Exploring the advantages and disadvantages of Qualitative Data Collection Methods

Exploring the advantages and disadvantages of Qualitative Data Collection Methods

Munshi Samaduzzaman, Nazia Farhana, Musrat Mou

Abstract

Qualitative Research methods have been an integral part of many academic disciplines to gather a thorough insight into several issues of interest. The aim of this paper is to present the pros and cons of the most prominent Qualitative research methods available, that are Grounded Theory, Qualitative Interviewing, Participant Observation and finally Case Study Method. Here the theory emergence power of Grounded Theory has been balanced with its time consuming feature. The capability of Qualitative Interviewing to unearth the understanding of the respondent has been discussed along with the effect of the biasness of the Interviewer. The same follows for Participant Observation, which gives us a contextual connotation of events. A little exploration of the triangulation principle of the Case Study Method and its effectiveness ends this paper.

References

Anderson, G. L., Herr, K. G., & Nihlen, A. S. (2007). Studying your own school: An educator’s guide to practitioner action research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

Bernard, H. R. (2006). Research methods in anthropology. Lanham, MD: Altamira Press

Calhoun, E.F. (1994). How to use action research in the self-renewing school. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Charmaz K (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis London Sage Publications

Chenail, R. J. (2009). Interviewing the investigator: Strategies for addressing instrumentation and researcher bias concerns in qualitative research. The Weekly Qualitative Report, 2(3), 14-21. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/WQR/interviewing.pdf

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry &research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Crooks DL (2001) The importance of symbolic interaction in grounded theory research on women’s health Health Care for Women International 22,11-27

DeWalt, K., & DeWalt, B. (2011). Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: AltaMira

Dey I (1999) Grounding Grounded Theory Guidelines for Qualitative Inquiry, San Diego: Academic Press.

Gillham, Bill. (2001). Case Study Research Methods. London, New York: Continuum.

Groat, Linda, & Wang, David. (2002). Architectural research Methods. New York: John Wiley & sons.

Glaser, BG. and Strauss, AL. (1967) The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research New York: Aldine de Gruyter

Glaser, BG. (1992) Basics of grounded theory analysis Emergence vs. forcing California: Sociology Press

Johnson, B.M. (1995, Fall). Why conduct action research? Teaching and Change, 1, 90-105.

Kvale, S. (2007).Doing interviews. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Mack, N., Woodsong, C., MacQueen, K., Guest, G., & Namey, E. (2005). Qualitative research methods: A data collector’s field guide. Research Triangle Park, NC: Family Health International.

Magnanti, B. (2005). The intimate adventures of a London call girl. London, UK: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. (Re-edited and published in the United States as Belle De Jour: Diary of an unlikely call girl, 2006, New York, NY: Grand Central)

McNamara, C. (2009). General guidelines for conducting interviews. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/evaluatn/intrview.htm

McTaggart, R. (Ed.). (1997). Participatory action research: International contexts and consequences. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Noffke, S.E., & Stevenson, R.B. (Eds.). (1995). Educational action research: Becoming practically critical. New York: Teachers College Press

O’Hanlon, C. (Ed.). (1996). Professional development through action research in educational settings. Washington, DC: Falmer Press.

Patton, Michael Quinn. (1990). Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage.

Strauss, A. And Corbin, J. (1998) Basics of qualitative research techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory Second edition Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications

Turner, D. W., III (2010). Qualitative interview design: A practical guide for novice investigators. The Qualitative Report, 15(3), 754-760. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR15-3/qid.pdf

Yin, Robert. (1994). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage.

Full Text: PDF

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

ISSN : 2251-1571