discusses the steps and procedures that you will use in conducting research.

This includes the type of research technique you will adopt in the study how you will get the data for the study, whom and where you will get the data from and how you will analyze the data gathered.

research methodology

This section describes the specific research approach you will use in this study.

This can be ethnography, case study, grounded theory, phenomenology or narrative.

is dependent on the purpose of the study and the set of specific research questions you have formulated.

research design

This section describes the setting or location of your study.

The specific description of the setting is very important in a qualitative research since the setting or context may have an effect or impact on the behavior of the respondents.

This describes the respondents of the study and how the respondents shall be qualified.

The description may include the demographic profile of the respondents such as age, education background, occupation or other factors that may be relevant in the understanding the (behavior of the) respondents.

research ethics

This section outlines the instruments you will use in the study such as interview questions, interview protocols, observation guide, survey form, focus group discussion question and others.

This section describes the strategy and specific steps you will undergo in order to collect the data for your study.

In some types of research, particularly ethnographic and case studies, the specific date of doing the steps is important.

The instruments used to record (pen and paper, audio or video recorder, etc.) may also be mentioned.

Your qualitative data collection procedure may be any of the following as deemed applicable.

Some research questions can be best answered by seeing for yourself what is happening or how things look (e.g., students’ behavior in a particular subject).

observation has 4 types

the researcher participates as much as possible in the daily life of the subjects while also carefully observing everything he can about it which gives the researcher an opportunity to learn things directly from his own experience.

the researcher does not participate in the activity but rather, he “sits on the sidelines” and watches the subjects.

involves observing the subject in their natural environments.

allows the researcher to observe what is happening in certain kinds of situation, including those that occur infrequently by creating the desired situation.

are simple, detailed notes of the researcher while conducting observation in the field. This is the written account of what the researcher has seen, experienced, felt or thought during the actual observation.

This can be reflective or descriptive.

refer to quick notes on to something the researcher would like to recall later.

This provides some stimulus for the researcher to recall on details for the interview or observation.

refers to the personal statement of the researcher’s thoughts, feelings, or opinions on others whom he has close encounter with during the course of study

risk in using observation technique

refers to the possibility that certain characteristics or ideas of the researcher may “affect what they observe” – because we are all influenced to some degree by our experiences in the past, which in turn affect how we see the world and the people around us.

means that the act of observing will influence the phenomenon being observed because people may not behave or act naturally when they are aware of being observed.

This technique is a conversation between two or more people where the interviewer asks questions to gather specific information form the interviewee.

4 different types of interviews for qualitative research

the researcher prepares a specific set of questions (often shorter in nature) and reads the questions exactly to individuals to establish an understanding of their ideas on a topic.

the researcher sets the outline for the topics covered and prepares mostlymopen-ended questions such that the responses of the interviewee determine the direction of the interviewee determine the direction of the interview.

are less formal than structured or semi-structured interviews.

They resemble casual observations as they do not involve any specific type of sequence of questions or any particular form of questioning.

can be structured, unstructured or informal.

Here, the researchermtries to get the respondent to recall and then reconstruct from memory something that has happened in the past.

is a free-flowing discussion with a small group of six to ten people in order to generate ideas and opinions on certain issues moderated by a skilled facilitator.

Note that an _____ is not a debate or a session that resolves conflict or a problem; instead, it is an opportunity to gain insights from participants on certain topics.

In selecting the participants for the focus group, the following are some of the criteria to be considered:

There are thee (3) types of FGD questions:

introduce the participants to the topic and set the tone for the discussion.

get the insights of the participants on the topic.

These questions also probe some of the issues given by the participants that usually begin asking why and how.

are given to make sure everything is covered up and nothing is missed in the discussion

This section describes how you will analyze the data that you will gather.

interpreting qualitative data

This is actually the utmost concern of a qualitative research – to look for patterns, themes or constructs.

You can generate concepts or constructs by comparing and contrasting the data collected and sorting out until you can be able to find patterns and dividing them into themes.

To loom for patterns, code common responses in the observation you have made.

These are specific and prominent events or phenomena that occurred in a certain group.

If your study is aiming to describe and analyze a culture group, key events that occur in a group you are studying can provide necessary information.

This can also provide an understanding of the group and can help you to relate the culture of the group to others.

This is a very useful tool in presenting and understanding the results in a qualitative research.

This better presents any system, patterns, interaction or relationship that could generate from the data.

can be done in the form of maps, graphic organizers, matrices and flowcharts.

The use of numbers in qualitative research is not the primary data that you can get.