QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

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Title: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

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Title: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

1
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
Remadevi. S
2
WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Any kind of research that produced findings not
arrived at by means of statistical procedures or
other means quantification.
It is concerned more with meanings and
processes rather than simply measurements.
Qualitative research is based on a methodology
which seeks to understand human behaviour from
the subjects own frame of reference hence it
is called Phenomenological.

3
WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH (contd)

Aims to elicit the individual contextualized
understanding of a problem
Achieved through designs that minimize researcher
manipulation of social setting
Close interaction with subjects
Meaning and interpretation cannot be dealt with
statistically

4
WHY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Human behaviours is significantly influenced by
the setting in which it occurs
The technique in quantitative research can affect
the findings
One cannot understand the human behaviour without
understanding the framework within which subjects
interpret their feelings thoughts and actions

5
WHY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

More valid results based on research
experiences.
Nature of research problems some problems
lend more to qualitative research
Helps to understand what lies behind any
phenomenon about which little is known

6
WHY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Contd

Details of phenomena that are difficult to
convey with quantitative methods
Questionnaires developed in the West threat
to validity in our setting Qualitative
methods in the initial phase avoid type III
error
Culturally appropriate measuring
instruments Etic Vs. Emic approach

7
WHY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Contd

It helps in identifying variables
important to the phenomenon under study
To understand the perceptions and
experiences of participants and community
Field study research can explore the process
and meaning and provide comprehensive
description

8
FUNCTIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Developing and delineating program elements
before a quantitative evaluation
Boosting the power of quantitative design
Broadening the observation field
Analyzing process and individual cases to
explain the how and why of an outcome
Generating theory

9
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
10
POSITIVISM

Refers to the belief that social science can be
scientific in the same way as physical science
and prefer quantitative methods
Assume that reality is objectively given and
can be described by measurable properties
independent of the observer
Prefers a method standardized repeatable and
that test a pre-existing hypothesis

11
PHENOMENOLOGY(Edmond Husserl)

Study situations in the everyday world -
viewpoint of the experiencing person
Focus on the social construction of the life
world emphasizing that peoples actions can only
be understood when they are situated in the
meanings and routines that control their everyday
life.
Gain understanding of the essence of phenomena
Eg. Sufferings of schizophrenia

12
ETHNOGRAPHY

Closely associated with anthropological research
Focus on culture of a group of people
Interpret and present findings from a cultural
perspective
Heart of Ethnography- Thick description obtained
through an immersion in the every day life of the
group or a given social setting

13
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM(G.H.Mead)

Through the process of role taking a person
imagines how they appear to others thus becoming
a symbolic object to themselves
Experiences takes on meaning as they become
symbolically significant through shared
interactions
Meanings are continually createdrecreated and
modified in interactions

14
FEMINISM

It is argued (Dorothy Smith) as a consciousness
raising that it attempts to identify how private
experiences of oppression may be understood as
part of a general system of oppression that
shapes womens experience
Many womens private issues are not recorded as
shared public issues
Advocates methods that enable women to express
their experiences from their own perspective

15
HERMANEUTICS

Examine the way people develop interpretation of
their life in relation to their life experiences
Similar to phenomenology but takes a broader
view of both past and future and broader cultural
factors Eg Story telling

16
GROUNDED THEORY

An inductive technique developed by Glaser and
Strauss(1967)
Grounded Theories are grounded ( it has its
root) in the empirical data and built up
inductively through a process of careful
analysis and comparison
Developed in opposition to positivist and
deductive approach

17
WHEN TO USE Q.R

To inform what people are doing thinking and
saying about a problem
To identify the important problem to be solved at
community/local/policy levels
Generate a list of options for interventions
To investigate how best to implement promising
interventions
To monitor response to interventions and assess
how best to present its results to public and
scientific community

18
WHEN NOT TO USE

When numbers are needed to make a decision (what
proportion of people )
Results are to be projected to the total
population (unless generalisability ensured by
researcher through appropriate measures)

19
WHAT KINDS OF SKILLS REQUIRED FOR QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH

Qualitative Research required theoretical and
social sensitivity
Ability to maintain analytical distance while
drawing upon experience and knowledge to
interpret what is seen
Power of observation
Good interactional skills.

20
WHAT KINDS OF SKILLS REQUIRED FOR QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH

Ability to organize and synthesize many
different types of data
Ability to gain trust of individuals / groups
Respect for individuals and awareness of the
ethical responsibilities
Knowledge and experience of socialculturalreli
gious and economic characteristic of
group/community/setting.

21
COMPONENTS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Data come from various sources
Different analytic or interpretive procedures.
E.g. Coding Writing of memos diagramming
Written and Verbal reports.

22
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

NATURALISTIC Natural setting as source of data
INDUCTIVE It seeks to build theory from data
avoid imposing researcher own categories of
analysis
HOLISTIC It looks at the phenomenon in totality
takes an overall perspective

23
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

THICK DESCRIPTION Descriptive in that the
researcher is interested in process meaning
understanding gained through words pictures
use quotations
PERSONAL CONTACT Shares the experience of
subjects not trying to be an objective outsider
DYNAMIC There is constant shifting with
changing phenomenon context

24
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

UNIQUE CASE SELECTION Not concerned about
generalization stress on uniqueness of each
case
CONTEXT SENSITIVITY Emphasis many aspects of
social historical physical contexts
EMPATHETIC Trying to take view of other person
via introspection reflection yet
non-judgemental

25
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

FLEXIBLE DESIGN- Emergent design as opposed to
pre-determined in quan.methods
INTERPRETIVE Aimed at discovering the meaning
the events have for the individuals who
experience them interpretation of these meaning
by researcher
PROCESS ORIENTED Primarily concerned with
process rather than outcome

26
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

RESEARCHER AS INSTRUMENT Data are mediated
through human instrument rather than inventories
or questionnaires
MULTIPLE SOURCES OF EVIDENCE-Multiple forms of
evidence. Judgment at usefulness and credibility
is left to the researcher

27
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
GOALS
Stress upon verification of theory by using
statistical prediction Tests hypothesis
Discovery of theory understanding of phenomena
under study suggests hypothesis.
28
QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
SCOPE

Particularistic guided by objectives
Generalize and extrapolate findings

Holistic rich in context emphasizes
interactions
Recognizes the individuality of responses and
findings.

29
QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
SETTING DESIGN

Unfamiliar artificial
PRE-determined structured design. Manipulation
control

Familiar natural
Flexible evolving design

30
QUANTITATIVE
QUANLITATIVE
Vs.
DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Cross sectional studies cohort case control
RCT

Semi structured / unstructured interviews
Focus group discussions observations key
informantinterviews case study

31
QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
TYPES OF DATA

Deals with words texts and observations
Open ended. Depth of information.
Produce a wealth of detailed data about a much
smaller number of people. Depends on purpose
resources and interests of those involved.

Deals with numbers
Use of standardized approach - the experiences
of people are limited to certain predetermined
response categories
Measure reactions of many subjects to set of
questions thus facilitating comparison and
statistical aggregation of data

32
QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
SAMPLING

Probability Sampling

Non-Probability sampling-Typically focus in depth
on small samples selected purposively

SAMPLE SIZE

Large Sample Size

No rule for sample size. Depends on what you
want to know purpose of enquiring what will be
useful what will have credibility and what can
be done with available resources.

33
QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
DATA COLLECTION

Researcher as primary instrument Personal
involvement empathic understanding

Inanimate Instruments- ScalesTests
Questionnaires
Detachment objective portrayal

34
QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES

Analysis tend to be deductive. Test hypothesis
using quantitative methods Statistical
analysis

Usually inductive. unit of analysis can be
individuals families groups. No statistical
techniques used.

35
QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE
Vs.
FINDINGS

Generalizations made. Statistical predictions
because of representative sample.
Reliability

More in depth data and help us to find out
how and why of an outcome. Sequence of event
depicted.
Validity

36
SAMPLING- QUAL. STUDIES

NON- PROBABILITY SAMPLING
Purposeful selection
Goal is to understand phenomena not to represent
population
Selection of information-rich cases for intensive
study

37
Non-probability Sampling

Quota Sampling
Snowball Sampling
Typical Case Sampling
Critical Case Sampling
Homogeneous
Maximum variation
Extreme or deviant cases
Criterion Sampling

38
Quota sampling

It is a form of convenient sampling
Selection of quota groups of accessible sampling
units by age sex social class etc
Assignment of quota groups specified by
predetermined traits in specific proportions
A method of stratified sampling in which
selection within strata is non-random

39
SNOWBALL SAMPLING

Subjects are asked to recommend others they know
for the researcher to contact
Useful in studies of social networks or in
difficult to find populations
Use in research on sensitive issues like sexual
practices IV drug use etc.

40
Typical and deviant case sampling

To describe a typical case serves as a profile
for understanding the principal features of a
group of programes or class of individuals.
Sample typical case as illustrative
In deviant case sampling cases at either end of
a continuum or unusual cases are selected
More useful in finding critical variables
contributing to the phenomenon

41
Critical case sampling

Its effectiveness depends on understanding what
is happening in that case
Identification depends on key factors that make a
case as critical
The results of intervention would provide a
critical case for the feasibility of the programe
If it works here it will work everywhere

42
Homogeneous sampling

Subjects with similarities in background are
selected
Better able to focus on a central issue that is
relevant to all of them
Eg. Focus Group Discussion (stimulating people
with a common identity to discuss their shared
experiences)

43
Maximum variation sampling

Selecting sample with maximum variation in
defined attributes eg. Education gender
To highlight the experiences or outcomes which
these maximally varied samples have in common
Document unique experiences shared patterns

44
Criterion sampling

Sample cases to meet a criterion of importance to
the study eg. membership in a particular group or
participation in a programme
May be done as follow up of a survey to identify
particular subjects for in-depth analyses

45
Sample Size

The validity meaningfulness and insights
generated from qualitative enquiry have more to
do with the informationrichness of cases
selected and the observational/ analytical
capabilities of the researcher than with sample
size (patton)

46
Sample size

Depends upon completion of data- sample selection
to the point of redundancy
Might begin with small sample based on expected
reasonable coverage and expand if needed
Large enough to make meaningful comparisons
Small purposive samples based on study purpose
but describe justify and explain
Care not to over generalize from purposive
samples

47
Factors affecting sample size

No of comparison groups- more groups more
samples
Complexity and depth of information- more
in-depth information go for small sample
Explain similarities and differences in
particular context
Availability of resources

48
Data collection methods

In-depth Interviews
Key informant Interviews
Observation
Focus Group Discussions
Case studies
Illness narratives Surrogate patient studies
PRA / PLA Techniques

49
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW
50
What is an In-depth Interview

It is a qualitative research technique that
allows person to person discussion which can lead
to increased insight into peoples thoughts
feelings and behaviour on important issues.
It can be used as one of the effective ways for
understanding reasons for problem behaviours and
gather ideas to guide measures to correct a
problem
Characterized by extensive probing and open-ended
questions

51
When to use an In-depth Interview

Subject matter is complex
Detailed information sought
Highly sensitive subject matter
Interest on individual experiences and its unique
interpretation
Respondents dissimilar to be meaningfully grouped

52
Preparing for the interview

Identification of the respondents
Ensure Trained interviewer
Selection of a comfortable location
Other logistics- transport audio or video etc
Consider access to local population

53
Selection of Informants

Limit to a small sample size
Select people who are well informed about the
issue
Purposive sampling
Respondents fairly representative of the various
groups in the study population
Informant preferably unknown to interviewers

54
Tools for data collection

Interview guide
Structured open-ended schedule
Different sets may be needed suitable to
different categories in the study population
The guide makes the interviewing more systematic
and comprehensive

55
Preparing the Interview Guide

List the important topics to be explored in the
study Eg. Malnutrition among children- Feeding
adequacy Care of the child Health seeking
Write sub themes for each topic Eg. Under
feeding adequacy elicit information Breast
feeding weaning complimentary feeding food
preferences etc.
Make a draft of possible questions based on
conceptual frame work
Check that they can help you obtain all the
information you need
Questions not to elicit simple Yes or No
answers

56
Preparing the Interview guide

Construction of probes
Probes are devices used to prompt a respondent to
speak further when an initial question fails to
elicit the desired information
Sequence of topics- Never rigid. Phrasing and
order may be redefined to fit the characteristics
of respondent

57
Preparing the interview guide

Ensure that your questions are
Clear and unambiguous
Simple and easy to understand
Reasonable and within the experience of
the targeted population

58
Interviewer qualities

Experienced/Skilled
Knowledge about the topic
Personality traits easily gain peoples
confidence and cooperation good speech and
language proficiency
Other qualities self confidence ability to
establish rapport good listener politeness
articulate enough to prompt respondents to talk
Training is a pre-requisite if team work

59
Interview Techniques

Unstructured interviews
Semi-structured interviews
Structured open-ended interviews

60
Conducting the interviews

Self introduction
Explain the general purpose of the interview
Impress upon the respondent that his opinions are
important
Seek privacy
Establish rapport and assure confidentiality
Consent for the interview recording

61
Conducting the interviews

Carry the interview in a natural conversational
style
Know the objectives of each question to make sure
that the answers satisfy it
Interview runs dry use expressions like
Uh-huh or That is interesting or I see
Be alert to discover drifting of conversation
Wrapping-up of interview

62
Questioning Techniques

Ask clear and open-ended questions
Ask behaviour /experience before opinion
questions
Sequence-follow a funnelling method-general to
specific
Probe and follow-up questions Eg . Could you tell
me more about it

63
Managing specific situations

Reluctant participant
Speculation can help to open up .eg. I am not
sure could it be that women do not have access
to health care compared to men
Try to explore their thoughts Eg. Could you
elaborate on that Or explain why you think that
way

64
Managing specific situations

Rambler Politely control Eg. Excuse me could
we change the subject a bit and get back on your
thoughts on ..
Participant uncomfortable- Let them talk about
the part he/she comfortable with.
Confused OK Sorry let me rephrase it
Contradictory statement-seek clarification

65
Interviewer Tips the Dos

Begin with a friendly greeting
Maintain privacy and confidentiality
Listen with an open mind
Use probes where appropriate
Ensure a natural flow of interview
play dumb give informant time to talk
Be open to unexpected information

66
Interviewer Tips the Donts

Judgemental attitude
Prompting
Move quickly from one topic to the next
Letting silence grow while interviewing
Arguing or enter into dispute

67
Managing the field data

Field editing
De-briefing
Transcribing
Translation if needed

68
Interview summaries

A brief description of the participants
Memos Helps one to reflect on the interview
Theoretical memos/notesSummarises theoretical
ideas surfaced
Methdological memos What happened during the
interview quality of dataparticipantcomfortleve
l
Personal memos Interviewer relaxed Were he
inhibited in asking certain questions

69
Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages
Explanatory tool
Emic perspective
Facilitate rapport
More appropriate in rural setting
Responses more valid

Disadvantages
Replicality difficult
Results not strictly comparable
Time consuming
Require familiarity with language and culture

70
Qualitative Data Analysis
71
Steps in qualitative data analysis

Reading Developing an intimate relationship with
the data
Coding Identifying emergent themes
Choosing and using a software if needed
Displaying data
Developing hypothesis questioning verifying
Data reduction Getting the big picture and
interpretation

72
Coding

Deductive coding
Done prior to data collection
Use existing literature or theoretical frames to
develop categories for coding prior to field work
Provides a conceptual framework to guide the
research

73
Coding Contd.

Inductive Coding
Designs coding scheme from data collected through
interviews FGDs etc
They are like street signs inserted into margins
of notes or typed in after a segment of text
Main purpose is to allow research findings to
emerge from frequent dominant or significant
themes inherent in raw data

74
Inductive Coding Contd

Condense extensive raw text
Establish clear links between research objectives
and findings derived from raw data
Develop a model or theory about underlying
structure of experience or processes evident in
the raw data

75
Coding procedures in grounded theory

Open coding involves fracturing taking data
apart and examining discrete parts for
differences and similarities
Axial coding connections are made between
categories and sub categories
Selective coding identifying one or more core
categories to which all other sub categories
relate

76
Coding process in inductive analysis

Create 3-8 summary categories from many pages of
text
If more than 8 major themes re-examine them
Decisions on combining and removing unimportant
categories need to be made

77
Semi-quantitative analysis

Free-listing
Pile-sorting
Domain identification
Coding
Summarizing
Comparative table across stakeholders (if more
than one)

78
Government Health Worker
79
Responses

In your opinion who are the people that
generally do not bring their children for polio
drops on NIDs
Sometimes it happens that parents are unaware
of it or neglect it or there are some parents who
do not give importance to it or they go
outstation. Till now they have not understood
the importance of the drops and that it should be
given. Some parents feel we have given three
doses (routine doses) to out children and if
these are not given it will do. These are the
people who dont bring. Usually they are from
slum areas. Others are educated they know about
it constantly hear on TV/radio so they bring.
The area which I had got was a Mehammedan area so
the women do not go out of the house. They did
not even know that it had to be given. There was
an announcement through the mosque but people
might not have heard or something else so many
children did not turn up.

80
Free listing

In your opinion who are the people that
generally do not bring their children for polio
drops on NIDs
Sometimes it happens that parents are unaware
of it or neglect it or there are some parents who
do not give importance to it or they go
outstation. Till now they have not understood
the importance of the drops and that it should be
given. Some parents feel we have given three
doses (routine doses) to out children and if
these are not given it will do. These are the
people who dont bring. Usually they are from
slum areas. Others are educated they know about
it constantly hear on TV/radio so they bring.
The area which I had got was a Mehammedan area so
the women do not go out of the house. They did
not even know that it had to be given. There was
an announcement through the mosque but people
might not have heard or something else so many
children did not turn up.

Domain Evolution
In your opinion who are the people that
generally do not bring their children for polio
drops on NIDs
0. Dont know
None (everybody received OPV)
Laborers / daily wages / beggars (affordability)
No one at home / adult sickness
Migrants / tribal (accessibility / out of station
/ traveling
People with remote residence / adverse weather /
transport difficulties (accessibility)
Bad past experience (due to /fear of side
effects) / fear of polio even after polio drops
(acceptability)
Non believers (no faith / believers of other
systems / superstitions / rumours /
socio-cultural / religious / death / caste)
Misinformed groups (rich / educated) / do not
like to go to IP / go to private practitioner /
wrong impression)
Lack of awareness / Illiterate
Children with illness / new born (acceptability)
Negative influences of the other family members /
decision of family members
Irrelevant
Blank
Not applicable

82
Coding In your opinion who are the people that
generally do not bring their children for polio
drops on NIDs 7. Superstitious people who say it
is all in hands of almighty there is no need of
drops 3. If somebody feel sick on home it was
difficult to bring the children to the IP for
polio drops 4. Migrating and tribal population
usually do not bring their children for polio
drops 3. Those who are not at home are not able
to come 6. People who think that because of pulse
polio they may get problems in future 7. Wrong
beliefs about polio drops 2. In slum areas
those mothers who go out for work do not bring
their children. They say we go out for work we
do not have any time 8. Those who gave
immunization in routine high class families
83
Qualifiers for Semi-quantitative expression of
Observations
84
Writing a report

Develop an outline for report
Review all field-notes and organize along
identified domains in conformity with report
outline
Compare across stakeholder categories if needed
Compare results of other qualitative methods with
these findings

85
(No Transcript)
86
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION
87
What is Focus Group Discussion

Focus group discussions are group discussions
with a small group of individuals from a well
defined target population on pre-selected topics
that rely on interaction between group members
under the guidance of a trained facilitator. Each
participant is stimulated by the comments of
others and in turn stimulate them.

88
What is Focus Group Discussion

It is a qualitative method which helps to find
out the How Why of human behaviour
It can provide insight into how a group thinks
about an issue the range of opinions and ideas
and the inconsistencies and variations that exist
in a particular community in terms of beliefs and
their experiences practices

89
F.G.D.s are useful for

Obtaining a range of perceptions opinions or
beliefs about an issue
Gathering exploratory data to be used in future
research Eg. Local names for diseases local
pattern of healthcare seeking
Hypothesis generating
Assist in explaining and illustrating results of
a quantitative survey

90
FGDs are useful for

Intervention programmes- To identify various
social or cultural factors that need to be taken
into account in the design and implementation of
the programme
Ongoing assessment of programmes or as an
evaluation tool
Obtaining feed back for the cross cultural
adaptation of materials.
As a means of validating findings obtained by
other means (Triangulation)
As a Rapid Assessment Procedure for getting quick
results

91
Key Considerations

The topic should is narrowly focused
Selection of participants is also focused by
targeting individuals who meet specific criteria
Topic should be of interest to both the
investigator and respondents.
The emphasis should be on interaction between or
among the group members.

92
Key considerations

A set of detailed guidelines designed to generate
discussion of concepts and ideas
A trained moderator and a note taker
Recording the discussion to permit later analysis
of the result

93
Designing a Focus Group Discussion

Setting the objectives
Determine the target population
Plan the number of of sessions
Follow the guidelines regarding selection of
participants role of moderator/facilitator etc
Developing F.G.D.guide
Conducting F.G.D.
Analysis and interpretation of results

94
Setting the objectives

Define the problem and decide on the issues or
areas you want to explore
Decide on how the information be used Is this
the only method to gather information or will it
be used with other methods
For eg. Are they to supplement quantitative
data used to define pretest questionnaires

95
Selecting the Target group

Determine who can provide the information you
require and what characteristics define the
individuals to be participated
Often incorporate different subsets with
potentially contrasting views or experiences
concerning the issues under investigation
Eg. Rural Vs Urban and Adolescents Vs Elderly

96
Number of sessions

Decide on the no. of sessions to be held
Number of sessions is based on
Resources (time and money)
Types of different groups targeted
Comparisons you wish to stress in the
analysis.

97
GUIDELINES FOR F. G. D .s
98
Group composition

The composition should be homogeneous.
Participants with different backgrounds and
experience restrict the openness of discussion
Representative of the population in which the
investigator is interested.
Ideally efforts may be made to select people who
do not know each other personally.
Exclude people previously participated in a FGD
on the same subject.

99
Number of people per Group

The number of participants should range between
six to ten.
Small group lt6 can be dominated by one person and
variation of thought and queries remain
restricted.
Large group gt12 does not provide chance to all
participants and often give way for small group
formation.

100
Venue

Any place people can easily go.
Acceptable and convenient to the participants
Any place where 6 to 10 people can be seated.
Should not be held in open place (Guard against
unwarranted intrusions)

101
Seating Arrangements

Best is to have participants in a circular
fashion.
Each participant should have the provision to see
all other participants.
Each one should feel physically and
psychologically comfortable.

102
How many groups

Run FGs until you dont hear anything new
Redundancy of information. Not over sample

Sampling and Recruitment

Either random or convenient sampling .
Usually recruited through informal networks.
Make sure representative ness of
study population

103
Focus Group Guide

A flexible unstructured interview guide is used
to conduct the discussion.
keep the questions open- ended Eg. How do you
feel about
Questions should seek to discover the prevailing
attitudes of the community not just those of the
group.
Start with general question and then get more
specific as the session progress. ( funnelling
effect)
The number of items in the guide should not
exceed 6 or 7.
The guide must be phrased in simple language
using local terminology.

104
Personal Qualities of Moderator

Adequate knowledge on background information
about the topic and experience in conducting FGD
Good listening skills
Leadership skills
Relationship with the participants
Patience and flexibility
Clothing

105
Role of Moderator

Orient the group in a proper manner.
Put forth issues / sub issues in appropriate
questions.
Create a non-judgmental environment in which
group members feel free to express.
Encourage interaction between participants.
Encourage quiet participants to speak up and
quieten garrulous talkers.

106
Role of Moderator (contd.)

Guide the direction of discussion so that it does
not wander too far from the designated focus.
Pace the discussion appropriate for the
participant
Subtly control the time allotted to each question
and to the entire discussion.

107
Role of the Recorder

Primarily an observer tape record the session.
Observe the nature of interaction record
non-verbal communication level of consensus
Should know what type of data she/he is expected
to collect.
If facilitator has omitted a question from the
guide the recorder can point them out.
Identify the speakers. Note down the first few
words every time a new person speaks and make
brief notes of the content

108
Sociogram

Diagrammatic representation of entire session of
FGD
Offers a useful method of conceptualising group
dynamics drawing comparisons between focus groups
reflecting on moderating technique

109
CONDUCTING FGD
110
Warming-up

Greet the participant as they arrive
Create a warm and friendly environment to build
the rapport and gain their confidence
Speak casual-talk general non-controversial
subjects of mutual interest
Self introduction Socio-demographic details can
be collected
Seek verbal consent and permission for using tape
recorder

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Beginning the FGD

Explain purpose of study and its utility.
Spell out the ground rules of FGD
Clarify that it is not a question answer session
but a discussion.
Ensure confidentiality of their views.
Emphasis that there is no right and wrong
answers.

112
Beginning the FGD

Encourage participants to talk freely and should
even express contradictory /opposite views
Tell them that they should speak clearly one at
a time avoid interrupting one another
Start with generic topic before coming to
specific area of enquiry

113
Discussion Issues Asking questions

Initiate discussion by suitably framing the
issues as statements
Guide the discussion by logically steering the
issues. Picking up responses and probing further
can be done
Avoid questions eliciting Yes/ No answer
Make sure not to leave any issue

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Encouraging controlling the discussion

Atmosphere Warm friendly and non-judgemental
Pauses and prompts
- Pausing allow to think more on the topic but
should not last more than five seconds
-Establishing eye contact nodding and other
gestures encourage people to talk
-Verbal prompts I see keep onmmm
uh-huh

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Encouraging discussion (contd)

The probe Encourage speaker to give more
information
-Prepare probes for each question
-Use probes where ever needed during
discussion eg. Could you explain further Would
you give an example
Rephrasing- A question can be rephrased using
different words not diluting the issue

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Encouraging the discussion

Clarification- To clarify an issuefacilitator
can request Can you repeat it or Please
elaborate
Reorientation-Facilitator use participants
response to restate the question for another
participant
Hypothetical Question- Suppose the baby develops
high fever what would you do

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Dealing with Specific individuals

Dominant participant.
Facilitator should avoid eye contact. Facilitator
can change the subject. If the said strategies
failed the facilitator can politely request that
the others be allowed to speak.
The Expert
Can offer lot of useful information but should
not be allowed to take over and prevent others
from speaking
Reluctant participant
Facilitator should have more eye contact.
Facilitator can ask the person to comment on
what another person has said or to summarize what
the group has discussed.

118
Dealing with problems during FGD

Answering one by one-Explain once more that
discussion among participants are crucial
Participant bring small child If dont disrupt
let him/her remain
Leave the group early- allow
Bored/ look sleepy- Cut jokes brief break
serve cold/hot drinks

119
Recording of Information

Note the details of discussion
The note should also include
-Information required for the session report
-Group dynamics
-The intermission and distractions occur
- What makes the participants laugh

120
Recording information

What seems to make them reluctant to answer.
Whether the facilitator lost control of the
meeting.
How the discussion is concluded
Should use quotation marks to indicate
participants words.

121
Closing the discussion

Inform participants that discussion is going to
end and if they have any query or want to
contribute they can do.
Thank them for their cooperation and valuable
comments.
Assure the participants that under no
circumstances the discussion would prove counter
productive to the interest of the group
During this debriefing period tape recorder
should remain on valuable comments are some
times made at this time.

122
Strengths of Focus Groups

Lot of information - quickly less costly
Excellent in obtaining information from
illiterate communities
Flexibility- discover attitudes and opinions that
might not be revealed otherwise
Well accepted by the community
If simple issues- managed by people not trained
in qualitative research methods
Most valuable when used in conjunction with other
quantitative information

123
Limitations of Focus groups

Not suitable for arriving at generalizable
conclusions
Quality of information depends heavily on
moderator skills
Limited value in exploring complex beliefs
Number of questions are limited
Sensitive and personal issues-Socially acceptable
responses unless put as general questions

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125
ANALYSISAND INTERPRETATION
126

Data source for analysis
Debriefings
Quick and easy way of summarizing data
immediately after the field work.
Notes
Notes and comments of both verbal and non
verbal information compiled by the moderator and
observer.
Transcripts
Transcribing is very demanding
Translation from Local Language if necessary

Contd.
127
Analysis of Transcripts

Two approaches
Systematic coding using content analysis
Ethnographic Summary
Transcript analysis soon after transcripts
available
- Not after completion of all FGDs.
Edit Transcript
- Removing sections poorly transcribed or do
not make sense

128
Analysis of FGD Contd

Free-listing
Read the transcript with objectives fresh in
mind. Look for major opinions and attitude.
Evolving Domains
Look for patterns and themes evolving from the
data
Coding
Marking the transcripts using codes
Summarizing
Sorting the coded transcripts and summarize.

129
Analysis of FGD

Log Book (Overview grid)
Useful summarizing tool.
Enable to find out how many times an issue was
discussed across all the Focus Groups as well as
how many times a response was given.
Try to Avoid quantification while summarizing
Semi quantification can be done with groups as
unit of analysis.
Comparison can be done across different
categories of stakeholders

130
EXAMPLE OF A LOG BOOK ON OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS
131
ETHNOGRAPHIC SUMMARY
The researcher undertakes repeated readings of
the transcript until they feel confident they
understand the underlying meaning being
presented. Quotations are used to illustrate the
key points and again are followed or preceded by
narrative explanation.
132

Writing the report
Using Log book codes from transcripts
observers notes as well as debriefing notes.
Present findings according to topics
Use quotations to illustrate strongly expressed
thoughts beliefs and emotions
Describe overall consensus of the group
Majority minority feelings as well as
differences by characteristics of respondents.
Common style is to say The majority of
participants said .. Or few of
them..

133

Interpretation
Interpretation involved explaining your findings
in terms of the problem or question you want to
answer.
The format of FGD report should consist of three
parts
1. Description of setting and participants.
2. Discussion of findings.
3. Conclusion and recommendations.

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136
OBSERVATION
137
Observation

Observation may be defined as a systematic
viewing of a specific phenomenon in its proper
setting for the specific purpose of gathering
data for a particular study
It is a technique that involves directly
observing behaviour with the purpose of
describing it .
To observe means to examine an object an
individual group of people or an event with all
of the senses in order to describe it. It
includes seeing hearing and perceiving.

138
Observation (contd)

It is a method to collect firsthand data on
programme processes or behaviours being
studied-what people actually do
Opportunity to collect data on a wide range of
behaviours to capture a great variety of
interactions to openly explore a topic
Holistic perspective understanding of the
context within which it operates

139
Scientific Observation

Serves a formulated research purpose
Planned deliberately
Recorded systematically
Subject to checks and controls on validity and
reliability
Validity is assessed by examining how well the
observations agree with alternative measures of
the same construct
Reliability entails consistency and freedom from
measurement error

140
OBSERVATION
Non-participant

Participant

Structured
Unstructured

events planed in advance
use of observational guide

No predetermined guide

141
Participant Observation

Observer is part of the phenomenon or group which
is observed
Roots in ethnographic research-immerse in the
culture to see how people respond to situations
how they organise their lives learning what is
meaningful in their lives
See things from people perspective and a deeper
understanding of them

142
Participant Observation

Often conduct casual informal interviews while
watching and recording to increase understanding
Level of participation depends upon the nature of
study desired outcome
Requires lengthy period of engagement in the
field
The observed may not be aware of the researcher
purpose

143
Participant Observation-Uses

Useful in understanding basic values behaviour
associated with particular actions
Discover the relationship between knowledge
attitude and practice
Observer will be able to record context which
gives meaning to the observed behaviour and heard
statements
Can be effectively combined with other methods

144
Participant Observation-Demerits

Narrows the range of observation
To the extent that observer participates
emotionally the objectivity is lost
Participation can interfere with observation and
recording.
Time consuming
Research skills essential

145
Non-participant Observation

Systematically observing and documenting
something in its natural setting
Silent observers
Researcher watches records information about
people or event without intruding into the scene
Look for many things and describe the situations
at many different levels
Ethical issues need to be addressed
No rule as to how many- spread observations over
time

146
Un- structured Observations

Unstructured observation involves broadly
focussed encounters without a pre-determined
guide
Data primarily used for descriptive accounts
More of exploratory in nature

147
Structured Observation

Observes events that have been planned in advance
Validate data obtained from other methods
Standardization of observational technique
Typified by clear and explicit decisions on what
how and when to observe (Persons/locations
duration of observations time to conduct
frequency)
Can be quantified but with little contextual
description

148
What is to be observed

Selection criteria - Depends on the purpose of
the study
Sampling purposive Sampling
Sources of information consider what is to be
observed who is the foci of attention where
will the observation take place and what is the
most appropriate recording system

149
Observer characteristics

Observer qualities Familiarity with cultural
background of people being observed
Knowledge of social research technique
Observers role unobtrusive interest in the
events being observed
Training to enable them take note of un-forseen
events share study objectives how to conduct
and how to deal with field problems

150
Observation Guide

Issues to be observed prepared in advance based
on the research objectives
Inputs from observers / observers familiar with
the issues in the study
Goal oriented and suitable to local condition
The items should appear in logical grouping and
in the order in which to observe them

151
Selection of Site

Prior site selection and permission from
authorities
No of observation sites availability
accessibility and study specific
Date and time- Remember that observations are
activity linked
No of observations per site - depend upon the
purpose of study

152
Conduct the observation

Inform and explain your presence
Gain confidence and cooperation of subjects
Remain detached yet involved with the group
Take note of the observation situations and also
of non-verbal communication
Avoid making extensive notes during observation

153
Documentation in Observation technique

Use all senses to describe the setting-physical
and social environment non-verbal communication
Field notes- include observation notes feelings
and reflections
Direct quotations
Technological tools-Tape recorder camera Laptop
etc.

154
Analysis and Report Writing

Categorization of data Qualitative part
Coding Quantitative aspects and categorized
data
Summarizing Report as percentages and / or in a
narrative style depending on data
Findings combined with other methods to make a
complete report

155
Advantages Disadvantages

Advantages
Recording in context possibility of cross check
Basic to other more systematic research
Emic perspective
Discover the relationship between K A and P
Opportunity for identifying unanticipated outcome

Disadvantages
Ideally long periods of intense field work
Local language fluency
Replicality a problem
Difficult to quantify
No use in studying past event or activity
Observer bias
Change in behaviour

156
Some problems and solutions

Observer bias
Questionable reliability
Observer may influence behaviour
Actins can only be observed-not thinking

Several researchers make observations
Systematically repeat observations
Repeat observations. Spent time to reduce
self-consciousness
Mix with other methods like interview

157
Thank You
158
Assessing the quality of qualitative research

Strategies to ensure rigour systematic research
design data collection interpretation and
communication techniques
Create an account of method and data which can
stand up to independent scrutiny
Produce coherent explanation of the phenomena
under scrutiny

159
Ensuring reliability

Maintain record of interviews and observations
Document entire processes
Develop coding framework
Presence of audio or video tapes provides
opportunities for analysis by independent
observers

160
Safeguarding Validity

Internal Validity
Quan Measuring what you intend to measure
Qual Findings need to reflect the truth
External validity
- Quan Generalizability through stat
inference
- Qual Transferability through understanding
of relationship between context and findings

161
Triangulation

Main research tool researchers themselves
Subjective nature of data can open it to
criticism
Method to enhance quality of data through
triangulation data researcher combining methods

162
Assessing Trustworthiness of Findings

Can be assessed by
Careful documentation of research process
Independent replication of research process
Comparison with findings with previous research
Triangulation

163
Assessing Trustworthiness Contd..

Consistency checks Independent coder given
research objectives categories and their
description without raw text
Then given a sample of raw text and asked to
assign section of text from which initial
categories where developed.

164
Assessing Trustworthiness Contd..