think, ‘what happened was really bad!’ (Carmen, Facilitator). Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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The most important data that I have gathered on narrative is not drawn from the observation of speech production or controlled experiments, but to from the reactions of audiences the narratives as I have retold them. In a regular and predictable fashion, certain narratives produce in the audience a profound concentration of attention that creates uninterrupted silence and immobility, an effect that continues long after the ending is reached. It is the effort to understand the compelling power of such narratives… (Labov 1997, p. 1).

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n … I enjoyed reading them (Jack, Teacher). n I think that they were very true. The stories trigger different thoughts to the people that read them (Donnha, Parent Activist). n I liked the stories because we are living them all the time… We witness these things on television regularly and you end up putting the sound off. But the way they did it, it was really great (Maria, Parent Activist). n I preferred this style (Walter, Disabled Activist). n Why do you think they are an effective means of research? (Andrew, Researcher). n Because they give a realistic picture of the situation (Carmel, Disabled Activist). n They are also food for thought (Sandra, Disabled Activist). n I’ve read the stories and they are real … For example the issue of over protection in the first story, where a person with a disability isn’t even allowed to play. Most of the times, in research, things are done out of good intention but that lack of consultation gets at me (Richard, Disabled Activist).

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When you read stories, you start understanding more coherently the issues that are being passed on. Because in reading a story you’re going to engage with it, you’re going to feel the spirit there is. Questionnaires are artificial. Just a question and an answer. In a story you will get it, read, think about it. What I found interesting was the discussion we had in the focus group. Certain stories I read them ‘differently’ than other people. This helped because I could reflect and come up with my own conclusions (Anthony, Social Worker). Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n Rather than concealing my identity, the literature is a key coordinating attribute of this narrative work and can be perceived as a basic means for individuals to denote the inclusive agenda we are all immersed in.

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n The processes employed in semi-fictional and narrative writing include clear challenges to the offered narrative and re-writing of events. This can only be achieved by sharing responsibility, because no-one can really contradict authorial clout when it comes to writing fiction. I interpret narrative and semifictional writing to change the power relations between oneself and the informants. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n The value of narrative lies in the capacity to connect me with the proper story that is happening. This is not information that has to go from one medium to another, from one interpretive stance to another but a whole movement of debate that draws in the complexities straight on to the serving dish. It is precisely like consuming the stark realities that are encompassing this debate. There is no way to shed responsibility and shift the debate or try to interpret the way I, as the author wanted it written. This is a basic ethical premise. What is read is interpreted from the experience one has, allowing the wholeness and completeness of that debate to merge the positions that need to be taken. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n Joan’s story is one of changing self-identity – first the loss of the self she was before her illness, then the reconstruction of a new ‘stronger’ self. We can see this being played out through and against the public narratives of ‘normality’…. Her difficult struggle to ‘come to terms’ with the changes in her life and an altered self are clearly bound up with her long-standing acceptance of the implicit messages in these public narratives…. She found a way to re-tell her story to and of herself (Thomas 1999, p.51). Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n In the process of unpacking life story research we may end up deconstructing the life stories that we initially present. Never mind, we hope we have done some justice to our narrators/narrative subjects and encouraged others to consider stories as the very stuff of research (Goodley et al 2004, p.x). Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n While narrative researchers draw upon a variety of epistemological and theoretical positions, all proponents share the view that (some) understandings can be gleaned through turning to those who have in some way been labelled. A turn to narrative is a celebration of the insider, specificity, indexicality and of lay-knowledge. The strengths of narrative accounts are tied into the inherent personal and constructive qualities of accounting for oneself alongside and with others (p.3). Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n The essence of this method was in getting the immigrants to tell their own life stories, either by hiring them to do so or by finding documents, especially letters, in which they did (Zaretsky 1996, p.x). Another important reader for me was The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat And Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks (1985). This author has written several stories that emanated from a professional autobiography. Moreover, he managed to bring to the surface a number of interesting debates and personal reflections that said a lot about the professional dimension and how this could be more in line with the ‘patients’ (for him) or service users we are engaged with. He speaks about the passions and the galvanisation of people under the threat of being categorised, pigeon-holed and having their personality segmented.

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n Narrative identity can be defined as a constantly evolving story, which compounds the past experience of human life. A person constantly renews his or her narrative by re-creating mental experiences in the form of words and sentences…. Narrative identity is closely related to the view that identity comes through a dialogue between the self and the environment. In order for a narrative to come about, there has to be true dialogue between participants who listen to each other. And even more: people want not only to be listened to, but also to be understood, which enhances the selfknowledge of both the narrator and the listener/reader (Syrjala and Estola 1999, p. 3). Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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Creswell (1998) n The author uses description and a high level of detail n The author tells this story informally, as a ‘storyteller’ n The author explores cultural themes of roles and behavior of the committee n The author describes the ‘everyday life of persons’ n The overall format is descriptive

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nEthnography

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n What is ethnography? n What lies behind an ethnographic piece of research?

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n An ethnography is a description and interpretation of a cultural or social group or system. The researcher examines the group's observable and learned patterns of behavior, customs and ways of life (Harris, 1968). It is based on participant observation where the researcher is immersed in the process of day-to-day living and one-to-one interviews. The researcher studies the meanings of behavior, language and interactions of the culture sharing group. n Describing and interpreting a cultural and social group.

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n Ethnographers prefer lengthy and deep involvement in the natural setting. Social life is complex in its range and variability. It also operates at different levels and has many layers of meaning (Berger, 1966). A long stay is necessary to gain access to these. n There has been some dispute as to whether there are such ‘real situations’, let alone whether they can ever be represented in research accounts. n ‘The social world is an interpreted world…(Analytic realism) is based on the value of trying to represent faithfully and accurately the social worlds or phenomena studied’ (Altheide and Johnson, 1994, p. 489). n Ethnographers are interested in how understandings are formed, how meanings are negotiated, how roles are developed, how a curriculum works out, how a policy is formulated and implemented, how a pupil becomes deviant. n Social life is ongoing, developing, fluctuating, becoming. It never arrives or ends. Some forms of behaviour may be fairly stable, others variable, others emergent.

Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n Ethnographers do not, on the whole, start with a theory which they aim to test and prove or disprove, though there is no reason why they should not do that if they wished. They mainly work the other way round, seeking to generate theory from data. The theory is then said to be grounded in the social activity it purports to explain (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). n Ethnography is often criticised for producing a weak basis for generalisations to be made. Thus, it might be demonstrated, very interestingly, that a pupil indulges in disruptive behaviour or engages in creative activity when subjected to certain treatment; some might ask, however, quite legitimately, 'to how many pupils does this apply?' We find it useful here to distinguish between internal and external validity. Internal validity refers to the accuracy of the account being presented as it applies to the case or cases researched. External validity refers to generalisation to other cases.

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n Ethnography is concerned with life as it is lived, things as they happen, situations as they are constructed in the day-to-day, moment-to-moment course of events. Ethnographers seek lived experiences in real situations. In general, they try not to disturb the scene and to be unobtrusive in their methods. This is to try to ensure that data and analysis will closely reflect what is happening. n The researcher tries to make as few assumptions in advance on what problems and issues will be found. It helps if the researcher ‘makes the familiar strange’, not taking things for granted, questioning the bases of action (Becker, 1971); though, at other times, ‘deep familiarity’ with the scene and the people in it can aid insights (Goffman, 1989; Strauss and Corbin, 1990). Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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n Ethnography by tradition is an individual pursuit, which makes working on sensitive issues, and others as well, all the harder. In what Douglas (1976) calls the 'Lone Ranger' approach, ethnographers …have gone out single-handedly into the bitterly conflictual world to bring data back alive. This approach has demanded considerable strength and courage much of the time and almost always an ability to operate alone, with little or no support and inspiration from colleagues. (p. 192)

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nPhenomenology

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A phenomenological study describes the meaning of the live experiences for several individuals about a concept or phenomenon. Phenomenologist explore the structures of consciousness in human experiences. n The researcher brackets his/her preconceived ideas about the phenomenon to understand it through the voice of informants n The investigator writes research questions that explore the meaning of that experience for individuals and asks individuals to describe their everyday lived experiences n The investigator than collects data from individuals who have experienced the phenomenon under investigation n Meanings are clustered n The phenomenological report ends with the reader understanding better the essential, invariant structure or essence of the experience. Recognizing that a single unifying meaning of the experience exists. Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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nCase

study

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n A case study is an exploration of a ‘bounded system’ or a case (or multiple cases) over time through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information rich in context. This bounded system is bounded by time and place and it is the case being studied-a program, an event, an activity or individuals. n It is the development of an in-depth analysis of a single case or multiple cases.

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there……!

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“Researchers have to be close to groups, live with them, look out at the World through their eyes, empathize with them, appreciate the inconsistencies, ambiguities and contradictions in their behavior” (Woods).

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“He was also reflexive, putting himself into the situation, looking at the effects on himself as part of the event” (Woods).

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There are dangers, as well as opportunities, in engagement. We encountered this in particularly acute form during our research on teacher stress” (Woods).

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Analyzing data is by no means straightforward, and writing up typically takes a number of drafts before one feels the research is adequate and appropriately represented” (Woods).

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Important pieces of research n The research on suicide – Emile Durkheim n The effect of institutionalisation on people – Erving Goffman n The Balinese Cockfights - Clifford Geertz

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Cireo Dr. Andrew Azzopardi E-Mail:[email protected] Telephone:23402919

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