C 22 Johan Brink, IIE 23 November Qualitative research Lecture

Agenda Chapter 11, Structured Observation Chapter 17, Ethnography Chapter 19, Focus Groups

Our senses Sight (ophthalmoception) Hearing (audioception) Taste (gustaoception) Smell (olfacoception Touch (tactioception) Objective Subjective

Structured observation Systematically observe behavior Captures actual rather than stated behavior No interpretation of questions No omission No memory effect Records according to pre-set rules & check list Aggregation Well defined categories – Scheduled meetings – Unscheduled meetings – Desk work – … Grocery cupboard Water Rinsing & cleaning place Processing site Baking site Fermentation site Stove Food store Grocery Arrangement Place Arrangement Place 2

Structured observation Sampling Continuous Incident/event triggered Timeslots Individual – Shadowing Place Unit of analysis Physical conditions Behavioral Linguistic

Structured observation Pros More reliable information on events Greater precision and accuracy on time, duration & frequency Not dependent on verbal communication and linguistic analysis

Structured observation Cons Time consuming! Intrusive – ethical? Do researchers follow the pre-set rules? – Are the pre-set rules the right ones? – Do not capture the ‘big picture’ Do the presence of a researcher change the behavior? – Good impression? – The Hawthorn effect

Break

Ethnography Observe – Events – Context Focus on – Patterns of behavior – Norms and values – Stories – Compare and contrast Activities – Probe with questions – Additional documents – Spend time –hang around – Field notes & diary

Ethnography - problems Access – Opportunistic – Gatekeepers – Give something back – Retro perspective - ‘memoirs’ Key informants – Bias in information? Never ending story – Drown in information

Ethnography Overt vs. Covert – Access and researcher interference! – Ability to take notes & ask questions? – Ethical? – Safety? Going native & the Inability to cope with dual identities – Debriefing – Reflections

Experiments Testing theories Select variables Select treatment Control the environment Control the situation: Blind & double bind test Ethics? Real life situations? Quasi experiments Naturally occurring events

Focus Groups Group discussions around a theme Help each other to jointly recollect a story- sense making Challenge each others More extensively cover a theme Moderator / Facilitator Series of questions Gentle guiding – People skills - Knowledgeable Low level of control once started

Focus groups – How to do it Recruitment Neutral room Simple self explained questions or scenarios Format 6-12 individuals groups 1-3 hours One or several occasions Tape/video-recording Extensive material

The big problem Group dynamics Interactions Personal traits Power Limited Creativity! Other problems Satisfying the researcher Non-natural settings

Thank you! Next Monday’s lecture will be about Qualitative analysis