Lecture 1
Introduction and approach
What is qualitative research?
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” –
Einstein
What is research and why should you care?
“Getting information of the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.” - Mitchell Kapor
Academic research is…
…systematic, empirical, critical, and iterative
! Note the feedback loop: goes back to all the different aspects in this model. If you did your lit
review, doesn’t mean that you finished it. During data analysis you could go back to lit review to
check whether you are using the right literature.
Qualitative research
à “Basically, qualitative researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people have
constructed, that is, how people make sense of their world and the experiences they have in the
world” – Merriam, 2014:13
à “Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world” – Denzin and
Lincoln 2005: 3
§ Key: qualitative research is an interpretive technique, you should interpret.
Interpretivist vs positivist ways of knowing
Qualitative researchers à interpretivist approach
Quantitative researchers à positivist approach
Interpretivist approach to the world Positivist approach to the world
Data is constructed with participants Data is collected from the ‘real’ world
Data is expressed in language Data is expressed in numbers
“Subjective” “Objective”
Linked to context Generalizable
Seeking evidence of meaning Seeking evidence of frequency
Example comparing quantitative with qualitative research
à Searching for love in the time of coronavirus
Quantitative study: how many times would person A use his laptop to communicate with his new
girlfriend (count the times).
Qualitative study: they would use their perspective to understand how person A would use that
laptop. How would he talk to his new girlfriend? How would he experience this new way of finding
love?
Qualitative researcher look for ‘meaning’
à Methods for gathering interpretations…e.g.
§ Interviews
, § Ethnography
§ Case studies
§ Document analysis
- Focus is on “emic” perspective
- The researcher’s intuition can be an asset
Quantitative researchers look for ‘truth’
à Methods for collecting frequency…e.g.
§ Surveys
§ Polls
§ Questionnaires
§ Content analysis
- Concerned with eliminating bias
- The researcher’s influence should be minimized
Qualitative: Make theory instead of test it
What do we do as qualitative researchers? RECAP
Library Example
WRONG
Introduction and approach
What is qualitative research?
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” –
Einstein
What is research and why should you care?
“Getting information of the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.” - Mitchell Kapor
Academic research is…
…systematic, empirical, critical, and iterative
! Note the feedback loop: goes back to all the different aspects in this model. If you did your lit
review, doesn’t mean that you finished it. During data analysis you could go back to lit review to
check whether you are using the right literature.
Qualitative research
à “Basically, qualitative researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people have
constructed, that is, how people make sense of their world and the experiences they have in the
world” – Merriam, 2014:13
à “Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world” – Denzin and
Lincoln 2005: 3
§ Key: qualitative research is an interpretive technique, you should interpret.
Interpretivist vs positivist ways of knowing
Qualitative researchers à interpretivist approach
Quantitative researchers à positivist approach
Interpretivist approach to the world Positivist approach to the world
Data is constructed with participants Data is collected from the ‘real’ world
Data is expressed in language Data is expressed in numbers
“Subjective” “Objective”
Linked to context Generalizable
Seeking evidence of meaning Seeking evidence of frequency
Example comparing quantitative with qualitative research
à Searching for love in the time of coronavirus
Quantitative study: how many times would person A use his laptop to communicate with his new
girlfriend (count the times).
Qualitative study: they would use their perspective to understand how person A would use that
laptop. How would he talk to his new girlfriend? How would he experience this new way of finding
love?
Qualitative researcher look for ‘meaning’
à Methods for gathering interpretations…e.g.
§ Interviews
, § Ethnography
§ Case studies
§ Document analysis
- Focus is on “emic” perspective
- The researcher’s intuition can be an asset
Quantitative researchers look for ‘truth’
à Methods for collecting frequency…e.g.
§ Surveys
§ Polls
§ Questionnaires
§ Content analysis
- Concerned with eliminating bias
- The researcher’s influence should be minimized
Qualitative: Make theory instead of test it
What do we do as qualitative researchers? RECAP
Library Example
WRONG
