RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IN POLITICAL SCIENCE 46-73 (3) (1).pdf

‘I I * Research Methodology oficieal Sefence T | and understanding of consumers and marketing pl'wenomer?a'. it has its limitations and critics, The following quote from the eminent qualnt'atwe practitioner Peter Cooper cautigng us of what we really mean by the term ‘qualitative’s There is much qual...

‘I I * Research Methodology oficieal Sefence T | and understanding of consumers and marketing pl'wenomer?a'. it has its limitations and critics, The following quote from the eminent qualnt'atwe practitioner Peter Cooper cautigng us of what we really mean by the term ‘qualitative’s There is much qualitative research that still hangs on the positivist model or i little more than investigative journalism. Competition also comes from the medi, with increasing phone-ins and debates described as ‘research’. We need to be carefy] about the abuse of what goes under the title ‘qualitative’. The dominance of positivist philosophy in marketing research has been and is being challenged by other philosophical perspectives, taken and adapted from disciplines such as anthropology and sociology. These perspectives have helped marketing researchers to develop richer explanations and predictions and especially an understanding and a meaning as seen through the eyes of consumers. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS WITH EXAMPLES Qualitative research methods are designed in a manner that they help reveal the behavior and perception of a target audience with reference to a particular topic. There are different types of qualitative research methods like an in-depth interview, focus groups, ethnographic research, content analysis, case study research that are usually used. The results of qualitative methods are more descriptive and the inferences can be drawn quite easily from the data that is obtained. Qualitative research methods originated in the social and behavioral sciences. Today our world is more complicated and it is difficult to understand what people think and perceive. Qualitative research methods make it easier to underst and that as it is more communicative and descriptive. The following are the qualitative research methods that are frequently used: L. One-on-One Interview: Conducting in-depth interviews is one of the most common qualitative research methods. It is a personal interview that is carried out with one respond ent at a time. This is purely a conversational method and invites opportunities to get details in depth from the respondent. One of the advantages of this method provides a great opportunity to gather precise data about what people believe and what their motiva tions are. If the researcher is well experienced asking the right questions can help him/her collect meaningful data. If they sh_auld need more information the researchers should ask such follow up questions that will help them collect more information. PR o These interviews can be performed face-to-face or on phone and usually can last between half an hour to two hours or even more. When the in-depth interview is conducted face to face it gives a better opportunity to read the body language of the respondents and match the responses, 2. Focus groups: A focus group is also one of the commonly used qualitative research methods, used in data collection. A focus group usually includes a limited number of respondents (6-10) from within your target market. The main aim of the focus group is to find answers to the why what and how questions. One advantage of focus groups is, you don’t necessarily need to interact with the group in person. Nowadays focus groups can be sent an online survey on various devices and responses can be collected at the click of a button. Focus groups are an expensive method as compared to the other qualitative research methods. Typically they are used to explain complex processes. This method is very useful when it comes to market research on new products and testing new concepts. 3. Ethnographic research: Ethnographic research is the most in-depth observational method that studies people in their naturally occurring environment. This method requires the researchers to adapt to the target audiences’ environments which could be anywhere from an organization to a city or any remote location. Here geographical constraints can be an issue while collecting data. This research design aims to understand the cultures, challenges, motivations, and settings that occur. Instead of relying on interviews and discussions, you experience the natural settings first hand. This type of research method can last from a few days to a few years, as it involves in- depth observation and collecting data on those grounds. It's a challenging and a timeconsuming method and solely depends on the expertise of the researcher to be able to analyze, observe and infer the data. 4. Case study research: The case study method has evolved over the past few years and developed as into a valuable qualitative research method. As the name suggests it is used for explaining an organization or an entity. This type of research method is used within a number of areas like education, social sciences and similar. This method may look difficult to operate, however, it is one of the simplest ways of conducting research as it involves a deep dive and thorough understanding of the data collection methods and inferring the data. 5. Reccord keeping: This method makes use of the already existing reliable documents and similar sources of information as the data source. This data can be used in a ethodology in Political Science = going to a library. There one can go over hog is similar to new research. This a that can likely be used in the nt material to collect releva dat e nc re fe re er oth and research. 6. Observation is a process of research that uses Process of obse rvation: Qualitative to gather systematic information or data. Since, the focus tive methodologies subjec methodologies on is the research process of using subjective on qualitative observati n tative observatio is primarily used to data. The qualil to gather information or es. equate quality differenc ctioning 5 major sensory organs and their fun Qualitative observation deals with the bers but num or nts eme sur ring. This doesn’t involve mea sight, smell, touch, taste, and hea instead characteristics. LECTION AND ANALYSIS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: DATA COL Qualitative Data Collection that is non-numeric and helps us to Qualitative data collection allows collecting data detailed insight. For reaching such explore how decisions are made and provide us with ic, rich and nuanced and findings to conclusions the data that is collected should be holist emerge through careful analysis. qualitative data, one aspect 1. Whatever method a researcher chooses for collecting In addition to the is very clear the process will generate a large amount of data. collecting and variety of methods available, there are also different methods of recording the data. or one-to-one For example, if the qualitative data is collected through focus group are recording discussion, there will be handwritten notes or video recorded tapes. If there they should be transcribed and before the process of data analysis can begin. 2. 3. As a rough guide, it can take a seasoned researcher 8-10 hours to transcribe the recordings of an interview, which can generate roughly 20-30 pages of dialoguesMany researchers also like to maintain separate folders to maintain the recording collected from the different focus group. This helps them compartmentalize the data collected. In c;:sle d\efe are running notes taken, which are also known as field notes they cues ele. environmental contexts, nonverbal comments, maintaining in ed notes are helpful and can be compared while transcribing audio reco’ ;‘;e seef“:lfitil e : hla ‘Such notes are usually informa l but should be secured in a similar manner the video recordings or the audio tapes. Qualitative Data Analysis Qualitative data analysis such as notes, videos, audio recordings images documents. One of the most used methods for qualitative data analysi s is text analysis. Text- analysis is a data analysis method that is distinctly different from all other qualitative research methods, where researchers analyze the social life of the participants in the research study and decode the words, actions etc. There are images also that are used in this research study and the researchers analyze the context in which the images are used and draw inferences from them. In the last decade, text analysis through what is shared on social media platform has gained supreme popularity. Characteristics of Qualitative Research Methods + Qualitative research methods usually collect data at the sight, where the participants are experiencing issues or problems. These are real-time data and rarely bring the participants out of the geographic locations to collect information. + Qualitative researchers typically gather multiple forms of data, such as interviews, observations, and documents, rather than rely on a single data source. «+ This type of research method works towards solving complex issues by breaking down into meaningful inferences, that is easily readable and understood by all. « Since its a more communicative method, people can build their trust on the researcher and the information thus obtained is raw and unadulterated. Qualitative Research Method Case Study Example Let's take the example of a bookstore owner who is looking for ways to improve their sales and customer outreach. An online community of members who were the loyal patrons of the bookstore were interviewed and related questions were asked and the questions were answered by them. At the end of the interview, it was realized that most of the books in the stores were suitable for adults and there were not enough options for children or teenagers. By conducting this qualitative research the bookstore owner realized what the shortcomings were and what were the feelings of the readers. Through this research now the bookstore owner can now keep books for different age categories and can improve his sales and customer outreach. Such qualitative research method example can serve as the basis to indulge further quantitative research, which provides remedies. in | " QUALITATIVE APPROACHES about conduc,fing Qualitaie A qualitative “approach” is a general waylof thinking research. It describes, either explicitly or implicitly, the purpose of the qualitative research, the role of the researcher(s), the stages of research, and the method of data analysis, here, four of the major qualitative approaches are introduced. Ethnography The ethnographic approach to qualitative research comes largely from the field of anthropology. The emphasis in ethnography is on studying an entire culture. Originally, the idea of a culture was tied to the notion of ethnicity and geographic location (e.g, the culture of the Trobriand Islands), but it has been broadened to include virtually any group or organization, That is, we can study the “culture” of a business or defined group (e,g;, a Rotary club). Ethnography is an extremely broad area with a great variety of practitioners and methods. However, the most common ethnographic approach is participant observation as a part of field research. The ethnographer becomes immersed in the culture as an active participant and records extensive field notes. As in grounded theory, there is no preset limiting of what will be observed and no real ending point in an ethnographic study. Phenomenology Phenomenology is sometimes considered a philosophical perspective as well as an approach to qualitative methodology. It has a long history in several social research disciplines including psychology, sociology and social work. Phenomenology is a school of thought that emphasizes a focus on people’s subjective experiences and interpretations of the world. That is, the phenomenologist wants to understand how the world appears to others. Field Research Field research can also be considered either a br oad approach to qualitative research or a method of gathering qualitative data. the e ssential idea is that the researcher goes “into the field” to observe the phenomenon in its natural state or in situ. As such, it is probablY most related to the method of parti cipant ol bservation. The field researcher typically takes extensive field notes which are subsequent , y coded and analyzed in a variety of ways. Grounded Theory Grounded theory is a qualitative resea rch igi loped by Glaser and Strauss in the 1960s. The self-defin edSREpurpose of grounded cachthit yas prightheory is toor, develop ally dere LT \' [ Armohe sna b i Qutse ket | theory about phenomena of interest. But this is not just abstract theorizing they're talking about. Instead the theory needs to be grounded or rooted in observation — hence the term. Grounded theory is a complex iterative process. The research begins with the raising of generative questions which help to guide the research but are not intended to be either static or confining. As the researcher begins to gather data, core theoretical concept(s) are identified. Tentative linkages are developed between the theoretical core concepts and the data. This early phase of the research tends to be very open and can take months. Later on the researcher is more engaged in verification and summary. The effort tends to evolve toward one core category that is central. There are several key analytic strategies: + Coding is a process for both categorizing qualitative data and for describing the implications and details of these categories. Initially one does open coding, considering the data in minute detail while developing some initial categories. Later, one moves to more selective coding where one systematically codes with respect to a core concept. + Memoing is a process for recording the thoughts and ideas of the researcher as they evolve throughout the study. You might think of memoing as extensive marginal notes and comments. Again, early in the process these memos tend to be very open while later on they tend to increasingly focus in on the core concept. + Integrative diagrams and sessions are used to pull all of the detail together, to help make sense of the data with respect to the emerging theory. The diagrams can be any form of graphic that is useful at that point in theory development. They might be concept maps or directed graphs or even simple cartoons that can act as summarizing devices. This integrative work is best done in group sessions where different members of the research team are able to interact and share ideas to increase insight. Eventually one approaches conceptually dense theory as new observation leads to new linkages which lead to revisions in the theory and more data collection. The core concept or category is identified and fleshed out in detail. When does this process end? One answer is: never! Clearly, the process described above could continue indefinitely. Grounded theory doesn’t have a clearly demarcated point for ending a study. Essentially, the project ends when the researcher decides to quit. What do you have when you're finished? Presumably you have an extremely wellconsidered explanation for some phenomenon of interest — the grounded theory. This theory can be explained in words and is usually presented with much of the contextually relevant detail collected.