Qualitative Techniques in Data Gathering

Qualitative Techniques in Data Gathering

IT 162 Research Project

Brief Review: Objectives of the Session

What is qualitative Research Method?

When to use Qualitative/Quantitative Date Gathering Techniques


Objectives of the Session

At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:• Differentiate qualitative and quantitative techniques

• Discuss the advantages and limitations of qualitative and quantitative methodologies (when to best use quanti and quali methods)

• List and explain three qualitative research methodologies that are used alone or to complement conventional surveys



At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:

• discuss and differentiate from one another the different qualitative data gathering tools such as: – Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

– In-depth Interviews (IDIs)

– Participant Observation (PO)



At the end of the session, the participAt the end of the session, the participants will be able to:

ants will be able to:

• Discuss the methods of selecting participants for:

– In-depth Interviewing

– Focus Group Discussion


Qualitative Method

• What is it?• Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods -

Qualitative and Quantitative Data– Quanti and Quali Data Compared - characteristics– Quanti and Quali Data Collection Compared– Uses of Quantitative and Qualitative Data


What is it?• A type of formative research that offers specialized

techniques for obtaining in-depth responses regarding what people think and feel

• Allows researchers to gain insights into attitudes, beliefs, motives and behavior of target groups


What is it?/Why use it?

• Provides answers to “why” questions

• Interpretive as well as descriptive

• Enables researchers to tie together clusters of behavior that relate to a given “consumer” decision, action or behavior


Contrast and Choice...

• In social research - contrast is drawn between the traditional and quantitative methods of the discipline close linked to census and survey research methods and qualitative methods, often described as anthropological or micro research


Contrast• Quantitative Approach– conventional

questionnaire-based surveys to gather data

– application of statistical techniques of data analysis

• Qualitative Approach– anthropological method

of data collection (in-depth, focus group discussion, and participant observation)


Contrast• Quantitative Approach

– use standardized measures that fit diverse various opinions and experiences

– allows measurement of reactions of a great number of people in a large area

• Qualitative Approach– permits one to study

selected issues/cases in depth detail

– produces a wealth of detailed data about smaller number of people and cases


Limits• Quantitative Approach

– confined to unambiguous data which are quantifiable by nature

– sampling makes it impossible to study a single person or hh in context

• Qualitative Approach– cannot draw conclusion

that will apply to the whole population


Limits

• Quantitative Approach– closed questions may force respondents to

answer in a way that does not express what they feel

– survey analysis is dominated by the search for the statistically significant correlations – result in being distracted from the socially most significant point


However...

• In applied research, particularly in developing countries, there is really no choice between the two.

• Each is an essential component of good research design and practice


Thus, both approaches...

• Are complementary rather than alternatives because they fulfill quite different functions


Quantitative and Qualitative Data: Compared

• Quantitative data are usually obtained by questionnaire administered tool and as part of a census or survey

• May also be obtained directly from administrative records


Characteristics of Quantitative Data

• Simple - provides a response to a simple question (such as height and weight) and are used to capture only one dimension of a more complex phenomena (age, may be used to represent life-cycle stage)– number of vehicles and frequency of trips– yield/hectare


Characteristics of Quantitative Data

• Anonymous - personal identity is of no interest

• Numeric - result of counting (total number of hours spent in fetching water), classification (e.g. sex or type of vehicles) or measurement (e.g. height, distance)


Characteristics of Qualitative Data

• Consists of words or visual images, including text. May include:

– field notes, describing field observations

– photographs, sketches

– reports or tape-recording or in-depth interviews



• Consists of words or visual images, including text. May include:

– official reports

– uncoded responses to open-ended questions in a a conventional questionnaire



• Personal - personal characteristics of each respondent (age, sex, education, marital status, occupation, etc.) and the context in which the data were obtained (place, time, identities of others present, etc.) are needed in order to interpret the significance of the data



• Multi-dimensional - they cover the social, cultural or economic aspects of such complex issues such as beliefs, attitudes, utilization of services, decision-making


For example...

• A young man who had been unable to find work in his home village quarreled with his father over money. As a result of the quarrel, he visited a relative in CDO. While in CDO, he was told by his relative’s neighbor that the factory where the neighbor worked was hiring more workers. He applied for a job and was hired. How would you answer the question, “Why did you migrate to CDO?,” which requires a single factor answer, and what would such an answer mean?


Survey and Qualitative Data Collection: Compared

• Quantitative Data Collection (Survey)

– preliminary research to identify info required and how best obtained

– research design

– construction of sampling frame

– selection of the sample



• Quantitative Data Collection (Survey)

– preparation of individual questions and construction of a questionnaire

– pilot testing of the questions and the questionnaire

– revision of the questionnaire



• Quantitative Data Collection (Survey) (continuation…)

– training of interviewers

– implementation of the survey

– coding



• Quantitative Data Collection (Survey) (continuation…)

– data entry

– data cleaning and editing

– presentation and analysis of data



• Qualitative Data Collection

– generally, less systematic approach to data collection than the survey method

– use variety of tools or instruments, such as structured in-depth interviews with interview guide, unstructured in-depth interviews, PO, FGD, photography, video recording, tape recording



• Qualitative Data Collection (continuation…)

– use of multiple sources of information over a period of time

– emphasis on data validity and much less concern for reliability



• Qualitative Data Collection a much greater personal role for the individual involved in data collection

• preliminary data analysis is integral element of data collection


Uses of Quantitative and Qualitative Data

• Quantitative data– numeric and able to deal with a whole population (census or

survey)– most obviously useful for research questions that seek

information about quantities - what, how much, measurement of quantitative effects (e.g. what would be the effect on IM of a x per cent increase access in potable water?)

– particularly suited to answering - what, who, where (Who are most likely to increase their income? What are the characteristics of those who were able to increase their income? Where are the areas with highest mortality?



• Quantitative data

– used to address more complex questions about the existence or strengths of relationships between variables through the use of multivariate and other statistical techniques. However, while they can identify relationships, in general quantitative data and statistical technique cannot explain why such relationship came about.



• Qualitative data

– necessary to establish validity in individual survey questions (measure the phenomenon, provide information on the “meaning” of the responses to questions.



• Qualitative data

– Suited to questions that focus on explanations - Why? How?

– Typically relate to small numbers or respondents and therefore not generally appropriate to research questions that deal with quantities


Applications...

• The following are examples of population research problems which have been intensively studied for decades, but which can be declared to be largely unsolved:

– Morbidity and Mortality - Why does a substantial proportion of the population throughout the world continue to smoke, consume more alcohol than recommended by physicians and use debilitating drugs -despite being well-informed of the consequences and punitive laws regulating their use?


Applications...

– Adopted of improved technology - Why does a substantial proportion of the farmers in the project area continue to adopt or practice the traditional technology despite being well-informed of the consequences of adopting such in terms of yield and income?


Applications...

• Reduce incidence of water borne diseases - Why does the incidence of water borne disease remained the same in spite of the fact of the availability of potable water


Precautions...

• Qualitative Data Collection takes a lot of time

• Over field work process, field notes, interview materials and observations accumulate to vast amounts and many researchers suffer from “data overload”

• Quail data are not easy to analyze


Writing up...

• One woman said, “Oh, but is is very easy to get an abortion right here.”– We know that one woman provided the information and

we have a direct translation (assuming that conversation took place in a language other than English). However, we still don’t know whether this was a woman who was likely to know whether abortion was available, or the circumstances in which she made the statement. (It is not the kind of remark one would expect a woman to make in the course of a casual conversation.)


Writing up...

• A 45-year old woman had six children, the youngest aged four years old, said: “Oh, but is very easy to get an abortion right here.”– This is better. An older woman with a large

number of children might be expected to have this kind of knowledge. However, it is not clear why she made this statement.


Writing up...

• I was discussing the problems of large families and children born close together with a group of older women outside the local health center. One of the women remarked that it was shameful for older women to become pregnant and that they should avoid it. I asked how, and a 45-year old woman with six children, the youngest aged four smiled shyly and said in a quiet voice (looking over her shoulder, apparently to make sure were were not being overheard by the local nurse who was busy talking to a group of young mothers): “Oh, but is very easy to get an abortion right here.”


Writing up...• We can judge that the woman, surrounded by a group of her

peers, would probably not make this statement if it was obviously untrue. The concept of shame apparently attached to older women giving birth suggests a motive for women of her age to be interested in abortion. We can also guess from the description, that although the availability of abortion is not a secret, at least to these women, it was also not something to be discussed in any company. In particular, we would probably wonder why she was concerned that the nurse should not overhear - and would expect the researcher to take this point in the analysis


Writing Up

Primary reporting of concrete events and things in fieldwork ---

A vague note: “A” showed hostility to “B”, is overly general, and will be difficult to interpret in later months.


Better to write…

“Ä” scowled and spoke harshly to “B”, saying a number of negative things, including, “Get the hell out of here, Mr. “B”. He then shook his fist in B’s face and walked out of the room.


Writing up...

• ALL RELEVANT INFORMATION THAT BEARS ON THE INTERPRETATION OF DATA SHOULD BE PROVIDED...


Personal Reflection

• Qualitative methods allowed me to know people individually and to view them as they were. I was able to learn somehow of how their lives had evolved, unraveling the meanings of their roles, relationships within the home, and work within and outside the home for them and for my research. Participant observation allowed me to experience what it is like to be a woman working in the factory. In McCracken’s (1988:17) words, ‘qualitative research does not survey the terrain, it mines it.’


Personal Reflection

• Qualitative methods not only add explanation to the analysis but also demonstrate meanings and understanding about the problems and phenomena under study (Berg, 1989:6).


Qualitative Techniques in Data Gathering

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