WELCOME TO ANOTHER ANYWAYS RANDOM VIDEO!
TODAY WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHEN
SHOULD WE USE A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGN. THERE ARE FOUR THINGS TO CONSIDER.
A HARDCORE RESEARCH INSTRUCTOR OR
PROFESSOR WOULD SAY YOU SHOULD USE A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN ONLY WHEN
YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION CALLS FOR A
QUALITATIVE DESIGN, BECAUSE YOU SEE -- THE
METHODOLOGICAL CHOICES WE MAKE IN TERMS
OF HOW TO INVESTIGATE AND ANSWER A
QUESTION DEPEND ON WHAT THAT QUESTION
IS. IT IS NOT ABOUT WHAT METHODOLOGICAL
APPROACH YOU PREFER; IT IS ABOUT WHAT
APPROACH IS LOGICALLY REQUIRED BY THE
RESEARCH QUESTION. THAT IS ALL GOOD
AND TRUE, BUT WHAT THEY FORGOT TO TELL
YOU IS THAT AS THE RESEARCHER YOU
ACTUALLY GET TO ASK THAT QUESTION
YOURSELF, WHICH MEANS, IF I WANT TO, I CAN
SIMPLY FORMULATE MY RESEARCH QUESTION IN
A WAY THAT MAKES IT FIT WITH MY
METHODOLOGICAL PREFERENCES. SO, LET'S FORGET
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IN A THEORETICAL
REALM; LET'S NOT EVEN TALK ABOUT
EPISTEMOLOGY OR ONTOLOGY; LET'S FORGET ABOUT
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN. IN THIS VIDEO, LET'S
TALK ABOUT REALITY; LET'S BE HONEST AND
DISCUSS IN PRACTICE WHEN WE COULD
LEGITIMATELY USE A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGN AND COMFORTABLY PRODUCE A
SATISFACTORY DISSERTATION. FACTOR NUMBER
ONE: WE SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN IF WE DON'T
LIKE STATISTICS. IF YOU HATE NUMBERS
AND IF YOU ARE TERRIBLE AT MATH, BUT YOU DO
HAVE AN AFFILIATION WITH LANGUAGE AND
WRITING, THEN FORGET ABOUT A
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN, PURSUE A
QUALITATIVE STUDY FOR YOUR DISSERTATION.
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH
PLAYING YOUR STRENGTHS AND STAYING
INSIDE THE COMFORT ZONE. THERE IS A
REASON WHY IT'S CALLED THE COMFORT ZONE,
WE ARE IN IT, WE ARE IN CONTROL; WE STEP OUT
OF IT, WE TEND TO LOSE CONTROL, WE TAKE
RISKS AND WE MAKE MISTAKES. SO DON'T
BELIEVE THE HYPE -- THAT YOU CAN ONLY LEARN
AND GROW WHEN YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR
COMFORT ZONE. THAT'S NOT TRUE! IN FACT, IF
YOU LOOK AT HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL
ENTREPRENEURS, OR BUSINESS PEOPLE,
OR POLITICIANS, OR ARTISTS, OR WRITERS, OR WHATEVER,
NONE OF THEM ACHIEVED THEIR SUCCESS FROM
OUTSIDE THEIR COMFORT ZONES OR BY DOING
THINGS THAT THEY ARE NOT GOOD AT! YOU
PLAY ON YOUR STRENGTH -- YOU DO WHAT YOU'RE
GOOD AT AND YOU IMPROVE IT AND YOU GET
EVEN BETTER AT IT! SO IF WE'RE NOT REALLY
GOOD WITH STATS AND QUANTS, THEN WE
SHOULD CHOOSE A QUALITATIVE DESIGN.
QUALITATIVE STUDIES CAN ALSO BE
ACADEMICALLY RIGOROUS AND PUBLISHABLE.
LET'S BE HONEST HERE -- MOST BACHELOR
STUDENTS DON'T WRITE THEIR
DISSERTATIONS IN ORDER TO GET PUBLISHED,
THEY WRITE THEIR DISSERTATION TO
GRADUATE. AND LET'S BE EVEN MORE HONEST
HERE -- MOST UNIVERSITIES
DON'T NEED THEIR BACHELOR STUDENTS TO
PUBLISH THEIR RESEARCH, THEY NEED THEIR
BACHELOR STUDENTS TO GRADUATE AND THAT'S
THE TRUTH. SO FACTOR NUMBER ONE: IF
SOMEONE IS A TERRIBLE STATISTICIAN, GO WITH
QUALITATIVE! FACTOR NUMBER TWO: YOU SHOULD
CONSIDER A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
IF YOUR SUPERVISOR OR COACH OR ADVISOR
OR WHATEVER YOUR UNIVERSITY CALLS THAT
PERSON -- IF THAT PERSON HAS EXCLUSIVELY OR
PRIMARILY PUBLISHED ONLY QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH, THAT'S ANOTHER FACTOR THAT
SHOULD INDICATE TO US THAT WE MIGHT WANT
TO CHOOSE A QUALITATIVE DESIGN FOR THE
DISSERTATION. THE REASON FOR THAT IS -- IF
YOUR TEACHER OR PROFESSOR IS A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCHER THEMSELF,
CHANCES ARE THEY DON'T REALLY KNOW THAT
MUCH ABOUT QUANTITATIVE METHODS, AND
THEREFORE, THEY CANNOT SUPERVISE YOU AND
SUPPORT YOU VERY EFFECTIVELY IF YOU
CHOOSE TO DO A QUANTITATIVE STUDY. IN THE
CURRENT WORLD OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND
ACADEMIA, AS FAR AS I CAN SEE AND IN MY
HUMBLE OPINION AND OBSERVATION, THERE IS
STILL A CLEAR DIVIDE BETWEEN THE QUANTS
AND THE QUALS. THE QUANTITATIVE PEOPLE
DON'T REALLY KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT
QUALITATIVE STUFF AND THE QUALITATIVE
PEOPLE PROBABLY KNOW EVEN LESS ABOUT
QUANTITATIVE STUFF. NOT ONLY THAT, MANY OF
THEM ACTUALLY LOOK DOWN UPON THE OTHER
SIDE AND THEY BELIEVE THAT THEIR APPROACH IS
SUPERIOR AND THEY THINK THE OTHER SIDE
IS SILLY. THERE ARE CERTAINLY
EXCEPTIONS!!! BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING,
THIS IS STILL VERY MUCH THE CASE. AND IN
A WAY, IT IS VERY NATURAL AND
UNDERSTANDABLE, BECAUSE NOBODY CAN BE
GOOD AT EVERYTHING. PEOPLE DEVELOP AND
POSSESS DIFFERENT EXPERTISE, FOCUSES AND
PREFERENCES IN TERMS OF RESEARCH AND
RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES. SO, IF YOU WISH TO
TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE KNOWLEDGE,
EXPERTISE, EXPERIENCE, AND SUPERVISION OF
YOUR PROFESSOR, AND IF THAT PERSON IS A
QUALITATIVE PERSON, YOU MIGHT WANT TO
CONSIDER PURSUING A QUALITATIVE DESIGN
YOURSELF. FACTOR NUMBER THREE: IF YOU ARE
LEANING TOWARDS A QUALITATIVE DESIGN AND
IF YOUR SUPERVISOR IS ALSO A QUALITATIVE
RESEARCHER, THEN THE NEXT THING WE WANT
TO MAKE SURE IS THAT OUR CENTRAL
RESEARCH QUESTION NEEDS TO BE FORMULATED
IN A WAY THAT FITS A QUALITATIVE DESIGN.
THIS IS SOMETHING ALREADY TOUCHED ON
AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS VIDEO, SOME RESEARCH
QUESTIONS JUST SIMPLY WON'T WORK WITH A
QUALITATIVE DESIGN. IF OUR RESEARCH
QUESTION IS HIGHLY CAUSAL OR IF WE'RE
DOING A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY WHICH DEMANDS
HIGH LEVELS OF PRECISION AND ACCURACY,
THEN WE SIMPLY CANNOT USE A QUALITATIVE
APPROACH. SO, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE
FORMULATE A CENTRAL RESEARCH QUESTION
THAT IS EXPLORATORY AND INDUCTIVE. IN
OTHER WORDS, WE WANT TO BE LOOKING INTO
SOMETHING ABOUT WHICH THERE IS RATHER
LITTLE PRIOR LITERATURE AND RESEARCH;
SOMETHING ABOUT WHICH WE CAN EXPLORE A
BIT. FOR EXAMPLE, HOW CERTAIN NEW
TECHNOLOGIES ARE BEING UTILIZED IN A
PARTICULAR FIELD AND HOW PEOPLE PERCEIVE
OF THAT; OR HOW PEOPLE RESPOND TO A NEW
SOCIAL PHENOMENON THAT HAD NEVER
OCCURRED BEFORE. WE WANT TO BE FOCUSING
ON SOMETHING ABOUT WHICH WE HAVE NO
CLEAR EXPECTATIONS; ON WHICH WE CANNOT
FORMULATE HYPOTHESES; THINGS WE CANNOT
DIRECTLY COUNT OR MEASURE. I MADE AN
EARLIER VIDEO ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF
RESEARCH QUESTIONS, WHICH YOU CAN CHECK
OUT HERE, I'LL PUT A LINK SOMEWHERE
THE SCREEN. I MIGHT ALSO MAKE ANOTHER
VIDEO IN THE FUTURE LISTING OUT SOME
GOOD EXAMPLES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
QUESTIONS. BUT FOR NOW LET'S JUST SAY
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS NEED TO
BE EXPLORATORY AND INDUCTIVE. AND WE NEED
SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO FIT OUR PREFERRED
QUALITATIVE DESIGN. FACTOR NUMBER
FOUR: BE PREPARED FOR SOME PRETTY
COMPLICATED COMPLEX MESSY TROUBLESOME
EVEN STRANGE AND ECCENTRIC QUALITATIVE
DATA ANALYSIS. IF STATISTICAL ANALYSIS IS
NOT FOR EVERYBODY, WELL, QUALITATIVE
ANALYSIS IS ALSO NOT FOR EVERYBODY. YOU
KNOW, THE GOOD THING WITH QUANTITATIVE
DATA ANALYSIS IS THAT WE KNOW WE WILL BE
DEALING WITH NUMBERS. QUALITATIVE DATA, ON
THE OTHER HAND, CAN BE ALMOST ANYTHING --
STORIES, TEXTS, NARRATIVES, PICTURES, VIDEOS,
DRAWINGS, PAINTINGS, EVEN DREAMS...
QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS IS COMPLICATED,
EVEN IF WE JUST TALK ABOUT ANALYZING
TEXTUAL DATA LIKE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS,
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PROBABLY A HUNDRED
OR MORE PAGES OF TEXTS, AND THEN THE
CODING -- OPEN CODING, AXIAL CODING,
THE SELECTIVE CODING, ALL THE SENSE
MAKING, MODEL BUILDING, IT AIN'T EASY. IF
YOU DO A QUALITATIVE STUDY, YOU MIGHT SAVE
SOME TIME BY NOT HAVING TO LEARN
STATISTICS, BUT YOU ARE CERTAINLY GOING
TO PUT IN A LOT OF TIME IN TERMS OF
QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS. AND ONE MORE
THING HERE, WHEN IT COMES TO QUANTITATIVE
DATA ANALYSIS, YOU CAN USUALLY GET
SOMEBODY TO HELP YOU. I MEAN IF ONE
OF YOUR FRIENDS IS GOOD WITH STATISTICS
AND KNOWS HOW THE SOFTWARE WORKS, THEN IT
DOESN'T TAKE A WHOLE LOT OF TIME FOR
THEM TO RUN THE ANALYSIS FOR YOU. BUT
WHEN IT COMES TO QUALITATIVE DATA
ANALYSIS, PROBABLY NOBODY'S GOING TO RUN
THE ANALYSIS FOR YOU. AND THIS IS BECAUSE
IT TAKES MUCH TIME AND THERE'S REALLY NO
SHORTCUTS. IN OTHER WORDS, FOR
QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS, FOR AN EXPERT,
IT DOESN'T TAKE HIM OR HER A WHOLE LOT
OF TIME TO RUN THE ANALYSIS. FOR
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS, IT WILL PROBABLY
TAKE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME FOR AN
EXPERT AND A NON-EXPERT TO PERFORM THE
SAME ANALYSIS ON THE SAME DATA SET. THERE
IS NO SHORTCUT.
SO YOU WILL HAVE TO PUT IN THE TIME
YOURSELF. IF YOU CAN HANDLE THAT AND IF
YOU THINK IT IS FUN AND INTERESTING AND
ENJOYABLE TO PERFORM QUALITATIVE
ANALYSIS, THEN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGNS ARE INDEED FOR YOU. SO THESE ARE
THE FOUR FACTORS IN MY VIEW THAT WOULD
INDICATE WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD PURSUE
A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN FOR THE
DISSERTATION. TO RECAP: FOUR QUESTIONS -- DO YOU
HATE STATISTICS? IS YOUR PROFESSOR A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCHER? IS YOUR RESEARCH
QUESTION FORMULATED AS AN EXPLORATORY
INDUCTIVE QUESTION? AND DO YOU LIKE AND DO
YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE QUALITATIVE
ANALYSIS? IF YOUR ANSWERS TO ALL THESE
FOUR QUESTIONS ARE YES, THEN RUN WITH
QUALITATIVE. LET ME END WITH A LITTLE
QUOTE HERE -- NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE COUNTED
COUNTS AND NOT EVERYTHING THAT COUNTS
CAN BE COUNTED. OKAY, EVERYBODY THANKS SO
MUCH FOR WATCHING, PLEASE LIKE AND
SUBSCRIBE, AND I WILL SEE YOU NEXT TIME! :-)
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