Issues and Challenges with Qualitative Research Methodologies - Essay Example

Issues and Challenges with Qualitative Research Methodologies Ethnographic research Ethnographic research is a qualitative research design where the unit analysis must be greater than twenty participants, and the focus is on a group that shares culture. In this case, ethnographic study entails the description and interpretation of the shared as well as the learned patterns of behaviors, values, beliefs and most importantly, language (Small, 2013). On the other hand, the method depends on extensive observation of the group where the researcher engages in participatory observation. The approach to collecting data, therefore, requires the researcher to immerse his or herself in the daily lives of the particular people. In this regard, the researcher observes the societal behaviors and also interviews the selected participants in the study. In most cases, ethnographic studies are mistaken to be focusing on the cultures of the particular ethnic group, though it involve examining the social behaviors of the identified group of people whose interaction enables the researcher to develop working patterns based on the observations (Robben & Sluka, 2012). Some of the typical examples of ethnographic studies include confessional ethnography, visual ethnography, life history and feminist ethnography (Small, 2013). Issues and challenges with ethnographic studies When collecting data through participatory observation, a problem that may most likely present itself is that coping up with the culture and way of life of the particular ethnic group may be a serious challenge especially if the culture is entirely different from that of the researcher (Small, 2013). Besides, a study on ethnography requires adequate time to observe and note the possible issues with the particular ethnic group. On the other hand, the participatory observation may prove a challenge to the study especially when the researcher has to live with the group and respect their daily lives and culture. The implication is that culture may be a sensitive issue and that if the researcher does not respect the particular values and beliefs of the group that the study may be compromised as the individuals may decline to give accurate information. Another issue is that the research must have prior knowledge of the socio-cultural system of the particular group before defining the focus of the study (Robben & Sluka, 2012). In this case, the prior knowledge of the socio-cultural system may act as the conceptual framework for underpinning the findings and drawing conclusions on the patterns of social behaviors. Nonetheless, the researcher must be aware of the concepts that have been explored by people studying culture (Robben & Sluka, 2012). Also, the data collection method must take time because it involves field trip; thus, the researcher may be constraints in terms of time as a limited resource. There are also serious implications for the research if there is a language barrier as there is the disparity in cultures. Therefore, the researcher must experience challenges during the interviews and the language barrier may hinder the study from constructing meanings from the observation social behaviors that is only explained by the people of the particular culture(Small, 2013). Narrative research In comparison to other data collection approach, a narrative can either be a research method or a particular area of study. Andrews, Squire and Tamboukou (2013) define narrative research as the study of individual experiences that is always expressed in the lived and the individual told stories. Therefore, the approach to data collection became famous because of literary studies, storytelling traditions thus it has found its use in many social sciences. In this case, the narrative researchers engage in collecting stories, group conversations and documents about the told stories of what individuals experience in their lives. The researchers record these stories using interviews, images, observation, documents and in return report the experiences in a chronological order, according to the meanings attached to the experiences (Suárez-Ortega, 2013). When collecting data using narrative histories, it is imperative to consider the common types of narratives. Firstly, there are the biographical studies that involve writing as well as recording the experiences of life of another person (Andrews, Squire & Tamboukou, 2013). Secondly, narrative histories can include autoethnography where the writing and recording are based on the subject of the study, for instance, using a journal. Besides, the narrative accounts can include life history that involves portraying the entire life of one person while it can also involve oral history as the reflection of various historical events, including their causes and effects (Suárez-Ortega, 2013). For all approaches to using narrative histories for collecting data, it is crucial to determine if the particular approach to gathering data is the most appropriate for the study. The implication is that a narrative research methodology barely follows the usual grip process but is rather an informal approach to gathering data. Problems with narrative histories One of the primary challenges of narrative research is that it aims at collecting extensive information from the study participants (Andrews, Squire, & Tamboukou, 2013). In most cases, individuals may not be very comfortable revealing some crucial personal information like in the biographies. Conversely, there are serious ethical issues surrounding the use of narratives as data collection methods. For instance, a question arises about the ownership of the story where the research may claim rightful ownership after taking the time to collect data and present the findings in a coherent manner (Suárez-Ortega, 2013). On the contrary, the individual whom the story is collected from is ethically right to lay claim to the ownership since he or she present the researcher with the information through interviews or any other form of recording the story. Besides, issues may arise that may render the data or the information conflicting as new details of the story may occur (Andrews, Squire & Tamboukou, 2013). In this case, it becomes very difficult for the researcher to manage the conflicting information. Nonetheless, narrative histories may also be questioned on the extent to which they are genuine and sincere thus the researcher is confronted with the problem of how to manage the varied impressions of the storys reality (Andrews, Squire & Tamboukou, 2013). Moreover, the narrative histories as a research approach may also present some methodological changes especially when the sampled individuals refuse to continue with the study upon being contacted for information. The implication is that narrative histories also involve sampling of the research participants where the identified samples or study cohorts may decline to give their stories and narration about what happened and give the real account of the events (Suárez-Ortega, 2013). Phenomenological studies A phenomenological study, on the other hand, entails the study of ideas and concepts that hold common meanings to small groups of individuals (Yüksel & Yıldırım, 2015). In this case, the approach focuses more on the lived experiences attached to the particular phenomenon. The lived experiences may be grief and other social events, and the researcher is able to connect the experiences or the individual experiences to essential concepts. In comparison to other approaches to social studies, phenomenology focuses more on establishing themes within the data (Cao, Zou & Xu, 2011). Moreover, one of the most important identifiable features of phenomenology studies is the concept of bracketing, a process where the researcher identifies and also sets aside personal experiences that come as a result of the phenomena being studied. Therefore, Yüksel and Yıldırım, (2015) argue that phenomenology finds its basis in philosophy behind explaining the lived experiences of the particular individuals where the interest is on the nature, as well as the meanings of some concepts or ideas from the perspective of the lived experiences. In this case, phenomenology focuses on questioning essence and not the appearance of the phenomenon. Also an important part of the research methodology is that the researcher focuses on bringing his or her experience with the research (Cao, Zou & Xu, 2011). However, bringing out real experiences from the research may be based on biased inferences. On the other hand, data collection is carried using various means including interviews, focus groups, videotapes, diaries and descriptions of the subjects. During the analysis stage, the researcher has to reflect upon his or her personal perceptions of the data by grasping the experience of the research participants (Cao, Zou & Xu, 2011). It also involves recording transcriptions that pose another challenge of language barrier where the transcriptions must be translated into a language understandable by many. Therefore, phenomenology as a research methodology is interpretive in nature where there occurs negotiation between researcher and the participants so as t produce account of how the insider perceives a particular concept (Yüksel & Yıldırım, 2015). In return, the researcher codes the data accounts so to identify the emerging themes, connections and the possibility of constructing higher themes. Issues and challenges of phenomenology For the researcher to understand the concepts from the individual perspectives, he or she must code themes emerging from the study (Cao, Zou & Xu, 2011). Therefore, the researcher must be confronted with the problem of having to knowledge of coding so as analysis can be carried out efficiently and comprehensively. On the other hand, phenomenology entails studying occurrences in the societal contexts, and this requires a lot of time thus the research approach is quite time-consuming(Yüksel & Yıldırım, 2015). Nonetheless, phenomenological studies or data collection techniques are used alongside other approaches to collecting data like interviews to gain insight of the individual’s perception of the particular phenomenon (Cao, Zou & Xu, 2011). However, there are serious problems with interviews used in phenomenological studies as biases have been reported with this approach to data collection where the participants may not give the accurate accounts of occurrences from their perspective. Yüksel and Yıldırım, (2015) posit that since the basis for explaining concepts and ideas is philosophy, phenomenological studies may sometimes fail to report the gap between theory and the research practice. The implication is that the conclusions and the inferences made may not reflect the particular philosophical theory that is used to underpin the research. References Andrews, M., Squire, C., & Tamboukou, M. (Eds.). (2013). Doing narrative research. Sage. Cao, X., Zou, B. S., & Xu, H. S. (2011). Phenomenological study on the reactions. Nuclear Physics A, 861(1), 23-36. Robben, A. C., & Sluka, J. A. (Eds.). (2012). Ethnographic fieldwork: an anthropological reader. John Wiley & Sons. Small, M. L. (2013). Causal Thinking and Ethnographic Research. American Journal of Sociology, 119(3), 597-601. Suárez-Ortega, M. (2013). Performance, reflexivity, and learning through biographical-narrative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 19(3), 189-200. Yüksel, P., & Yıldırım, S. (2015). Theoretical Frameworks, Methods, and Procedures for Conducting Phenomenological Studies. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 6(1). Read More