1. DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto
Qualitative methods of data gathering: ethnography, interviews and ethics considerations
The Hilali Toolkit
This presentation by Dr Danilo Giglitto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

2. A methodological shift
From looking at things…
Excavations
Field survey
Archival research
…to looking at people.
Qualitative methods
Ethnography
Interviews
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

3. Quantitative vs qualitative methods
Based on numbers, calculations and measurements
Aims at correlations and statistics
Objectivity
Deductive
Qualitative
Based on words, descriptions and interpretations (“thick” description)
Aims at exploring meanings, producing rich data and revealing concepts
Subjectivity
Inductive (“grounded” theory)
Two main methods are ethnography (participant observation) and in-depth interviews.
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

4. Participant observation
“Participant observer immerses him-/herself in a group for an extended period of time, observing behaviour, listening to what is said in conversations both between others and with the fieldworker, and asking questions” (Alan Bryman, Social Research Methods, 2004).
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

5. Participant observation: What?
Studying subjects in their own environments.
Unobtrusive method.
Detailed and comprehensive.
Trying to objectively understand the subjectivity.
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

6. Participant observation: How?
Field notes
Diagrams, charts, written notes, draws, numerical annotations, video/photo/audio recordings and forth on.
Individually, or in team.
Be engaged, but do not draw to much attention to yourself.
Keep the RQ always in mind.
Consider alternative form of data.
Distinguish observation from interpretation.
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

7. Observational exercise
Look at this famous scene from The Godfather 8y7g
Take note of your observation and prepare to answer the following questions:
What happened in the scene? (O)
Describe the scene. (O)
Are the participants differentiated from each other? (O)
Is there agreement or conflict? (I)
What is the cultural context? (I)
What are the behaviours that define the situation the most? (I)
Is there any non-verbal activity that you consider significant? (I)
O= Observation; I= Interpretation.
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

8. Ethnographic fieldnotes: Principles
Descriptive information:
Setting (date, time, place, characteristics, etc.)
Actions
Behaviors
Conversations
Reflective information:
Thoughts
Ideas
Questions
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

9. Ethnographic fieldnotes: Guideline
Use jottings during the event and then expand your notes asap after the event.
Be accurate and organized.
Be descriptive.
Focus on the research problem (e.g., better understand Bedouins’ culture).
Report insights and thoughts.
But keep description separated from analytical elements.
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

10. In-depth interviews
“Widely used forms of data collection. […] Intuitively attractive and inherently “truthful” source of data” (The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology, 2006).
Exploring an issue or a research question through a guided conversation.
Attractive: because it is somewhat easy and gets a lot of data, by also guiding the conversation towards themes of interests.
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

11. In-depth interviews: What?
Not very structured (yet can vary in terms of flexibility/rigidity).
Interest in interviewees’ points of views.
Going off-topic (“rambling”) may be encouraged.
Rich and detailed answers.
Seek understanding and interpretation.
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

12. In-depth interviews: How?
Semi-structured
Open list of tracks and themes
Clear focus
“Do you remember an occasion when…?”
Unstructured
Topic
Unclear focus
“Tell me about…”
BOTH: Open ended questions!
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

13. In-depth interviews: How?
It has to be conversational and engaging.
Short and easy questions.
Follow an order: Introduction, Preliminary questions, Main body, Thanks.
In the Body, start with ice- breaker/small chat, then go more in-depth.
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

14. In-depth interviews: Exercise
Now, that you have had the chance to see the main techniques and principles of qualitative interviewing, you will be asked to interview me one of the educators or your colleagues about her/his “Food habit”.
Put in practice what you have learnt.
The interview will be evaluated afterwards.
"Arancini 002" by G. Melfi is released into the public domain (
"Ricotta salata e zucchina" by Paoletta S. is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licence. (
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

15. Ethics principles in qualitative research
Autonomy
Participants can withdraw participation.
Justice
Treat respondents respectfully.
Confidentiality
Ensure their privacy will be protected if they require so.
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto

16. Thank you!
15 February 2019
DEFINE - Dr Danilo Giglitto