The use of qualitative methods in teaching english content: Introduction

Chapter I. Qualitative research in english language teaching
1.1. The main types of qualitative method
Qualitative research has some characteristics. Identified some characteristics of qualitative research as follows. 1. gathering data, they have to communicate with the subject directly, face-toface, and not sending out instrument like questionnaire. They observe what the people behave or act, and note the realities or facts as they are, not artificial or manipulated. 2. Researcher as key instrument, they collect data him/herself through examining documents, observing behavior, action, phenomena, or interviewing informants. 3. Multiple sources of data, they gather multiple forms of data, particularly from observations, interviews and documents. This is done to complete the data, to cross check, or to avoid biases. Then, they review and organize the data into categories or themes. 4. Inductive data analysis, they build their patterns, categories, and themes from the bottom up, by organizing the data into increasingly more abstract units of information, leading to a comprehensive set of themes. 5. understand the meaning behind the facts he/she has observed. He/she should never bring his/her opinion to the field, and expressions written in the literatures, but what the people say about it or them (the object like things, people, behaviors or actions). 6. Emergent design, they process the research emergently. It means that the initial plan for research cannot be tightly prescribed, but they may change their focus after interring the field and while gathering the data. 7. Theoretical lens, they often use lens to view their study that might be different from the theoretical review. Sometimes, their study is organized and identified around the social, political, cultural or historical context of the problem under study.
Interpretive, they interpret what they see, hear and understand. Their interpretation cannot be separated from their background, prior understanding, and socio-cultural context or even from other perspectives. At the end, it is apparent how multiple views of the problem can emerge. 9. Holistic account, they try to develop a complex picture of the problem or issue under study. This involves reporting many different perspectives. However, the characteristics could be simplified into some points as stated by Seliger and Shohamy (1989), Tarigan (1993). They are: holistic, heuristic/inductive, and no/low control (natural).Types of Qualitative Research
Qualitative research has some types: (1) Phenomenology, (2) Case study, (3)
Grounded research, (4) Discourse and Content analysis, and (5) Ethnography (Sugiyono,
2009). Moreover, associated with certain schools, traditions or disciplines, there are a lot of
types of it as follows.
1. Phenomenology
2. Ethnomethodology
3. Symbolic Interaction
4. Ethnography
5. Discourse and Content Analysis
6. Case Study
7. Oral and Life History
8. Grounded Research (Mason, 2002).
The question is which one(s) is/are relevant to research in ELT. It is difficult to
answer for each has its own scientific tradition. However, in terms of the object,
phenomenology, I think, is suitable. There are some phenomena, facts, and realities can be observed in teaching-learning English at schools, courses, and classrooms, or even outside the class room like in the park, in the lab, etc. On the basis of the subject, the amount of them, the case study is absolutely relevant to design for ELT research. If the subject is very small and specific, for example, the students in accelerated class, the students with disabilities, or the students with the low socio-economic status, no other types are better and more relevant than the case study is. The data collected in qualitative research are verbal in the forms of words or pictures, nor in numbers like quantitative researchers do (Sugiyono, 2009). To gather the data, researchers use some methods or techniques. According to Mason (2002), Creswell (2009), data might be collected through observations, interviews, and documents.
They may be spontaneous, on the spot, scheduled, participant observation, and structured, unstructured, or in-depth interview, formal or informal document. I think the most important ones are: (1) Participant Observation, (2) In-depth Interview, and (3) Document. In qualitative research, data analysis is conducted concurrently with gathering data, making interpretations and writing draft. While interview is going on, for example, the researcher may be analyzing the data collected earlier, writing memos that may ultimately be concluded as a narrative in the final report, and organizing the structure of the final report. Other technique is that the researcher collects qualitative data, then analyzes them for several themes or perspectives, and reports 4-5 themes. However, today many researchers go beyond this generic form or this basic analysis. Moreover, Creswell (2009) wrote that based on grounded theory, researchers systematically generated categories of information, selected one of the categories, and then positioned it within a theoretical model. Case study and ethnographic research involve a detailed description of the setting or individuals, followed by analysis of the data for certain themes or issues. Phenomenological research uses the analysis of significant statements, the generating of meaning units, and the development of an essence description. So far, Creswell (2009) also suggested the following steps to analyze the data.
1. Organize and prepare the data for analysis
2. Read through all the data
3. Begin detailed analysis with a coding analysis
4. Use the coding process to generate a description of the setting or people as well as categories or themes for analysis
5. Advance how the description and themes will be represented in the qualitative narrative.
Make an interpretation or meaning of data. Other techniques are, as suggested sorting and organizing the data into three broad approaches, which she called: cross-sectional and categorical indexing, non cross-sectional data organization, and the use of diagrams and charts.
Qualitative Research Methods: a phrase that comes into mind when you want to get inside your customers’ heads to understand their thoughts and feelings. Clearly, numbers will not provide a complete picture if you want to understand people’s perceptions, beliefs, and emotions.
For example, suppose you own a bakery and want to know why the sale of pancakes is more than pastries. You cannot determine this with surveys and questionnaires (qualitative data) that will provide you with all sorts of numerical data. The best solution in this scenario is to interview people and ask them what they like in pancakes, what they do not like in pastry, etc. Accordingly, mold your offering to increase your sales of pastries.
Qualitative research involves obtaining deep insight into why people behave the way they do. There are different methods to conduct qualitative research. In this blog, we will highlight the top qualitative research methodologies with examples and how you can analyze qualitative data.
Qualitative research is a branch of market research that involves collecting and analyzing qualitative data through open-ended communication. The primary purpose of conducting qualitative research is to understand the individual’s thoughts, feelings, opinions, and reasons behind these emotions.
It is used to gather in-depth and rich insights into a particular topic. Understanding how your audience feels about a specific subject helps make informed decisions in research.
As opposed to quantitative research, qualitative research does not deal with the collection of numerical data for statistical analysis. The application of this research method is usually found in humanities and social science subjects like sociology, history, anthropology, health science, education, etc.
Qualitative research methods are designed to understand the behavior and perception of the target audience about a particular subject.
Qualitative research methods include observations, one-on-one interviews, case study research, focus groups, ethnographic research, phenomenology, and grounded theory.
Let’s discuss them one by one.
1. Observations
Observation is one of the oldest qualitative methods of research used to collect systematic data using subjective methodologies. It is based on five primary sense organs – smell, sight, taste, touch and hearing, and their functioning. This method focuses on characteristics and qualities rather than numbers.
The qualitative observations technique involves observing the interaction patterns in a particular situation. Researchers collect data by closely watching the behaviors of others. They rely on their ability to observe the target audience rather than communicating with people about their thoughts on a particular subject.
Example of observation method:
A researcher observing kids’ behavior in a private school for his research.
He may watch and record things like how kids interact with each other, how comfortable they are sharing their tiffin, which class they enjoy the most, etc.
2. One-on-one interviews
Conducting one-on-one interviews is the most common type of qualitative research method. It involves open-ended conservation between researchers and participants related to a particular subject. This method is used to gather in-depth qualitative data for the research purpose.
Here, the researcher asks pre-determined questions to the participants to collect specific information about their research topic. Interviews can be conducted via face-to-face, email, or phone. The drawback of this method is that sometimes the participants feel uncomfortable sharing honest answers with the researcher.
Example of one-on-one interview method:
A business can conduct a structured interview with its target audience to understand the attractiveness of their product before expanding their operations to the global level.
3. Focus groups
A Focus group involves collecting quantitative data by conducting a group discussion of 6-12 members along with a moderator related to a particular subject. Here the moderator asks respondents a set of predetermined questions so that they can interact with each other and form a group discussion. It helps researchers to collect rich qualitative data about their market research.
However, it is essential to ensure that the moderator asks open-ended questions like “how,” “what,” “why” that will enable participants to share their thoughts and feelings. Close-ended questions like “yes” and “no” should be avoided as they do not lead to engagement among participants.
Example of focus group method:
Suppose a software company wants to test a new feature of its product before launching it in the market. So, in this case, they will conduct a focus group by choosing a sample group from its target audience. The group will discuss the product’s new feature, and the researcher will collect data based on how they react to the new feature and make the decision accordingly.
4. Case Study Research
A case study is another example of qualitative research that involves a comprehensive examination of a particular subject, person, or event. This method is used to obtain in-depth data and complete knowledge of the subject. The data is collected from various sources like interviews and observation to supplement the conclusion.
This qualitative approach is extensively used in the field of social sciences, law, business, and health. Many companies use this technique when marketing their products/services to new customers. It tells them how their business offerings can solve a particular problem. Let’s discuss an example of this method of qualitative research.
Example of case study method:
Businesses can use case studies to show their business solutions effectively and when they introduce any new product in the market. It will help customers identify how the brand’s offering can solve a particular problem for the subject.
5. Ethnography
Ethnography is a descriptive type of qualitative research that deals with people and their culture. This method aims to study individuals’ behavior in their natural habitat. Here, the researcher lives with the target audience, acts as an observer, and gets involved with their environment. By doing so, they get first-hand experience of motivation, goals, challenges, lifestyle, culture, and tradition of the individuals.
The ethnographic model is a social science model used in anthropology to study remote cultures and smaller communities within any particular region. This qualitative technique is a time-taking process as it can take days to years to complete the research. Also, geographical constraints can be an issue while collecting data.
Example of ethnography method:
A simple example of ethnographic qualitative methodology is when a researcher travels to a remote village to live with the society for years to research village people and their culture.
6. Grounded Theory
Grounded Theory is another data collection method of qualitative research used across various disciplines. This method aims to provide the reasons, theories, and explanations behind an event. It focuses on why a course of action has happened the way it did.
The grounded theory model collects and analyzes the data to develop new theories about the subject. The data is collected using different techniques like observation, literature review, and document analysis. This qualitative method is majorly used in business for conducting user satisfaction surveys to explain why a customer purchases a particular product or service. It helps companies in managing customer loyalty.
Example of grounded theory method:
The HR department of an organization may use grounded research to determine why employees lack motivation in their work. HR can gather data by conducting grounded theory research, determining the root cause of the problem, and offering solutions.
7. Phenomenology
Phenomenology is another qualitative research example that describes how an individual experiences or feels about a particular event. It also explores the experience of a specific event in a community. Here, the researcher interviews people who have experienced a particular event to find similarities between their experiences. The researcher can also record what they learn from the target audience to maintain the credibility of the data.
Although this qualitative technique depends majorly on interviews, other data collection methods like observation, interviews, and survey questionnaires are also used to supplement the findings. The application of this method is found in psychology, philosophy, and education.
Example of phenomenology method:
A simple example of a phenomenology qualitative research technique would be when a researcher undertakes a study to determine why students prefer to join online courses and the reasons behind the increase in popularity of online courses.
The process of qualitative data analysis usually remains the same regardless of the data collection methods; that is, one-to-one interviews or focus groups. Here are the steps you need to follow to conduct qualitative data analysis.