Qualitative Research Methods For Social Work

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Where is qualitative research not widely used, and why?

Back 1

Not widely used in Government or in the USA - they rely more on generaliseable research that quantitative methods provide.

Front 2

What is a loose definition of qualitative research?

Back 2

Qualitative research starts where the client is "at", and seeks to understand a full life (or the lives/dynamic of a small group). Interviewing people is the main medium of qualitative research, but a review of documents (client created) and observation are also used. Qualitative research is not a unified set of theories or practice. While quantitative approaches give a "snapshot" of a situation, qualitative approaches seek an understanding, and so investigate the finer details of experience and hunts for nuance in experience. In this way, qualitative research is looking for the outliers, and seeks to understand what is going on for them - why are they outliers? Additionally, qualitative research is inductive, it is seeking to generate theory, rather than test it.

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What is Grounded Theory?

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Grounded Theory is both a process, and the outcome of, inquiry. In essence, grounded theory is about developing a theory as the research takes place, and refining it with new data as it emerges. Grounded Theory was pioneered by Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss (1967), who were studying the social organisation of dying in hospitals. "They contended that the grand theory of mid-century scholars failed to explain empirical phenomena and the narrow empirical studies of quantitative researchers failed to generate theory. Moreover, Glaser and Strauss proposed that scholars could develop theory from qualitative research" (Qualitative Research Encyclopaedia, 2008).

"In all versions, grounded theory begins with very early close coding of collected data. The initial coding aims to ask what is happening in these data and invokes short analytic labels in the form of gerunds to identify specific processes and treat them theoretically. From the beginning, then, grounded theory coding differs from most types of qualitative coding, which rely on pre- established static topics and general characteristics" (QRE, 2008). Memos are used to develop and refine the codes as more data is collected.

Grounded Theory uses theoretical sampling to determine data collection; researchers actively pursue data that will inform and develop the codes that have emerged. Theoretical Saturation is another method that Grounded Theorists strive for, and involves "seeking data to identify and fill the properties of a theoretical category" (QRE, 2008). This process is known as Open Coding

However, another version of Grounded Theory was developed by Strauss & Corbin (1990). In this approach, the relationships between categories are investigated, as each category (for coding) is treated as an axis and the dimensions of its properties are identified so as to discover in what way the various categories relate to one another (known as axial coding). However, Glaser was not impressed by this method being described as Grounded Theory - no! - and insisted that it disassociate itself on the grounds that it requires preconceived procedures and verification.

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Is qualitative research generaliseable?

Back 4

No.