I made a presentation today about qualitative data collection in evaluation for a graduate class. I did not arrive as early as I should have done and had some technological issues (note to self: hyperlinks may work better than embedding the video in the slides...). Ironically the next to last version of my presentation slides contained both embedded videos and hyperlinks but I removed the hyperlinks at the last minute. Other than that, and not so great time management, it was a fair job at a presentation and I hope provided at least some information of interest or value. I collected minimal 'evaluation' information from the members of the class. It is my impression that the students were very receptive to qualitative and in particular mixed qual and quan research. I think everyone was open to the idea of qualitative data collection. Where I see interest start to fall off is in the idea of analysis rather than simply reporting summary results. I think this is because analysis is time consuming and a lot of explanations in texts and articles tend to be ambiguous. There is also no clear standard to tell when you are 'right.' Considering this, it is no wonder qualitative analysis is off putting. In QRGP 6301, one of the topics of interest was students' lived experiences learning qualitative inquiry. We used ourselves, the students in the class, as the participants (or co-researchers). I can only speak for my own experience and suggest that of the student I spoke with, but I would say our experiences were fairly similar. We both began our research study with quantitative courses, approached qual with some apprehension, but curiosity and the desire to do well made it an attractive challenge.
What I am beginning to sense, from multiple experiences, is that there is a lot of fear and insecurity associated with qualitative analysis, and worse than that, many people do not have the curiosity or the efficacy to give it a shot. There are also differences in how qualitative inquiry is taught that further complicate peoples' understanding. I am not unbiased but I do tend to think that the training I have received at Nova has been very balanced; course materials have communicated a respectful and open attitude toward the many different approaches. I think that data collection is not that scary for a lot of people; in part because we are exposed to interviews, through media, on an ongoing and regular basis. (Patton mentioned this in the interview chapter in "Qualitative research and evaluation methods," 3nd ed., Sage, 2002.) But I do think that the (actual and perceived) complexity of analysis makes that part something people dread and may avoid in various ways, whether it is not analyzing data or choosing not to use a qualitative approach in the first place.
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AuthorI am Sheryl L. Chatfield, Ph.D, C.T.R.S. I am a member of the faculty in the College of Public Health at Kent State University. I also Co-coordinate the Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research and I am a member of the Design Innovation Team at Kent State. Archives
February 2024
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