ACTION RESEARCH HISTORICAL RESEARCH THE CASE STUDY APPROACH Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 OTHER TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Action Research Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 “A model for enacting local, action- oriented approaches of investigating” (Berg) A research framework used to…  Produce useful knowledge through research, education, and sociopolitical action  Enlighten and empower the average person in a group

Origins of Action Research Kurt Lewin first used the term “action research” in 1946 to describe “research leading to social action” that uses “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of the action” Criticized as having an intrinsically political nature. “Participation is empowerment and empowerment is politics” (Berger)

Participatory Action Research in the Community Increasing use of action research methods to perform community based research (CBR) Rationale:  Perceived academic-community disconnect  Criticism of overly narrowly defined research by academia  Perceived need for students to develop civic capacity and democratic citizenship

Community Based Research (CBR) Can have a local, regional, national or global focus Using action research in communities is a way of combining academic knowledge with praxis with the goal of social and economic justice for all

Praxis From the Greek praxis (refers to work performed by free men) Aristotle: three types of activity and related knowledge in life:  theoria (the theoretical pursuit of truth)  poiesis (with the goal of making things and production)  praxis (with the end goal of action)

Karl Marx and Praxis In Communist Manifesto (Marx, 1848), noted need for working class (proletariat) to overcome false consciousness to develop class consciousness and move from being “class-in-itself” to become “class-for-itself” Achieved through praxis = knowledge and research should inform one’s action (Marx, Theses on Feuerbach 1845)

Action Research in the Community Has become popular method for teaching community members (esp. in low income areas) to explore, challenge, and react to own needs Paulo Freire advocated community controlled social change in Brazil. Freire (1990) wrote,  "The silenced are not just incidental to the curiosity of the researcher but are the masters of inquiry into the underlying causes of the events in their world. In this context research becomes a means of moving them beyond silence into a quest to proclaim the world.” Orlando Fals-Borda organized PAR conferences for researchers in Colombia to teach them how to collaborate with and empower members of peasant groups in creating their own forms of social change.

CBR Principles Research should:  1. be a collaborative enterprise  2. validate multiple sources of knowledge and employ mixed methods  3. have the goals of social action and social change in order to achieve social justice

The Research Process Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Identify the research questions Gather the information to answer the questions Analyze and interpret the information Share the results with the participants In participatory-action research and CBR, the participants are active collaborators

Berg’s Basics Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Looking  Gathering information, identifying stakeholders Thinking  Making interpretations, analyzing collected data Action  Application of results to improve lives of stakeholders

Guiding Questions of Analysis Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Why?  Establishes a general focus for the investigator and stakeholders What and How?  Help to establish the problem issues Who, Where, and When?  Specific actors, events, and activities

The Action Researcher’s Role Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Holistic  Collaboration with local practitioners  Collaboration with local stakeholders

Berg’s Types of Action Research Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Technical/Scientific/Collaborative  Testing interventions based on a theoretical framework  Researcher collaborates with practitioner  Practitioner facilitates implementation

Types (cont.) Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Practical/Mutual Collaborative/Deliberate  Researcher and practitioner collaboration Mutual identification of problems, causes, and interventions  Empowering and emancipating stakeholders

Types (cont.) Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Emancipating or Empowering/Enhancing/Critical Science  Apply theory and book knowledge to the real world  Raise collective consciousness of practitioners  Promote change

Photovoice Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Subjects themselves photograph certain aspects of their lives  Can empower and enable reflection  Encourages dialogue and knowledge transfer  Allows sharing of perceptions of those not in control with those in control  Can be key to giving members of disenfranchised groups a voice

Methods of Photovoice Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Selecting Photographs  Which photographs most accurately reflect the issues? Contextualizing Stories  Offer accounts about photographs Codifying  Identify central issues, themes or theories

Photovoice Projects Photovoice.ca  Women’s Journey Women’s Journey  Urban-Rural Process Urban-Rural Process  Nya:Weh: Our Stories Our Way Nya:Weh: Our Stories Our Way

Historical Research Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 To understand the historical nature of phenomena, events, people, agencies and institutions Historiography  systematic reconstruction of the past

Value of Historical Research It throws light on present and future trends. It enables understanding of and solutions to contemporary problems to be sought in the past. It can illuminate the effects of key interactions within a culture or sub-culture. It allows for the revaluation of data in relation to selected hypotheses, theories and generalizations that are presently held about the past and the present.

Data Sources Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Primary Sources  oral or written testimony of eyewitnesses  Documents, photographs, recordings, diaries

Data Sources Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Secondary Sources  oral or written testimony of people not immediately present  Oral histories  Newspaper stories, textbooks

Data Sources Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Tertiary Sources  presentation or collection of primary or secondary sources  Almanacs, biographies, encyclopedias

Steps in Historical Research Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Identify an idea Conduct a literature review Refine the research questions Select historiography Identify primary and secondary sources Confirm authenticity and accuracy Analyze the data

Evaluating Primary Sources Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 External Criticism--Authenticity  Who wrote the source?  What was the intended audience?  Historical context? Internal Criticism-Accuracy  What does it mean?  Why was it written?

Oral History Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 To collect real-life experiences and stories from individuals about their pasts Gives narrative access to real-life experiences and memories Uses depth or intensive interviewing Necessitates good interviewing skill Oral history interviewing is valuable for history, anthropology, and folklore.

Oral History (cont.) Gathers data not available in written records about events, people, decisions, and processes. Can show how individual values and actions shaped the past, and how the past shapes present-day values and actions. Methodological problem:  Grounded in memory, and memory is a subjective instrument for recording the past, always shaped by the present moment and the individual psyche.

Why Collect Oral Histories? Listen to Alice Nixon Cooper (104 years old) and her recollections of the American south and “the Jim Crow days”Alice Nixon Cooper

Case Study Approach Provides a “holistic description and explanation” (Berg) Research skills needed :  Inquiring mind  Ability to listen  Adaptability and flexibility  Understanding of the issues  Unbiased interpretation of data

Types of Case Studies Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Intrinsic—better understanding of a particular case Instrumental—focus on single issue or concern Collective—extensive study of several instrumental cases

The design can be… Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Exploratory as a prelude to a large social scientific study Explanatory as in causal studies Descriptive to establish an overall description and framework

The Organizational Case Study Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Systematic information gathering Can use grounded theory approach Insight into the life of the organization  Relationships, behaviors, attitudes, motivations, stressors

Community Case Study Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2010 Geographically delineated unit of larger society Provides awareness of community occurrences  Why and how things occur Interest groups Social Classes Can use participatory action research

Case Study Example A Case Study of Organizational Stress in Elite Sport (Woodman and Hardy, 2001) A Case Study of Organizational Stress in Elite Sport (Woodman and Hardy, 2001)  Case study performed in Wales of 15 elite athletes using standardized interviews  This study uses content analysis and grounded theory to analyze data