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Selecting your research methods
Interviews and focus groups
Designs and approaches to data analysis
Group discussions (team work)
Selecting your research methods
Requires a numerical description
There is no necessity to report results and tie them to specific socio-cultural context
When the replicability is important
Are appropriate when...
When researcher wants to expand the results beyond contexts and compare populations
When indicators have already been developed to report given realities
In other words, when the goal is EXPLANATORY
The theme is new, not familiar
Exploratory research: important concepts and variables are unknown
Need for a thick description: the goal is not to quantify but interpret behavior or phenomena (depth, meaning)
Are appropriate when...
Looking for sense (not frequency)
More flexibility in the approach to make unexpected findings or explore in depth particular themes
Research aims at a detailed understanding or particular dimensions, situations or events
Which means... ?
Making sense from a specific case or cases and outline a process, a pattern that would apply more generally to other cases (the opposite of deductive)
This research methodology can help encompass the needs of a population, can explain and interpret the results of a quantitative inquiry
The object of inquiry can be individuals, specific populations, or the general population.
Best appropriate to develop hypothesis to test in subsequent inquiries.
Several techniques can be used when using a qualitative approach
Ethnographic research: to study an intact cultural group in a natural setting over prolonged periods
Grounded theory:deriving a general theory from the grounded views of participants
Case studies: detailed exploration of a case bounded in time through a variety of method. (Cases can be: program, event or activity, an individual or a process).
Phenomenological research: identification of "the essence" of experiences concerning a phenomenon as described by the study's participants.
Narratives: to study the lives of individuals to provide stories about them. Combination of experiences
Knowledge claims, strategies of inquiry and Methods
Semi-structured
In depth
Overt
Undercover
Individual
Group (semi-structured)
Direct<
Indirect
Interviews
Observations
Participating observer
Non participating observer
Conversationalanalysis
Documentary analysis
COMPARING QUALI, QUANTI & MIXED APPROACHES
the weak
Qualitative is constructivist, interpretative.
Quantitative is experimental, quasi-experimental:
Mixed methods are pragmatic by nature.
If it is measurement oriented, it is quanti
If it is meaning oriented, it is quali
If it is problem-oriented (pragmatic) the most appropriate design is probably mixed method (sequential or simultaneous)
What is the purpose of an interview?
And of a focus group?
Interviews
Standardized procedure aimed at accessing the conceptual framework of the interviewee.
- It has varying degrees of structuredness
When exploring a complex topic, with a well informed population
When the topic is sensitive (intimately related to someone's path, for example - women in prison and factors affecting their incarceration)
When it is hard to gather data from the geographically dispersed participants <
When there is a risk of peer's contamination (in other words, social dynamics may influence measurement)
Deductive content analysis
The principles:
1- Initial reading matrix
(selection of thematic to lead the analysis of narratives)
2- Translation of the reading matrix in a series of codes
3- Structuring of the qualitative data according to a series of variables (codes)
4- Systematic coding and analysis of coded materials
5- Statistical analysis (distribution and co-occurrence of the codes in particular)
(Bardin, 2006)
My interviews are done! (Now what...?)
Focus Group
The discussions usually last until no new information comes up.
Average 1 hour, 1 1/2 hour.
Unit of analysis is the group.
To explore attitudes, perception, impressions (intra-group dynamics)
Assess concepts, define an approach (tailor an intervention, a message)
It also helps the process of identifying and defining problems.
Questions and thematic are pre-determined
The interview guide comprises a series of open questions
The participants discuss among themselves
Possibly, record the discussion
Paper or computer transcripts
Qualitative data must be analyzed systematically.
You can code texts using color pencil, highlighter or word (computer)
Codes essentially help you structure for different emerging ideas.
For focus groups, you must analyze each group's discussions (not by individual) and use multiple sources to make connections (triangulate)
Look for intra-case and cross case patterns.
Atlas.ti
Anselm Strauss &Juliet Corbin helped develop it.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Two software
NVivo
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Quantitative research uses and reports predetermined categories : descriptive statistics, charts, correlation coefficients, etc.
In qualitative analysis, the process is quite different.
In a qualitative approach, the instrument and classification are typically more flexible.
There are 3 types of coding strategies.
- Purely inductive (emerging patterns only)
- Semi structured : You have predefined categories, but add to them
- Structured: deductive
When choosing an unstructured coding strategy (inductive), the establishment of the codes happens during the analysis. Each time a category emerges, you must go back to your previously analyzed transcripts and re-code your material.
When deciding what the categories will be before starting to analyze (deductive approach) you will be tempted to add to your initial grid whose coherence may be challenged by the data.
Most researchers use a semi-structured coding strategy because of time constraints. This way, your analytical matrix remains flexible without having to start categorization from scratch .
We did’nt you know, to begin the operations, you know, because we had the regulations on our side, you know. We wanted the community to support us, you know… as much as they could and so there were things that that the town asked for that, in a typical railroad operations, you know, might not be something that a railroad would agree to. So those items were things like: ensuring that you have you know, two people, on the trains that operate through the town of Lac-Mégantic. Ok. No problem. Am.. they wanted us to operate through the town at 10 miles an hour. Ok, that’s fine, and that’s important to the community, that’s what we’ll do.
A: hum hum.
RR: Am.. They.. It was important for them, to not have our freight trains stopping in town and doing, you know, a lot of train operations, moving cars back and forth from the other. Am.. So we’ve you know, we moved some tracks and we moved, you know, some of the operations.. We’ve found a different way to do it, you know,
A: hum.
RR: Just tried to be a good new neighbour. But back to the, back to your original question, you know, a lot, most of the regulatory changes that have been put in place am, you know, and they were put in place almost a year and a half after the accident occurred. Am. The most significant, is the train securement rules,
A: hum hum.
RR: And, you know, the number of hand brakes that you have to tie, and the testing and the things that go into that. Well, Jeremy mentioned that we have made some operating rule changes on day one. And those were changes that we made before the regulators told us..,
(private sector respondent - executive level)
The SMS regulation was too vague. (...) Simple example, the regulation said: "You had to have a method to analyze risks". When you do your audit, you ask: "Do you have a method to analyze risk". You show it to me. You meet regulation... You meet it! Even of it is crumbling, [the regulator] can't do anything. (...) An 18 pages legal advice defining implementation was telling [those in charge of the regulation enforcement they ]did not have the right to go into the implementation level, that [TC] did not have jurisdiction over this. Either you do or you don't! (Interview #27, senior government manager with prior private sector senior management experience)
"With the absence of statistics demonstrating [to the Department of Transport Canada] that there was a problem, in the absence of a database allowing [TC] to look at the compliance rate (...) it has been difficult for [TC] to see there was any problem with MMA or another railroader. You rely on the intelligence you have on the field. (...) Everyone who has been working on computer applications know how it is always a little and that it is always cost a little more...". (Interview #27)
Deadline for the final paper ("project proposal"
project) is 10/14/2020
Project proposal’s components:
See Rubric and Directives -
On CANVAS
What is your gap?
What is your specific question? 1 sentence
Bullet points:
Your purpose?
Your approach?
Your methods (data collection and analysis)
... Be mindful of how you will be able to access the respondents or data you need to conduct the analysis.
The methods fit the design, which fits the purpose, which fits with the gap...
Your projects will be 6-8 pages
(double spaced) plus references
Intro (problem statement) 0.75 p.
Literature review: 3-4 pages
Research question and aim (+ expected contribution statement): 3 sentences
Methodology: 2-3 pages.
Discussion and conclusion: 0.5 page
Minimum 12 sources 10 peer reviewed.
: Use sources in the methodology and other sections (discussions, intro, conclusion) too.
"Methodology" in research is synonym to "design" is quali, quanti, mixed-methods
"methods" are, the means of data collection and data analysis The methods could be synonym to the research's "protocol". For example, interviews, focus groups, surveys (open-ended or close-ended questions), content analysis, participant observations, undercover observations, secondary data analysis, etc. are research "methods".
Whether you are proposing a program assessment, writing a report that will guide the strategic planning of your agency, analyzing policies, conducting audit, or satisfaction surveys, you are technically using "research methods".
The management of change, within organization requires stakeholder buy-in. Before producing useful information management can use, it is always good to define collectively the parameters of any analysis,
What are you managing? What is the purpose? Management of innovation, knowledge, talents etc.
Important terms:
Research gap
General question (vs) research question (or "specific question")
Unit of analysis and research scope
Dependent/independent variables
Concepts' operationalization
Online resources on CANVAS
to help you write the proposal
The MPA 698s is the program's culminative experience.
In the 698s class, you will develop a project individually on a topic of your choice.
During the pre-enrollment workshops, you will be asked to propose a topic and select peer-reviewed references.
This class and the preparatory workshops will build on what you have learned in the MPA 620.