After flipping through a few of my favourite journals on qualatitive research, I’ve come across quite a few counter-arguements to those that I set out in favour of the research method. So, in the interests of academic non-bias, I’ll present them to you for discussion (keep in mind, some of them are long-winded but get to the point eventually):
“Many papers lack explicitness about methods for searching, appraisal, and synthesis, and there is little evidence of emerging consensus on many issues. There was also some evidence of possibly inappropriate use of some techniques. We conclude that continued methodological progress and improved reporting are required.”
Synthesizing qualitative research: a review of published reports
by: Mary Dixon-Woods, Andrew Booth, Alex J Sutton
Qualitative Research, Vol. 7, No. 3. (1 August 2007), pp. 375-422.
“At issue here, in part, is what the term ‘criterion’ means, and what role criteria could play in the context of qualitative enquiry. In addition, there are differences in methodological orientation: over what counts as rigorous enquiry, realism versus constructionism, and whether the goal of research is to produce knowledge or to serve other goals.”
The issue of quality in qualitative research
by: Martyn Hammersley
International Journal of Research & Method in Education, Vol. 30, No. 3. (2007), pp. 287-305.
“The article demonstrates the potential impact of these identities on the data collected and their interpretation, and the researcher’s attempts to negotiate these identities. In thus demonstrating that the `how’ of data collection can have important effects on the `what’ of data collection and interpretation, the article argues that qualitative interviews in higher education policy research should pay more attention to the social construction of interview `data’.”
Pivoting the centre: reflections on undertaking qualitative interviewing in academia
by: Chrys Gunasekara
Qualitative Research, Vol. 7, No. 4. (1 November 2007), pp. 461-475.
So, to reach a conclusion on these points (ironic?!), some problems arise with qualitative research with regulation/methodology, the lack of conclusive data, and the impact of the data analyser or researcher on the results of the research.
In terms of the problems that these arguments bring to my own research- I think the second and the third problems cited above will become resonably relevant to me.
The lack of conclusiveness from the data I will have collected is certainly a real possibility- a scary one nonetheless. I guess to put this one in perspective, it is important to remember that much research is sample research of a demographic- particularly when talking about qualitative research. This does allow for a margin of error, and obviously it is impractical to collect data from every mind in a set demographic. Futhermore, some issues resonate outside a demographic, and therefore can contribute to inconclusiveness within a research topic as a whole.
The next problem will, I feel, become the bigger obstacle to my research- the objectives/bias of the researcher on the analysis of results. I’d love to find the magic formula that allows me to find a channel of communication to push the wine message to people my age- and actually have them take it on board. However, in trying to find this formula, I might neglect other areas of research that could be just as important to my thesis topic, but doesn’t directly lead me to the answer.
Lots of thoughts here, hopefully the fact that I’m aware of this will help to negate these problems.
