Coleta de Dados em Pesquisa Qualitativa - Processo e Abordagens

7 Data Collection Data collection offers one more instance for assessing research design within each approach to inquiry However before exploring this idea I find it useful to visualize the phases of data collection common to all approaches A circle of interrelated activities best displays this process a process of engaging in activities that include but go beyond collecting data I begin this chapter by presenting this circle of activities briefly introducing each activity These activities are locating a site or an individual gaining access and making rapport sampling purposefully collecting data recording information exploring field issues and storing data Then I explore how these activities differ in the five approaches to inquiry and I end with a few summary comments about comparing the data collection activities across the five approaches Questions for Discussion What are the steps in the overall data collection process of qualitative research What are typical access and rapport issues How does one select people or places to study What type of information typically is collected How is information recorded What are common issues in collecting data How is information typically stored How are the five approaches both similar and different during data collection 117 Locating Site Individual Gaining Access and Making Rapport Purposefully Sampling Collecting Data Recording Information Resolving Field Issues Storing Data Figure 71 Data Collection Activities The Data Collection Circle I visualize data collection as a series of interrelated activities aimed at gathering good information to answer emerging research questions As shown in Figure 71 a qualitative researcher engages in a series of activities in the process of collecting data Although I start with locating a site or an individual to study an investigator may begin at another entry point in the circle Most importantly I want the researcher to consider the multiple phases in collecting data phases that extend beyond the typical reference point of conducting interviews or making observations An important step in the process is to find people or places to study and to gain access to and establish rapport with participants so that they will provide good data A closely interrelated step in the process involves determining a strategy for the purposeful sampling of individuals or sites This is not a probability sample that will enable a researcher to determine statistical inferences to a population rather it is purposeful sample that will intentionally sample a group of people that can best inform the researcher about the research problem under examination Thus the researcher needs to determine which type of purposeful sampling will be best to use Once the inquirer selects the sites or people decisions need to be made about the most appropriate data collection approaches Increasingly a qualitative researcher has more choices regarding data collection such as email messages and online data gathering and typically the researcher will collect data from more than one source To collect this information the researcher develops protocols or written forms for recording the information and needs to develop some forms for recording the data such as interview or observational protocols Also the researcher needs to anticipate issues of data collection called field issues which may be a problem such as having inadequate data needing to prematurely leave the field or site or contributing to lost information Finally a qualitative researcher must decide how he or she will store data so that they can easily be found and protected from damage or loss I now turn to each of these data collection activities and I address each for general procedures and within each approach to inquiry As shown in Table 71 these activities are both different and similar across the five approaches to inquiry The Site or Individual In a narrative study one needs to find one or more individuals to study individuals who are accessible willing to provide information and distinctive for their accomplishments and ordinariness or who shed light on a specific phenomenon or issue being explored Plummer 1983 recommends two sources of individuals to study The pragmatic approach is where individuals are met on a chance encounter emerge from a wider study or are volunteers Alternatively one might identify a marginal person who lives in conflicting cultures a great person who impacts the age in which he or she lives or an ordinary person who provides an example of a large population An alternative perspective is available from Gergen 1994 who suggests that narratives come into existence p 280 not as a product of an individual but as a facet of relationships as a part of culture as reflected in social roles such as gender and age Thus to ask which individuals will participate is not to focus on the right question Instead narrative researchers need to focus on the stories to emerge recognizing that all people have stories to tell Also instructive in considering the individual in narrative research is to consider whether firstorder or secondorder narratives are the focus of inquiry Elliot 2005 In firstorder narratives individuals tell stories about themselves and their own experiences while in secondorder narratives researchers construct a narrative about other peoples experiences eg biography or present a collective story that represents the lives of many In a phenomenological study the participants may be located at a single site although they need not be Most importantly they must be individuals who have all experienced the phenomenon being explored and can articulate Table 71 Data Collection Activities by Five Approaches Data Collection Activity Narrative Phenomenology Grounded Theory Ethnography Case Study What is traditional studied sites or individuals Single individual accessible and distinctive Multiple individuals who have experienced the phenomenon Multiple individuals who have responded to an action or participated in a process about a central phenomenon Members of a culture sharing group to individuals representative of the group A bounded system such as a process an activity an event a program or multiple individuals What are typical access and rapport issues Gaining access through the gatekeeper gaining the confidence of the informants Gaining access through the gatekeeper gaining the confidence of the informants Gaining access through the gatekeeper gaining the confidence of the informants Finding a cultural group to which one is a stranger a representative sample Finding a cases or typical cases an ethnical case or a maximum variation or extreme case How does one select a site or individuals to study Purposeful sampling strategies Several strategies depending on the person eg convenience popularity politically important typical a critical case Finding individuals who have experienced the phenomenon Finding individuals who have experienced the phenomenon Finding people who have experienced the phenomenon Locating a homogeneous sample Locating a homogeneous sample Finding a homogeneous sample eg a theorybased sample a criterion sample Table 71 Data Collection Activity Narrative Phenomenology Grounded Theory Ethnography Case Study What type of information archives and records openended interviews subject journaling participant observation casual chatting Interviews with 5 to 25 people Polkinghorne 1989 Primarily interviews with 20 to 30 people to achieve detail in the theory Participants observations interviews artifacts and documents Extensive forms such as documents and records interviews observation and physical artifacts How is information recorded recording recording information Notes interview protocol Interviews often multiple interviews with the same individuals Interview protocol memoing Fieldnotes interview and observational protocols Fieldnotes interview and observational protocols How are common data collection issues field issues Access to materials authenticity of account and materials Bracketing ones experiences or logistics of interviewing Interviewing issues eg logistics openness Field issues eg reflexivity activity reciprocity activating narrative divulging private information deception Interviewing and observing issues How is information typically stored storing data File folders computer files Transcriptions computer files Transcriptions computer files Transcriptions computer files Fieldnotes transcriptions computer files 122 Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design their lived experiences The more diverse the characteristics of the individuals the more difficult it will be for the researcher to find common experiences themes and the overall essence of the experience for all participants In a grounded theory study the individuals may not be located at a single site in fact if they are dispersed they can provide important contextual information useful in developing categories in the axial coding phase of research They need to be individuals who have participated in the process or action the researcher is studying in the grounded theory study For example in Creswell and Brown 1992 we interviewed 32 department chairpersons located across the United States who had mentored faculty in their departments In an ethnographic study a single site in which an intact culturesharing group has developed shared values beliefs and assumptions is often important The researcher needs to identify a group or an individual or individuals representative of a group to study preferably one to which the inquirer is a stranger Agar 1986 and can gain access For a case study the researcher needs to select a site or sites to study such as programs events processes activities individuals or several individuals Although Stake 1995 refers to an individual as an appropriate case I turn to the narrative biographical approach or the life history approach in studying a single individual However the study of multiple individuals each defined as a case and considered a collective case study is acceptable practice A question that students often ask is whether they can study their own organization place of work or themselves Such a study may raise issues of power and risk to the researcher the participants and to the site To study ones own workplace for example raises questions about whether good data can be collected when the act of data collection may introduce a power imbalance between the researcher and the individuals being studied Although studying ones own backyard is often convenient and eliminates many obstacles to collecting data researchers can jeopardize their jobs if they report unfavorable data or if participants disclose private information that might negatively influence the organization or workplace A hallmark of all good qualitative research is the report of multiple perspectives that range over the entire spectrum of perspectives see the section in Chapter 3 on the characteristics of qualitative research I am not alone in sounding this cautionary note about studying ones own organization or workplace Glesne and Peshkin 1992 question research that examines your own backyardwithin your own institution or agency or among friends or colleagues p 21 and they suggest that such information is dangerous knowledge that is political and risky for an inside investigator When it becomes important to study ones own organization or workplace I typically recommend that multiple strategies of validation see Chapter 10 be used to ensure that the account is accurate and insightful Studying yourself can be a different matter There is an approach that has gained prominence in qualitative researchautoethnographyan approach championed by Ellis 2004 and others For example Elliss 1993 story of the experiences of her brothers sudden death illustrates the power of personal emotion and providing cultural perspectives around ones own experiences I recommend that individuals wanting to study themselves and their own experiences turn to autoethnography or biographical memoir for scholarly procedures in how to conduct their studies Access and Rapport Gaining access to sites and individuals also involves several steps Regardless of the approach to inquiry permissions need to be sought from a human subjects review board a process in which campus committees review research studies for their potential harmful impact on and risk to participants This process involves submitting to the board a proposal that details the procedures in the project Most qualitative studies are exempt from a lengthy review eg the expedited or full review but studies involving individuals as minors ie 18 years or under or studies of highrisk sensitive populations eg HIVpositive individuals require a thorough review a process involving detailed lengthy applications and an extended time for review Because many review boards are more familiar with the quantitative approaches to social and human science research than they are with qualitative approaches the qualitative project description may need to conform to some of the standard procedures and language of quantitative research eg research questions results as well as provide information about the protection of human subjects To the review board it might be argued qualitative interviews if unstructured may actually provide participants considerable control over the interview process Corbin Morse 2003 It is helpful to examine a sample consent form that participants need to review and sign in a qualitative study An example is shown in Figure 72 This consent form often requires that specific elements be included such as the right of participants to voluntarily withdraw from the study at any time the central purpose of the study and the procedures to be used in data collection comments about protecting the confidentiality of the respondents a statement about known risks associated with participation in the study the expected benefits to accrue to the participants in the study the signature of the participant as well as the researcher For a narrative study inquirers gain information from individuals by obtaining their permission to participate in the study Study participants should be Experiences in Learning Qualitative Research A Qualitative Case Study Dear Participant The following information is provided for you to decide whether you wish to participate in the present study You should be aware that you are free to decide not to participate or to withdraw at any time without affecting your relationship with this department the instructor or the University of NebraskaLincoln The purpose of this study is to understand the process of learning qualitative research in a doctorallevel college course The procedure will be a single holistic case study design At this stage in the research process will be generally defined as perceptions of the course and making sense out of qualitative research at different phases in the course Data will be collected at three pointsat the beginning of the course at the midpoint and at the end of the course Data collection will involve documents journal entries made by students and the instructor student evaluations of the class and the research procedure audiovisual material a videotape of the class interviews transcripts of interviews between students and classroom observation fieldnotes made by students and the instructor Individuals involved in the data collection will be the instructor and the students in the class Do not hesitate to ask any questions about the study either before participating or during the time that you are participating We would be happy to share our findings with you after the research is completed However your name will not be associated with the research findings in any way and your identity as a participant will be known only to the researchers There are no known risks andor discomforts associated with this study The expected benefits associated with your participation are the information about the experiences in learning qualitative research the opportunity to participate in a qualitative research study and coauthorship for those students who participate in the detailed analysis of the data If submitted for publication a byline will indicate the participation of all students in the class Please sign your consent with full knowledge of the nature and purpose of the procedures A copy of this consent form will be given to you to keep Signature of Participant Date John W Creswell Ed Psy UNL Principal Investigator Figure 72 Sample Human Subjects ConsenttoParticipate Form appraised of the motivation of the researcher for their selection granted anonymity if they desire it and told by the researcher about the purpose of the study This disclosure helps build rapport Access to biographical documents and archives requires permission and perhaps travel to distant libraries In a phenomenological study in which the sample includes individuals who have experienced the phenomenon it is also important to obtain participants written permission to be studied In the Anderson and Spencer 2002 study of the patients images of AIDS 58 men and women participated in the project at three sites dedicated to persons with HIVAIDS a hospital clinic a longterm care facility and a residence These were all individuals with a diagnosis of AIDS 18 years of age or older able to communicate in English and with a MiniMental Status score above 22 In such a study it was important to obtain permission to have access to the vulnerable individuals participating in the study In a grounded theory study the participants need to provide permission to be studied while the researcher should have established rapport with the participants so that they will disclose detailed perspectives about responding to an action or process The grounded theorist starts with a homogeneous sample individuals who have commonly experienced the action or process In an ethnography access typically begins with a gatekeeper an individual who is a member of or has insider status with a cultural group This gatekeeper is the initial contact for the researcher and leads the researcher to other participants Hammersley Atkinson 1995 Approaching this gatekeeper and the cultural system slowly is wise advice for strangers studying the culture For both ethnographies and case studies gatekeepers require information about the studies that often includes answers from the researchers to the following questions as Bogdan and Biklen 1992 suggest Why was the site chosen for study What will be done at the site during the research study How much time will be spent at the site by the researchers Will the researchers presence be disruptive How will the results be reported What will the gatekeeper the participants and the site gain from the study reciprocity Purposeful Sampling Strategy The concept of purposeful sampling is used in qualitative research This means that the inquirer selects individuals and sites for study because they can purposefully inform an understanding of the research problem and central phenomenon in the study Decisions need to be made about who or what should be sampled what form the sampling will take and how many people or sites need to be sampled Further the researchers need to decide if the sampling will be consistent with the information needed by one of the five approaches to inquiry I will begin with some general remarks about sampling and then turn to sampling within each of the five approaches The decision about who or what should be sampled can benefit from the conceptualization of Marshall and Rossman 2006 who provide an example of sampling four aspects events settings actors and artifacts They also note that sampling can change during a study and researchers need to be flexible but despite this plan ahead as much as possible for their sampling strategy I like to think as well in terms of levels of sampling in qualitative research Researchers can sample at the site level at the event or process level and at the participant level In a good plan for a qualitative study one or more of these levels might be present and they each need to be identified On the question of what form the sampling will take we need to note that there are several qualitative sampling strategies available see Table 72 for a list of possibilities These strategies have names and definitions and they can be described in research reports Also researchers might use one or more of the strategies in a single study Looking down the list maximum variation is listed first because it is a popular approach in qualitative studies This approach consists of determining in advance some criteria that differentiate the sites or participants and then selecting sites or participants that are quite different on the criteria This approach is often selected because when a researcher maximizes differences at the beginning of the study it increases the likelihood that the findings will reflect differences or different perspectivesan ideal in qualitative research Other sampling strategies frequently used are critical cases which provide specific information about a problem and convenience cases which represent sites or individuals from which the researcher can access and easily collect data The size question is an equally important decision to sampling strategy in the data collection process One general guideline in qualitative research is not only to study a few sites or individuals but also to collect extensive detail about each site or individual studied The intent in qualitative research is not to generalize the information except in some forms of case study research but to elucidate the particular the specific Pinnegar Daynes 2006 Beyond these general suggestions each of the five approaches to research raises specific size considerations In narrative research I have found many examples with one or two individuals unless a larger pool of participants is used to develop a collective story Huber Whelan 1999 In phenomenology I have seen the number of participants range from 1 Dukes 1984 up to 325 Polkinghorne 1989 Dukes 1984 recommends studying 3 to 10 subjects and in one phenomenology Riemen 1986 studied 10 individuals In grounded theory I recommend including 20 to 30 individuals in order to develop a wellsaturated Table 72 Typology of Sampling Strategies in Qualitative Inquiry Type of Sampling Purpose Maximum variation Documents diverse variations and identifies important common patterns Homogeneous Focuses reduces simplifies and facilitates group interviewing Critical case Permits logical generalization and maximum application of information to other cases Theory based Find examples of a theoretical construct and thereby elaborate on and examine it Confirming and disconfirming cases Elaborate on initial analysis seek exceptions looking for variation Snowball or chain Identifies cases of interest from people who know people who know what cases are informationrich Extreme or deviant case Learn from highly unusual manifestations of the phenomenon of interest Typical case Highlights what is normal or average Intensity Informationrich cases that manifest the phenomenon intensely but not extremely Politically important Attracts desired attention or avoids attracting undesired attention Random purposeful Adds credibility to sample when potential purposeful sample is too large Stratified purposeful Illustrates subgroups and facilitates comparisons Criterion All cases that meet some criterion useful for quality assurance Opportunistic Follow new leads taking advantage of the unexpected Combination or mixed Triangulation flexibility meets multiple interests and needs Convenience Saves time money and effort but at the expense of information and credibility SOURCE Miles Huberman 1994 p 28 Reprinted with permission from Miles M B Huberman A M 1994 Qualitative data analysis A sourcebook of new methods 2nd ed Thousand Oaks CA Sage theory but this number may be much larger Charmaz 2006 In ethnography I like welldefined studies of single culturesharing groups with numerous artifacts interviews and observations collected until the workings of the culturalgroup are clear For case study research I would not include more than 4 or 5 case studies in a single study This number should provide ample opportunity to identify themes of the cases as well as conduct crosscase theme analysis In a narrative study the researcher reflects more on who to samplethe individual may be convenient to study because she or he is available a politically important individual who attracts attention or is marginalized or a typical ordinary person All of the individuals need to have stories to tell about their lived experiences Inquirers may select several options depending on whether the person is marginal great or ordinary Plummer 1983 Vonnie Lee who consented to participate and provided insightful information about individuals with mental retardation Angrosino 1994 was convenient to study but also was a critical case to illustrate the types of challenges surrounding the issues of mental retardation in our society I have found however a much more narrow range of sampling strategies for a phenomenological study It is essential that all participants have experience of the phenomenon being studied Criterion sampling works well when all individuals studied represent people who have experienced the phenomenon In a grounded theory study the researcher chooses participants who can contribute to the development of the theory Strauss and Corbin 1998 refer to theoretical sampling which is a process of sampling individuals that can contribute to building the opening and axial coding of the theory This begins with selecting and studying a homogeneous sample of individuals eg all women who have experienced childhood abuse and then after initially developing the theory selecting and studying a heterogeneous sample eg types of support groups other than women who have experienced childhood abuse The rationale for studying this heterogeneous sample is to confirm or disconfirm the conditions both contextual and intervening under which the model holds In ethnography once the investigator selects a site with a cultural group the next decision is who and what will be studied Thus withinculture sampling proceeds and several authors offer suggestions for this procedure Fetterman 1998 recommends proceeding with the big net approach p 32 where at first the researcher mingles with everyone Ethnographers rely on their judgment to select members of the subculture or unit based on their research questions They take advantage of opportunities ie opportunistic sampling Miles Huberman 1994 or establish criteria for studying select individuals criterion sampling The criteria for selecting who and what to study according to Hammersley and Atkinson 1995 are based on gaining some perspective on chronological time in the social life of the group people representative of the culturesharing group in terms of demographics and the contexts that lead to different forms of behavior In a case study I prefer to select unusual cases in collective case studies and employ maximum variation as a sampling strategy to represent diverse cases and to fully describe multiple perspectives about the cases Extreme and deviant cases may comprise my collective case study such as the study of the unusual gunman incident on the university campus Asmussen Creswell 1995 Forms of Data New forms of qualitative data continually emerge in the literature see Creswell 2003 but all forms might be grouped into four basic types of information observations ranging from nonparticipant to participant interviews ranging from closeended to openended documents ranging from private to public and audiovisual materials including materials such as photographs compact disks and videotapes Over the years I have kept an evolving list of data types as shown in Figure 73 I organize my list into the four basic types although some forms may not be easily placed into one category or the other In recent years new forms of data have emerged such as journaling in narrative story writing using text from email messages and observing through examining videotapes and photographs Stewart and Williams 2005 discuss using online focus groups for social research They reviewed both synchronous realtime and asynchronous nonrealtime applications highlighting new developments such as virtual reality applications as well as advantages participants can be questioned over long periods of time larger numbers can be managed and more heated and open exchanges occur Problems arise with online focus groups such as obtaining complete informed consent recruiting individuals to participate and choosing times to convene given different international time zones Despite problems in innovative data collection such as these I encourage individuals designing qualitative projects to include new and creative data collection methods that will encourage readers and editors to examine their studies Researchers need to consider visual ethnography Pink 2001 or the possibilities of narrative research to include living stories metaphorical visual narratives and digital archives see Clandinin 2006 I like the technique of photo elicitation in which participants are shown pictures their own or those taken by the researcher and asked by the researcher to discuss Observations Gather fieldnotes by conducting an observation as a participant Gather fieldnotes by conducting an observation as an observer Gather fieldnotes by spending more time as a participant than as an observer Gather fieldnotes by spending more time as an observer than as a participant Gather fieldnotes first by observing as an outsider and then by moving into the setting and observing as an insider Interviews Conduct an unstructured openended interview and take interview notes Conduct an unstructured openended interview audiotape the interview and transcribe the interview Conduct a semistructured interview audiotape the interview and transcribe the interview Conduct a focus group interview audiotape the interview and transcribe the interview Conduct different types of interviews email facetoface focus group online focus group telephone interviews Documents Keep a journal during the research study Have a participant keep a journal or diary during the research study Collect personal letters from participants Analyze public documents eg official memos minutes records archival material Examine autobiographies and biographies Have informants take photographs or videotapes ie photo elicitation Conduct chart audits Review medical records Audiovisual materials Examine physical trace evidence eg footprints in the snow Videotape or film a social situation or an individual or group Examine photographs or videotapes Collect sounds eg musical sounds a childs laughter car horns honking Collect email or electronic messages Gather phone text messages Examine possessions or ritual objects Figure 73 A Compendium of Data Collection Approaches in Qualitative Research the contents of the pictures Denzin Lincoln 1994 Ziller 1990 for example handed one loaded Polaroid camera each to 40 male and 40 female 4th graders in Florida and West Germany and asked them to take pictures of images that represented war and peace The particular approach to research often directs a qualitative researchers attention toward preferred approaches to data collection although these preferred approaches cannot be seen as rigid guidelines For a narrative study Czarniawska 2004 mentioned three ways to collect data for stories recording spontaneous incidents of storytelling eliciting stories through interviews and asking for stories through such mediums as the Internet Clandinin and Connelly 2000 suggest collecting field texts through a wide array of sources autobiography journal researcher fieldnotes letters conversations interviews stories of families documents photographs and personalfamilysocial artifacts For a phenomenological study the process of collecting information involves primarily indepth interviews see eg the discussion about the long interview in McCracken 1988 with as many as 10 individuals The important point is to describe the meaning of the phenomenon for a small number of individuals who have experienced it Often multiple interviews are conducted with the each of the research participants Besides interviewing and selfreflection Polkinghorne 1989 advocates gathering information from depictions of the experience outside the context of the research projects such as descriptions drawn from novelists poets painters and choreographers I recommend Lauterbach 1993 the study of wishedfor babies from mothers as an especially rich example of phenomenological research using diverse forms of data collection Interviews play a central role in the data collection in a grounded theory study In the study Brown and I conducted with academic chairpersons Creswell Brown 1992 each of our interviews with 33 individuals lasted approximately an hour Other data forms besides interviewing such as participant observation researcher reflection or journaling memoing participant journaling and focus groups may be used to help develop the theory see how Morrow and Smith 1995 use these forms in their study of womens childhood abuse However in my experience these multiple data forms often play a secondary role to interviewing in grounded theory studies In an ethnographic study the investigator collects descriptions of behavior through observations interviewing documents and artifacts Hammersley Atkinson 1995 Spradley 1980 although observing and interviewing appear to be the most popular forms of ethnographic data collection Ethnography has the distinction among the five approaches I believe of advocating the use of quantitative surveys and tests and measures as part of data collection For example examine the wide array of forms of data in ethnography as advanced by LeCompte and Schensul 1999 They reviewed ethnographic data collection techniques of observation tests and repeated measures sample surveys interviews content analysis of secondary or visual data elicitation methods audiovisual information spatial mapping and network research Participant observation for example offers possibilities for the researcher on a continuum from being a complete outsider to being a complete insider Jorgensen 1989 The approach of changing ones role from that of an outsider to that of an insider through the course of the ethnographic study is well documented in field research Jorgensen 1989 Wolcotts 1994b study of the Principal Selection Committee illustrates an outsider perspective as he observed and recorded events in the process of selecting a principal for a school without becoming an active participant in the committees conversations and activities Like ethnography case study data collection involves a wide array of procedures as the researcher builds an indepth picture of the case I am reminded of the multiple forms of data collection recommended by Yin 2003 in his book about case studies He refers to six forms documents archival records interviews direct observation participant observation and physical artifacts Because of the extensive data collection in the gunman case study Asmussen and I present a matrix of information sources for the reader Asmussen Creswell 1995 This matrix contains four types of data interviews observations documents and audiovisual materials in the columns and specific forms of information eg students at large central administration in the rows Our intent was to convey through this matrix the depth and multiple forms of data collection thus inferring the complexity of our case The use of a matrix which is especially applicable in an informationrich case study might serve the inquirer equally well in all approaches of inquiry Of all the data collection sources in Figure 73 interviewing and observing deserve special attention because they are frequently used in all five of the approaches to research Entire books are available on these two topics eg Kvale 1996 on interviewing Spradley 1980 on observing thus I highlight only basic procedures that I recommend to prospective interviewers and observers Interviewing One might view interviewing as a series of steps in a procedure Identify interviewees based on one of the purposeful sampling procedures mentioned in the preceding discussion see Miles Huberman 1994 Determine what type of interview is practical and will net the most useful information to answer research questions Assess the types available such as a telephone interview a focus group interview or a oneonone interview A telephone interview provides the best source of information when the researcher does not have direct access to individuals The drawbacks of this approach are that the researcher cannot see the informal communication and the phone expenses Focus groups are advantageous when the interaction among interviewees will likely yield the best information when interviewees are similar and cooperative with each other when time to collect information is limited and when individuals interviewed oneonone may be hesitant to provide information Krueger 1994 Morgan 1988 Stewart Shamdasani 1990 With this approach however care must be taken to encourage all participants to talk and to monitor individuals who may dominate the conversation For oneonone interviewing the researcher needs individuals who are not hesitant to speak and share ideas and needs to determine a setting in which this is possible The less articulate shy interviewee may present the researcher with a challenge and less than adequate data Use adequate recording procedures when conducting oneonone or focus group interviews I recommend equipment such as a lapel mike for both the interviewer and interviewee or an adequate mike sensitive to the acoustics of the room Design and use an interview protocol a form about four or five pages in length with approximately five openended questions and ample space between the questions to write responses to the interviewees comments see the sample protocol in Figure 74 below How are questions developed The questions are a narrowing of the central question and subquestions in the research study These might be seen as the core of the interview protocol bounded on the front end by questions to invite the interviewee to open up and talk and located at the end by questions about Who should I talk to in order to learn more or comments thanking the participants for their time for the interview Refine the interview questions and the procedures further through pilot testing Sampson 2004 in an ethnographic study of boat pilots aboard cargo vessels recommends the use of a pilot test to refine and develop research instruments assess the degrees of observer bias frame questions collect background information and adapt research procedures During her pilot testing Sampson participated at the site kept detailed fieldnotes and conducted detailed taperecorded confidential interviews In case study research Yin 2003 also recommends a pilot test to refine data collection plans and develop relevant lines of questions These pilot cases are selected on the basis of convenience access and geographic proximity Determine the place for conducting the interview Find if possible a quiet location free from distractions Ascertain if the physical setting lends itself to audiotaping a necessity I believe in accurately recording information After arriving at the interview site obtain consent from the interviewee to participate in the study Have the interviewee complete a consent form for the human relations review board Go over the purpose of the study the amount of time that will be needed to complete the interview and plans for using the results from the interview offer a copy of the report or an abstract of it to the interviewee During the interview stay to the questions complete the interview within the time specified if possible be respectful and courteous and offer few questions and advice This last point may be the most important and it is a reminder of how a good interviewer is a good listener rather than a frequent speaker during an interview Also record information on the interview protocol in the event that the audiorecording does not work Recognize that quickly inscribed notes may be incomplete and partial because of the difficulty of asking questions and writing answers at the same time Observing Observing in a setting is a special skill that requires addressing issues such as the potential deception of the people being interviewed impression management and the potential marginality of the researcher in a strange setting Hammersley Atkinson 1995 Like interviewing I also see observing as a series of steps Select a site to be observed Obtain the required permissions needed to gain access to the site At the site identify who or what to observe when and for how long A gatekeeper helps in this process Determine initially a role to be assumed as an observer This role can range from that of a complete participant going native to that of a complete observer I especially like the procedure of being an outsider initially followed by becoming an insider over time Design an observational protocol as a method for recording notes in the field Include in this protocol both descriptive and reflective notes ie notes about your experiences hunches and learnings Record aspects such as portraits of the informant the physical setting particular events and activities and your own reactions Bogdan Biklen 1992 During the observation have someone introduce you if you are an outsider be passive and friendly and start with limited objectives in the first few sessions of observation The early observational sessions may be times in which to take few notes and simply observe After observing slowly withdraw from the site thanking the participants and informing them of the use of the data and their accessibility to the study Recording Procedures In discussing observation and interviewing procedures I mention the use of a protocol a predesigned form used to record information collected during an observation or interview The interview protocol enables a person to take notes during the interview about the responses of the interviewee It also helps a researcher organize thoughts on items such as headings information about starting the interview concluding ideas information on ending the interview and thanking the respondent In Figure 74 I provide the interview protocol used in the gunman case study Asmussen Creswell 1995 Besides the five openended questions in the study this form contains several features I recommend The instructions for using the interview protocol are as follows Use a header to record essential information about the project and as a reminder to go over the purpose of the study with the interviewee This heading might also include information about confidentiality and address aspects included in the consent form Place space between the questions in the protocol form Recognize that an individual may not always respond directly to the questions being asked For example a researcher may ask Question 2 but the interviewees response may be to Question 4 Be prepared to write notes on all of the questions as the interviewee speaks Memorize the questions and their order to minimize losing eye contact with the participant Provide appropriate verbal transitions from one question to the next Write out the closing comments that thank the individual for the interview and request followup information if needed from them During an observation use an observational protocol to record information As shown in Figure 75 this protocol contains notes taken by one of my students on a class visit by Harry Wolcott I provide only one page of the protocol but this is sufficient for one to see what it includes It has a header giving information about the observational session and then includes a descriptive notes section for recording a description of activities The section with a box around it in the descriptive notes column indicates the observers Interview Protocol Project University Reaction to a Terrorist Incident Time of interview Date Place Interviewer Interviewee Position of interviewee Briefly describe the project Questions 1 What has been your role in the incident 2 What has happened since the event that you have been involved in 3 What has been the impact on the university community of this incident 4 What larger ramifications if any exist from the incident 5 To whom should we talk to find out more about campus reaction to the incident Thank the individual for participating in this interview Assure him or her of confidentiality of responses and potential future interviews Figure 74 Sample Interview Protocol Length of Activity 90 Minutes Descriptive Notes Reflective Notes General What are the experiences of graduate students as they learn qualitative research in the classroom See classroom layout and comments about physical setting at the bottom of this page Overhead with flaps I wonder if the back of the room was able to read it Approximately 517 pm Dr Creswell enters the filled room introduces Dr Wolcott Class members seem relieved Overhead projector not plugged in at the beginning of the class I wonder if this was a distraction when it took extra time to plug it in Dr Creswell gives brief background of guest concentrating on his international experiences features a comment about the educational ethnography The Man in the Principals Office Lateness of the arrival of Drs Creswell and Wolcott Students seemed a bit anxious Maybe it had to do with the change in starting time to 5 pm some may have had 630 classes or appointments to get to Dr Wolcott begins by telling the class he now writes out educational ethnography and highlights this primary occupation by mentioning two books Transferring Qualitative Data and The Art of Fieldwork Drs Creswell and Wolcott seem to have a good rapport between them judging from many short exchanges that they had While Dr Wolcott begins his presentation by apologizing for his weary voice due to talking all day apparently Dr Creswell leaves the classroom to retrieve the guests overhead transparencies Seemed to be three parts to this activity 1 the speakers challenge to the class of detecting pure ethnographical methodologies 2 the speakers presentation of the tree that portrays various strategies and substrategies for qualitative research in education and 3 the relaxed elder statesman fielding class questions primarily about students potential research projects and prior studies Dr Wolcott had written The first question was How do you look at qualitative research followed by How does ethnography fit in Chalkboard chair speakers overhead projector screen desk Seats for participants seats door SKETCH OF CLASSROOM Figure 75 Sample Observational Protocol Length of Activity 90 Minutes attempt to summarize in chronological fashion the flow of activities in the classroom This can be useful information for developing a chronology of the ways the activities unfolded during the class session There is also a reflective notes a section for notes about the process reflections on activities and summary conclusions about activities for later theme development A line down the center of the page divides descriptive notes from reflective notes A visual sketch of the setting and a label for it provide additional useful information Whether a researcher uses an observational or interview protocol the essential process is recording information or as Lofland and Lofland 1995 state it logging data p 66 This process involves recording information through various forms such as observational fieldnotes interview writeups mapping census taking photographing sound recording and documents An informal process may occur in recording information composed of initial jottings Emerson Fretz Shaw 1995 daily logs or summaries and descriptive summaries see Sanjek 1990 for examples of fieldnotes These forms of recording information are popular in narrative research ethnographies and case studies Field Issues Researchers engaged in studies within all five approaches face issues in the field when gathering data that need to be anticipated During the last several years the number of books and articles on field issues has expanded considerably as interpretive issues see Chapter 2 have been widely discussed Beginning researchers are often overwhelmed by the amount of time needed to collect qualitative data and the richness of the data encountered As a practical recommendation I suggest that beginners start with limited data collection and engage in a pilot project to gain some initial experiences Sampson 2004 This limited data collection might consist of one or two interviews or observations so that researchers can estimate the time needed to collect data One way to think about and anticipate the types of issues that may arise during data collection is to view the issues as they relate to several aspects of data collection such as entry and access the types of information collected and potential ethical issues Access to the Organization Gaining access to organizations sites and individuals to study has its own challenges Convincing individuals to participate in the study building trust and credibility at the field site and getting people from a site to respond are all important access challenges Factors related to considering the appropriateness of a site need to be considered as well see Weis Fine 2000 For example researchers may choose a site that is one in which they have a vested interest eg employed at the site studying superiors or subordinates at the site that would limit ability to develop diverse perspectives on coding data or developing themes A researchers own particular stance within the group may keep him or her from acknowledging all dimensions of the experiences The researchers may hear or see something uncomfortable when they collect data In addition participants may be fearful that their issues will be exposed to people outside their community and this may make them unwilling to accept the researchers interpretation of the situation Also related to access is the issue of working with an institutional review board that may not be familiar with unstructured interviews in qualitative research and the risks associated with these interviews Corbin Morse 2003 Weis and Fine 2000 raise the important question of whether the response of the institutional review board to a project influences the researchers telling of the narrative story Observations The types of challenges experienced during observations will closely relate to the role of the inquirer in observation such as whether the researcher assumes a participant nonparticipant or middleground position There are challenges as well with the mechanics of observing such as remembering to take fieldnotes recording quotes accurately for inclusion in fieldnotes determining the best timing for moving from a nonparticipant to a participant if this role change is desired and keeping from being overwhelmed at the site with information and learning how to funnel the observations from the broad picture to a narrower one in time Participant observation has attracted several commentaries by writers Labaree 2002 Ezeh 2003 Labaree 2002 who was a participant in an academic senate on a campus notes the advantages of this role but also discusses the dilemmas of entering the field disclosing oneself to the participants sharing relationships with other individuals and attempting to disengage from the site Ezeh 2003 a Nigerian studied the Orring a littleknown minority ethnic group in Nigeria Although his initial contact with the group was supportive the more the researcher became integrated into the host community the more he experienced human relations problems such as being accused of spying pressured to be more generous in his material gifts and suspected of trysts with women Ezeh concluded that being of the same nationality was no guarantee of a lack of challenges at the site Interviews Challenges in qualitative interviewing often focus on the mechanics of conducting the interview Roulston deMarrais and Lewis 2003 chronicle the challenges in interviewing by postgraduate students during a 15day intensive course These challenges related to unexpected participant behaviors and students ability to create good instructions phrase and negotiate questions deal with sensitive issues and do transcriptions Suoninen and Jokinen 2005 from the field of social work ask whether the phrasing of our interview questions leads to subtle persuasive questions responses or explanations Undoubtedly conducting interviews is taxing especially for inexperienced researchers engaged in studies that require extensive interviewing such as phenomenology grounded theory and case study research Equipment issues loom large as a problem in interviewing and both recording equipment and transcribing equipment need to be organized in advance of the interview The process of questioning during an interview eg saying little handling emotional outbursts using icebreakers includes problems that an interviewer must address Many inexperienced researchers express surprise at the difficulty of conducting interviews and the lengthy process involved in transcribing audiotapes from the interviews In addition in phenomenological interviews asking appropriate questions and relying on participants to discuss the meaning of their experiences require patience and skill on the part of the researcher Recent discussions about qualitative interviewing highlight the importance of reflecting about the relationship that exists between the interviewer and interviewee Kvale 2006 Nunkoosing 2005 Weis Fine 2000 Kvale 2006 for example questions the warm caring and empowering dialogues in interviews and states that the interview is actually a hierarchical relationship with an asymmetrical power distribution between the interviewer and interviewee Kvale discusses the interview as being ruled by the interviewer enacting a oneway dialogue serving the interviewer containing hidden agendas leading to the interviewers monopoly over interpretation enacting counter control by the interviewee who does not answer or deflects questions and leading to a false security when the researcher checks the account ie member checking as discussed in Chapter 10 of this book with the participants Nunkoosing 2005 extends the discussion by reflecting on the problems of power and resistance distinguishing truth from authenticity the impossibility of consent and projection of the interviewers own self their status race culture and gender Weiss and Fine 2000 raise additional questions for consideration Are your interviewees able to articulate the forces that interrupt or suppress or oppress them Do they erase their history approaches and cultural identity Do they choose not to expose their history or go on record about the difficult aspects of their lives These questions and the points raised about the nature of the interviewerinterviewee relationship cannot be easily answered with pragmatic decisions that encompass all interview situations They do however sensitize us to important challenges in qualitative interviewing that need to be anticipated Documents and Audiovisual Materials In document research the issues involve locating materials often at sites far away and obtaining permission to use the materials For biographers the primary form of data collection might be archival research from documents When researchers ask participants in a study to keep journals additional field issues emerge Journaling is a popular data collection process in case studies and narrative research What instructions should be given to individuals prior to writing in their journals Are all participants equally comfortable with journaling Is it appropriate for example with small children who express themselves well verbally but have limited writing skills The researcher also may have difficulty reading the handwriting of participants who journal Recording on videotape raises issues for the qualitative researcher such as keeping disturbing room sounds to a minimum deciding on the best location for the camera and determining whether to provide closeup shots or distant shots Ethical Issues Regardless of the approach to qualitative inquiry a qualitative researcher faces many ethical issues that surface during data collection in the field and in analysis and dissemination of qualitative reports Lipson 1994 groups ethical issues into informed consent procedures deception or covert activities confidentiality toward participants sponsors and colleagues benefits of research to participants over risks and participant requests that go beyond social norms The criteria of the American Anthropological Association see Glesne Peshkin 1992 reflect appropriate standards A researcher protects the anonymity of the informants for example by assigning numbers or aliases to individuals A researcher develops case studies of individuals that represent a composite picture rather than an individual picture Furthermore to gain support from participants a qualitative researcher conveys to participants that they are participating in a study explains the purpose of the study and does not engage in deception about the nature of the study What if the study is on a sensitive topic and the participants decline to be involved if they are aware of the topic This issue of disclosure of the researcher widely discussed in cultural anthropology eg Hammersley Atkinson 1995 is handled by the researcher by presenting general information not specific information about the study Another issue likely to develop is participants sharing information off the record Although in most instances this information is deleted from analysis by the researcher the issue becomes problematic when the information if reported harms individuals I am reminded of a researcher who studied incarcerated Native Americans and learned about a potential breakout during one of the interviews This researcher concluded that it would be a breach of faith with the participants if she reported the matter and she kept quiet Fortunately the breakout did not occur A final ethical issue is whether the researcher shares personal experiences with participants in an interview setting such as in a case study phenomenology or ethnography This sharing minimizes the bracketing that is essential to construct the meaning of participants in phenomenology and reduces information shared by participants in case studies and ethnographies Storing Data I am surprised at how little attention is given in books and articles to storing qualitative data The approach to storage will reflect the type of information collected which varies by approach to inquiry In writing a narrative life history the researcher needs to develop a filing system for the wad of handwritten notes or a tape Plummer 1983 p 98 Davidsons 1996 suggestions about backing up information collected and noting changes made to the database is sound advice for all types of research studies With extensive use of computers in qualitative research more attention will likely be given to how qualitative data are organized and stored whether the data are fieldnotes transcripts or rough jottings With extremely large databases being used by some qualitative researchers this aspect assumes major importance Some principles about data storage and handling that are especially well suited for qualitative research include the following Always develop backup copies of computer files Davidson 1996 Use highquality tapes for audiorecording information during interviews Also make sure that the size of the tapes fits the transcribers machine Develop a master list of types of information gathered Protect the anonymity of participants by masking their names in the data Develop a data collection matrix as a visual means of locating and identifying information for a study Five Approaches Compared Returning again to Table 71 there are both differences and similarities among the activities of data collection for the five approaches to inquiry Turning to differences certain approaches seem more directed toward specific types of data collection than others For case studies and narrative studies the researcher uses multiple forms of data to build the indepth case or the storied experiences For grounded theory studies and phenomenological projects inquirers rely primarily on interviews as data Ethnographers highlight the importance of participant observation and interviews but as noted earlier they may use many different sources of information Unquestionably some mixing of forms occurs but in general these patterns of collection by approach hold true Second the unit of analysis for data collection varies Narrative researchers phenomenologists and ground theorists study individuals case study researchers examine groups of individuals participating in an event or activity or an organization and ethnographers study entire cultural systems or some subcultures of the systems Third I found the amount of discussion about field issues to vary among the five approaches Ethnographers have written extensively about field issues eg HammersIey Atkinson 1995even more so it seems than those in other approaches to qualitative research This may reflect historical concerns about imbalanced power relationships imposing objective external standards on participants and failures to be sensitive to marginalized groups Narrative researchers are less specific about field issues although their concerns are mounting about how to conduct the interview Elliot 2005 Across all approaches ethical issues are widely discussed Fourth the approaches vary in their intrusiveness of data collection Conducting interviews seems less intrusive in phenomenological projects and grounded theory studies than in the high level of access needed in personal narratives the prolonged stays in the field in ethnographies and the immersion into programs or events in case studies These differences do not lessen some important similarities that need to be observed All qualitative studies sponsored by public institutions need to be approved by a human subjects review board Also the use of interviews and observations is central to many of the approaches Furthermore the recording devices such as observational and interview protocols can be similar regardless of approach although specific questions on each protocol will reflect the language of the approach Finally the issue of data storage of information is closely related to the form of data collection and the basic objective of researchers regardless of approach is to develop some filing and storing system for organized retrieval of information Summary In this chapter I addressed several components of the data collection process The researcher attends to locating a site or person to study gaining access to and building rapport at the site or with the individual sampling purposefully using one or more of the many approaches to sampling in qualitative research collecting information through many forms such as interviews observations documents and audiovisual materials and newer forms emerging in the literature establishing approaches for recording information such as the use of interview or observational protocols anticipating and addressing field issues ranging from access to ethical concerns and developing a system for storing and handling the databases The five approaches to inquiry differ in the diversity of information collected the unit of study being examined the extent of field issues discussed in the literature and the intrusiveness of the data collection effort Researchers regardless of approach need approval from review boards engage in similar data collection of interviews and observations and use similar recording protocols and forms for storing data Additional Readings For a discussion about purposeful sampling strategies I recommend Miles and Huberman 1994 and Creswell 2005 Miles M B Huberman A M 1994 Qualitative data analysis A sourcebook of new methods 2nd ed Thousand Oaks CA Sage Creswell J W 2005 Educational research Planning conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research 2nd ed Upper Saddle River NJ Pearson Education For interviewing I direct researchers to Gubrium and Holstein 2003 Kvale 1996 McCracken 1988 and Rubin and Rubin 1995 Gubrium J F Holstein J A 2003 Postmodern interviewing Thousand Oaks CA Sage Kvale S 1996 InterViews An introduction to qualitative research interviewing Thousand Oaks CA Sage McCracken G 1988 The long interview Newbury Park CA Sage Rubin H J Rubin I S 1995 Qualitative interviewing Thousand Oaks CA Sage For discussions about making observations and taking fieldnotes I suggest several writers Bernard 1994 Bogdewic 1992 Emerson Fritz and Shaw 1995 Hammersley and Atkinson 1995 Jorgensen 1989 and Sanjek 1990 Bernard H R 1994 Research methods in anthropology Qualitative and quantitative approaches 2nd ed Thousand Oaks CA Sage Bogdewic S P 1992 Participant observation In B F Crabtree W L Miller Eds Doing qualitative research pp 4569 Newbury Park CA Sage Emerson R M Fretz R I Shaw L L 1995 Writing ethnographic fieldnotes Chicago University of Chicago Press Hammersley M Atkinson P 1995 Ethnography Principles in practice 2nd ed New York Routledge Jorgensen D L 1989 Participant observation A methodology for human studies Newbury Park CA Sage Sanjek R 1990 Fieldanotes The makings of anthropology Ithaca NY Cornell University Press For information about the issues and use of documents see Prior L 2003 Using documents in social research London Sage For a discussion of field relations and issues see the books by Hammersley and Atkinson 1995 and Lofland and Lofland 1995 and the two articles on interviewing by Kvale 2006 and Nunkoosing 2005 Hammersley M Atkinson P 1995 Ethnography Principles in practice 2nd ed New York Routledge Lofland J Lofland L H 1995 Analyzing social settings A guide to qualitative observation and analysis 3rd ed Belmont CA Wadsworth Kvale S 2006 Dominance through interviews and dialogues Qualitative Inquiry 12 480500 Nunkoosing K 2005 The problems with interviews Qualitative Health Research 15 698706 Exercises 1 Gain some experience in collecting data for your project Conduct either an interview or an observation and record the information on a protocol form After this experience identify issues that posed challenges in data collection 2 It is helpful to design the data collection activities for a project Examine Figure 71 for the seven activities Develop a matrix that describes data collection for all seven activities for your project