In this book, a number of relevant issues for constructing a research design have been outlined. Other books on this topic have linked research design very closely to writing a proposal, and have sometimes seen it as the same (e.g. Creswell, 2003).
Here, designing qualitative research is seen as an internal need of any sort of qualitative research (even if the concreteness and the degree of structure and formalization may vary from approach to approach). It is not understood as just 110
Conversation Discourse
Analysis
Focus Groups
Interviews
Analysing data
Visual Materials Interviews
Analysing data
Ethnography Observation
Ethnography Observation Snapshots:
Description of States Process Analysis Retrospective
Study
Longitudinal Study Case
study
Comparative Study Interviews
FIGURE 11.1 Methods and basic designs in qualitative research
TABLE 11.1Qualitative methods and design issues Coding and Conversation and Design issueInterviewsFocus groupsEthnographyVisual methodscategorizing datadiscourse analysis ResearchSubjectiveInteraction inDescription ofContent andTheoryCommunication in perspectiveviewpointsgroups about a topicsocial situationsstructure of imagesdevelopmentthe making TheorySymbolicSymbolicPost-modernism,Cultural studies,Realism,Ethnomethodology, interactioninteraction, discourseconstructivismethnomethodologyconstructivismdiscourse ResearchPersonalSensitiveSocial processes,Form, content andAll sorts of content,Forms and methods questionsexperiencestopicsforeshadowedmeaning of imagesnot so muchof communication and meaningproblemsstructures SamplingPersons asGroups andSites, cases,Images, producersIn the materialBuilding an casesparticipantswithin casesarchive of material ComparisonCases orBetween andSites, withinAudiences,Within and betweenInventory for dimensionsin groupssites, peoplecontexts of usecategories, casesdeveloping a model GeneralizationInternal or Internal or analyticInternal or analyticInternal due toConstant comparison,Case studies or analytic tocontext linkboundaries of datageneral principles other peopleor sample TriangulationObservation, Mixed methods,Implicit, usingInterviews,Different researchersDocuments, focus groups,interviews,interviews andethnographyinterviews surveysdocuments QualityProbing andModeration, recording,ExtendedDistinctiveness,Reflexivity, reliability,Credibility validation member checkstranscriptionparticipation,robustness, qualitycross-checksin teams, deviant flexibilityof materialscases WritingRelation ofContext of the groupTransparency ofVisual presentations;Relation of categoriesAccessible conclusionsfor participants’the field;media media other than textand data inpresentation and raw materialstatementsother than textpresentationof examples (Continued)
TABLE 11.1(Continued) Coding andConversation and Design issueInterviewsFocus groupsEthnographyVisual methodscategorizing datadiscourse analysis BasicComparative,Comparative, snapshotCase studyCase studyComparative designSnapshot, designretrospectivecomparative ResourcesExperience withRecording equipmentGetting there, TechnicalTranscriptions,Recording and interviewing,documentationmedia, time for (re-)computers andtranscription transcriptionviewing materialssoftware expertise Stepping-stonesFinding the Having the ‘right’Accessing ‘invisible’Adequate waysMissing data,Relation of form ‘right’casesparticipants in thephenomenaof displaying materialsunclear focusand content group, drop-outs EthicsInformedVulnerable people,Informed consent,Anonymity of (other)Confidentiality,Informed consent, consent,group dynamics anonymitypersons on images,anonymity, if feedbackanonymity confidentiality,rich contextto members: relation tofairness interviewee FurtherKvaleBarbourAngrosinoBanksGibbs Rapley reading(2007)(2007)(2007)(2007)(2007)(2007)
something outward bound – relevant if you go out with your research to apply for some funding or permission from an institutional review board or from a PhD commission. In any context, however, writing a proposal can be very helpful for reflecting your design and for making it explicit. Therefore, I want to end this brief overview of design issues in qualitative research with some suggestions for how to turn them into a research proposal.
There is no commonly accepted structure or format for a research proposal.
Sometimes, funding agencies or institutional boards have set up a model struc- ture, or experience from earlier application shows that they expect a specific structure. Then you should of course try to meet these expectations. As a general structure for a proposal we can suggest the following model (see Table 11.2).
Designing the research becomes relevant in this context in two respects: first as an extra point in the structure suggested in Table 11.2; second as a perspective on the soundness of the whole project. Do the research problem, questions, methods, resources, proposed funding, timeline and ethics fit together into a sound outline, plan and proposal?
For making the research (and beforehand the proposal) work, there are some guidelines to keep in mind:
Some conclusions
113 TABLE 11.2 Model for a proposal structure
1 Introduction 2 Research problem
(a) Existing literature
(b) Gaps in the existing research (c) Research interest
3 Purpose of the study 4 Research questions 5 Methods and procedures
(a) Characteristics of qualitative research and why it is appropriate here (b) Research strategy
(c) Research design (i) Sampling (ii) Comparison
(iii) Expected number of participants/cases/sites/documents (d) Methods of data collection
(e) Methods of data analysis (f) Quality issues
6 Ethical issues 7 Expected results
8 Significance, relevance, practical implications of the study
9 Preliminary pilot findings, earlier research, experience of the researcher(s) 10 Timeline, proposed budget
11 References
• You should try to make the design of your research and the methods as explicit and clear in as much detail as possible.
• Research questions and the relevance of planned procedures and expected data and results for answering them should be explicit and clear in as much detail as possible.
• The study and the expected results and implication should be put into aca- demic and practical context.
• Ethics and procedures should be reflected as far as possible.
• Methods should not only be made explicit in the how (of their use) but also in the why (of their selection).
• Plans, timelines, existing experiences and competences, methods and resources should fit into a sound program for your research and be made explicit in this way.
If you take these guidelines into account and know enough about the area and problem you want to study, your proposal should be accepted and your research should work, although there are always circumstances, problems and stepping- stones that might arise for both. More information about the methods you choose, or the range of methods you might choose your method from, can be found in the other books of The SAGE Qualitative Research Kit.
Key points
• A (good) research design is relevant for doing research successfully, not only for successfully writing a proposal.
• Nevertheless, writing a proposal can be helpful for examining the soundness of your research design and a basis on which others (review- ers for example) can do such an examination.
• Methods can be allocated in different ways to basic designs in qualita- tive research.
• Design issues apply in different ways to different methods.
Further reading
These books will complement this book in their perspective on research design. The other books in The SAGE Qualitative Research Kitwill go into more detail for the single method or approach:
Marshall, C. and Rossman, G.B. (2006) Designing Qualitative Research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Maxwell, J.A. (2005) Qualitative Research Design – An Interactive Approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
114