Week 6&7: Qualitative Research

Orientation

Qualitative research is a basket term for a wide variety of approaches to research that all focus on the nature of phenomena, and why something is happening (or not). Quite often we could be documenting different experiences that people might have to the same thing, rather than asserting that one version is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. There are almost limitless accounts of the applications and analysis of qualitative research, but you might explore the overview in the following paper as a starter.

https://neurolrespract.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42466-020-00059-z

Not all qualitative research is conducted online, of course, but the online environment has a particular set of strengths that make these forms of research activity quite attractive. The ability to interview people at a distance, or to conduct a geographical distributed online survey, as well as the ability to quickly and easily analyse digital data, are some obvious examples. Often, a variety of different qualitative approaches to data gathering can be adopted to ensure that the research is able to triangulate and sense-check the resulting analysis. For example, an online question-and-answer survey may lead to the selection of a smaller subset of participants who are invited to individual video conference interviews, and then the results of these data-gathering activities could be set in a wider context by sharing the results with an online focus group of experienced subject experts. You will need to take time to read about the strengths and weaknesses of different data-gathering methods before you select the method(s) that you think you will need to begin to answer your research question. Remember, the appropriate pedagogy should come first, then select the relevant technology.

On Successful Completion of this Session, Students will be Able to:

  • Identify the main steps in online qualitative research
  • Distinguish the relationship between theory and research in online qualitative studies
  • Explore the role of concepts in online qualitative research
  • Acknowledge criteria for evaluating online qualitative research
  • Investigate different technology tools used to collect and analyze qualitative research online
  • Consider the essential issues and concepts when doing online qualitative research

Reading Resources

There will be a lot of reading resources for this topic, so try to plan your schedule in two weeks to finish all the required readings. You should take notes and summarize key points and concepts, as well as the important considerations pertaining to doing qualitative research online.

Supplementary Resources

    • Howlett, M. (2021). Looking at the ‘field’through a Zoom lens: Methodological reflections on conducting online research during a global pandemic. Qualitative Research, 1468794120985691.
    • Howlett, M. (2021). Looking at the ‘field’through a Zoom lens: Methodological reflections on conducting online research during a global pandemic. Qualitative Research, 1468794120985691.
    • Topping, M., Douglas, J., & Winkler, D. (2021). General Considerations for Conducting Online Qualitative Research and Practice Implications for Interviewing People with Acquired Brain Injury. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20, 16094069211019615.
    • Smith, K. V., Thew, G. R., & Graham, B. (2018). Conducting ethical internet-based research with vulnerable populations: A qualitative study of bereaved participants’ experiences of online questionnaires. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 9(sup1), 1506231.
    • Allen, C. (2017). ” Tackling the Difficult:” A Review of Janet Salmons’ Doing Qualitative Research Online. The Qualitative Report, 22(1), 289.
    • Ruddock, U. (2015). E-Interviews. A review of Janet Salmons’ Qualitative Online Interviews. The Qualitative Report, 20(3), 356-359.

Here are other videos, seminars, and a podcast that wrap-up your understanding and knowledge of conducting qualitative research online. 

Webinar: Connecting for Collecting Data: Qualitative Research Online with Human Participants

Webinar: Getting Started: Online Qualitative Research Design Basics

License

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Global EdD (taught doctorate) in Remote Pedagogy and Stewardship (Library submission version) Copyright © by Kara Ghobhainn Smith; David D. Plain; Frank Rennie, Gareth Davies, UHI, Thu Le; Clinton Beckford, Loretta Sbrocca; and ShiJing Xu, Chenkai Chi, Yuhan Deng, University of Windsor, Canada is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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