Methodology & Research Design

Introductory university methodology courses are often unsuccessful at distinguishing between the terms methodology, research design, and methods.  Various authors of research textbooks define these three terms differently and often apply them inconsistently, which can confuse the novice researcher. As for designers of advanced methodology courses, they sometimes fall short when it comes to providing needed depth and breadth of information and instructional guidance specific to the who, what, when, where, why, and how of using different approaches to conduct research.

At CastleBridge Research Consulting, we use the term methodology to refer to the overall research approach, which can be quantitative, qualitative, or mixed/blended in nature. Research design is used to denote the type of inquiry used that provides specific procedural directions for a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed/blended study. Methods refers to specific techniques such as those used in sampling, data collection, and data analysis. Dr. Debra Fisher, having advised on hundreds of dissertations, provides expertise on designing research studies and is a qualitative methodologist/analyst who uses ATLAS.ti as a tool to organize and examine qualitative data. In consultation and collaboration with dissertation statistician Tom Granoff, Ph.D., Dr. Fisher provides design expertise and qualitative analysis for mixed/blended research approaches. Dr. Fisher is experienced at mentoring doctoral students and presenting seminars/webinars on a multitude of qualitative research designs, including, but not limited to, those described below. Her expertise is valuable for guiding you in selecting and combining various designs and/or components thereof to achieve your research goals.

Qualitative Research Designs

Basic Qualitative

In their text Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation, Merriam and Tisdell (2016) explained that "all qualitative research is interested in how meaning is constructed, how people make sense of their lives and their worlds. The primary goal of a basic qualitative study is to uncover and interpret these meanings" (p. 25).  Like other qualitative approaches, data are collected through interviews, observations, and/or document analysis. However, researchers utilizing a basic qualitative study do not declare a particular type/label of qualitative study (i.e., phenomenological, grounded theory, narrative analysis, or ethnographic study). The reason for not adopting these labels is to avoid adding dimensions that are not relevant to the aim of basic qualitative research. For example,  researchers utilizing a phenomenological approach aim to understand the added dimension of universal essence and underlying structure of a phenomenon of inquiry. In yet another example, grounded theorists, like other qualitative researchers, seek to understand a particular phenomenon but they add the dimension of theory building about the phenomenon.

Case Study

Case study research includes two basic types: holistic (single unit of analysis) and embedded (multiple units of analysis), of which either single or multi-case designs apply . Additionally, case study research is defined as being descriptive, explanatory, or exploratory. In this qualitative design, the researcher does an in-depth investigation of a particular phenomenon specific to an individual, group/organization, program, event, activity, or process. The phenomenon of inquiry is investigated in its real-world context. Key to this research design is the bounding of the selected case(s) by time, location, and activity. Researchers adhering to this design will use a variety of data collection methods over a sustained period of time. The researcher utilizes triangulation techniques when analyzing multiple datasets resulting from interviews, observations, and review of archival sources (Yin, 2009).

Content Analysis

The diving line between quantitative and qualitative content analysis is not so clear. Quantitative content analysis is defined as "the systematic, objective, quantitative analysis of message characteristics. It includes both human-coded analyses and computer-aided text analysis (CATA). Its applications can include the careful examination of face-to-face human interactions; the analysis of character portrayals in media venues ranging from novels to online videos; the computer-driven analysis of word usage in news media and political speeches, advertising, and blogs; the examination of interactive content such as video gaming and social media exchanges; and so much more" (Neuendorf, 2017, p. 1). The aim of researchers who utilize qualitative content analysis techniques is to search for themes emerging from a close reading of a text and identify thematic patterns. Oftentimes, thematic analysis methods (Boyatzis, 1998) are utilized when conducting a qualitative content analysis study. Qualitative studies have been designed and implemented that integrate both content analysis (quantitative and qualitative components) and critical discourse analysis.

Critical Discourse Analysis

Critical discourse analysis (CDA), also referred to as critical discourse studies (CDS), is an interdisciplinary approach to studying and analyzing written and spoken discourse to reveal sources of power, dominance, and social inequality (Wodak & Meyer, 2016). Discourses are generally defined as relatively stable uses of language to organize and structure social life.  As such, the focus of this approach is on understanding and explaining complex social phenomena by analyzing texts of written or verbal discourses. The CDA/CDS researcher examines texts, participant (or character) interactions, and social contexts as well as the relationships among the three. Three dimensions of analysis are used in CDA/CDS: describing, interpreting, and explaining. This complex qualitative approach is best suited for the researcher with a strong socio-linguistic background.

Ethnography

Originating in the field of anthropology, ethnography is the earliest form of qualitative research. Today, ethnography is a method of inquiry used in a variety of fields and disciplines, and numerous forms exist, including autoethnography (studying one's self and culture; Ellis, 2004) and critical ethnography (focusing on unfairness/injustice within a lived domain; Madison, 2005). Across all forms, the central focus is on human society and culture. As such, ethnographic researchers are participant observers who become immersed in the culture being studied and undertake intensive fieldwork. The ethnographic data set is comprised of interviews; the analysis of documents, records, and artifacts; and the researcher's field journal (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 2011) . The meaning of "participating" and "being in the field" has changed since the advent of the Internet (Patton, 2015). However, whether an ethnographic study is being conducted "in virtual space, a nonliterate community, a multinational corporation, or an inner-city school, what makes the approach distinct is the matter of interpreting and applying the findings from a cultural perspective" (Patton, 2015, p. 101). The core questions of traditional ethnography are "What is the culture of this group of people? How does culture explain their perspectives and behaviors." In autoethnography, the core question is "How does my own experience of my culture offer insights about my culture, situation, event, and way of life?" (Patton, 2015, p. 97). Like critical discourse analysis, ethnography is a complex qualitative approach that is best suited for the researcher with a strong socio-linguistic background.

Grounded Theory/Situational analysis

Grounded theory (GT) originated from the seminal work of Glaser and Strauss (1967) and involves inductive analysis to construct conceptual frameworks or theories. A rigorous qualitative approach, GT should not to be entered into lightly. It is, however, a good fit for the researcher who is adept at conceptualizing (Glaser, 2007). Another important consideration is the researcher’s ability to allocate the time required to engage iterative strategies of going back and forth between data collection and analysis while using comparative methods. These methods require sustained interaction and involvement with the data and emerging analysis. Varying approaches include the contemporary versions of constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014) and situational analysis (Clarke, 2005) that adopt the methods of coding (multiple types), memo-writing, and theoretical sampling. In the case of situational analysis, the goal is not necessarily to advance theory, although that may be an outcome. The focus is on identifying sensitizing concepts that, unlike definitive concepts, “merely suggest directions along which to look” (Blumer, 1954, p. 7). Data sources for GT studies are numerous, including, but not limited to, interviews, observations, videos, documents, drawings, diaries, group meetings, memoirs, newspapers, historical documents, and biographies (Corbin & Strauss, 2015).

Phenomenology/Phenomenography

Phenomenology is the study of lived experiences (van Manen, 1990). Researchers utilize this qualitative research design when they want to gain a deeper understanding of a particular phenomenon through the perceptions of those persons who experience it. Types of phenomenological research include the hermeneutical approach applied to pedagogy (van Manen, 1990); descriptive approaches (Giorgi, 2009; Moustakas, 1994), and the more recent interpretative approach (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). Although the various approaches share some of the same philosophical and psychological roots (transcendental, hermeneutic, and existential), they each have distinctive steps for conducting a phenomenological study. The sources of data are persons who have experienced the phenomenon of interest. Data collection techniques are those commonly associated with qualitative inquiry, namely interviews, observations, and documents/writings. When doing phenomenology, a researcher is "not studying individual participants or the objects of their experience" (Vagle, 2014, p. 129). Rather, the researcher is studying "participants' intentional relationship with the phenomenon under investigation" (p. 129).

A subset of phenomenology, phenomenography has a different focus. Unlike phenomenology that is used to uncover a particular phenomenon through people’s shared lived experiences, phenomenography is used to investigate variations in people’s conceptions related to a particular phenomenon (Cibangu & Hepworth, 2016).  Phenomenographic researchers aim to gain a fuller understanding of a phenomenon by examining the qualitatively different ways people conceive it. Whereas the focus in phenomenology is on studying people's relationship/interaction with the phenomenon itself, the focus of phenomenography is on studying people's different conceptions (ways of thinking) about the phenomenon.

Visual Research Methods

Situated firmly within the social sciences, visual research methods involves using "various kinds of images as ways of answering research questions, not by examining images--as do visual cultural studies--but by making them" (Rose, 2012, p. 10). Researchers using visual methods are not interested in working with images that already exist separate from the research project (i.e., Hollywood films, YouTube videos, or family photos).

Instead, they work with images that are made as part of a research project. Such images can be made by the researcher, or they can be made by the people they are researching; and they can take may forms, including film, video, photographs, maps, diagrams, paintings, models, drawings, memory books, diaries and collages. Importantly, these are not visual objects that simply illustrate some aspect of the research project: what Marcus Banks (2001:144) calls a "largely redundant visual representation of something already described in the text." Instead, in these methods, the images are used actively in the research process, alongside other sorts of evidence generated usually by interviews or ethnographic fieldwork. (Rose, 2012, pp 297-298)

Three types of visual research methods are photo-documentation, photo-essays, and photo-elicitation. An example of the use of photo-documentation can be found in interpretivist human geography wherein the goal is to "understand the ways in which places are socially and culturally constructed and, concomitantly, to understand the meanings different social and cultural groups create and attach to places" (Markwell, 2000, p. 91). In a case like this, the researcher "takes a carefully planned series of photographs to document and analyse a particular phenomenon" (Rose, 2012, p. 298). An example of the use of photo-essay is Fast's (2017) study of the relationship between place and health through the lives of young people living in the "social, spatial and economic margins of Vancouver, Canada" (para. 1). In the study, photo essays were created by 15 young people over a period of five years. The youths' photo essays were embedded with personal biographies and descriptions of experiences as a means of investigating how they  understood, experiences and navigated their 'place' in the city in the midst of poverty, addiction, violence, and physical and mental health crises" (Fast, 2017, para. 1).  Photo-elicitation methods are being used as a way of involving persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in qualitative research designed to include their perspectives and experiences relative to concepts such as happiness (Shell, 2014) and spirituality (Moalem, 2017). In these two examples, the researchers involved participants with mild to moderate AD (and related dementias) in taking photographs that symbolically represented the phenomenon of interest (i.e., happiness or spirituality). The photographs were then discussed during one-on-one, semi-structured interviews as a means of gaining access to the participants' understanding of the phenomenon. In addition to the use of photography, other kinds of participant-generated visual materials are being used in visual research studies: drawings (sketches, diagrams, relational maps, timelines), paintings, videos, and collages (Rose, 2012). 

Mixed Methods Research

In mixed-methods studies, the researcher combines/integrates both qualitative and quantitative research methods and data. The primary mixed methods models used in the social sciences are the convergent design, explanatory sequential design, and the exploratory design. In the convergent design, the qualitative and quantitative data are collected roughly at the same time and integrated into the interpretation of results. The researcher using an explanatory sequential design first collects and analyzes the quantitative data and then conducts the qualitative phase of the study to explain the quantitative results.  In the third basic design of exploratory sequential, the researcher begins with the qualitative phase to first explore the participants' perceptions. The qualitative data is analyzed and information is built into the quantitative phase of the study. Results from the qualitative design may inform the development or identification of appropriate instruments or specification of variables that ought to be integrated into the second quantitative phase of the study (Creswell, 2015).  Other advanced models for mixed methods research include the intervention design, the social justice design, and the multistage evaluation design (Creswell, 2015).

Resources

Blumer, H. (1954). What is wrong with social theory? American Sociological Review, 19(1), 3-10.
Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks, CA.
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA.
Cibangu, S. K., & Hepworth, M. (2016). The uses of phenomenology and phenomenography: A critical review. Library and Information Science Research, 38(2), 148-160.
          doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2016.05.001
Clarke, A. E. (2005). Situational analysis: Grounded theory after the postmodern turn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2015). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Creswell, J. W. (2015). A concise introduction to mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about autoethnography. Walnut Creek:CA: Altamira Press.
Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Writing enthographic fieldnotes (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Fast, D. (2017). Dream homes and dead ends in the city: A photo essay experiment. Sociology of Health & Illness. Advance online publication. doi:10.1111/1467-9566.12563
Giorgi, A. (2009). The descriptive phenomenological method in psychology: A modified Husserlian approach. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.
Glaser, B. G. (2007). Doing formal theory. In. A. Bryant, & K. Charmaz (Eds.), The Sage handbook of grounded theory (pp. 97-113). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New Brunswick, NJ: Aldine Transactions.
Madison, D. S. (2005). Critical ethnography: Method, ethics, and performance. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Markwell, K. W. (2000). Photo-documentation and analyses as research strategies in human geography. Geographical Research, 38(1), 91-98. doi:10.1111/1467-8470.00103
Merriam, S. B., Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Neuendorf, K. A. (2017). The content analysis guidebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitatitve research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Rose, G. (2012). Visual methodologies: An introduction to researching with visual materials (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Shell, L. (2014). Photo-elicitation with autodriving in research with individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: Advantages and challenges. International Journal of Qualitative
          Methods, 13(1), 170-184.
Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
van Manen, M. (2014). Phenomenology of practice: Meaning-giving methods in phenomenological research and writing. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
Vagle, M. D. (2014). Crafting phenomenological research. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (Eds.). (2016). Methods of critical discourse studies (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.