Qualitative Research Basics: A Guide for Engineering Educators

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Table 1: Comparison among epistemological perspectives. From Koro-Ljungberg & Douglas (2008). Epistemological perspective View on reality Single falsifiable reality Post-positivist Interpretivist (constructivism, social constructionism, hermeneutics, phenomenology, symbolic interactionism) Purpose To find relationships among variables, to define cause- Methods The role of researcher Outcome or research product and effect Methods and variables defined in advance, hypothesis driven Researcher is detached Context-free generalizations Multiple subjective realities To describe a situation, experience, or phenomenon Methods and approaches emerge and are to be adjusted during study Researcher and participants are partners Situated descriptions Critical/ emancipatory Multiple subjective and political realities To produce a sociopolitical critique Methods and approaches designed to capture inequities Researcher and participants are activists Critical essays, policy changes Postmodern/poststructural Multiple fragmented realities To deconstruct existing ‘grand narratives’ Methods and approaches generated during the study Researchers and participants have various changing roles Reconceptualized descriptions of the phenomenon 8
2. Research Strategies The Role of Research Strategies Many authors refer to specific qualitative research approaches, traditions, or strategies. Denzin and Lincoln (2005) call them, “a bundle of skills, assumptions, and practices that the researcher employs as he or she moves from paradigm to the empirical world . . . strategies of inquiry connect the researcher to specific methods of collecting and analyzing empirical materials” (p. 25). However, one should not consider these research strategies as specific approaches that must be followed. After all, one of the inherent strengths of qualitative research is its flexibility. As noted by Denzin and Lincoln, “The qualitative researcher…uses the aesthetic and material tools of his or her craft, deploying whatever strategies, methods, and empirical materials are at hand…If the researcher needs to invent, or piece together, new tools, he or she will do so” (p. 4). In addition, they note that, “No specific method or practice can be privileged over any other” (p. 7). Within these limitations, descriptions of qualitative research strategies can be useful. They provide a means to situate one’s research within a larger body of research and to design a study within the context of that particular strategy. They act as guidelines and help to ensure that the study design is consistent with accepted qualitative research practices. Types of Research Strategies The flexibility of qualitative research means that it can be hard to identify a particular study with a particular approach. Denzin and Lincoln (2005) talk about “blurred genres,” meaning that a particular study might have characteristics of more than one type of approach. In categorizing the approaches, different authors have identified different sets of strategies. Creswell (2007) identifies five main approaches: • narrative • phenomenology • grounded theory • ethnography • case study Merriam (2002) identifies the following eight types of research: • basic interpretive • phenomenology • grounded theory • case study 9
Page 1 and 2: Qualitative Research Basics: A Guid
Page 3 and 4: The Authors Nancy Van Note Chism (g
Page 5 and 6: 1. Epistemological Perspectives Wha
Page 7 and 8: math preparation, test anxiety, etc
Page 9 and 10: Critical and new meanings can be di
Page 11: Koro-Ljungberg, M., & Douglas, E. P
Page 15 and 16: • The study is conducted to under
Page 17 and 18: The instrumental case may be chosen
Page 19 and 20: Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing gr
Page 21 and 22: Emergent design: Rather than laying
Page 23 and 24: � Interview type (Will I use an i
Page 25 and 26: o If there are changes to the resea
Page 27 and 28: 4. Data Collection Methods Data col
Page 29 and 30: questions are broad questions that
Page 31 and 32: The interview itself is a complex p
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Page 35 and 36: natural setting. In some cases audi
Page 37 and 38: meaning is derived, and the social
Page 39 and 40: Minutes from local workshops are us
Page 41 and 42: 5. Maintaining and Judging Quality
Page 43 and 44: this research is to produce change
Page 45 and 46: participants or seek to promote cha
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The goal of this chapter was to int
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8. Resources The literature on cond
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student researchers through their s
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Examples Bloor, M. (2006). Keywords
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Qualitative Research Basics: A Guide for Engineering Educators

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