1. ©Trimtab Slide 1 ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals Qualitative data

2. ©Trimtab Slide 2 What do we mean by “qualitative”?  All the attributes of something which are not countable  What are we looking for when we do qualitative research?  Can something have both qualitative and quantitative attributes?

3. ©Trimtab Slide 3 Meaning  Numbers  Words

4. ©Trimtab Slide 4 Context and meaning Attitudes Knowledge Culture Values Feelings Present situation Etc…. Attitudes Knowledge Culture Values Feelings Present situation Etc….

5. ©Trimtab Slide 5  Reality cannot be defined objectively, it is interpreted social interaction  Quantification can result in meanings that are closer to the beliefs of the researcher than the respondents  Hypotheses determines the course of the study  Methods become overridingly important  The quantitative model is the natural sciences, this model may not be relevant for the social sciences Critique of quantitative methodology

6. ©Trimtab Slide 6  Emerged from the social sciences  Provides researchers with methodologies and methods for understanding people and their actions within social and organisational settings  Usually very contextual, focussed on the understanding of the richness and complexity of the settings within which people live, learn and work What is qualitative research

7. ©Trimtab Slide 7  Purpose is to understand rather than measure  Is holistic and accommodates the emergent properties of real-world situations  Places findings in context – historical, cultural, political Features of qualitative research

8. ©Trimtab Slide 8  Is interpretive, i.e. social reality is constructed through interpretation  Uses naturalistic methods such as fieldwork  Is communicative: is understood and operates in the context of the process of communication, of which it is part

9. ©Trimtab Slide 9 Qualitative data Sources of data include: participant observation interviews documentary analysis Types of data: semantic data (elicited data) – data we acquire in response to questions we ask observational data – data acquired through observation of the phenomenon of interest (researchers perceptions, video tapes, field notes...) Emic data – collected and described from the point of view of the participant Etic data - collected and described from the point of view of the researcher

10. ©Trimtab Slide 10 How do we make sense of it in a rigorous way?  Relate it to the purpose of your research and your research questions,  design your analysis at the time you design your research

11. ©Trimtab Slide 11 Combined with quantitative methodologies, qualitative research gives us rich tools for understanding the contexts in which we work, for communicating and for creating new opportunities for organisations Information systems are embedded in and reflect social systems: cultures, organisations, teams Why is qualitative research important for IS?

12. ©Trimtab Slide 12 A survey of students learning experiences  The school wanted to know 3 things: what was the students experience of transition from 2 nd to 3 rd year? Where there important gaps that made it harder to do the 3 rd year courses? What repetition was there in 2 nd year courses

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