U7D1-60 - Qualitative Research Design - See Details

Unit 7 Qualitative Methods: Ethnography and Case StudyINTRODUCTION The two remaining types of qualit ative research we will cover are ethnography and case study . The following is excerpted from Qualitative Research Ap proaches in Psychology by William Percy and Kim Kostere (2008). ETHNOGRAPHY Ethnography is a descriptive research approa ch designed for in-depth investig ation and description of cultures, cultural groups, large organizations and groupings, and their features. Ethnographers immerse themselves in the culture or organization they are studying, becoming a part of the culture in order to learn about it "from the inside out." Consequently, this approach often requ ires longer timeframes for data collection, and ethnographers frequently return a number of times to the sites of their investigations to obtain more data. As a result, ethnographic studies typically have long time commitments. However, ethnography can be a fruitful approach, even in shorter periods, for understanding the cu stoms, culture, belief systems, and implicit "rules" o f organizations and large groups.

Ethnography is based in the anthropolo gical tradition of research. In this approach, the researcher would spend a long time becoming immersed in the culture of the po pulation being studied. Keep in mind that the culture being studied could be a corporate "culture," such as th at of Microsoft or a small start-up company; or the culture of a particular group of people operating in a specific social environ ment, such as that of a third grade classroom among the students, teachers, teacher's aides, and so on. An important aspect of this research approach is that the particip ants (culture) are studied in their natural habitat and social contexts. Individuals are not the unit of analysis for ethnography, although they may be sources of valuable data. Thus, qualitative research questions in social ps ychology and group psychology often are well-answered by ethnographic research. Data Collection in Ethnography Typically, ethnographers collect data while in the field. Their data collection methods can include participant observation, naturalistic observation, writing field notes, conducting unstructured or structured interviews (sometimes audio or videotaped); reviewing documents, records, photographs, videotapes, maps, genograms, and sociograms; or even interviewing focus groups. Any accessible and dependable source of information about the behaviors, interactions, customs, values, beliefs, attitudes and practices of the culture members can be a source of data.

Data Analysis in Ethnography: Thematic Analysis and Exemplary Life Histories Ethnography shares with the other four approaches a core method of data analysis, namely thematic analysis .

The other approaches may use different terms or specify slightly different procedures, but the core analytic method is quite similar. On ce the data are collected by observations, interviews (audio taped and transcribed), field notes, or any other sources, patterns of experience (recurring words, phrases, descriptions, and so on) are identified and listed. These patterns are derived from direct quotes and paraphrases of recurring ideas emerging from the data. These patterns form the first level of thematic analysis.

Next, the researcher identifies data that correspond to the identified patterns. If, in a study of the culture of a corporation, a pattern is noted such as "males defer to hierarchically superior males, but not to hierarchically superior females," examples that confirm this—that show it is both recurring and an accurate description of events—are located in the data (transcripts, notes, and so on) and annotated with the listed pattern (as quotes along with citation of their source).

Now, the researcher combines and catalogues related patterns into themes . Themes are defined as descriptive meaning units derived from the patterns. For example, if along with the earlier example this pattern emerged:

"Males repeatedly initiate f lirting behavior with females regardless of the females' rank and the females return the flirtation, even when they dislike it," two themes or meaning units might be constructed as follows: "Males impose rank-dominance on subordinate males" and "males impose sexual-dominance on all females." Finally, at the highest level of abstraction, themes th at emerge from the patterns (which emerged from the original data) are synthesized together to form a comprehensive representation of the element of the culture that is being investigated. The above meaning units or themes might constellate with other descriptive themes of the male and female interactions in the organization into a rich and textured description of the rules, customs, attitudes, and practices around gender in that organization.

This distillation of the practice of thematic analysis is adapted from Taylor and Bodgan (1984) and Aronson (1994).

In writing ethnographic re ports, one common—though by no means required—presentation practice is to construct "life stories" of representative or exemplary participants in the culture, group, or organization.

Perhaps a more accurate term would be "culture storie s" or "organization stories." The objective is not to single out the individuals for study, but to use their experiences to exemplify key themes found in the data.

These representative life stories are not standard biograph ies or life histories as might be found in biographical research.

These life or organizational stories are created in a process not unlike thematic analysis. Here, however, the stories of the participants' experience in the culture, gr oup, society, or organization are culled for the initial patterns of recurring experiences, behaviors, or other examples. These in turn are organized into themes or meaning units which in a robu st way exemplify important aspects of th e larger culture, society, group, or organization. Finally, as in thematic analysis, the meaning units are woven in to a richly evocative description of the meaning of the persons experience in this culture wh ich stands for many others' similar experiences. In effect, the life story (or the organization story, if you will) of the exemplar "stands for" the essence of the ethnographic description of what it means to be a member of this culture, group, or organization. Research Questions Used to Guide an Ethnographic Study The type of research questi ons typically used to guide an ethnographic study include: What are the behavioral patterns of…? What is the culture of ……? Descriptive questions about values, beliefs, and practices of members of the culture under inquiry.

CASE STUDY Case study is the in-depth study—using multiple methods and data sources—of a single case. Sometimes a number of cases are studied and reported together. The "case" in a case study is the object of study. A case study is an exploration of a "bounded system" over ti me. The phrase "bounded system" means that the target to be studied is easily distinguished for other instan ces of the same phenomenon: It has a clear boundary differentiating it from all others. Think of a "case of measles" (that is, one patient who has the measles), or a "case of homicide" (a single incident of murder, including the victim, the murderer, the police, the attorneys—anyone and anything relevant to the particular murder event). In those cases, the boundary is clear—it encircles all the information about the patient and his disease or the victim and the circumstances of the murder.

One could study a single case (in which a single instance is investigated in depth) or multiple cases (in which a number of instances of the target are studied and then compared with one another). For example, a single case study might investigate a single treatment program (the bounded system being that program and no other) or a new way of teaching reading in a school system (the bounded system being that particular school and those teachers and students using the new reading program). Or one could do a multiple case study of three different alcohol treatment programs, all "cases" of alcohol treatm ent, and compare them on many variables. In both instances, the boundary would encompass all the informat ion, personnel, and contexts relevant to the subject.

Case studies have roots in sociology (primarily the University of Chicag o Department of Sociology from the early 1900s until 1935); in medicine (case study is a common way to present evidence of emerging illnesses or treatments before more focused studies can be done : for instance, Freud presented his new ideas about hysteria and his new ideas about treatment by means of richly detailed case studies); and in psychology (Piaget's first findings about childhood cognitive development were presented as case studies of his own and others' children). Program evaluations are often framed as case studies. When a subject is not well described in the scientific literature, or is newly emergent, descriptive case studies are often the best way to generate a lot of information about the case on which to base future more tightly focused studies. It is because of the highly descriptive nature of the approach, coupled with the fact that the subject is usually not previously well-studied, that case studies seek numerous sources and types of in formation about the case, including its various contexts.

Data Collection in Case Studies Case studies always include multiple sources of information , because the case includes multiple kinds of issues.

For instance, the measles case will in volve issues of nutrition, immunization, previous health status, age, exposure to others with measles, and so on, and data will be sought to explicate all those issues. Likewise, a case study of a treatment program would obtain and analyze information about the participants, the nature of their problems, the kinds of treatment provided, the ph ysical (and psychological) setting and contexts that influence outcomes, the outcomes of the program, the background and training of the staff, and so on.

In addition to multiple information sources, every case study provid es an in-depth study of the context of the case: its setting (for example, the kind of business structure and office complex for the treatment program; the family nutrition and cleanliness style of the measles case ). The setting and context are an intrinsic part of the case.

Consequently, because cases contain many kinds of inform ation and of contexts, case study uses many different methods of data collection. These can include the full ra nge of qualitative methods—surveys, scales, and other instruments; interviews and field observ ations; reviews of documents, records, and other materials; evaluation of audiovisual materials; descriptions of contexts and collateral materials; and so on . A well-designed case study does not rely on a single method and source of data, because any true case (bounded system) will have many characteristics and it is not known ahead of time wh ich characteristics are important . Determining that is the work of the case study. Data Analysis in Case Studies Two types of data analysis for a case study are so metimes referred to (for example, Patton, 2005): holistic analysis , in which the information about the entire case is analyzed; and embedded analysis , in which information about a specific but limited aspect of the case is analyzed. For example, in a case study of learners' experiences with online education, if all aspects of the experience are studied—the nature of the online platform, the IT support structure, the type of educational company providing the online learning, the quality and training of the teachers, the nature of the curriculum, the demographics of the learners, the costs and benefits perceived by the learners, the work load of the faculty, and so on and so forth—the analysis is said to be holistic.

However, if out of that ma ss of data only one aspect is analyzed and reported—for example, the learners' perceptions of the learning platform and of the instru ctors' competence—this would be an embedded analysis.

A case study dissertation would most likely be a holistic analysis of a case or set of cases.

There is no consensus format for case study data analys is, but a common series of steps can be found in many sources. The following description is adap ted from Creswell (1998) and Stake (1995).

• The opening step of data analysis—sometimes referred to as description —involves creating a detailed description of the case as a whole and of its settin gs and contexts. The objective is both clarity and detail, creating a rich and textured picture of the case and its settings.

• The case study researcher looks at single instances in the described data and draws meaning from each without (yet) looking for multiple in stances. This process pulls the described data apart and puts them back together in more meanin gful ways. This may be called direct interpretation .

• Next, the researcher seeks a collection of meaning-rich instances from the data, aggregating these into categories of meaning, giving rise to the term categorical aggregation .

• By analyzing the categories (and the underlying instances and data of the various categories), the researcher will identify themes —common statements of recurrin g description and patterns of meaning—and connecti ons between or among t he themes. These themes will be developed using verbatim passages and direct quotes from the data to elucidate each theme. At this point, data from the case itself are used, without being compared yet with data and themes from other cases; this is within- case analysis .

• The same steps are followed for each case in the series, so that each is analyzed within itself. For instance, if the study investigates ten cases of multiple sclerosis in young married people, each person's data are analyzed separately first, as a single case, before taking the next step.

• Then, the researcher w ill develop a thematic analysis across cases ( across case analysis ) as well as interpretations of the integrated meaning of all the cases in the study.

• In the final, interpretive , phase, the researcher develops naturalistic generalizations from the data as a whole and reports on the lesson s learned from the case study. Re sea rch Qu es tions Us ed to Gu ide a Case Stu dy Case study asks questions that involve an intense study of an individual or an organization. The case to be s tudied is often cho sen due to its un iquen es s. The case is a singl e researc h sub ject— a perso n, a pro gram , an e ve nt, an ac tivity or an indiv idua l. Wha t are the contexts of the case? What are its boundaries? What is involved ? W ha t happ e ns? Whe n do es it h app e n? What is like t o be in the ca se ?

Re ferences P ercy, W. H. , & Koste re, K. (2008 ). Qu alitati ve researc h appro ach es in psycholo gy. Min neapo lis, MN: OBJECTIVES To successfully complete this learning unit, you will be expected to:

1. Distinguish elements of case study or ethnography.

2. Describe data collection in case study or ethnography.

3. Present data analysis in phenomenolo gy or generic qualitative inquiry. [u07s1] Unit 7 Study 1 STUDIES Readings Read the introduction to this unit, Qualitative Methods: Ethnography and Case Study. This reading introduces you to ethnography and case study, including data collection and data analysis.

Use your Leedy and Ormrod text to complete the following: • Review Chapter 9, "Qualitative Research Methods, " pages 251–277. This chapter provides more information on qualitativ e research, including data collection and analysis for ethnography and case study. Library Search Use t he Research Library to locate an article from the academic literature that use either an ethnography approach or a case-study approach. The Search by Methodology guide will show you some techniques for searching by methodology within the library's article databases.

Record the persistent link for the article found within th e library databases. The persistent link is different from the URL in the browser window. Use th is guide to lea rn where to locate your articles' persistent links:

Pers istent L inks and DOIs .

Re ad the article in preparation for this un it's discussions.

Use Finding Articles for Your Discussion Post to learn how to locate articles within the library databases. This guide will walk you through the basic steps of accessing the library databases and creating a search strategy to find articles. Qualitative vs. Quantitative Quiz Multimedia • Click Qualitative versus Quantitative Quiz to begin the quiz. This quiz will not be graded, but it will enhance your learning experience and give you a chan ce to assess your understanding of the material in this unit. PSY Learners Additional Required Reading In addition to the other required study activities for this unit, PSY learners are also required to compete the following: • In Percy, Kostere, and Kostere's 2015 document, Qualitative Research A pproaches in Psychology , review: ◦"Ethnography," pages 14–18.

◦ "Case Study," pages 18–21.

◦ "General Qualitative Analysis," pages 5–13. Use the Research Library to complete the following:• In Woodside's 2010 book, Case Study Research: Theory, Methods, and Practice , read Chapter 1, "Building Theory from Case Study Research," pages 1–16. This chapter provides in-depth information on the case study approa ch, including data collection and data analysis. The chapter also includes examples of research and evaluates the appr opriateness of the approach for psychology.

• Read Miller, Hengst, and Wang's 2003 article, " Ethnographic Methods: Applications from Developmental Cultural Psychology ," from Qualitative Research in Psychology: Expanding Perspectives in Me thodology and Design , pages 219–242. This article provides in-depth information about ethnography, including data collection and data analysis, as well as examples of ethnographic research.

• Tellis, W. (1997). Introd uction to case study. The Qualitative Report, 3 (2), 1–12. [u07d1] Unit 7 Discussion 1  QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN Resources Discussion Participation Scoring Guide.

APA Style and Format.

Research Library.

Per sistent Links and DOIs.

Scientific Merit Presentation |  Transcript.

For the qualitative ar ticle you selected in t his unit's studies, in the Library Sear ch section, address the following: • Describe the characteristics of the research that pr ovide evidence that either an ethnographic or case study approach was used.

• Identify the key phenomena under investigation.

• Describe the data collection process, including the role of the researcher.

• Describe the qualitative approach to analyzing the data in this study.

• Evaluate the scientific merit of the selected approach. How did the approach used, eith er ethnographic or case study, help the researcher answer the research question? How might you have designed this study differently?

• Post the persistent link for the article in your response. Refer to the Persistent Links and DOIs guide, linked in Resources, to learn how to locate this information in the library databases.

• Cite all sources in APA style and provide an APA- formatted reference list at the end of your post.