ADVANCED RESEARCH METHOD: Qualitative and Quantitative Research SOCI5013: Spring 2004

Qualitative versus Quantitative Qualitative: issues of richness, textual, inductive approach Quantitative: issues of design, measurement, and sampling, deductive approach

Triangulation Triangulation of measures Triangulations of observers Triangulations of theory Triangulations of method

Qualitative and Quantitative Orientations Soft data: impressions, words, sentences, photos, symbols, often with qualitative studies Hard data: numbers, often with quantitative studies Qualitative studies: interpretative, contexts Quantitative studies: variables and hypotheses More women in qualitative? More men in quantitative?

Qualitative Transcendent approach: interpretive and critical Logic in practice: few set rules, researchers rely on informal wisdom when they get together over lunch or coffee Very few standardized procedures or terms You learn by doing, through trail and error, by working in an apprentice role with an experienced scholar. Thus it is quite difficult for new comers to learn how to do qualitative studies

Linear Linear: most quantitative scholars use linear approach It follows a fixed sequence of steps and goes along direct, narrow and straight path. It fits western European and North American culture? (a very daring statement)

Nonlinear Less direct cyclical path On the surface, it is disorganized, undefined chaos, and poor-quality research In the core, it has its own discipline and rigor, trying to pull together divergent information and perspectives.

Objectivity and Integrity Qualitative scholars stay close to their research subjects Interjecting personal opinions? Sloppy data collections? Selective evidences to support biased personal opinion? To ensure integrity Qualitative researchers wrote large volume of detailed notes And/or invite other researchers to verify the authenticity of the data sources

Quantitative Research Procedure Begins with hypothesis testing Concepts emerged in variable measurement Measures created, data collected and standardized Data are numbers Theories are deductive Stat and replicable

Qualitative Research Procedure Discover meaning after research analyzed data Concepts are in themes, generalizations Measures are in an ad hoc and specific to the setting Data are in pictures, words, but usually not in numbers Inductive theory Research procedure particular and nonreplicable Results are generalization from evidences to present coherent pictures

Evidences in qualitative studies Photos, videos, words, gestures, tones Grounded theory Theory built from the data or grounded in data Conceptualization and operationalization occur simultaneously with data collection and analyses Open to, or to a certain degree expecting, unexpected findings

Contexts Qualitative researchers look at contexts Everything happens in contexts: events, actions, conversations, accidents Removing social contexts significantly distorts the social meanings of those happenings Instead of counting the votes, researchers may ask what does voting mean in this context.

Cases and Process Rich contextual details and astute insights replace the sophisticated stat method and precise measures Observe cases over time, examine changes over time Timing is very important to qualitative researchers

Interpretation Qualitative research entails three-level interpretations First-level: the meanings of the materials Second-level: underlying coherence or sense of meaning in the data Third-level: generalize the meaning to larger population, connect the discovery to the theories that drive the research

Quantitative Research Variation and variables Independent and dependent variables Hypothesis and causality Testing and refining hypothesis Logic of disconfirming null hypothesis In favor of alternative hypothesis Clarity about the units and levels of analysis Clarity about time sequences Clarity about causal sequence

Traps Tautology: Sally is conservative because she believes that should be less regulation Tautology is talking in circle: is a statement true by definition Teleology: some statements that are extremely vague that renders impossible of empirical test Because U.S. is destined to be the world major power, tens of thousands of people want to immigrate into U.S.

Traps Ecological fallacy: mismatch of units of analysis It often happens when a research uses aggregated data to infer disaggregated status A researcher found city neighborhood with high concentration of black residence have higher crime rate than neighborhoods with low concentration of black residence. He concluded that blacks are more likely to commit crimes than white What’s the problem with this reasoning?

Spurious Spurious is a seemingly significant relationship between two variables suddenly disappears when controlling for the third variable Race Poverty Education

Examples Quantitative: Page 165 see (Musick, Wilson, and Bynum 2000) Qualitative: Lu and Fine (1995) on page 166