The qualitative data collection procedures defined by Creswell (2003, p.185-188)
include the following steps:
First step: Identify the purposefully selected sites or individuals for the proposed
study. To select participants or sites will best help the researcher to understand the
research problems. Miles and Huberman (1994 cited in Creswell 2003, p.185) talk
about the participants and site from four aspects:
2. The actors: Who will be observed or interviewed?
3. The events: What the actors will be observed or interviewed doing?
4. The process: The events undertake by the actors within the setting.
The researcher has to find the place, and who will be observed or interviewed,
which event will be explored and what is the events process, as the first step.
Secondly, the collection procedures in qualitative research involve four basic styles
(Creswell, 2003, p.186-187), as shown in table 4.1:
1. Observations: the researcher has to know the role as an observer during the
research. The main advantage of this style is that is possible to obtain firsthand
experience with the participants. The disadvantage is that the information about
secrets cannot be published or reported.
2. Interviews: there are three kinds of option; face-to-face, telephone, or group
interviews. The interviewee may provide the past data but it is not indirect data.
3. Documents from newspapers, journals, diaries, and e-mail: hand written work is
evidence. The documents collected can save money and time but some materials are
not good for validity and reliability in research.
4. Audiovisual materials: these include photographs, videotapes, art objects,
participants to directly share their realism, but the weak spot is that the presence of
observers may be disruptive and affect the responses.
The third step is to analyse the data and interpretation; the process of data analysis
includes preparing the data for analysis, then thinking of the different analyses
methods to progress to a deeper understanding of the data. It is necessary to
represent the data and do some description of the extensive meaning of it. The data
analysis in an ongoing process and affects all of the participant information. The
analysis results can be presented in tables, graphs and figures. Interpreting means
comparing the findings with the past literature and theory, raising questions, and
advancing an agenda. In the end, the final step has to make a proposal to mention
the strategies that were used to validate the accuracy of the findings (Creswell, 2003,
p.188).
Qualitative research is very strong in terms of validity and gives good suggestions
from the findings for the reader (Creswell and Miller, 2000). For this reason,
Creswell (2003) recommended that the research proposal should identify and
discuss one or more strategies to check the findings. The strategies include
triangulating the data to examine the evidence from the source, using rich and thick
their study and present negative or discrepant information for their research, and
Data collection types
Options within types
Advantage of the type Limitations of the type
Observations 1.Complete participant: research conceals role 2.Observer as participant: role of researcher is known 3.Participant as observer: observation role secondary to participant role 4. Complete observer: researcher observes without participating 1.Researcher has firsthand experience with participants 2.Research can record information as its is revealed
3.Unusual aspects can be noticed during observation
4.Useful in exploring topics that may be uncomfortable for participants to discuss
1.Researcher may be seen as intrusive
2.“Private”information may be observed that the researcher cannot report 3.Researcher may not have good attending and observing skills
4.Certain participants (e.g., children) may present special problems in gaining rapport
Interviews 1.Face-to-face: one
on one, in-person interview 2.Telephone: researcher interviews by phone 3.Groups: researcher interviews participants in a group 1.Useful when participants cannot be observed directly 2.Participants can provide historical information 3. Allows research “control” over the line of questioning
1.Provides “indirect” information filtered through the views of interviewees 2.Provides information in a designated “place” rather than the natural field setting 3.Researcher’s presence may bias responses
4.People are not equally articulate and perceptive
Documents 1.Public documents
such as minutes of meetings, and newspapers
2.Private documents such as journals, diaries, and letters 3.E-mail discussions
1.Enables a researcher to obtain the language and words of
participants
2.Can be accessed at a time convenient to the researcher – an unobtrusive source of information
3.Represents data that are thoughtful, in that participants have given attention to compiling 4.As written evidence, it saves the researcher the time and expense of transcribing
1.May be protected information unavailable to public or private access 2.Requires the researcher to search out the information in hard-to-find places
3. Requires transcribing or optically scanning for computer entry 4.Materials may be incomplete
5.The documents may not be authentic or accurate Audiovisual materials 1.Photographs 2.Videotapes 3.Art objects 4.Computer software 5.Film 1. May be an unobtrusive method of collecting data 2.Provides an opportunity for participants to directly share their “reality”
3.Creative in that it captures attention visually
1.May be difficult to interpret 2.May not be accessible publicly or privately
3.The presence of an observer (e.g., photographer) may be disruptive and affect response
Table 4.1: Qualitative Data Collection Types, Options, Advantages, and Limitations Source: Creswell (2003, p.187)
According to Carson et al. (2001), ultimately qualitative research is fitting where
the research focus is on the in-depth understanding of how, why and in what
phenomena happen; and what influences phenomena. In addition to this, it is very
important to explain the description and understand of the research actions.