Bryman & Bell,
Business Research methods,
Chapter 16-17, 22
Henrietta Huzell
PhD Working Life Science
Features of qualitative research
from the authors’ point of view
An inductive view of the relationship between theory and
research
– theory is generated out of research
An epistemological position described as interpretivist,
– understanding of the social world through an examination of the
interpretation of that world by its participants
An ontological position described as constructionist
– social properties are outcomes of the interactions between
individuals, rather than phenomena `out there'
Main research methods associated with
qualitative research
Ethnography/participant observation
Qualitative interviewing
Focus groups
Language-based approaches: conversation
analysis; discourse analysis
Text and document analysis
Main steps in qualitative research
1. General research questions
2. Selecting relevant site(s) and subjects
3. Collection of relevant data
5b. Collection of further data
4. Interpretation of data
5. Conceptual and theoretical work
5a. Specification of the
research question(s)
6. Writing up findings/conclusions
How does a concept emerge in qualitative
research: the example of Emotional Labour
In Hochschild’s investigations she:
watched sessions for training attendants and had many
conversations with both trainees and experienced
attendants during the sessions
interviewed various personnel, such as managers in
various sections, and advertising agents
examined advertisements spanning thirty years
observed the flight attendant recruitment process at Pan
American Airways, since she had not been allowed to do
this at Delta Airlines
conducted `open-ended interviews lasting three to five
hours each with thirty flight attendants in the San Francisco
Bay Area'
Hochschild 1983: see Research in focus 16.2
Reliability and validity in qualitative
research
External reliability - the degree to which a study
can be replicated
Internal reliability - whether, when there is more
than one observer, members of the research team
agree about interpretations
Internal validity - whether there is a good match
between researchers' observations and the
theoretical ideas they develop
External validity - the degree to which findings
can be generalized
The main concerns of qualitative
researchers
Seeing through the eyes of the people
being studied (see Research in focus 16.5)
Description and the emphasis on context
Emphasis on process (see Research in focus 16.6)
Flexibility and limited structure (see Research in
focus 16.8)
Concepts and theory grounded in data (see
Research in focus 16.9)
The critique of qualitative research
Qualitative research is too
subjective
Difficult to replicate
Problems of generalization
Lack of transparency
Common contrasts (and misunderstandings)
between quantitative and qualitative
research
Quantitative Qualitative
Numbers Words
Point of view of researcher Points of view of participants
Researcher distant Researcher close
Theory testing Theory emergent
Static Process
Structured Unstructured
Generalization Conceptual understanding
Hard, reliable data Rich, deep data
Macro Micro
Behaviour Meaning
Artificial settings Natural settings
Ethnography and participant
observation
‘…writers on research methods have
increasingly preferred to write about
ethnography rather than participant
observation.’
Classic Participant Observation Studies
Roy (1958) spent two months working as a machine operator in the
‘clicking room’ of a factory in Chicago. The same factory was later
used by Burawoy (1979) who also worked as a machine operator for
10 months in the same plant.
Lupton (1963) became a participant-observer in Manchester
factories to explore processes of work group influence on production
levels. Lupton compared an engineering plant in which ‘fiddles’ were
prevalent with a clothing factory where they were absent.
Beynon (1975) for five years studied the Ford Motor Company’s
Halewood assembly plant in Liverpool to describe the experience of
people who worked on the assembly lines and the way they made
sense of industrial politics; the process whereby people became
shop stewards; the way they understood the job and the kinds of
pressures they experienced.
Modern ethnographies
Kunda’s (1992) study of a high-technology
company in Silicon Valley, USA. Engineering-
culture
Watson’s (1994) account of managerial identity
in a UK-based telecommunications firm.
Casey’s (1995) exploration of workers in an
American-based multi-national corporation.
Delbridge’s (1998) study of the impact of new
manufacturing techniques on worker
experiences
The covert role in ethnography
Advantages:
Reduces the problem of access
Reduces the problem of reactivity
Disadvantages:
The problem of taking notes
The problem of not being able to use other
methods
Anxiety
Ethical problems
Ongoing difficulties
People will have suspicions about you, an instrument of
top management?
Will you tell the bosses or to colleagues?
They may go along with your research but in fact
sabotage it, engaging in deceptions, misinformation
Pass tests—be non-judgemental when things are said to
you; make sure information given to you does not reach
bosses or peers
Be prepared for changes in circumstances that may
affect your access, such as changes of senior
management
Classifications of
Participant Observer Roles
Gold: Gans:
Total participant
Complete participant
Researcher-
Participant-as-
participant
observer
Total researcher
Observer-as-
participant
Complete observer
What is `Going Native'?
`Going native' refers to a dilemma that
sometimes cause problems to
ethnographers when they lose their sense
of being a researcher
Example: Beynon Working for Ford (1975)
see Key concept 17.8
Field Notes: general principles
Field notes are also data!
Write down notes, however brief, as quickly as possible after seeing
or hearing something interesting.
Write up full field notes at the very latest at the end of the day and
include such details as location, who is involved, what prompted the
exchange or whatever, date and time of the day, etc.
Nowadays, people may prefer to use a tape recorder to record initial
notes, but this may create a problem of needing to transcribe a lot
of speech.
Notes must be vivid and clear - you should not have to ask at a
later date `what did I mean by that?‘
You need to take plentiful notes, so, if in doubt, write it down.
What is Grounded Theory?
In its most recent incarnation, grounded theory has been
defined as:
‘theory that was derived from data, systematically gathered and
analyzed through the research process. In this method, data collection,
analysis, and eventual theory stand in close relationship to one
another’ (Strauss and Corbin 1998: 12)
Central features
1) development of theory out of data
2) the approach is iterative, or recursive
► data collection and analysis proceed in tandem, repeatedly referring
back to each other
Tools of Grounded Theory
Theoretical sampling - see Key concept 17.9
Coding - see Key concept 22.4
Theoretical saturation - see Key concept
17.10
Constant comparison
What is theoretical sampling?
According to Glaser and Strauss (1967: 45), theoretical
sampling
`is the process of data collection for generating theory
whereby the analyst jointly collects, codes, and analyzes
his data and decides what data to collect next and
where to find them, in order to develop his theory as it
emerges. The process of data collection is controlled
by the emerging theory.'
For Charmaz (2000: 519), theoretical sampling is a
`defining property of grounded theory' and is concerned
with the refinement of ideas, rather than boosting
sample size.
see Key concept 17.9
An example of coding
The thirteen labels used by Delbridge (1998) to represent
issues from his comparative study of manufacturing were:
QLTY denoting systems of quality management
SYS the manufacturing system at the plants
RELS data regarding formal and informal relationships between
actors
UNTY denoting issues of uncertainty and informality in
the workplace
CONT issues of control and surveillance
WORK workers, their roles, and experiences
COMM communication issues and practices
MGT managers, their roles and perspectives
ACCOMM issues of accommodation, indulgence, and resistance
UNION the role of unions in the workplace
RES issues pertaining to the research process
COFACT factual data on the companies involved
JAP data relating specifically to Japan and the Japanese
What is theoretical saturation?
The key idea is that you carry on sampling
theoretically until a category has been
saturated with data.
`This means, until (a) no new or relevant data
seem to be emerging regarding a category,
(b) the category is well developed in terms of
its properties and dimensions demonstrating
variation, and (c) the relationships among
categories are well established and validated'
(Strauss and Corbin 1998: 212).
see Key concept 17.10
Outcomes of Grounded Theory
Concept(s)
– refers to labels given to discrete phenomena; concepts are referred to as
the ‘building blocks of theory’ (Strauss and Corbin 1998: 101)
Category, Categories
– a concept that has been elaborated so that it is regarded as representing
real-world phenomena
Properties
– attributes or aspects of a category
Hypotheses
– initial hunches about relationships between concepts
Theory
– according to Strauss and Corbin (1998: 22), ‘a set of well-developed
categories . . . that are systematically related through statements of
relationship to form a theoretical framework that explains some relevant
social . . . or other phenomenon’
Knowing when to stop
There is a tendency for ethnographic research to lack a
sense of an obvious end point
In organizational research it is likely that a deadline for
data collection will be negotiated at the outset
The ethnographer may feel that they have simply had
enough
The researcher's categories are thoroughly saturated
Disengagement has to be managed
‘Getting out’, should be handled in such a way as to
leave the door open to the possibility of future research
or fieldwork
The ethnographer's ethical commitments must not be
forgotten
